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category archive listing Category Archives: Life in India

Portable A/C coffin

September 9, 2010 – 9:29 pm

That was the tagline on an “Undertaker/Ambulance/Hearse” van parked in front of a church. I’m not sure who needs air conditioning when they’re laying in a coffin, but I’m guessing it is because they’re headed to a really, really hot place…

By Dave | Comments (1)

Cool Cash

September 5, 2010 – 4:39 pm

The Fonzie-inspired one rupee coin - AAAAAYYYY!!!Actually, I guess the name should really be something like “Classy Coins” or “Mumbai Money,” but I like cool cash, and that’s that.

Wasting time in the FRRO the other week, I noticed the ‘thumbs-up’ on the Indian one rupee coin. Susan mocked me for having not seen it before, but then she mocked me even more when I thought it was just indicative of the Fonz endorsing Indian money.

Her perception of the situation was that it was to help the illiterate know how much the coin was worth – the thumb indicating “1″ (and if you’ve ever seen the movie Inglourious Basterds and remember the bar scene, you might recognize that starting a count with the thumb – and not the pointer finger – is actually the norm around the world).

While I can understand substituting a picture for words (where there are many illiterate people), I’m not sure I buy the idea that people don’t learn numbers. For some reason, that just doesn’t seem to make as much sense.

This is the V-for-Victory two rupee coin!But I guess I was wrong, because guess what the 2-rupee coin has on it?

By Dave | Also posted in India | Comments (1)

Dahi Handi

September 2, 2010 – 10:01 pm

Celebrating the zany youthhood of Krishna, teams travel the city today looking to make human pyramids and reach the ‘pot of curd’ hanging over major intersections. I caught a glimpse of some of the teams on the way home from volleyball practice – and got caught up in the traffic. I have become very zen-like in my acceptance of the road congestion. I just sigh (and smile if I have my camera:)).

When I got to the house, I got a call from Susan (who was at book club) telling me that a friend of ours wanted to take a look around but was not entirely comfortable going out alone. So with the spousal permission all taken care of, out I went and actually got to see a teal complete the human pyramid task.

Basically, groups of youths roam the city looking for these pots of smelly curds (usually dyed with food coloring) and try to stack each other up high enough to reach them. Every year there are plenty of accidents, as the pyramids tumble down, but every year the prizes (and the number of groups) increase. Take a look through the pictures and get a glimpse of yet another side of life in India…

By Dave | Comments (1)

Chasing the monsoon

August 26, 2010 – 9:12 pm

We had our last trip ever to the FRRO (YAY!!!) last weekend, and a co-worker at school asked that we try to get some pictures of ‘people in the rain, with slickers and stuff.’ I snapped a few photos out the van window, but A) it wasn’t always raining, B) we were often moving, and C) it was too dark when we came back (since our visit took more than 3 hours!).

Regardless, here are a few pictures of folks enjoying the tail end of monsoon season in Mumabi:

By Dave | Comments (3)

Materials are daintiness

June 2, 2010 – 1:11 pm

"Make a teaching fairyland"Breck got a cool model from a birthday party a few weeks ago – a cardboard stick-em-together military ship. We had a great father-son bonding afternoon, separating all the pieces and assembling them in the shape of the ship.

What made it even more exciting was the fact that there were no directions. We had to find 2 pieces that had matching numbers on them and then stick the pieces together. Of course, #1 was not the first bit to be assembled: oh no – the numbers had nothing at all to do with the order.

We did get things done, however, and it is now a part of his growing ‘modern military’ collection of toys. He has great battles between it, the Keralan backwater bamboo boat, the wooden tank from Bali, and the garage sale metal planes (ranging from WWII through modern jet fighters).

I suppose, however, that we really should feel happy not to have had any instructions. Judging from the text that appeared on the front of the box, I’m pretty sure written directions would have been more of a hindrance!

By Dave | Also posted in Breck | Comments (0)

Ewwww…

May 27, 2010 – 6:53 pm

There has to be an explanation for this: Boutique Cum Snack BarUm, I think will pass on the that after-work drink. I wonder how this place ends up stocking ’boutique’ flavors – special diets? On second thought, I’m not quite that interested in finding out.

This wasn’t quite when I had in mind when people were talking about the new place in town to wet their whistle. I must’ve missed the memo that explained all this…

By Dave | Comments (1)

Oh – that explains it.

May 24, 2010 – 5:49 pm

Here is the reason that road repairs take forever, explained in a sign at the Chennai (India) airportReally, I had a big long blog explanation all typed up, and just deliberately deleted it.

