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diwali & coffee

Diwali's over (see pic for me on that day). I spent it at the home of a lovely couple that has welcomed me into their family. We consumed more sweets and breathed in more smoke from firecrackers in that one day than one should expose oneself to in a year. But, akin to Christmas or Thanksgiving Day excuses, this holiday occurs but once a year. I enjoyed wearing my new sari, though it was time for hair, make-up, and a costume change before going on the evening show to discuss Obama. All in all, a full Diwali.

I'm visiting my fav Indian city, Delhi, and staying with a friend who has encouraged my coffee-drinking tendencies. I just drank a full mug and am a bit wired. We're feverishly following the upcoming US election and I'm feverishly getting out biz info to make this start-up happen in India. Coffee has only supported me in my quest to feel productive and empowered today. Hmm, maybe I should re-think this foray into the world of caffeine!

to climb, perchance to swim

My outdoor Hyderabad buddy & I set off in search of the Secret Lake today. Though I didn't take this pic myself, this was our playground for the afternoon. We climbed rocks, trees, and the paddle boat after our evening swim. We got whistled at by the guards, circled by a potential rescue vessel, and charged for keeping the paddle boat out past its bedtime. Yeah, I was loving life this afternoon!
first, check out My Pics for some shots of my HYD home (scroll to the bottom).

second, i've been reading Kiran Desai's The Inheritance of Loss and wanted to include a passage that is cause to pause, especially living as a Western foreigner in a developing country:

"These people could name them, recognize them-the few rich-but Lola and Noni could barely distinguish between the individuals making up the crowd of poor.
Only before, the sisters had never paid much attention for the simple reason that they didn't have to. It was natural they would incite envy, the supposed, and the laws of probability favored their slipping through life without anything more than muttered comments, but every now and then, somebody suffered the rotten luck of being in the exact wrong place at the exact wrong time when it all caught up-and generations worth of trouble settled on them. Just when Lola had though it would continue, a hundred years like the one past-Trollope, BBC, a burst of hilarity at Christmas-all of a sudden, all that they had claimed innocent, fun, funny, not really to matter, was proven wrong.
It did matter, buying tinned ham roll in a rice and dal country; it did matter to live in a big house and sit beside a heater in the evening, even one that sparked and shocked; it did matter to fly to London and return with chocolates filled with kirsch; it did matter that others could not. They had pretended it didn't, or had nothing to do with them, and suddenly it had everything to do with the,. The wealth that seemed to protect them like a blanket was the very thing that left them exposed. They, amid extreme poverty, were baldly richer, and the statistics of difference were being broadcast over loudspeakers, written loudly across the walls. The anger had solidified into slogans and guns, and it turned out that they, they, Lola and Noni, were the unlucky ones who wouldn't slip through, who would pay the debt that should be shared with others over many generations."

what to do

One of my fav phrases in Nepali is "ke garne," translating to "what to do?" I find myself asking this exact question because I've flooded my stove. Yep, it all started when I decided to be smart and boil a bowl (mistake #1) of water on the three-range stove. When the water began boiling, the bowl tipped and began flooding the gas nozzle (technical term might be incorrect). I reached for a towel (smart move #1) to return the hot bowl to its upright position and turned off the gas. I then quickly began sopping up the spilled water. Unfortunately, the water made its way into the gas chamber (this is where my "best guess" enters the picture) before my quick sopping moves took effect. So now I've resorted to microwaveable foods like oatmeal, microwave dinner, and nighttime milk with honey. Seriously, I'm being driven to extreme measures over here. If you have ANY idea how to return my stove to its former working condition, I'd be happy to hear about it.

And on a completely different note (literally), I was stunned to hear an auto rickshaw playing "When the Saints Go Marching In" as it reversed in my driveway this afternoon.