Social issues - always top the list when it comes to living in India.
The Indian culture is known for its hospitality, the great heritage, the kings and queens and brave display of non-violence - the list goes on. But in reality, in modern India; when it comes to day to day life the picture is quite different. We may talk endlessly about the humbling scenes from the streets of India, and get carried away by these depictions of life in India. But, when it comes to really living here; things can take some extreme turns and you can end up with very frustrating experiences.
It is a little over a year since we moved to India. In this past year I have observed and witnessed many social disturbances; such as fights among residents in an apartment complex, arguments between a vendor and consumer, power struggle between a schoolbus driver and a parent, insubordination expectations between a maid and her employer, etc etc. These things are bound to affect your life every now and then. Some people chose to ignore and move on, some chose to fight and fix it, some chose to simply join in and contribute to the craziness and some seem to run away and move back to their previous life.
The society here is sort of weird. Very divided in terms of several factors - financial level(Oh, they have 3 cars!) , language(Oh these hindi speaking people, or Oh these madarasi), caste (Vegetarian tenant wanted, sub-caste no bar in matrimony ads), attitude (too much style!), possessions (you don;t have a wii??). The list goes on.
Another big problem or maybe the biggest problem is the "Power struggle" - Who listens to who, and who is the boss here. A classic problem in most arguments. Ego wars are everywhere. Basic human reaction is suppressed by the compulsion to dominate any situation. If I scream, I must be sounding right is the attitude of most poeople. You will come across some of the most hyprocratic people in the world. This may be the case in may societies and countries - but here in India, you will see a lot of first-hand and everyday. People are extremely diverse here. Regulation and conformity is near impossible. Apologies to others are unknown, but apologies at a ganesha temple will be quite apparent - again a selfish thought.
The struggle of living in a developing poor country shows tremendously in the social attitudes of people - even if they have struggled out of poverty. Always expect people to only worry about themselves first.
But, I still Love India! All the stuff mentioned above is not necessary absent in other cultures.. maybe just in a different format. The states has always be a very "me, myself" attitude. Too independent and too self-centered way of life. In India, you are forced to get along and drag along a whole bunch with you when you move forward or backward.
For what its worth, the country is beyond all normal experience, packed with adventure at every turn, fun and frolic, awesome food, great clothes, colors every where, family oriented, and of course the unlimited travel destinations.
Jai Hind! All this country needs is a bit of love from its citizens.
Showing posts with label Life in India. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Life in India. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Moving to India - What to bring? Whats available?
I am sure all of you that are planning to move back to India struggle through the questions - "What should I take with me? ", "Would I need this?", "Will I get this in India?", "Is it worth shipping it?". Of course its all highly personal needs and wants. But I would like to share my thoughts on what are the things that might be useful to bring - in my experience.
Furniture - You may hear that India now offers excellent furniture. In our experience, If you can afford it, bring your furniture with you. Main limitations is the size and price - the furniture here are slightly smaller than the US. The stuff you get here are designed for petite Asians and space saving. A lot of the good stuff is from Europe (Which is extremely expensive) and again space saving. A lot of the models are highly contemporary in style as well. This applies mainly to sofas, recliners, office desks etc.
Solid wood furniture is great here. Especially if you can find a good carpenter, you can create your own furniture. There are a lot of furniture makers and various materials available. But all of these work well for wooden, Mdf, painted, lacquered type stuff. Cushion based systems are not that great. You get a few lazy boy type stuff, but very expensive. Also, most of the custom ones which are cheaper also have a cheap look. Nobody understand "good finish" here.
Electronics - Everything you can get that works with 220V is good to bring - but the also have to deal with conversion issues for videos like region codes, ntsc-pal type stuff - its best to buy players India. But, beware - Tvs, players, speakers etc extremely expensive. Read my previous post on TV, HD etc.
One thing we did end up getting from the US is a blu-ray player - its 4 times more expensive n India. Especially if you own a lot of the blu-ray discs of region code A or 1 - you will need a US player to play them anyways. The TV you buy here will play everything - so the player is the problem not the TV.