There really is no need for anything other than this sign, as the picture says everything that needs to be said.

Now you know why road repairs – here in India, and probably everywhere else in the world – take forever to finish up.

You’re welcome.

By Dave | Comments (0)

No coconuts allowed

May 10, 2010 – 8:28 am

So we’re walking past a temple in Varanasi, and I guess security has everybody pretty uptight. In addition to barring non-Hindus from entering, there is a whole slew of banned items. Many of them make sense, but one doesn’t (at least to me).

Maybe coconuts are the antithesis of the holy cow: keep them out of the sacred precincts. I’m sure there is a (seemingly) logical explanation for banning them, but I find it strange that there is not a simple restriction on all hard-shelled fruit, instead of picking on the poor coconut.

By Dave | Comments (0)

How good is your school?

May 4, 2010 – 12:04 pm

So I’m back from a long weekend in the extreme India city of Varanasi, and instead of concentrating on posting pictures and the travelogue from that fascinating city (and finishing up the still-undone pages from our Jodhpur trip), I’m posting a few funny pictures. I did put some shots up on Facebook, so if you are my friend you can see them here.

But the topic of today’s post is schooling in India. While visiting Varanasi, I noticed that there are several different ‘levels’ of schooling available. Let’s look at them, shall we (and please note that this entire post is firmly tongue in cheek).

At the top of the heap, the "persnolity" developing ApexAcademy

At the very top of the heap is the Apex school, of course. Notice the emphasis on “Persnolity” development; extremely handy to perfect.

At the second tier, the Bright school

The second tier of learning is for the Bright kids – they may not be at the very top of the heap, but they’ve got some things going for them.

Standard Public School

And if you set your sights just a little bit lower, you can attend the Standard Public School. The horizons might be closer, but, you know, it is…standard.

Make your child indifferent

And, down at the bottom, I love this particular school. They are so very proud of their slogan – it is repeated on many signs around town. So now you know where all the slouch-shouldered, sullen Indian kids get their education.

Indifferent children of the world, unite!!

By Dave | Also posted in India | Comments (2)

Because it is your own fault if they are taken…

April 25, 2010 – 7:36 pm

Make sure that your shoes are not stolen by someoneThere’s no law that says signs have to make sense. On a recent temple visit, I snapped a picture of this warning sign by the shoe storage area. (FYI, whenever you enter any kind of Hindu temple, Jain chapel, Islamic mosque – basically any house of worship that is not Christian – you take off your shoes and leave them outside. This is a sign of humility, as well as an effective way to keep some of the street filth from being tracked in – which is why we absolutely take our shoes off when entering our house. You don’t want to track ANY of that stuff in. Shudder.)

In any case, we do know that – while rare – shoe thievery from temples does happen. It happened to someone from our school (who shall remain nameless), who wore his brand new fancy dancy dress shoes (to a funeral, no less!) and ended up having to walk back to the car in his socks. He was especially ticked because he had just bought them recently, but had put off wearing them much so as not to scuff or mar them. I’ll bet the shoe thief was thankful for that!

In any case, we’ve never had such bad luck, but I do find the sign interestingly amusing. I wonder what sort of karma would apply to someone who stole a worshiper’s shoes – what would he be reincarnated as?

By Dave | Comments (1)

Mangroves, trash, and our fantastic daughter

April 22, 2010 – 10:55 am

Alea and Dave had another Community, Service, and Responsibility day at school today, and we again headed up to some local mangroves. We have sort of ‘adopted’ one stretch of lakeshore, and so we were curious what we would find after our cleanup in November.

Sadly, there was all sorts of new plastic strewn about, but most of the kids rolled up their sleeves and got right to work. We were joined by some guys from a group called Sprouts, a local NGO dedicated to attacking various environmental problems around Bombay while educating people about these issues. They were extraordinarily enthusiastic and a lot of fun to clean up garbage with!

The most incredible “teaching moment” came, however, at the tail end of all our efforts. We were wrapping up, discussing as a group the day’s events, in front of 35 dripping bags full of stinky plastic and garbage pulled from the lake, when a motorcycle roared up behind us. A man, woman, and little girl got off, walked around us, went to the lake, took out a plastic bag full of garbage, and dumped it in.

The kids were horrified and the adults were livid. The guys from Sprouts read the man the riot act, my cooperating teacher told him that apparently she loved his country more than he did, and the students simply looked on in shock. He mumbled something about ‘returning nature to nature,’ but when we pointed out that the plastic didn’t belong there at all, he sheepishly shrugged his shoulders and bobbled his head. But at least he did pick up his trash and put it in the nearby bin.

