Living In Nagpur July 5, 2008

Daily life in Nagpur is a bit of an adventure. Unlike the US, things we take for granted are much more variable. A week after we got here, the city started up government issued power cuts, to conserve energy for the city. They start at about 7am and end at 10am, just in time for the air conditioners to come back on before it gets too hot. I usually sleep through them, but Anna and the children do non-electronic activities for a couple hours :). We have a generator, which provides us with smaller lights and fans during these hours, but the television, the microwave, hot water (unless we boil it—which we don’t), the telephone and the computer are unavailable, so food preparation and entertainment are limited until 10. Tonight it was raining when the power went off unexpectedly. Anna and I weren’t sure what the night would look like. Luckily it was just a minor problem and the power returned in about 5 minutes. One never knows :).

As you can see, many of our daily routines and activities are affected by our situation here—its not bad, for sure, its just…well of course, different. In all honesty I find many of these differences extremely fun. For the first week or so here I felt like I was actually living my life long dream of playing “Desert Island,” grown-up style (my Beachmont friends and darling children will know what I’m talking about). Most things are make-shift, or more do-it-yourself. Here are some pictures of me learning how to do laundry the classic Indian way:

We bring the clothes into the bathroom, which also serves as one big shower, soap them down, rinse them, wring them and hang them. Every muscle in my body was trembling by the end of a 40 minute-long load. Now (by God’s wonderful grace) we have a washing machine. But we still hang the laundry. Ironing is also necessary, to fry any pesky parasites that might have made their nests in the fabric while it was drying.

Taking a “bath” is also a transformed process. Instead of the constant water flow from a faucet, like we have for showers in America, Indians conserve their precious water by filling a bucket, and using a large cup to soak and rinse themselves. Anna has a great time giving the children “bucket baths.” :)
As you can see, its just more fun this way :).

Cooking has been quite an ordeal over the last month. Pleasantly we have finally learned enough to begin cooking Indian style: with pressure cookers, spice tins, masalas, rolling pins, and the gas flame, which some things are cooked directly over. Indian chai (tea) is one of our favorite treats.

Next time on Nagpur sojourners: Experiencing the Nagpur night life--Our social adventures!