Car stereo is also a good thing to bring. They work here (no power issue) and they are lot more expensive in India. Most cars don;t come with a stereo in its base model or they are ridiculously expensive.
Computer products - again pricier in India. Its best to get a small 110V - 220V transformer here in India and power up your printers, scanner etc. If you have a desktop - simply buy the power pack for Rs200 or so and replace it. Its really easy to setup computers and the peripherals and make it work here. The flat screen monitors are 220v compatible most of the time, so no issue with that either.
Books - Bring your books! If you are crazy about books especially children books of US or European authors - get them. You do get Everything and all the books here - novels and fiction is very cheap and locally published - but foreign author kid's books are expensive. And, the printing and paper quality differs when locally printed.
Kitchen stuff
Bring all your good kitchen stuff. The quality is way off. I can name a few must bring stuff for quality and pricing reasons
1. Cutlery, utensils, silverware, knives, all sorts of tools - scrapper, slicers, wine openers, bar tools etc. Bring your Calphalones and even the OXO tools are way better than what you get here. You don't get the newer silicon covered spatulas or ladles. If you are used to using silicon spatulas for cooking - bring them. You only get the cheap plastic. Same thing with the newer ceramic blade based stuff - knives, peelers etc.
2. Stainless steel stuff - Although SS is very popular here in India, some of the good German make ones you find for decent pricing in the US is unbeatable. A lot of the stuff here are not heavy bottomed. A full set of SS cookware is worth bringing - something like a Cuisinart or the likes. Same deal with hard-anodized stuff. There is only one company that makes it and its not half as good as the Calphalone ones there.
3. Get organizers, storage cans. Airtight plastic jars are better there. SS ones are okay here and slowly seeing wider choices, but I personally think the quality is better there. Some of them tend to rust as well at the joints.
4. Fabric based stuff - if you are into cotton - you get a lot of choices here. Napkins, runners etc are great here and can get a lot of custom made stuff.
5. Bar ware - bring your all your wine glasses, shot glasses etc etc. Pricey here and quality is poor. Bar tools, wine gadgets and bar gizmo are a bit hard to find here. Finding good liquor is hard enough - so don't struggle with finding good bar ware.
6. Serve ware - again bring them. Fine china is not that popular here. Most of them are ceramic, stainless steel or Corelle. You also get a lot of stone ware and bone china. If you are the Mikasa type person - bring it!
7. Tupperware is widely available here - you can skip bringing those.
8. You can get scrubbers, gloves, fancy kitchen towels, mitts , Ziploc, foils, parchment paper, baking sheets etc. Bring you silicon baking sheets and trays - they are not here yet.
Office Products
You get most of what you need. But, bringing the basics with you helps with transition. Good quality paper and stuff you take for granted may not be easily available here. Good writing paper, kids' drawing sheets etc are available for a premium price.
Kids stuff
All branded toys are here - fisher price etc. They are the same price as there. So if you see a closeout sale in the US, grab all that you can. If you find crayola, board games, art materials on a discount there - bring them Worth every penny. Art and craft stuff is terrible here. Bring your art supplies. You may get them here - but have to go to cumbersome process to locate a dealer and buy them. There is NOTHING like Hobby Lobby or Michael's. Just bring your art supplies for lasting a year or so before you get around finding the right places in Bangalore.
Tools
Bring your screwdriver sets, wrenches, hammers etc. Nothing can beat the variety of tools you get in the US. Its really hard to get the right tools for the right jobs here. Of course, you will find handyman type people for most things, but the reliability of these people is pretty bad. Even if you find one and manage to make him come on time, his tools will be pathetic and so will be his work. Here people try and manage with what have. Don't be surprised if your handyman tries to tighten a screw with a pliers..if that is what he has, then that is what he will use! This attitude doesn't work well when it comes to DIY stuff. If you have plenty screws and nails at home, just bring them. They come in very handy. Same goes with gardening tools (if you plan on gardening here). Remember, there is no Home Depot for rescue. If you need something, you have to find a local hardware store and hope that the store owner understands what you are talking about. You have no good self-service tools store to find what you want.