What a poignant reminder of just how big the job is here in India. People talk about ‘the white man’s burden,’ but in this case I really have a tough time understanding any other way to get the point across other than by throttling the population here and shouting, “Stopping throwing all this crap all over your own country!!”

Phew.

But on a more positive note, I do have to say that I am so incredibly proud of Alea. She was the single most hardest working person out there, getting all muddy and sweaty, leading by example, and really just making my heart swell with love and pride. Her efforts were commented on by her peers as well as the adults, and it was just a joy to see her out there, working so hard for the sheer pleasure of doing good.

So on the way home, I bought her a Baskin Robbins Oreo shake!!

By Dave | Also posted in Alea, Dave, School | Comments (2)

Free Verse Friday – Ode to the varieties of Indian stomach ailments

April 9, 2010 – 4:47 pm

I have been neglectful in Free Verse Friday lately, so in honor of this week’s Caf-ASB, here is my ode to various regional stomach ailments:

Here in Mumbai, we sometimes get food sick
From restaurant, kitchen, or picnic.
The belly distends
Kicks out waste from both ends
Accompanied by internal music.

This year’s not been really all too rough
We’ve only had one round of that stuff
But with watery stomachs
And quivery buttocks
I swear once is more than enough.

The first hint is often quite bitter
A bubbling that shouts out “Don’t fritter!
You’ve no time to wait
You’d better go straight
And plop yourself down on the… toilet!”

But one thing we’ve noticed in three years
Is a pattern that constantly reappears:
The BMs reflect
The vacations they’ve wrecked
Like a matched set of runny brown souvenirs.

Our first trip, in a hotel so smelly
Alea’s tummy got sick from some jelly
In India’s heart
Ruined trip from the start:
An authentic case of real Delhi Belly.

The second time, as you will soon see-a
Was based on the self same idea
Poor Breck took the throne
In our very own home:
Struck down by Mubaiarrhea.

Dave’s ill was not like his daughter’s
But still was a set of the trotters.
Eating Cochinese shrimp
On his trip, put a crimp:
He sailed down the Kerala Backwaters.

Our last trip involved the ole poop pots
When we went to see Indian hot spots
In the desert a-cruisin’
The ailment caught Susan
And she got the Jodhpur Camel Trots

We’ve suffered on hikes, boats, and car rides
Strange stuff coming out of our backsides:
From Goan Groanin’ sick
To Jaipur Diaper ick
To colossal Himalayan Mudslides.

Pondicherry Derri-airy, Bangalore Blasts
Hyderabad Hot Squirts, Taj Mahal Gas
The Rajasthan Runs
Of course, Mysore Bum
The Calcutta Quick Step and Amritsar Ass.

Now, don’t think our stories pure unkind
We’ve usually had a real good time.
We remember our trips
Not by what we take with
Butt rather, what we’ve left behind!

By Dave | Also posted in Alea, Breck, Dave, Family, Poetry, Suz | Comments (1)

No Showers Allowed

March 24, 2010 – 10:29 am

See, I always remember being told that the best way to save water was to take showers instead of baths. Apparently that is just not good enough any more.

Water rationing is starting to hit Mumbai hard these days (the newspapers have talked about cuts of 35% or so) for a variety of reasons – exploding population, localized drought, leaky infrastructure, etc. On our way to school, we saw a stark reminder of how serious an issue this is.

On an overpass, the grim visage of Sachin Tendulkar – who is lionized around the country as the greatest cricket player (in a nation of great cricket players) to have ever graced the pitch – advises people to avoid the ‘temptation of using shower.’ Apparently the new thing in saving water is taking a bucket bath.

It is pretty ironic on a couple of levels. First of all is the obvious juxtaposition with our idea of the shower as a water saver – now it is the water wasting way to do things. Secondly is the fact that many (if not most) of Indians have no access to running water of any kind, making this exhortation a moot point. It reminded me of this great article I’d found a few years ago for World Water Day.

But as we get ready for spring break and our trip to Jodhpur (which is, incidentally, where we are heading this year in case you were wondering), we’ll keep in mind the need for care in our water use. Bucket baths are not that bad: we’ve had them before in hotels, and I foresee us having them again on this trip!

