I’mm baaaccckkk!
This has been an interesting week if you consider that last Sunday I
was in the US sitting in sacrament meeting watching 5 of my grandchildren
participate in the primary program, and this Sunday I’m back in the branch in
India. Here are a few of the things I’ve
experienced thru this week.
It is always hard to say goodbye to all my family and friends in the
US, but it is equally hard to be away from Phil. Having said that I probably
don’t need to tell you that this has been an emotional week.
Wednesday morning I began my journey back to India with my bags as full
as they could possibly be. My checked
bag weighed in at 51 ½ lbs. and so after removing my robe it weighed in at
exactly 50 lbs., Phew! I had to take my
robe out to Becca who was outside the terminal waiting in the car to see how
strict they were going to be on weight.
I guess my robe will have to wait for the next trip to see if it makes
the cut. My carryon bag was actually
heavier than my checked bag so when they offered to check it for free at the
gate I took a few things out of it for the flight and checked it at that
point. So glad I didn’t have to lift it
over my head into the overhead bins.
The total travel time is long and tiring with about 5 hrs. to Newark
N.J. then about 5 ½ of lay over and then about 13 hrs. on to New Delhi. By the time I got here I had a numb bum, a compressed
spine and swollen ankles. Oh, don’t
forget that on international trips you need to be at the airport at least 2 hrs.
early. I think that makes about 26 hrs.
of travel time after clearing customs and collecting bags. I’m still trying to make the physical
adjustment to all the time change.
I got home Thursday night and then meet a friend for lunch on Friday. We
met at an area that I have not been to before.
Hauz Khas village is the name of the place and there are some ruins
there which we took a bit of time to explore. It has become a shopping area
that consists of designer boutiques, art galleries and restaurants. I took a few pictures of the ruins but it was
a hazy day so sorry they are not too clear.
This area was built by a Sultan in the 1200s and consisted of a water reservoir,
a mosque, and a school. It was
interesting and I think Phil and I will need to go back for a more in depth
visit. Anyway, hope you find the
pictures interesting.
Saturday Phil and I went to a Bazaar that is held for 10 days once a
year and is put on by a bunch of artists and craftsman who come from all over
and sell their goods. The idea is that
these artists can sell directly to the public and eliminate the middle
man. This allows them the chance to keep
more of the profits for themselves. It
was clean (by Indian standards), and well organized, and a pleasant experience,
especially since the weather has cooled off a bit. We took a couple of pictures from the food
court area. You will notice our glamorous
dining accommodations. I was intrigued
by the tiers of housing that surrounded the market and also the very large
gates.
I will end by describing a few of the other random sights I’ve seen
thru the days since being back. Most of my sightings are of animals. There have been the dogs and cattle, of
course, but also, goats, donkeys, 4 young men riding pure white, slightly
skinny horses down the road and, coming up behind a wooden cart carrying people. The cart was bobbing up and down a lot and I
was wondering what was causing that motion but when we got around it, it was
being pulled by a galloping horse, not the usual slow paced oxen. I think that is the first time I’ve seen a
cart pulled by horses. Oh, there was
this little boy, probably 8-10 years old, with a black mustache painted on,
who magically appeared in the middle of traffic to preform hand stands and demonstrate
his double jointed shoulders by twisting his arms all the way around in one motion. There are also all the usual people tapping
on your windows asking for money and the vendors trying to sell you any number
of things.
Well, that is an over view of my life in two different worlds this
week. Welcome back to India.
Phil’s turn…
And I for one am glad to have her back. As are all the members of the
Branch who have been asking for a month when Sister Rae (or Sister Phil; they
seem as confused about our names as I feel about theirs sometimes) will be
back.
I thought I would add a little about construction here in India. This
is on my mind because we are considering a new building for our main campus and
I have been looking at sites. Major construction here is almost all reinforced concrete.
They pour the vertical pillars, as you would expect, but what is really interesting
are the floors and the walls between the pillars. The floors are what you
would, at best, call a rough pour. They only make minimal effort to smooth out
the surface. In fact am not really sure how they can float enough concrete,
cement, or grout to make a flat, level, floor.
Next the walls. Between the reinforced concrete pillars they build a
wall of red brick and then apply a concrete stucco coating on the interior and
exterior walls. The walls are very poorly constructed with uneven runs of
bricks with grout lines also of varying sizes of between an inch and two
inches. There is no effort made to point the grout lines. Some grout spills
over the bricks; some grout does not reach the edge of the bricks. There are of course windows and, even in some
new buildings, glass walls. However as I heard in my latest conversation with a
contractor, they don’t often use triple or even double pane glass because it
cost so much more and people rarely are willing to pay a premium for green
construction. The pictures below give you some idea of what this construction
looks like in process. Lest you think this is only one contractor, I have
probably looked at buildings under construction by ten contractors since I have
been here. All are the same.
One of the really interesting things is the construction crew live in
the building whilst it is being constructed. As soon as the second floor is
finished (serving as a roof for the first floor) they move in. They sleep on
pallets or perhaps hammocks. They run a line to hang their clothes. They have
little two burner gas stoves to cook their meals. They carry water in for their
cooking, and as my father used to say, a sink bath is nearly as good as a
shower. So rinsing off in a basin of water should be just fine. If you have
read my previous blogs, you probably have a pretty good idea how they handle
their, um “voiding” requirements. When visiting a construction site, there is
more than one reason to watch where you step.
With that thought, have a good week.
Namaste.
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