Satyam (Truth)

Loving this, Missing that

2011-02-19T09:12:00.000-08:00

Eight months after R2I (Return to India):

What I love in Bangalore: The newspapers. Even the worst ones have more information than the lame news that I used to read back in US.

What I miss from the US: Being able to go anywhere. Once I went to Disneyland with my daughter on a daytrip, and was back by the time my husband was home from work. And made dinner too! Waffles at home, Mickey Mouse and Space Mountain in the afternoon, Rice and dal and storytime back at home again.

What I love here: Everybody delivers. The food, the groceries. Yesterday a tailor came home to measure our sofas, and today, a laundry service came home to tell us they'll pick up and do our laundry, and deliver it back.

What I miss from there: Being able to go anywhere. I miss my minivan, where I used to put my children in the backseat and go driving to the grocery store, to Art class, to Tae Kwon Do. My son was only a newborn, but going everywhere with me, throughout the week.

WILH: Eating that wonderful vegetarian food everywhere. Even KFC has to have a veggie menu here. I still haven't had enough Pani Puri and Dahi Puri. I doubt if I'll ever have had enough.

WIMFT: Being able to go anywhere. I just love driving. I enjoyed driving in my cosy little lane, stopping at lights, and proceeding in a nice orderly fashion. I loved highway driving too. I loved driving so much that I used to dream about it.

L: The colorful clothes. My wardrobe got a beating when I moved to the US. It was mainly black and blue. (Get the pun? Huh? Get it?) Here I wear beautiful, bright colors.

M: Being able to go anywhere. I once drove randomly in a city that I was unfamiliar with, with my little daughter in the back seat, and ended up on a cliffside park overlooking the Pacific Ocean and migrating whales. I wasn't worried about anything, as long as I had my GPS to guide me back home.

Oh, to be able to go anywhere. As one of my friends said, "My wings have been clipped."

Inside a Fake Designer Bag

2010-12-12T09:54:00.000-08:00

An elaborate (and ironic) label that says:

"ITS
SUPERIORCRAFTSMANSHIPAND
ATTENTION TO DETAL (sic) REFLECT
OURCOMMITMENT TOENDURING
QUALITY."

Atleast they didn't put an apostrophe in its.

Life of a Maid

2010-09-27T10:43:00.000-07:00

Judging from the frequency with which I hear it talked about, this is the most troubling issue that India's facing today: maids' absenteeism.

I agree that it's a major problem. No vacation. No holidays. Working Saturdays and Sundays. No sick leave. Major problem.

So when I hear complaints, I think: "Do you work, or have you ever worked at a day job? What about your partner then? Would you have worked there if they gave you no time off at all?

If I can hire a maid, I'm among the lucky ones. I'm lucky I can get help, I'm lucky I can provide a job. I'm lucky to be the employer at this job, not the employee.

Give maids some pre-planned time off too. Have them tell you in advance about time off, and call you if they're sick. Get a substitute, or let the work pile up for a day or two, or maybe even (omg!) do it yourself. "

"I Don't Know"

2010-08-06T09:50:00.000-07:00

Overused by store workers in the US, this is one line that is seldom used by salespeople here in Bangalore.

Any store I go to, any question I ask, I always get an answer. Sometimes it's right, sometimes it's a little off. Sometimes it's pure fiction. But it's never "I don't know.".

Also, everybody who needs to come home to install or fix something, will always be here in 15 minutes. That's what they say. Nobody ever says that they are stuck in traffic, they have many customers to attend to, and they don't know when they can get to you. They'll always be here in 15 minutes, no matter where they are. Ofcourse, I have got to be out of mind to really expect them to be here in 15 minutes, or even an hour, or even that same day. I know that now. One lives and learns.

Overheard

2010-08-06T09:46:00.000-07:00

in the cinema box office today. A woman saying: "Two tickets for Despicable Me". Now there is someone who needs to learn to love herself :)

Misfit Everywhere

2010-08-06T09:16:00.000-07:00

My last post seems so negative. But just because I am critical of some things here doesn't mean that I think any other place is better. I see all flaws magnified, and most of all, mine. California was a lovely place to live, but I found many faults there, you can be sure.

But now that we moved here, I'm going through stages of denial, anger, sorrow, all that stuff. When we flew here, I did not say goodbye to anything. I did not turn back and look at my home there. I did not drive by the ocean one last time. We just packed our suitcases the night before we left. On the day, we drove away, and at the airport, without a single tear or any sadness, I just got on the plane and came away.

Now, the reality sinks in slowly. I find I am a misfit here, just as I was there. Which is not such a bad thing, because I would rather not blend in. But sometimes, things get to me.

I apologize for being a grump.

India

2010-08-03T08:51:00.000-07:00

We moved to India two months ago, after fourteen years of living in the United States.

There is a lot to write about, and I'm constantly writing it in my head. I always do. But it's all a jumble once I get to the computer and have to put it down. I have about half an hour before baby wakes up, if I'm lucky. But here I go trying.

There is the good and there is the bad. I would like to start with the good before I get to the complaining.

Nursing the baby is holy here. In the USA, people were nice about it. People here, are extra nice. I was worried about how I'd do once I was outside, but there is always a way. Even strangers around help to make sure it happens, nobody here can stand to see a hungry baby. And when the women find out I'm nursing, they give me a wide approving smile before helping.

Now quickly onto the complaining, only because this is fresh in my mind today. The caste system is very prevalent. Not the old kind, but the new capitalistic kind. The rich are royalty. I have the weird position of living in a temporary apartment that is very expensive (to me, anyway). People here are all smiles, they open doors, make a fuss over my children, bring me things I need.

But unlike most people who live here, I also get out on the street and walk. And there, with me as a nobody, the cars seem to be aiming to run me down, with my baby and all. The well-dressed people don't smile at me anymore, not even at the baby. But the non-rich, like the woman who sweeps the street, the vegetable vendor, and so on, they still have an easy smile.

Everybody bosses over somebody else. The people who stay here boss over the staff. The managing staff bosses over the wait staff. And I'm sure the wait staff go inside and boss over somebody else. So it goes down the food chain. People mostly mingle only with people of their own "class". Yeah, yeah, I'm sure it happens everywhere, not just in India. But it's much less subtle here, and much more jarring.

I realize I'm generalizing. Not everybody fits into my stereotypes. These are the impressions formed during my two months here, and maybe as time goes on, I'll see that I was wrong. Or maybe I'll blend in, and do as most others do.

A Year Later

2009-09-10T00:58:00.001-07:00

A few months ago, I found this old abandoned blog, and was thrilled to notice a comment left on the lone post. Until I read it.

My last (and first) post was about my ignorance, and the comment, ironically, was "Write better English, can you?". Ha ha ha.

Anyway, here I am again, and as the blog address, description, and the very first post can tell you, I claim to know very little. If you would like to comment on what I'm doing wrong, please be specific. Me slow in the head.

Thought of the Day

2008-07-18T11:27:00.000-07:00

When I was a little girl, my parents knew everything. They were always right.

Then I was a teenager. I knew everything. I was always right.

Today I know just enough to know that I know nothing. It's funny - it took me thirty three years just to get to this point.