By Dave | Comments (4)

Geckos and insects and fish, oh my

March 15, 2010 – 4:48 pm

Strange animal partner week continues here at the ole Stutz blog, as we have two more great tastes that taste great together. Our fish tank has a new resident, albeit one who lives under the aquarium (we have it on a couple pieces of wood to try and minimize water damage to the table it is on).

We’ve noticed him coming out at night – at first he would just sit on the ledge below the tank and watch the fish swim around. Eventually he began climbing on the glass itself, but we’ve never seen him making any kind of “I’m going to eat you” movement towards the fish.

Internet searches have pretty much yielded the consensus that these household geckos don’t eat fish, but Susan is convinced that he is trying to do just that. She also thinks he is too skinny and is starving to death – apparently he is incapable of going somewhere else for dinner?

My guess is that he likes the warmth of the tank (and the vibration from the bubbles?) or else hunts bugs that are attracted to the light inside. The only flaw in this thinking is that the light is turned off at night, and we’ve never seen him doing any kind of hunting at all. So who knows what is on his mind?

Maybe he just wants to adopt some of the fish and take care of them – another Mumbai cross-species love affair in action?

By Dave | Also posted in Family | Comments (0)

Monkey Mamma

March 9, 2010 – 7:46 pm

Mother monkey protects baby kittens against the crowsStraight out of Wild Kingdom, another “never seen before” in India: a monkey with 2 kittens!

Our neighbors grabbed us this afternoon to take pictures of a mother monkey who has adopted two kittens and is taking care of them up in the trees! I would never believe it, had Alea and I not watched them today.

Protecting the babies (not more than a month or so old) against the vicious crows that would feed on unprotected babies, she swung down out of a tree onto a rooftop. She was trying to find a spot away from the birds, and we were helping her on by shooting the crows with water guns. We could see them clearly – and hear them meowing – and they certainly looked well cared for. This is apparently the second time she’s been spotted, so some sort of maternal instinct is obviously at work.

This event was doubly unusual in that we have never seen wild monkeys around our house. Watching her disappear back into the tree, we could tell why – the camouflage is amazing.  We don’t know what is going to become of the babies, but our neighbor remarked that they’ll be good climbers when they grow up!

I put together a series of pictures and descriptions on our webpage, so you can see a bit more of this pretty amazing occurrence…

By Dave | Comments (3)

Holi fun abounds

March 3, 2010 – 5:09 pm

Holi ColorsYes, it is Holi again, and just like last last year and the year before, once more we threw ourselves head first into this celebration of water and rebirth. We rounded up all sorts of non-toxic powders, and had a huge water and paint fight at Kiara, squirting everything that moved.

Following the morning battle, Alea and Dave ventured out into the neighborhood and got even more appropriately colored. The excitement on young kids’ faces was evident when they realized we were going to let ourselves get all colored up!

We finished off the afternoon at a colleague’s get-together, where we ate, drank, and soaked in the bright sunlight. My favorite Indian holiday! You can check out all the exciting pictures from hour day, now posted on the webpage…

By Dave | Also posted in Family | Comments (1)

Haircut

March 1, 2010 – 8:32 am

Didn’t think getting a haircut was a big deal? It is when you walk through an Indian neighborhood to get there. I’ve wanted to document the walk down to my hair cutting “saloon” for quite some time, and I finally got around to it last weekend.

I go to a local place – a step up from the sidewalk emporiums since it is actually housed in an old cargo container with electricity and everything!

Check out the pictures from the walk, just another glimpse at the sights from our life in Mumbai!

By Dave | Also posted in Dave | Comments (1)

CD Release party tonight

February 19, 2010 – 5:09 pm

One interesting aspect of this life we lead overseas is getting to see and do things that many people don’t have the chance to. Besides all the cool places we’ve been and fantastic sights we’ve seen, we also get to take part in some pretty funky stuff.

Breck’s modeled clothes, we’ve eaten dinner with a billionaire, and tonight we are going to a CD release party. The thing that makes this even more interesting is the fact that it is for an album being put out by a student of mine. Alea is invited (as is much of the 7th grade, and middle school for that matter), and so we are going to traipse downtown to check things out.

It is a little bit ‘strange’ to see a 12 year old that you meet every day and eat lunch with quite often involved in something like this (not to mention the crazy outfits and all in the music video!), but just as teachers have lives outside of school, so do students.

In any case, you can check out Raveena’s official website and blog, watch the music videos, and vicariously enjoy the Indian jet-set life!

By Dave | Comments (0)

Whoo hoo!

