Tomorrow and Thursday are a national holiday in India.
Durga Puja (pron poojah) is an important Hindu Festival celebrated all over India with different rituals and festivities especially in eastern India. It is celebrated in the month of September/October every year.
A great deal of decoration and preparation can be seen at shops and houses as you go about your daily business in Chennai. Please click on the title to find out more about the legend surrounding the festival and the rituals involved.
Tuesday, 7 October 2008
Still No Email
Unfortunately I still haven't got outgoing email. There was a brief interlude when I managed to fire off a couple of replies, but since then nothing. Hopefully it'll be resolved when we move into the house. XX
Bureaucracy at it's Best
This morning at 9.30am we had our Immigration appointment to get our permits and paperwork etc all in order and rubber stamped.
Now, I've never been to an Immigration department anywhere in the world before so the experience could be standard practice the world over but somehow I don't really think so! This is India after all!
You start at an open entrance hall with rows of chairs on either side, imagine a clock, you join the queue at 1'O Clock and move down and round to 11 O'Clock. At 12 O'Clock sits a stony faced official who directs the charade that is 'musical chairs' but without the music. Let's also just mention that he was VERY particular on where the pushchair should be placed as we made our way round.
We get to about 10 O'Clock in the musical chairs game and all of a sudden there's a flurry of activity and we are marched up some steps to a desk where the first Official checked through all our paperwork and signed each application. Into another room, with yet more chairs but this time in rows, apparently this is a queuing system but no-one else seemed to know what or where to sit either, and besides Indians don't do queues! At the front of the room is a 'Helpdesk' but they didn't look very helpful and were the only ones in the room lucky enough to have a fan on them, and the temperature was rising.
We then join a line of chairs against the wall and it looks like this could be the homeward straight as we inch along from chair to chair as and when the director comes in to tell us to do so. We've now been doing this for an hour, it's hot, the kids have exhausted every toy I have in my possession and are beginning to play up. Today was one of those days when Cute Kids Don't Help!!
Then GASP! We're told it's our turn next, This is it we think, it's nearly all over. The director instructs me to wait with the kids outside and sends DH into a room where the paperwork is checked through yet again and a second Official signs the paperwork.
He comes out of the room and goes to the 'Helpdesk' where a third Official checks through the paperwork and another signature is added. He is given four plastic tokens and then directed to another desk.
Into another room where you must hand over the plastic tokens before they will do anything with your paperwork and then a fourth official checks through the paperwork and finally it gets stamped and you're free to go.
Hooray, after an hour and a half it's over as we emerge back out into the daylight and heat, we call Kumar and get back into the A/C car and I breath a sigh of relief, until DH tells me that he and I have to return in 1 weeks time to collect the permits and paperwork. Deep Joy.
And, just to top the experience off we drive round the building to exit and we have to pay 10rps to leave! How come? There's is nowhere to park, there are NO PARKING signs everywhere and Kumar bless him has spent all the time driving round in circles waiting for us. Like I said, Bureaucracy at it's VERY best! And the best part...we in fact only have ourselves to blame, it was the years of British rule that put the big wheels of Bureaucracy into motion in India!
Now, I've never been to an Immigration department anywhere in the world before so the experience could be standard practice the world over but somehow I don't really think so! This is India after all!
You start at an open entrance hall with rows of chairs on either side, imagine a clock, you join the queue at 1'O Clock and move down and round to 11 O'Clock. At 12 O'Clock sits a stony faced official who directs the charade that is 'musical chairs' but without the music. Let's also just mention that he was VERY particular on where the pushchair should be placed as we made our way round.
We get to about 10 O'Clock in the musical chairs game and all of a sudden there's a flurry of activity and we are marched up some steps to a desk where the first Official checked through all our paperwork and signed each application. Into another room, with yet more chairs but this time in rows, apparently this is a queuing system but no-one else seemed to know what or where to sit either, and besides Indians don't do queues! At the front of the room is a 'Helpdesk' but they didn't look very helpful and were the only ones in the room lucky enough to have a fan on them, and the temperature was rising.
We then join a line of chairs against the wall and it looks like this could be the homeward straight as we inch along from chair to chair as and when the director comes in to tell us to do so. We've now been doing this for an hour, it's hot, the kids have exhausted every toy I have in my possession and are beginning to play up. Today was one of those days when Cute Kids Don't Help!!
Then GASP! We're told it's our turn next, This is it we think, it's nearly all over. The director instructs me to wait with the kids outside and sends DH into a room where the paperwork is checked through yet again and a second Official signs the paperwork.
He comes out of the room and goes to the 'Helpdesk' where a third Official checks through the paperwork and another signature is added. He is given four plastic tokens and then directed to another desk.
Into another room where you must hand over the plastic tokens before they will do anything with your paperwork and then a fourth official checks through the paperwork and finally it gets stamped and you're free to go.
