The summer of '07

Hotter Still!

"Mercury is soaring!" "The dog days of summer are here," etc., seem trite, yet expressive enough. I'll stick to keeping it simple - "It is %#&@*%# HOT here!" Perhaps that explains the silence on my blog for a while. I have been sapped of ideas and drained of words - not to mention that I really prefer to sit in the a/c cool (Rajani's lingo) and do nothing!!

I'll tell you something else that tells you how bad it is: we are considering installing fans in the bathrooms. Why, you ask? (It is not that unusual in Chennai to have fans fitted in bathrooms) Leisurely as my time in there usually is, and seldom is any strain involved, I am drenched to the bones by the time I am through - and I am not talking about taking a shower! Women who have travelled to India in summer can relate when I say what a struggle it is to put on that close-to-the-skin blouse after I have towelled myself dry, and powdered myself like I would a baby's bottom!

On the right is a picture of a bird bath that we set up on the back compound wall of our apartment building to water birds, squirrels, and passing monkeys.

Entire apartments are rarely air-conditioned (room air-cons are the way to go here, and now, the split a/c is ubiquitous in all the new flats. Bedrooms are typically cooled, and in some cases, the living/dining rooms. Split units have their compressors located on the outside for quiet operation, while the large blower/thermostat unit, on the inside wall, is still as unattractive as ever), and the famous Chennai sea breeze doesn't set in till mid to late afternoon, making the time between 10 a.m and 3 p.m a struggle, and a sweaty one at that! The gas stove in the kitchen puts out enormous heat, so as if cooking weren't a chore in itself, it makes it all the more unattractive.

Mangoes, Mangoes everywhere!

Akbar still enjoys his late evening walks to the watermelon stand, which is now a mango stand. He used to eagerly wait to receive the green rinds after Rajani and I were finished with the red and pink parts. We did not think he favored mangoes as much as he did watermelon, but that was before the arrival of one variety called Imam Pasand= Imam's favorite, (the same Imam as in the North African Imam Baldi = Imam fainted, I wonder?) which, in our home, has been renamed Akbar Pasand. After all, we thought, there was the whole skin business, and the matter of the large seed, and the additional matter of the size - the Imam pasand is large enough to fit in to a pair of cupped palms. In all fairness, does Akbar not deserve to enjoy all the Chennai has to offer? He has become such a connoisseur of the finest mangoes, that if the pavement vendor does not stack an pile of Imam pasand, we sniff briefly, and walk right on! (No vendor has ever offered him one. The damaged ones are saved for the monkeys that hang in the branches above, for, unlike Akbar, they will not politely wait to be offered one.)

During all our visits to the India in June and July, we always felt that the jasmines and mangoes adequately made up for the physical discomfort caused by temperature and humidity. I dare to go on record to say that May does not! The other uncomfortable thought that I've been having since the US made a trade agreement with India to dump Harley Davidsons on Indian roads, in return for Indian mangoes in US grocery stores, is that we are not getting the best mangoes in Chennai anymore!!! The alphonso was barely OK, the peethars were decent, the Akbar Pasand - well, at least Akbar liked them, the Banganapallis are definitely not ready yet, and the famous Salem Malgova mango is far too fibrous this year. Are they any better over there?

The new concern that one reads in the papers is the harmful effects of the ripening agent - Calcium Carbide. It is considered toxic, and people are beginning to feel its effects - respiratory problems, rashes on the skin, itchy eyes, and other not-so-fun stuff. The US had been very concerned about importing Indian mangoes for their excessive exposure to pesticides, and banning the use of certain chemicals was part of the agreement. I find a dark, pebble like piece tucked in to my dozen bananas every now and then. Referred to simply as kal = stone by farmers and local vendors, this insidious chemical is making its way into the Indian body. With an exploding consumer base, and millions of them further away from the food source, the need for transportation, preservation, and in order to supply every kind of vegetable and fruit all through the year, Indian farmers and the retail industry will use whatever it takes to, speaking literally, put food on the table. While old organic ways are being given up, the products of the new organic movement are not accessible or affordable to everyone yet.

In the meanwhile, we will gorge on the artificially ripened mangoes from around India, apples from New Zealand, and pears from China.











Four wheels no more!

For Rajani, the only summer homework from Sudha Aunty, was to learn to ride the bicycle without training wheels. And, we are happy to report that in the last couple of weeks, she has made great progress. I am putting up a 30-second video (biker_dudette.mpg) of which 20 seconds are her trying to push off! It was shot in the parking area of our apartment building. You'll have glimpses of Akbar and Ramesh, as well. Enjoy!

On May Day, Rajani and I took the metro train from the still-being built Indira Nagar station (one of the many edifices around Chennai, designed to fatten the wallets of the building contractor) to the terminus, at the Beach Station. Needless to say, it was terribly exciting - for both of us!







On the right, getting know Grand Aunt Ganga, on Ramesh's side, and cousins.





I'll leave you with another Dheekshithar composition - Vande Meenakshi, that she recently mastered, and a couple of sarali varisais = scales, per Ranjani's request. Music lessons are taking a summer break too, as her teacher is involved in a 3-week house-painting project. And school reopens on the 5th of June with my little girl going to 2nd grade!!!