Cosmetics, bath and hygiene products
A good improvement in the brand options for all sorts of cosmetics and bath/hygiene products in India. You get most of the drugstore brands - Vaseline, Garnier, Olay, and the high-end brands at the big malls as well. The top brands come with a big price tag - if you wish to stock up on some- its good a idea. You do get lot of herbal natural products. Himalaya seems to be a big player in this market. Don't expect to get the latest and greatest of cosmetics and body care products in regular stores - but I think what you get here is more than suffice for the most part. For women, all personal hygiene products are available in a wide range - but tampons are practically unheard of. There is just one brand that makes a very basic option.
Sports Materials
Good idea to bring Bikes, road bikes/mountain bikes, Skates, Shoes, good sports wear clothes (like soccer shorts etc). Everything is available but quite expensive. All foreign brand sports materials are very expensive. E.g. a decent tennis racket starts at Rs 4K and a Wilson will start at 8-9K . If you are already serious into any sport - bring what you need. If you are planning to learn then bring the starter brands. Sometimes you don't get cheap stuff for beginners here. Its a good idea to bring kid's in-line skates, helmets, knee pads and even swim suits. These are all very expensive. E.g - decent pair of in-line skates starts at - Rs3500.
Clothes
Kids clothes - good idea to bring a whole bunch. Grown ups - you can bring some - depending on weather factors. Good wind cutters, sweats etc are good idea to bring. Rain jackets, Ponchos are also a good thing to bring. Jeans - if you are used to a certain style/brand - bring a couple. Its takes a bit of time to find a good replacement. Brands like Levis make slightly different patterns here. They always only come in Regular lengths - so for shorter people - need to get it altered - but good thing is. all stores will do that for you for free within an hour or two!
Misc Items that might be helpful to bring
Laundry baskets
Camping materials
Good backpacks - outdoor living stuff - Keen shoes type stuff
Handy solar lamps / led stuff
Surge protectors
Camel packs - this is extremely useful to carry water around here as you cannot get good drinking water in most places.
Photography equipment
VOIP options - magicjack type stuff
Phones - Most of the good ones here are imported and expensive.
That is all I can think of for now - Will add to this post when I come across anything that might be worth bringing.
Furniture - You may hear that India now offers excellent furniture. In our experience, If you can afford it, bring your furniture with you. Main limitations is the size and price - the furniture here are slightly smaller than the US. The stuff you get here are designed for petite Asians and space saving. A lot of the good stuff is from Europe (Which is extremely expensive) and again space saving. A lot of the models are highly contemporary in style as well. This applies mainly to sofas, recliners, office desks etc.
Solid wood furniture is great here. Especially if you can find a good carpenter, you can create your own furniture. There are a lot of furniture makers and various materials available. But all of these work well for wooden, Mdf, painted, lacquered type stuff. Cushion based systems are not that great. You get a few lazy boy type stuff, but very expensive. Also, most of the custom ones which are cheaper also have a cheap look. Nobody understand "good finish" here.
Electronics - Everything you can get that works with 220V is good to bring - but the also have to deal with conversion issues for videos like region codes, ntsc-pal type stuff - its best to buy players India. But, beware - Tvs, players, speakers etc extremely expensive. Read my previous post on TV, HD etc.
One thing we did end up getting from the US is a blu-ray player - its 4 times more expensive n India. Especially if you own a lot of the blu-ray discs of region code A or 1 - you will need a US player to play them anyways. The TV you buy here will play everything - so the player is the problem not the TV.
Car stereo is also a good thing to bring. They work here (no power issue) and they are lot more expensive in India. Most cars don;t come with a stereo in its base model or they are ridiculously expensive.