Hooray, after an hour and a half it's over as we emerge back out into the daylight and heat, we call Kumar and get back into the A/C car and I breath a sigh of relief, until DH tells me that he and I have to return in 1 weeks time to collect the permits and paperwork. Deep Joy.
And, just to top the experience off we drive round the building to exit and we have to pay 10rps to leave! How come? There's is nowhere to park, there are NO PARKING signs everywhere and Kumar bless him has spent all the time driving round in circles waiting for us. Like I said, Bureaucracy at it's VERY best! And the best part...we in fact only have ourselves to blame, it was the years of British rule that put the big wheels of Bureaucracy into motion in India!
Monday, 6 October 2008
Custody Battle
We are certainly extremely lucky to have two beautiful and engaging children but I'm finding that fact a little bit of a double edged sword at the moment. The Indians LOVE children full stop. They particularly LOVE blonde, blue eyed children and they therefore love ours.
Wherever we go we are practically besieged by people and everyone wants a little piece of them, sometimes it has its advantages...faster attention and service when you're holding a cute kid, more often it can be a hassle and DD is becoming a bit self concious and wary, which in turn is making her clingy, something she has never really been.
Our caretaker/housekeeper/maid in the apartment is a point in case and I feel I'm in the midst of a custody battle! He is a lovely man, (those of you who have Skyped with us have probably seen him as he is very curious and hovers in the background!) his wife and year old daughter live 2 hours away and he won't see them for another two months. He misses them. He lives here day and night and I realised the other day that he actually sleeps on the kitchen floor, so for these things I can actually forgive him, BUT sometimes, just sometimes I wish he would leave DS alone just for a minute. He actually takes over and interferes with meals, gets him out of his cot in the mornings when he doesn't have to, want to or needs to. He has even taken him from me when we are having a cuddle or a play! His English is minimal so I can't reason with him and I don't want to get upset with him...so, just for the timebeing, because we are not going to be here forever I will try to stay calm and put up with it. On the plus side it does mean DS is always occupied and busy!
Last night I nearly lost it. We took the kids to a hotel that does the best fish n chips that DD has ever had, even better than England apparently. At the next table was probably the most annoying man I have ever met, he was probably even more annoying for the pitcher or three of beer that he and his companion were drinking. He began quite politely by offering his compliments on the children and then quite literally began circling the table "Cootchy Cooing" the children. Constantly. Touching them...errr smelling their hair, all while we are trying to give them their meal. I was tired, emotions got the better of me and tears of pure frustration poured out of me...and do you know what he did?
HE KEPT COOTCHY BLOODY COOING THEM, all the while telling me how BLOODY cute they were, and I'm crying my eyes out and he doesn't even seem to notice!!
We got the bill and left, no dinner for us, and the last thing I heard as we took our leave and the door was closing was a final Cootchy. Cootchy. Coo.
So, that's my rant over! If I'd posted last night it wouldn't have been quite so polite!
Wherever we go we are practically besieged by people and everyone wants a little piece of them, sometimes it has its advantages...faster attention and service when you're holding a cute kid, more often it can be a hassle and DD is becoming a bit self concious and wary, which in turn is making her clingy, something she has never really been.
Our caretaker/housekeeper/maid in the apartment is a point in case and I feel I'm in the midst of a custody battle! He is a lovely man, (those of you who have Skyped with us have probably seen him as he is very curious and hovers in the background!) his wife and year old daughter live 2 hours away and he won't see them for another two months. He misses them. He lives here day and night and I realised the other day that he actually sleeps on the kitchen floor, so for these things I can actually forgive him, BUT sometimes, just sometimes I wish he would leave DS alone just for a minute. He actually takes over and interferes with meals, gets him out of his cot in the mornings when he doesn't have to, want to or needs to. He has even taken him from me when we are having a cuddle or a play! His English is minimal so I can't reason with him and I don't want to get upset with him...so, just for the timebeing, because we are not going to be here forever I will try to stay calm and put up with it. On the plus side it does mean DS is always occupied and busy!Last night I nearly lost it. We took the kids to a hotel that does the best fish n chips that DD has ever had, even better than England apparently. At the next table was probably the most annoying man I have ever met, he was probably even more annoying for the pitcher or three of beer that he and his companion were drinking. He began quite politely by offering his compliments on the children and then quite literally began circling the table "Cootchy Cooing" the children. Constantly. Touching them...errr smelling their hair, all while we are trying to give them their meal. I was tired, emotions got the better of me and tears of pure frustration poured out of me...and do you know what he did?
HE KEPT COOTCHY BLOODY COOING THEM, all the while telling me how BLOODY cute they were, and I'm crying my eyes out and he doesn't even seem to notice!!
We got the bill and left, no dinner for us, and the last thing I heard as we took our leave and the door was closing was a final Cootchy. Cootchy. Coo.
So, that's my rant over! If I'd posted last night it wouldn't have been quite so polite!
Monday Already!
Well last week flew by and before I knew it the weekend was upon us. Most problems at the house have been ironed out now, to be replaced by others in time I'm sure but we'll just have to wait and see what crops up.
