Defence Colony and the flat
We're pretty fortunate to be staying in a nice
neighborhood, whatever that means in Delhi, and in a pretty decently appointed
flat. Still, there are some challenges to daily life we don't face at
home.
First off, there is a lot of noise. Indians honk
at everything--dogs, pedestrians, birds, cycle rickshaws, autorickshaws, other
cars, to alert others they are entering an intersection or rounding a corner. We
happen to be living right on the intersection of three roads. Granted, they're
small roads (two cars can barely pass), but there is just enough traffic for
there to be nearly constant honking.
As it turns out, both Claire and Luc have been able to sleep just fine with all the noise, so it's not really a "challenge." The one exception was a night when a pack of dogs--oh, I haven't mentioned the packs of dogs that wander the neighborhood?--barked for what seemed like half the night but Marion timed at about an hour. They were right beneath our second-story (first floor in India floor-naming lexicon) balcony and managed to wake Claire. Then there is also a lot of buzzing of transformers and inverters, shouting of street vendors, garbage collectors, and others. These aren't nuisances, they add to the vibrancy of life in Defence Colony.
The flat itself is spacious--a large living area, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a dining area and kitchen. There's a TV, DVD player, telephone, and of course, broadband Internet. These are luxuries. But dealing with tap water that will make you sick doesn't make outdoes whatever luxuries we have. To bathe, we fill a bucket of water (yes, there's hot water), and pour the water over ourselves. When washing face and hair it's particularly challenging to keep the water from your mouth. We have to keep a bottle of potable water on the bathroom sink for teeth brushing. We've been washing the kids' hair only every third day or so. This is actually about how often we'd wash it at home, but in El Cerrito there is not constant dust and pollution so thick that at the end of the day you can feel the dirt in your hair.
The kitchen has a four-burner stove, but no oven (except of the microwave variety). There's a toaster with a broken lever, so you have to stand there and hold it down to toast your bread. We're drinking Nescafe instant coffee (hey, these aren't complaints, we could have brought some Peet's coffee with us, I'm just describing the way it is).
In true Indian fashion, Marion does all the domestic chores. Shanti, the cleaning woman, comes once a day, but there're are always dishes that need to be done before she arrives. So Marion boils water every morning and evening to use to wash the dishes. She's also done all the cooking, though we've eaten out a fair amount. The Defence Colony Market has a very well-known restaurant, Sagar (with separate North and South Indian dining rooms), where we ate last night for less than 400 Rs. (<$9), and that included enough leftovers for lunch today.
One of the interesting features of the flat is that the dining area is actually open to the outside. There are bars all around it, but as Marion discovered, the scruffy neighborhood cat can let itself in whenever it wants. Since the kitchen connects to the dining area, we always have to be sure to close off the kitchen. The other drawback of this outdoor dining area is that it's bloody cold in the mornings. Morning and evening meal times also tend to be right around prime mosquito activity periods.
The picture above is of Claire and Luc eating in the dining area. The door on the left is to the kitchen, and to its right is the door to the main living area. Since we hear a lot of noises in the alley off the dining area, and we see a lot of activity in the apartments opposite us facing into the same alley, it makes for some colorful meals.
The final "challenge" I'll mention is just moving around. Defence Colony market--which, by the way, has a Pizza Hut and Baskin Robbins--is no more than a quarter mile from the flat. But we have to go out to a main road, around a park, past a barber cutting hair on the street, past a spot used for public urination, past some cows, across another busy street, and all without sidewalks, just to get there. Cycle rickshaws to get there are cheap, but we still have to walk out to the main road to get one, and climbing in and out with Claire and Luc can be a hassle.
Despite all this, it's an amazing experience. We're starting to get into the rhythm of Delhi, but at the same time we're looking forward to heading down to Kerala.
As it turns out, both Claire and Luc have been able to sleep just fine with all the noise, so it's not really a "challenge." The one exception was a night when a pack of dogs--oh, I haven't mentioned the packs of dogs that wander the neighborhood?--barked for what seemed like half the night but Marion timed at about an hour. They were right beneath our second-story (first floor in India floor-naming lexicon) balcony and managed to wake Claire. Then there is also a lot of buzzing of transformers and inverters, shouting of street vendors, garbage collectors, and others. These aren't nuisances, they add to the vibrancy of life in Defence Colony.
The flat itself is spacious--a large living area, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a dining area and kitchen. There's a TV, DVD player, telephone, and of course, broadband Internet. These are luxuries. But dealing with tap water that will make you sick doesn't make outdoes whatever luxuries we have. To bathe, we fill a bucket of water (yes, there's hot water), and pour the water over ourselves. When washing face and hair it's particularly challenging to keep the water from your mouth. We have to keep a bottle of potable water on the bathroom sink for teeth brushing. We've been washing the kids' hair only every third day or so. This is actually about how often we'd wash it at home, but in El Cerrito there is not constant dust and pollution so thick that at the end of the day you can feel the dirt in your hair.
The kitchen has a four-burner stove, but no oven (except of the microwave variety). There's a toaster with a broken lever, so you have to stand there and hold it down to toast your bread. We're drinking Nescafe instant coffee (hey, these aren't complaints, we could have brought some Peet's coffee with us, I'm just describing the way it is).
In true Indian fashion, Marion does all the domestic chores. Shanti, the cleaning woman, comes once a day, but there're are always dishes that need to be done before she arrives. So Marion boils water every morning and evening to use to wash the dishes. She's also done all the cooking, though we've eaten out a fair amount. The Defence Colony Market has a very well-known restaurant, Sagar (with separate North and South Indian dining rooms), where we ate last night for less than 400 Rs. (<$9), and that included enough leftovers for lunch today.
One of the interesting features of the flat is that the dining area is actually open to the outside. There are bars all around it, but as Marion discovered, the scruffy neighborhood cat can let itself in whenever it wants. Since the kitchen connects to the dining area, we always have to be sure to close off the kitchen. The other drawback of this outdoor dining area is that it's bloody cold in the mornings. Morning and evening meal times also tend to be right around prime mosquito activity periods.
The picture above is of Claire and Luc eating in the dining area. The door on the left is to the kitchen, and to its right is the door to the main living area. Since we hear a lot of noises in the alley off the dining area, and we see a lot of activity in the apartments opposite us facing into the same alley, it makes for some colorful meals.
The final "challenge" I'll mention is just moving around. Defence Colony market--which, by the way, has a Pizza Hut and Baskin Robbins--is no more than a quarter mile from the flat. But we have to go out to a main road, around a park, past a barber cutting hair on the street, past a spot used for public urination, past some cows, across another busy street, and all without sidewalks, just to get there. Cycle rickshaws to get there are cheap, but we still have to walk out to the main road to get one, and climbing in and out with Claire and Luc can be a hassle.
Despite all this, it's an amazing experience. We're starting to get into the rhythm of Delhi, but at the same time we're looking forward to heading down to Kerala.
Posted: Wed - December 7, 2005 at 07:33 AM
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The Zavelogue chronicles the travels and travails of Stephen, Marion, Claire and Luc during our six months in India on a Fulbright.
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Published On: Jul 15, 2006 12:54 AM
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Published On: Jul 15, 2006 12:54 AM