2013 – 20: Guest blogger

Guess who? That’s right it’s me again, Gregory. Here is my point of view about living India.

 

IT IS REALLY HOT RIGHT NOW. 43°C (109°F) is so hot that I think I am in an oven.

 

Earlier this week it was 47°C (117°F). It is so blazing hot that I spent a day PRAYING TO THE AC GODS, literally!

 

My dad says thanks to the people who were going to send us light bulbs, but U.S. bulbs do not work here in India.

 

I had a Greek day at school and we had to worship a god or goddess. I worshipped Hera the partner of Zeus and together they rule all gods.

 

Here is my name in Greek.

 

I have a ceramics course in school. I LOVE IT. 

 

Here I am curving the pot to make it smooth.

 

Here I am stretching the clay to make it thin.

 

Here is my French pot that I adore.

 

In my whole entire life I have always wanted to ride a Segway. It was so much fun.

 

We have Cinnabon in India.

 

I love to munch on the sweetest treat!!

 

I have always wanted to go to this sports restaurant. We visited it this Saturday.

 

They have lots of pool tables, ping pong, etc. This photo shows the travel of the ball.

 

Victory!!!

 

Here are some of my friends from school. Our summer break starts soon. I hope you enjoyed this blog. Thank you for reading. GS

 

2013 – 19: Simple things that aren’t

Mother’s Day is a relatively new holiday in India which is just starting to catch hold. 

 

We brunched with Brits and South Africans.  South Africans celebrated Mother’s Day as the U.S. on May 12^th.  The Brits already celebrated back on March 30.  A good time was had by all.

 

There are some common everyday consumable goods which we take for granted in the U.S. but are challenging to find in India.  The store where we bought our printer never has ink in stock.  Never ever. 

 

Our search for ink led to multiple attempts until we found this small book store which carried it. The printing of school papers is once again secure.

 

We needed a replacement screw for the vacuum floor attachment and luckily found a man at an electronics store who had a box of miscellaneous stuff.  After digging through this collection of loose ends, he found a screw that fit.  He is our hero.

 

Light bulbs are always a challenge.  After visiting two different lamp stores, we were able to find bulbs for our range hood.  Each of these bulbs lasted a week.

 

We searched farther out and were excited to find Philips-brand bulbs at a store in Delhi.  The clerk wanted to test the bulbs, but we were in a hurry and bought four bulbs as is.  At home, not a single bulb worked. 

 

We later returned the bulbs where the shopkeeper tested them.  There was no socket.  He had a plug with wire and two bare ends.  He tested all the bulbs and they worked.

 

Back at home, we tried again.  Screwed into the sockets, they didn’t work.  And they look exactly like the previous burned out bulbs.

 

Another attempt at another store led to the purchase of four more Philips bulbs which are EXACTLY like all the others.

 

As he tested the bulbs using electrically charged bare wires, Einstein’s definition of insanity circulated through my head:  Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

 

Magically, these bulbs worked.  Don’t ask me why.  I have no explanation, but we now have 80 watts of joy!

 

Searching for a watch battery led me to 8 different stores at 3 different malls with absolutely no luck. They all sell watches, but not batteries. 

 

I was ready to give up and wait for a US visit, but decided to try my favorite place, the shopping plaza at Modern Bazaar.

 

Sure enough, I found a guy selling batteries out of a cardboard box in front of a vacant shop.

 

He had the necessary tools and fixed my watch in seconds for about $2 USD.  Once again I rest my case, the Modern Bazaar Plaza has everything!

 

Dishwashers are still relatively uncommon in India, but dishwasher SOAP is darn near impossible to find.  This next story unfolds over the course of a month.

 

Our appliance store where we bought the dishwasher does not carry soap, and sent us on a wide goose chase all over town.

 

Finally, this store reached to find one box of “soap” which left a white residue after two successive cycles (this then led to washing by hand).

 

We were given some phone numbers, and those who answered gave us more phone numbers, and after several weeks and countless calls, still no soap (note:  this is a staged photo, there was no smiling involved in this circuitous loop).

 

We reached out for some professional help, and after multiple discussions, we finally received 12 kg of dishwasher soap. 

 

Lynda is absolutely overjoyed.  She hasn’t been this happy since Joanie married Chachi during the first Regan administration.

