October 13, 2013 - Fires and Firecrackers

So my geyser (hot water heater) is now “fixed” as in, if I turn it on, I will get hot water, and fairly quickly. But, if I forget to turn it off, I will probably burn out the heating element (which is why it broke last time.) The thermostat is still not functional. Well, hot water is hot water I guess?

Why I like to overpay:

At the moment, I take a taxi to work and catch an autorickshaw home. I made this change because the evening taxi always seemed to be at least an hour late and I wanted to have more control over when I left work. But also because it saves me 150 rupees ($3) a day. So, do I get overcharged for the autorickshaw? Absolutely! But here is why I don’t mind:

• I don’t have to deal with small bills or the elusive 50-rupee note, I can just hand over a single 100 bill and be done with it. (Actual market rate is 50-70 rupees I think.)
• No haggling, no arguing, no delay
• The auto drivers that hang out at my office now know me, know where I live, and are ready (and eager) to give me a ride when I walk out of work. I barely have to say a word.

Downsides to riding in an auto instead of a taxi:

• It is dirtier, and sometimes I smell a whiff of pot when I step in (though I guess that makes my driver more relaxed?)
• It is a bumpier and less safe ride. Also, if it is raining, I get lots of droplets since there are no windows or doors on an auto. Come winter, this ride will be cold as well.
• I feel slightly guilty because I’d hate to think they assume all foreigners are pushovers when it comes to auto fare. Though we are, pretty much.

As I’m now counting down my time here (just over two months left, and a chunk of that traveling), I’ll probably stop my morning taxi too which has taken to being regularly 30-45 minutes late every day, except for the one day I slept in. But I’ll have to walk out to the street to hail an auto. On the upside, the price the hailed ones offer is always cheaper than 100. (Only the bicycle rickshaw drivers, ironically, ever attempt to charge me more than double.)

Random Holidays

So, it is Navratri. Again. I was confused at first, asking my co-workers, “Didn’t this happen already?” It did (mentioned in my April 13 entry) but apparently this occurs twice a year at the beginning of spring and the beginning of autumn. Besides the “fast” which is less a fast and more just abstaining from certain things (meat, onion, garlic) or restricting yourself to only milk and fruit or having one meal a day, etc, for all nine days, there are a lot of related events and festivals happening on those nights.

For example, the one outside my apartment last night. It kind of looked like my housing society put on a rave in the courtyard with all the lights and techno beats. I saw a very dressed up family walk by. The celebration was apparently called Dandiya Rass. My neighbor who lives in the same tower but facing the courtyard, took this photo of the festivities from his balcony, which is why I even knew what to Google:

Party Time: Dandiya Rass at my Apartment Complex

This afternoon, I was walking down to the gym when I saw a little bonfire in the middle of the grassy area (where the stage in the above photo is). Most of the decorations had been taken down. As I strolled down the sidewalk next to it, out of nowhere, a deafening crack like a gunshot sounded, then another. It wasn’t a bonfire, they were firecrackers! The weirdest part to me was that it was surrounded by giggling and shrieking small children. There were a couple adults present, but seems like no one minded that there were mini fireballs all around, crazy loud cracks, and no one stopping these elementary-aged kids from making sure they did not get catch fire.

Granted, the kids were smart enough to run away and put some distance between themselves and the exploding firecrackers before they went off. Which just goes to show that perhaps Americans like me take safety precautions too seriously. (Or more Indians have burn scars on their hands than I thought…)

A local told me that the laws in India are very strict. But everyone ignores them. And that’s the way it is.

Firecrackers / fireworks / loud bangs were on the roster for the rest of the evening. I kind of wish the building had informed me of the festivities happening in the complex. I mean, even if I knew it was a holiday, how would I know what was planned? Interestingly, someone here pointed out a related difference between India and America. In the States, you don’t get help as often from people because you simply don’t need it! The system helps you sort it out. In India, it is a little more chaotic, so you almost require help to figure out how to do anything. So it might not be entirely my fault that I seem to have no idea what is going on half the time… or most of the time.

There was a fire drill (or actual fire?) at my work last week around quitting time. A recorded woman’s voice came over the loudspeaker, as well as an alarm, and instructed us to leave the building. This was odd because:

• We don’t get an alarm / recorded voice for earthquakes. Everyone just files out. I guess no one pulls a “earthquake alarm” though.
• The recorded woman’s voice had an American accent! (In other words, I didn’t notice an accent. Then noticed that I did not notice an accent.) Most recorded voices I’ve heard here are, if not in an Indian accent, than in a British one.
• No idea who would have given the OK to go back inside. There was no sign of fire or emergency vehicles. After hanging around for 10 minutes, I just decided to go home because it was 6pm anyway.

There seem to be more mosquitoes around than there were in summer. Also, mosquitoes REALLY LIKE the back seats of taxis for some reason. I have ample personal experience to support this assertion. On a similar note, from the Emails I Don’t Get In My Home Office Department:

The temperature is cooler, but not significantly. And it’s still fairly humid. I have not turned off my A/C overnight yet, but we’re getting close.

In other news, the majority of construction across the street appears to be over. I mean, the scaffolding around the outside was taken down a week or two ago but it was only today that I noticed that most of the shantytown was gone, too! That has been there since I arrived. Weird to see it all gone. Maybe they just moved down the street closer to the other buildings still in an earlier state of construction.