C likes to take pictures of cows on the streets.
It will take us 2 months to get an internet connection. Apparently, the servers are all full, so they are configuring a new server to accommodate new requests. We use the internet in my brother's house, where the connection is sometimes good, but mostly of very low capacity. Voice over IP connection is really bad from our place. The cell phone signals are not very strong where we live, so data cards have modem speed. That is our biggest disappointment so far. We need to have a good Internet connection. Obviously, our US phone lines are not hooked up to any equipment yet, but we can receive messages on them.
Email is still the best way to contact me.
Other than that, life has been good. The weather has cooled down, because the monsoons are threatening, I feel cold enough in the mornings and nights to want to wear a sweatshirt. R has started school, he takes the schoolbus along with his cousin. The school has a Hindi-B program, where they take the "returning children" separately, and teach them Hindi right from the alphabets. In one year time, they will be brought up to speed. SO far, R says the academics are quite easy - he doesn't yet feel intimidated by it.
We live in a nice gated community, away from the main road, so it is very quiet and peaceful here. The children get all their entertainment by hanging out with the tons of neighborhood kids of every age that live here. R looks forward to playing soccer every evening.
Email is still the best way to contact me.
Other than that, life has been good. The weather has cooled down, because the monsoons are threatening, I feel cold enough in the mornings and nights to want to wear a sweatshirt. R has started school, he takes the schoolbus along with his cousin. The school has a Hindi-B program, where they take the "returning children" separately, and teach them Hindi right from the alphabets. In one year time, they will be brought up to speed. SO far, R says the academics are quite easy - he doesn't yet feel intimidated by it.
We live in a nice gated community, away from the main road, so it is very quiet and peaceful here. The children get all their entertainment by hanging out with the tons of neighborhood kids of every age that live here. R looks forward to playing soccer every evening.
(I am trying to upload some more pics, but doing that has been difficult.)
But as soon as we step out of our complex, the view changes dramatically. The road is dirt road, the main road is very bumpy and full of holes. The tolerance level is so high here, you would think there should be a mass uprising against the local government. But people just accept it, just like they accept so many other things in life.
Most people have Water filtration system at home, because the water that otherwise comes in is full of bacteria. We have a borewell system, from which the water is electrically pumped up to a rooftop tank once a day, and then that water is taken thru a water filtration system. Apparently, that is not enough. The high calcium content in the inderground water has caused kidney stones in many people. So, we will have to install a Reverse Osmosis system also.
This is all for those who can afford it. The costs of clean living are high here, afforded probably by only 400 million of the total billion people population of India. The rest 600 million have it very hard.
The income difference between the middle class and the poor is terribly high.
Primary education is free in the public schools, but the catch is that there are not enough public school s to accommodate all the poor children. So the poor parents who still aspire have to send their children to private schools, where they have to pay fees. Often it is a tug between putting food on the table and paying school fees. A child going to school also means that he/she can't work during the day to supplement the family income. As a result, many parents may not be too eager to send their children to school. Without even a primary education, how much even a fast growing economy can pull them up, I don't know.
One of the frequent discussions of people here is "maid problem". Either the maid does not do a good cleaning job, or they simply take off without notice, or something or the other. I sometimes look at the maids and wonder if they have any aspirations in life. What do they aspire for their children? Or do they look at the high standards of living of the houses they work in and feel doomed for the rest of their lives?
The maid who works in my brother's house saw the house I will be renting here and asked me how come I need such a big house for just 2 adults and 2 children? It made me cringe. At least she feels the freedom to ask me such a question. She is from Nepal, the whole clan came all the way from Nepal to Bangalore to find work as security guards and maids. She probably lives in one room with her husband and 6 children. Yes, 6 children!! I asked her why so many? She got married at 12, had her first one 16, and it went on from there.
But as soon as we step out of our complex, the view changes dramatically. The road is dirt road, the main road is very bumpy and full of holes. The tolerance level is so high here, you would think there should be a mass uprising against the local government. But people just accept it, just like they accept so many other things in life.
Most people have Water filtration system at home, because the water that otherwise comes in is full of bacteria. We have a borewell system, from which the water is electrically pumped up to a rooftop tank once a day, and then that water is taken thru a water filtration system. Apparently, that is not enough. The high calcium content in the inderground water has caused kidney stones in many people. So, we will have to install a Reverse Osmosis system also.
This is all for those who can afford it. The costs of clean living are high here, afforded probably by only 400 million of the total billion people population of India. The rest 600 million have it very hard.
The income difference between the middle class and the poor is terribly high.
Primary education is free in the public schools, but the catch is that there are not enough public school s to accommodate all the poor children. So the poor parents who still aspire have to send their children to private schools, where they have to pay fees. Often it is a tug between putting food on the table and paying school fees. A child going to school also means that he/she can't work during the day to supplement the family income. As a result, many parents may not be too eager to send their children to school. Without even a primary education, how much even a fast growing economy can pull them up, I don't know.
One of the frequent discussions of people here is "maid problem". Either the maid does not do a good cleaning job, or they simply take off without notice, or something or the other. I sometimes look at the maids and wonder if they have any aspirations in life. What do they aspire for their children? Or do they look at the high standards of living of the houses they work in and feel doomed for the rest of their lives?
The maid who works in my brother's house saw the house I will be renting here and asked me how come I need such a big house for just 2 adults and 2 children? It made me cringe. At least she feels the freedom to ask me such a question. She is from Nepal, the whole clan came all the way from Nepal to Bangalore to find work as security guards and maids. She probably lives in one room with her husband and 6 children. Yes, 6 children!! I asked her why so many? She got married at 12, had her first one 16, and it went on from there.
India struggles under the crush of its own poor people, yet everyday thousands cross the border from the neighboring poor countries to find work in India. The Government discourages it, but there are no laws barring businesses from hiring them. "Illegal immigrant" is not even a term here.
I have decided not to be dependent on maids, and instead do the cleaning myself. My husband is promising to help out. But is that a good decision? I often get irritated about the middle class dependency on the underclass, but this dependence also provides employment. Just like, when roads or houses are being built, there is tons of manual labor involved. Men dig with shovels, instead of using a digger truck. Women carry the dug out dirt in a pan placed on top of their heads. Bricks are handed out from one person to another standing in line. The absence of every digger truck provides employment to 100 men, the absence of every loader truck provides employment to 100 women. Helps both the economy and the environment. That is why such constructions take forever, but everyone is acceptable of the time imvolved. I guess everything comes with a price.
I have decided not to be dependent on maids, and instead do the cleaning myself. My husband is promising to help out. But is that a good decision? I often get irritated about the middle class dependency on the underclass, but this dependence also provides employment. Just like, when roads or houses are being built, there is tons of manual labor involved. Men dig with shovels, instead of using a digger truck. Women carry the dug out dirt in a pan placed on top of their heads. Bricks are handed out from one person to another standing in line. The absence of every digger truck provides employment to 100 men, the absence of every loader truck provides employment to 100 women. Helps both the economy and the environment. That is why such constructions take forever, but everyone is acceptable of the time imvolved. I guess everything comes with a price.
Here is a picture of a house being constructed in the neighborhood. Totally manual labor:
And, Here is a picture of a fallen motorbike that our autorickshwa ran into. C was in the other one, he was quick to take a picture, then he came and asked me if I was OK. No one was hurt, and life went on.
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