Our drivers, Kumar (mine) and Murasoli (DH's) are worth their weight and have been fantastic both at driving and sorting some of the issues that arise, as Kumar told me this evening, he is not just a driver and anything we need he will sort out for us...OK Kumar, fine by me!
Jayanthi (aka Mary) is also great, fab with the kids and gets on with things even before I have to say anything. Granted we're still not in the house and things will run much differently when we are but from what she has demonstrated so far, I think we'll be OK.
Saturday was spent curtain and blind choosing and ordering, most will be fitted later this week so at least we'll sleep OK. Am waiting to do the downstairs until our furniture arrives in the sea shipment in a few weeks time.
Saturday evening DH went.....OUT FOR DINNER!!! Woo hoo!! Jayanthi babysat and we enjoyed good food and a panoramic rooftop view of Chennai here..
http://www.raintreehotels.com/
Check out the Above Sea Level Restaurant!
On Sunday DH and I were eaten alive by mosi's while looking at furniture. Moral of the story...wear repellent at ALL times.
Our drivers, Kumar (mine) and Murasoli (DH's) are worth their weight and have been fantastic both at driving and sorting some of the issues that arise, as Kumar told me this evening, he is not just a driver and anything we need he will sort out for us...OK Kumar, fine by me!
Jayanthi (aka Mary) is also great, fab with the kids and gets on with things even before I have to say anything. Granted we're still not in the house and things will run much differently when we are but from what she has demonstrated so far, I think we'll be OK.
Saturday was spent curtain and blind choosing and ordering, most will be fitted later this week so at least we'll sleep OK. Am waiting to do the downstairs until our furniture arrives in the sea shipment in a few weeks time.
Saturday evening DH went.....OUT FOR DINNER!!! Woo hoo!! Jayanthi babysat and we enjoyed good food and a panoramic rooftop view of Chennai here..
http://www.raintreehotels.com/
Check out the Above Sea Level Restaurant!
On Sunday DH and I were eaten alive by mosi's while looking at furniture. Moral of the story...wear repellent at ALL times.
Thursday, 2 October 2008
Coming Through, Coming Through...Fridge on a Bike
I really really must remember to take my camera out at all times because there are some really comical sights you see both out and about and even at home, as we witnessed today.
DH was still not satisfied with the fridge, I was losing the will to live so on our shopping expo (sorry H no bracelet for you today, not that kind of retail therapy I'm sorry to say!) he popped in the shop and persuaded them to exchange it for another one with basically more gadgets for him to play with.
5.20pm was delivery time and sure enough, along came 4 men but no fridge.
"Fridge is coming Sir, no worry", we were told with a wobble of the head, and sure enough a couple of minutes later a man on a bike with a small trailer behind him, shakily pedalled down the drive pulling the fridge behind him. It then took the four men an age to actually get the thing off the trailer and struggle with it to the kitchen. Now consider...This fridge had come perhaps some 2.5 miles through the notorious Chennai traffic on a push bike and got to our house in one piece and working...whoever said that India was not an enviromentally friendly country?! In some respects at least.
DH was still not satisfied with the fridge, I was losing the will to live so on our shopping expo (sorry H no bracelet for you today, not that kind of retail therapy I'm sorry to say!) he popped in the shop and persuaded them to exchange it for another one with basically more gadgets for him to play with.
5.20pm was delivery time and sure enough, along came 4 men but no fridge.
"Fridge is coming Sir, no worry", we were told with a wobble of the head, and sure enough a couple of minutes later a man on a bike with a small trailer behind him, shakily pedalled down the drive pulling the fridge behind him. It then took the four men an age to actually get the thing off the trailer and struggle with it to the kitchen. Now consider...This fridge had come perhaps some 2.5 miles through the notorious Chennai traffic on a push bike and got to our house in one piece and working...whoever said that India was not an enviromentally friendly country?! In some respects at least.
Wednesday, 1 October 2008
An Update on Our Challenges
The fridge is now cooling.
The cooker is no longer leaking gas.
The shower curtain rails have been lowered.
The doors have been adjusted.
Some of the Boots shop has been located.
The pool is half full of water, not sure it's safe water...think they may be just checking for leaks.
Grass is now being planted.
Temporary furniture has been delivered, it just needs assembling.
Not bad for a days work in India.
Tomorrow is a National Holiday in respect of Ghandi's birthday so no school and no work. I'm thinking that a little retail therapy may be the order of the day.
The cooker is no longer leaking gas.
The shower curtain rails have been lowered.
The doors have been adjusted.
Some of the Boots shop has been located.
The pool is half full of water, not sure it's safe water...think they may be just checking for leaks.
Grass is now being planted.
Temporary furniture has been delivered, it just needs assembling.
Not bad for a days work in India.
Tomorrow is a National Holiday in respect of Ghandi's birthday so no school and no work. I'm thinking that a little retail therapy may be the order of the day.
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