India - 1st year of return

One year.

Time to take stock of how life is different since returning to India.

Its 10 PM in the evening (night rather) and our kids have been asleep for some time - we are still able to stick to the 'firangi' idea of putting kids to bed early. Something has happened outside Prakrtii - the apartment complex we live in Pune - and a large pack of dogs is howling their throats off somewhere. At least it is better than the 1 AM or 2 AM blast of music that we were subjected to last week - marriage season is here and what better way to show your happiness than making sleeping people jump around in their beds at night !

Pune's Goldilocks weather (see my earlier post below) is a source of envy to others - especially the north Indians (includes my parents) who have suffered sub-zero temperatures at times in winters and were roasted by the summers. Whereas for Pune, a 8 Celsius (47 F) morning is 'freezing' and these days is a pleasant high of 21.

At the end of the first year, my family's three biggest irritants:

1. The Infrastructure - the roads are nothing to discuss. They are all dug up at the perfect time - during the heavy monsoons. Yesterday I took my mountain bike on one of the main roads and it felt right 'at home' - navigating the puddles and the dug up areas. My 12 minute commute to the office has became a nightmarish 45 min everyday for the last 3 weeks as I had to take a detour, and now for some days, a detour to the detour :) The power situation has been fine - whenever you get it. Which means less than 8 hours on the last few weekends and a couple of weekdays too. Puneites are being forced to live up to their mantra of energy conservation by none other than the electricity board. Oh, and the Internet provider's back-up at the top of my apartment lasts about 1 hour. So, we really are on an island once the power goes away. You are welcome to send messages in a 'bottle' - may just get to us faster ! And when I cornered the ISP representative for an explanation, he impressed me - "Sir, you must consider yourself lucky. The rest of the buildings don't even have the backup." Wow! Sure ! I am bloody lucky to get ONE extra hour of Internet availability than others !

Infrastructure wise, flight cancellations were the norm in Delhi in winters (small wonder Laloo's railways makes tons in the winters).

And speaking of flights, Pune airport opened end of May after ONLY 16 days of closure due to the runway repair! But the good part is it has expanded timings considerably - it now functions from 10.30 AM to 6.30 PM. Who says the administration does not work? Pune airport works as much as the US standard 8-hr workday now ! (A 33% jump over the previous 6 hrs).

2. IST a.k.a. Indian 'Stretchable' Time - People in India do have floating time periods. 'I am coming in the evening' could mean quite a few things (and this you will come to know through experience) -

a. I may come any time up to 6 PM (or even later)
b. I may call any time up to 6 PM (or later) to let you know I may come in another 1 or 2 or 3 hours
c. I may call you next day to check if we are still meeting
d. (the best one - when you call to check the next day) Oh, I am coming in the evening ! (and it starts all over again)

3. The 'bais', drivers and other help
Our initial 'churn' of bais helped us settle on 2 or 3. The issue is, the dishwasher and the washing machine / dryer do not have 'moods' ! Any time of the day, they will do the dishes spotless, and not be bothered by the fight they had with their husband. And the machines won't break your Correlle over that ! Oh, and the machines don't go to help in the 'delivery' of 'my husband's sister's husband's sister's sister's baby' - on a manic Monday morning !

And, after the churn of the 'bais', came the churn of the drivers. The four we went through, all left their marks - on the car of course. By the second dent, I was devoid of any 'new car feelings ! And within the first 10k miles, the car has had a change in the front bumper as well as a fresh coat of paint. Quite a record.

Updates to previous entry:
Car - I finally bought a Maruti Swift. Surprisingly nice and stable car. And 'diesel' operated on top of that. The Indian Govt. subsidizes my ride (diesel subsidy) ! Thank you 'Bharat Mata'.

Well, that's all for now. Stay tuned.
Vikas

First month - Pune

This is an email I sent in Oct 2007, a month after reaching Pune.

This is All India Radio from Pune (formerly, the Voice of America from Foster City) :)

Life is moving on a good speed so far. Reached Delhi on Sep 1st, Pune on Wed (5th) evening and forced our way with our friend Deepa into her home :)

Started looking for aptts on Thu and Fri (6th and 7th) and moved into an one on Sat (8th), got kids admitted on Monday (10th) and they started school on Tuesday (11th) and started complaining about home work Wed (12th). We also got a telephone on Wed (12th). We got a "bai" on Mon(10th) and changed her on Tue(11th) and confirmed another on Wed (12th) and hope to get a gas cylinder today Thu(13th)...:) All fun stuff....

Pune is a nice city, crowded like others but not too much dust it appears. And the weather is, as Goldilocks (and the 3 bears) says "just right - not too hot and not to cold"

The key thing left is a car. In the meantime we have a chauffeur driven vehicle "at call" - a 3 wheeler auto that we have exchanged cell phone numbers with. He drops me and the kids in the morning and when Rashmi needs him, he is just a cell phone call away. Telecom is truly liberating us from the corrupt rental cars and taxis. :)

I am negotiating through what Maruti has a similar offering as the certified cars in US - with 1 year warranty. At least we wont feel bad if someone scratches a 2nd hand car. :)

Thats all for this broadcast folks. The next edition will be available....when I get power back :)

Regards

Return to India - kickoff

This blog kicks off my plans to return to India. Over the next few months, will use this to record my plans, experiences and create a one stop for all key resources that will help in the move.