More heat than beat in Bangalore

There have been some logistical changes in my life since the last time I blogged, which you should know about and that also lead to an interesting story. I’m sitting here writing this now in complete darkness, surrounded by the sounds of nature, rather then urban India. I’m also sweating profusely and am furiously swatting at mosquitoes, despite the fact that every window in my apartment is closed. All of this would not be occurring if it weren’t for my recent move (or shift as they say in India) to a new apartment.

My roommate finished up here a little earlier than expected, and as a result, I ended up needing to find a new place. Pressured by time and an unwillingness to move outside of walking distance from work , I found a small place that is significantly less luxurious than my last home.
The Raheja Residency, my former apartment complex, was for all intents and purposes a time-share condominium complex. Things were clean and modern and fancy on the outside and in. It had a pool and tennis courts, and most pertinent to my current situation, a backup generator for the many occasions in India when power goes out.

Things at the new place are quite different. I’ll start with the selling points: It’s the top floor of a stand alone house that is set quite far back from the main road, and sits up against a huge open field. Therefore, it’s quite and a welcome oasis from all of the stress and chaos of the rest of the city.

On to downsides; It’s only a bedroom and bathroom, with no kitchen, thus taking away my last shred of freedom from always eating Indian food. It’s also significantly less “modern,” so there are technical difficulties like a leaky toilet tank, an unreliable shower, and as I just found out, a roof that leaks when it rains. In addition, when the power goes out, there is no backup generator, thus my sitting in the dark and extreme heat. I could easily open the windows and let some cooler air in, but that would be like throwing a filet mignon into a pit of hungry alligators. The mosquitoes would simply have a field day. And so here I sit, in my dark, hot, powerless room, next to a field, which is home to billions of mosquitoes. I should also add that my one and only light source that is not reliant on power(a rechargeable lamp) just ran out of juice, so now I only have the light of my computer and cell phone – well, at least until their batteries run out to.

I’m doing this complaining because I have the luxury of knowing that it could be better and easier than it is right now. But in reality, these things that I am struggling to be without for just a few hours are nowhere in sight for millions of people on a daily basis. In fact, as I walked home during the tail-end of the rainstorm that caused this power outage, I passed several make shift homes that were set up on the side walk by the day laborers who are doing construction work nearby. Not only have these people left their families in the peaceful rural country sides to come to the much harsher, difficult city of Bangalore for a chance to earn a better income. But, they have done so without any sort of home or security. So they set up small shelters made of just three sticks that form a triangle and a blue tarp that lies on top of it. They don’t ever have fans to keep them cool, power to provide them light, screens to protect them from mosquitoes, and tonight, they don’t even have a dry floor to sleep on.

So, if you read my woes of one night without electricity, don’t bother feeling bad for me. Instead, think about those less fortunate than myself, and much, much less fortunate than yourself (presuming you have a.c., light, and a home to live in).

On an almost entirely unrelated note, this evening I went to a place for dinner that I recently noticed served what they call a “chicken burger.” I was really anxious to try it, and took a big bite out of it as soon as the plate arrived in front of me. I chewed and swallowed that first big bite, and then thought about the odd texture my tongue had just noticed. So I inspected the burger more closely and found what I believed was completely raw ground chicken meat. I panicked, and wiped my tongue with a napkin to get any remaining residue out of my mouth, in hopes that this would help prevent the inevitability of salmonella poisoning. The waiters came over and asked what was wrong, and I told them that my “chicken burger” wasn’t cooked. They whisked my plate away and said they would make me a new one.

“Chicken Burger” #2 arrived, and I inspected this one without any intention of eating it. This time I noticed that it wasn’t actually raw, but just appeared to be. You see, they had taken the tiniest bit of cooked chicken, blended it into little pieces, and then formed it into a patty shape with a whole bunch of gooey stuff (which I had believed to be raw meet, but was probably blended chickpeas, or lentils, or something equally Indian).

I of course felt terrible about this whole situation. Not only had I mentally spent 20 minutes of my life convinced that I had taken a huge bite of raw, ground chicken, but I also unnecessarily made a fuss about it being uncooked and forced the restaurant to prepare me a new sandwich-thus perpetuating the picky, difficult-to-please, American stereotype. Moral of the story…when in India, its best to stick with Indian food.

And yes, I finished “Chicken Burger” #2.

****UPDATE**** My power returned at around midnight just enough to power my fans half way…