Computer products - again pricier in India. Its best to get a small 110V - 220V transformer here in India and power up your printers, scanner etc. If you have a desktop - simply buy the power pack for Rs200 or so and replace it. Its really easy to setup computers and the peripherals and make it work here. The flat screen monitors are 220v compatible most of the time, so no issue with that either.
Books - Bring your books! If you are crazy about books especially children books of US or European authors - get them. You do get Everything and all the books here - novels and fiction is very cheap and locally published - but foreign author kid's books are expensive. And, the printing and paper quality differs when locally printed.
Kitchen stuff
Bring all your good kitchen stuff. The quality is way off. I can name a few must bring stuff for quality and pricing reasons
1. Cutlery, utensils, silverware, knives, all sorts of tools - scrapper, slicers, wine openers, bar tools etc. Bring your Calphalones and even the OXO tools are way better than what you get here. You don't get the newer silicon covered spatulas or ladles. If you are used to using silicon spatulas for cooking - bring them. You only get the cheap plastic. Same thing with the newer ceramic blade based stuff - knives, peelers etc.
2. Stainless steel stuff - Although SS is very popular here in India, some of the good German make ones you find for decent pricing in the US is unbeatable. A lot of the stuff here are not heavy bottomed. A full set of SS cookware is worth bringing - something like a Cuisinart or the likes. Same deal with hard-anodized stuff. There is only one company that makes it and its not half as good as the Calphalone ones there.
3. Get organizers, storage cans. Airtight plastic jars are better there. SS ones are okay here and slowly seeing wider choices, but I personally think the quality is better there. Some of them tend to rust as well at the joints.
4. Fabric based stuff - if you are into cotton - you get a lot of choices here. Napkins, runners etc are great here and can get a lot of custom made stuff.
5. Bar ware - bring your all your wine glasses, shot glasses etc etc. Pricey here and quality is poor. Bar tools, wine gadgets and bar gizmo are a bit hard to find here. Finding good liquor is hard enough - so don't struggle with finding good bar ware.
6. Serve ware - again bring them. Fine china is not that popular here. Most of them are ceramic, stainless steel or Corelle. You also get a lot of stone ware and bone china. If you are the Mikasa type person - bring it!
7. Tupperware is widely available here - you can skip bringing those.
8. You can get scrubbers, gloves, fancy kitchen towels, mitts , Ziploc, foils, parchment paper, baking sheets etc. Bring you silicon baking sheets and trays - they are not here yet.
Office Products
You get most of what you need. But, bringing the basics with you helps with transition. Good quality paper and stuff you take for granted may not be easily available here. Good writing paper, kids' drawing sheets etc are available for a premium price.
Kids stuff
All branded toys are here - fisher price etc. They are the same price as there. So if you see a closeout sale in the US, grab all that you can. If you find crayola, board games, art materials on a discount there - bring them Worth every penny. Art and craft stuff is terrible here. Bring your art supplies. You may get them here - but have to go to cumbersome process to locate a dealer and buy them. There is NOTHING like Hobby Lobby or Michael's. Just bring your art supplies for lasting a year or so before you get around finding the right places in Bangalore.
Tools
Bring your screwdriver sets, wrenches, hammers etc. Nothing can beat the variety of tools you get in the US. Its really hard to get the right tools for the right jobs here. Of course, you will find handyman type people for most things, but the reliability of these people is pretty bad. Even if you find one and manage to make him come on time, his tools will be pathetic and so will be his work. Here people try and manage with what have. Don't be surprised if your handyman tries to tighten a screw with a pliers..if that is what he has, then that is what he will use! This attitude doesn't work well when it comes to DIY stuff. If you have plenty screws and nails at home, just bring them. They come in very handy. Same goes with gardening tools (if you plan on gardening here). Remember, there is no Home Depot for rescue. If you need something, you have to find a local hardware store and hope that the store owner understands what you are talking about. You have no good self-service tools store to find what you want.