After finally locating a good caregiver for Akbar, we were able to join my sister and her husband on a road trip to Kodaikanal, in the salubrious hills of Tamil Nadu state. My observations on the National Highway project, highway driving in India, and holidaying with the masses in my next post, which, I promise, will come up soon!

Those of you who might enjoy a pictorial blog, I would like to recommend Rauf's whitesroad.blogspot.com, Ramesh's photographer friend. Rauf takes amazing pictures - of his professional and personal travel photographs of India. Enjoy.

Keep those comments coming - on and off the blog. Thank you for visiting. Ta Ta!

Fulbright and More!

Ramesh Lands the Fulbright!

We have received news that Ramesh has been awarded the 2007-08 nine-month Research Scholar Fulbright Award for his proposal on rural telecommunication networking in South India, and its implications for e-governance. Very exciting, indeed! However, we have been reading that the government of India (GOI) has been notoriously slow in approving proposals of research scholars, in particular. Last year's awards were not approved until 9 months later. The GOI is just flexing its bureaucratic muscle as foreign nationals bring their research expertise to India The U.S. State Department has since made much noise, and we hope that this year's awards will be approved with alacrity. Nothing is final until the GOI approval. Ramesh will visit the US in June for about 10 days to attend the Washington, D.C. orientation provided to Fulbright awardees, (Kannan, you may meet him there if you go too), and perhaps visit our friends in CT.


Rajani in School's Annual Play

Wednesday, the 21st of March was a big day for Rajani, and her school of 72 children. Everyone had been working hard these last few weeks to put together a performance of songs, a play (where Rajani was the "sky maiden"), and a dance. Parents were not allowed to take pictures as professional photography was arranged. As soon as I get them, I'll be sure to post a few.

The DVD will make precious material to embarrass many a children on their wedding day! Children as young as 2 and 1/2 were on stage, crying, one picking up her dress and showing off her colorful underwear, another refusing to wear the bottom half of his outfit, and yet another (who was a cloud) refusing to let go of the mike. It was hilarious altogether! Rajani appeared to enjoy dancing to "para bailar la bamba" the most, twisting and shaking her hips, leading with all the moves, a big grin plastered on her face! Not one of the children forgot his or her lines. They all did a great job!

She is making good progress in her classical music lessons with Usha Padmanaban, who happens to be my CT music teacher's very own cousin. I am putting up two recordings, one of her school song and another of a recently mastered classical composition. Check out http://ramyasemail.googlepages.com

News of Akbar

We were encouraged by the vet to give him a summer haircut in March, in preparation for the sweltering heat that is to come in April, May and June. I foolishly dropped him off at the vet's with express instructions to leave his face and tail alone. When I picked him up, 600 Rupees later, he was a more like a plucked chicken or a new born rat, rather than my regal, gentle, handsome boy! His face and tail had indeed been done, while possibly being held down by one boy, while the other whizzed by his eyebrows with a shaver! He has since been so stressed out that he has refused food, lies around curled up on our bedroom carpet (a space he has assiduously avoided since his arrival here!) and has been trembling at the touch of a human hand! Gosh, what they would say, if they could speak!










Nonetheless, as the days get warmer, I am sure he will be grateful not to be wearing his Alaskan coat.

"These are a Few of my Favorite Things.."

With the arrival of the warmer months, a couple my faves begin to make their appearence: "malli poo" (no, not dog do-do - this is Tamil for a divinely fragrant flower, the jasmine), and mangoes.

As I go about my routine some mornings, I feel this is exactly the way I had imagined my life in India would be. And guess what? It is because it is just slightly warmer than is comfortable, and there is the fragrance of jasmines in the air. Something about that fragrance harks back a time that I don't even know exists, but it just does. I don't know if it is the crowded railway stations, the jostling of shopping on Ranganathan Street, the vision of women circumbulating Kapali Temple, or strains of old Tamil songs wafting through the window. I take a deep breath and fill my lungs with the evening air, fragrant with jasmines. I can look forward to this for many more months!

My mother-in-law says that one should not buy mangoes till the Tamil New Year Day - April 15th. The mangoes are still green on the trees right now, inviting monkeys and stones from youngsters wandering on the streets. There will be several varieties of mangoes, from the green pickling kind, to about a dozen varieties of sweet fruit. Rajani keeps an eye on the mango tree at her school, collecting grape-sized fallen ones in the hope that they will turn yellow, sweet and juicy!

But what is ready right now, within arm's reach from my southern balcony are the neem flowers. They are frightfully bitter, but filled with all the goodness that the Neem is famous for, (and that pharmaceuticals are so anxious to patent. No, I won't get on that soap box now!) Ramesh would, as a child, lie on the branches of the neem tree in his back yard, snacking on its tender leaves and flowers. We use the flowers in a sweet chutney, a speciality for the new year meal, and dry the flowers and roast them in ghee to add to a wonderful rasam (a brothy soup).

More on the freshness of fruit and veggies in my next post. Appo paakalam! (see you then!)