February 18, 2010 – 9:08 pm

Gotta love the Indian sense of karma on the road. Don’t worry about things like helmets and seatbelts and carseats and rules, because nothing’s going to stop your number coming up when it is due on the big wheel of destiny, baby!

This guy came zooming up behind us today on the way home, and I just happened to have my camera (because of the Mathcounts tournament). Check out his kid’s hair whipping in the wind!

But don’t worry, dad’s got a good grip around his leg in case he has to stop real quickly – that’ll prevent the head from whipping forward, right?

By Dave | Comments (0)

I’m alaughing

February 16, 2010 – 1:15 pm

Hot stuff, man.

Saw this at the Aquathon last week. And I know, I know, this probably is technically correct English, but it just isn’t something that, really, would ever be written this way.

Thanks, Eddy, for noting the issues I had with the original post for today (which has now disappeared into the bologsphere!)

By Dave | Comments (1)

ASB Aquathon

February 7, 2010 – 1:08 pm

Today was the 5th annual aquathon at school – a fundraiser that includes swimming and running events. One of Breck’s buddies invited him to participate and ‘share the wealth’ in terms of the work, so Breck agreed to be the runner.

The Splash and Dash portion consisted of a 150m swim and 1.5km run (as opposed to the longer main Aquathon 300m-4km-300m event), which was just perfect for the guys. They had a great time, got a certificate and t-shirt, and had some fun on a Sunday morning!

There are more pictures posted on the main webpage – check out Breck’s eventful day!

By Dave | Also posted in Breck, School | Comments (0)

Free verse Friday – Shaving in the Street

January 29, 2010 – 1:20 pm

Just a look at a roadside barber shop today:

Men all have beards that grow each day
so they should shave them off, you see.
Since no water’s where most Indians stay
This barber looks out for you and me.

He sets up shop in the local streets
next to the tea and rickshaw stands
and using what he can find for seats
He goes to work with his two hands.

A bucket of water, lathered suds,
a brand new straight-edge blade
are all he needs to serve his buds
and ensure his income’s made.

A shave, hair cut, and head massage too
Check look in mirror hanging down.
Amazing what the locals can do
In this topsy-turvy town!

This isn’t the place that I go – I just took the picture from our school bus one day. Next time I go to get a haircut, though, I will bring that camera and document that adventure. Have a great weekend!

By Dave | Also posted in Dave | Comments (0)

Happy Birthday, Breck!

January 26, 2010 – 11:08 am

Even though today was a day off from school (due to India’s biggest holiday – Republic Day), we were all awakened early in the morning. He claimed that he “wasn’t really trying to make too much noise,” but Breck was pretty impatient to get his birthday started!

We’d brought out some presents the night before, so he knew that there was (probably) some good stuff waiting..
He was totally excited about the new Star Wars Lego set that he got!
But the thing that got his (stomach) juices really flowing? Good old American junk food – that bag of chips costs 6 bucks, so it is a real once-a-year treat.

By Dave | Also posted in Breck | Comments (1)

Weekend update – Alea’s play and the family fun day

December 12, 2009 – 9:35 pm

Whew. Susan is off on her girls’ night chick flick thing, Alea is at the play cast party, Breck and dad just finished up a Star Wars movie: a pretty typical Saturday night – welcome to parenthood! We’ve had a pretty cool couple of days recently, and there are a few pictures posted from the events. Not many, but enough to pop on over and see briefly. Check out Alea’s play production and our school Family Fun Day pages on the website. Happy last week of school before winter break, too!!!

By Dave | Also posted in Alea, Family, School | Comments (0)

Wouldn’t wearing a helmet be more practical?

December 9, 2009 – 5:25 pm

Oh God!I understand the power of prayer: it makes people feel that they are taking whatever steps they can to control situations that are beyond their control. But man, not doing anything else really seems to defeat the purpose.

I read these stories about people who would rather ask for divine intervention instead of getting a blood transfusion, or those who think that chanting a mantra over and over again will be more effective than seeking (and following) medical advice, and I just shake my head.

Here in Bombay, we see a ton of people who have a helmet on their motorcycle, because the law demands it. Notice that I didn’t say ‘On their heads,’ because that would be a lie. They carry the helmets around on the handlebars or by their feet, rather than wearing them, just so they have something to show a police officer. I know it is Christmas time and God’s probably feeling pretty generous right about now, but don’t you think He has more important things to worry about then precautions you could be taking?

Anyways, long lecture about this license plate we saw in McLeod Ganj.

By Dave | Also posted in India | Comments (2)