Cosmetics, bath and hygiene products
A good improvement in the brand options for all sorts of cosmetics and bath/hygiene products in India. You get most of the drugstore brands - Vaseline, Garnier, Olay, and the high-end brands at the big malls as well. The top brands come with a big price tag - if you wish to stock up on some- its good a idea. You do get lot of herbal natural products. Himalaya seems to be a big player in this market. Don't expect to get the latest and greatest of cosmetics and body care products in regular stores - but I think what you get here is more than suffice for the most part. For women, all personal hygiene products are available in a wide range - but tampons are practically unheard of. There is just one brand that makes a very basic option.
Sports Materials
Good idea to bring Bikes, road bikes/mountain bikes, Skates, Shoes, good sports wear clothes (like soccer shorts etc). Everything is available but quite expensive. All foreign brand sports materials are very expensive. E.g. a decent tennis racket starts at Rs 4K and a Wilson will start at 8-9K . If you are already serious into any sport - bring what you need. If you are planning to learn then bring the starter brands. Sometimes you don't get cheap stuff for beginners here. Its a good idea to bring kid's in-line skates, helmets, knee pads and even swim suits. These are all very expensive. E.g - decent pair of in-line skates starts at - Rs3500.
Clothes
Kids clothes - good idea to bring a whole bunch. Grown ups - you can bring some - depending on weather factors. Good wind cutters, sweats etc are good idea to bring. Rain jackets, Ponchos are also a good thing to bring. Jeans - if you are used to a certain style/brand - bring a couple. Its takes a bit of time to find a good replacement. Brands like Levis make slightly different patterns here. They always only come in Regular lengths - so for shorter people - need to get it altered - but good thing is. all stores will do that for you for free within an hour or two!
Misc Items that might be helpful to bring
Laundry baskets
Camping materials
Good backpacks - outdoor living stuff - Keen shoes type stuff
Handy solar lamps / led stuff
Surge protectors
Camel packs - this is extremely useful to carry water around here as you cannot get good drinking water in most places.
Photography equipment
VOIP options - magicjack type stuff
Phones - Most of the good ones here are imported and expensive.
That is all I can think of for now - Will add to this post when I come across anything that might be worth bringing.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Travel, Paperwork, Permits, foreign citizen registration etc
I have been meaning to write about the various paperwork that you might need as part of moving and living in India.
Foreign citizen registration process in India
If you are not an Indian Citizen or if your Kids are not Indian citizens, then you will need to get a residential permit stamped on your foreign passports. This is process is done at your city's Police commissioner's office. In Bangalore its at the FRO office (No1 Infantry road). The process of obtaining is permit is a bit time consuming and sometimes quite painful.
Every foreign citizen residing in India over 180 days MUST get the stamp. Regardless of age. There is some misconception about this rule for kids. But that is not true. They give you a tough time if you are beyond the 6- months limit and might make the process even more painful. Its best to simply got get this process done within the first 2-3 months of arrival. Sooner the better.
Disclaimer: This is based on our experience in Bangalore. Not sure how the other cities work.
1. Collect all the documents necessary. This list can change slightly, list on the website was fairly accurate. Take more copies than you think you will ever need! Take extra pictures, all original passports, PIO cards etc. I have notes on the paperwork necessary at the bottom of this post.
2. Your visit will start with standing in line to enter the building. This line can be long at time. The officers will take a quick picture of you and give you a visit pass. This process of getting a visit pass is not totally enforced. The second and third time we went there, we skipped this part and went straight into the concerned offices.
3. Day 1:Get into the at Single Window department. An officer will go through your paperwork to make sure you have everything place. 99% of time, you will be missing something. If its just extra copies, you can make photocopies across the street from the main gate and get back to single window. You will see a lot of people cutting the line to talk to the officer there. Knowing the local language really helps! If you run out to make copies, you can try to talk to the officer without getting back in line. The experience is quite nice, you will see people from all over the world, getting yelled at by this guy :-)
4. Next step, after all the papers are in place, you will asked to get a sign off from the Assistant commissioner. This process was simple for us. Just walk into his office, he quickly looks at your paperwork and signs it off. we did not have to wait in line.