 

There you have it.  A microcosm of daily life in India from an American perspective regarding the search for common everyday consumable goods. Unrelenting persistence is the key to success.  It’s all part of the adventure.  Enjoy your week.  ts

2013 – 18: Football

Fuel prices are continually in the news. The price of diesel is subsidized in an effort to control inflation (trucks are used for transporting consumer goods and buses for mass transit).  However, petrol is heavily taxed. 

 

The pricing gap between fuels created a rush towards diesel passenger cars.  As this chart shows, diesel prices have been creeping up in an effort by the government to ease the subsidy burden.

 

My fuel station is sandwiched in the midst of Cyber City corporate structures.  A liter of diesel in Delhi is now 49 Rupees (89 cents, or about $3.50 USD per gallon).  Petrol is 66 Rupees per liter ($1.20 USD, or about $4.70 per gallon).

 

There’s some repair work taking place at the base of my pump.

 

I’m hoping this is completed by my next visit.

 

Before getting to football, take this quiz.  What DON’T you see in this photo?

 

Nor this photo?  (Los Angeles readers know the answer).

 

What you don’t see is graffiti.  In all my travels over the past 1+ year, I’ve never seen graffiti.  Nowhere.  Not ever.

 

This is the closest example I could find, which is an advertisement.

 

Here’s another quiz.  What DON’T you see in this photo?

 

Nor in this photo?  (There are some guys in LA who know the answer).

 

What you don’t see is baldness.  Thinning hair is rare.  Indian men have very good hair genes.

 

Now onto Football.  Thursday evening, our office formed four teams for a football tournament (known as soccer in the US)…

 

…complete with cheerleaders. 

 

The championship match came down to the BMW Beamers vs. the Z4 Warriors.    

 

The Beamers were victorious. 

 

Vimal was the man of the match with his lucky Football uniform.

 

It was a highly competitive tournament and great fun.  Thanks to everyone involved with logistics.  Enjoy your week.  ts

2013 – 17: NOT NOR MAL

Big news.  The MINI Countryman began production in India, which is the first MINI built outside of Europe.  More on that later, but first…

 

A huge herd of cows sauntered down our road this week.

 

They don’t mind the cars…

…and the cars don’t mind them.

 

They know they’re sacred.

 

They stopped for some brief grazing…

…and continued along their way.

 

The monkeys had a good vantage point for the parade.

 

Later in the week, long term strategic thinking was the focus.   The collective brain power was energizing.

 

Friday night, the Sales and Marketing team gathered for some fun, financed by those with a “slip of the tongue” regarding a rebranded product.  Gauri’s dance moves were so quick, the camera couldn’t capture them.  

 

All the following events took place Saturday.  Our journey began at 7:00 am, but was slightly delayed for this water buffalo crossing.

 

The road was bustling with activity. 

 

We drove past a Hindu temple…

 

…dodging deliveries…

 

…and turned onto a dusty road.

 

We drove through a village…

 

…with family-owned shops…

 

…tent homes….

 

…and future sources of milk.

 

We negotiated around tractors…

 

….along a wall of drying cow patties….

 

… to arrive 45 minutes later at this school for Kayla’s SAT college entrance exams.

 

Kayla will always remember the location of her SAT’s, and the adventure getting there.

 

Here are additional housing examples seen along the way.  The Swastik is a 4500 year old auspicious religious symbol originating in India.  It’s seen throughout the country and brings good luck. 

 

Here’s a close-up photo of a tent home.

 

Now look at this home again in context of the wide shot.

 

Later that afternoon at the American School, it was time to honor sports teams, including badminton (Kayla is on the far right).

 

Saturday night brought us to the MINI launch event in Delhi under the theme “NOT NOR MAL.”  MINI just launched in India last year, the 100^th market for the brand.

 

Attendees were anxious to pose with the MINIs (the car is in there somewhere).

 

Our Delhi dealers were there from Deutsche and Bird.

 

Lynda picked out her favorite car…

 

… and then admired the accessories.

 

Next, the crowd packed the runway…

 

…for an avant-garde fashion show…

 

…incorporating wild imagination.

 

It was pure MINI.

 

After an amazing video projection on the building across the street…

 

…the new Countryman emerged to the crowd’s delight, which was followed by thrilling hot-laps. Congratulations to Benjamin and the entire MINI team for an outstanding launch event.  Enjoy your week.  ts