5. Day 2: You will then be asked to take the paperwork to the assigned officer. He will take your paperwork and ask to you to come the next day. Although, we just said yes and went back the next day, there maybe chances you can get this guy to move it to the next step the same day. We assumed it will all be ready the next day, only to find out that all he did was put the papers in a file and the next day asked us to submit the passport and come back the next day.
6. Day 3: Go back to the officer and he will ask you to submit your original passport at a specific counter and take a receipt. They will give you a specified time to come back the next day to pick up the passport. In and out in 15mins.
7. Day 4: Go back to the counter with you receipt. They will make you talk to the assigned officer and one other guy and then the passport will be ready for pick up at the counter. The process only took about 15-20 mins. Make sure the passport is stamped with multiple entry and for the period the passport is valid. Now, you are free to travel and out of India and reside in India without any restrictions.
So there you go! Allow yourself 4 consecutive working day mornings/afternoons to get this stamping done. The process as such was simple except for the multiple visits. No bribes, no cost for the whole thing. Except for ofcourse get the photocopies and affidavit (about Rs200 for that)
Note on Financial affidavit:
You can download the template from the FRO website. Take to a typist/notary service store , usually found near registrar office of your area. Typically you will find several of these notary people. Some people act like they are doing some sort of free service and give you the runs, don't waste your time with them. Just go to a more professional looking one. This should not cost you more than Rs200. There is also a "Advocate" signature part, this will not be done by the notary. You will have it find a lawyer in your area ( yellowbook) call and get this done. Should cost maybe another Rs200 or so. I had it done through a friend who happened to be a lawyer.
Address proof: Make sure you take copies of electricity bills, bank passbooks, rental agreement, sale deed etc. If you are staying at someone's house, make sure you take a letter stating the same, written and signed by the homeowner (whose name should be on the electricty bill).
Good luck with the process, although time consuming, We did not find this process painful.
Foreign citizen registration process in India
If you are not an Indian Citizen or if your Kids are not Indian citizens, then you will need to get a residential permit stamped on your foreign passports. This is process is done at your city's Police commissioner's office. In Bangalore its at the FRO office (No1 Infantry road). The process of obtaining is permit is a bit time consuming and sometimes quite painful.
Every foreign citizen residing in India over 180 days MUST get the stamp. Regardless of age. There is some misconception about this rule for kids. But that is not true. They give you a tough time if you are beyond the 6- months limit and might make the process even more painful. Its best to simply got get this process done within the first 2-3 months of arrival. Sooner the better.
Disclaimer: This is based on our experience in Bangalore. Not sure how the other cities work.
1. Collect all the documents necessary. This list can change slightly, list on the website was fairly accurate. Take more copies than you think you will ever need! Take extra pictures, all original passports, PIO cards etc. I have notes on the paperwork necessary at the bottom of this post.
2. Your visit will start with standing in line to enter the building. This line can be long at time. The officers will take a quick picture of you and give you a visit pass. This process of getting a visit pass is not totally enforced. The second and third time we went there, we skipped this part and went straight into the concerned offices.
3. Day 1:Get into the at Single Window department. An officer will go through your paperwork to make sure you have everything place. 99% of time, you will be missing something. If its just extra copies, you can make photocopies across the street from the main gate and get back to single window. You will see a lot of people cutting the line to talk to the officer there. Knowing the local language really helps! If you run out to make copies, you can try to talk to the officer without getting back in line. The experience is quite nice, you will see people from all over the world, getting yelled at by this guy :-)
4. Next step, after all the papers are in place, you will asked to get a sign off from the Assistant commissioner. This process was simple for us. Just walk into his office, he quickly looks at your paperwork and signs it off. we did not have to wait in line.
5. Day 2: You will then be asked to take the paperwork to the assigned officer. He will take your paperwork and ask to you to come the next day. Although, we just said yes and went back the next day, there maybe chances you can get this guy to move it to the next step the same day. We assumed it will all be ready the next day, only to find out that all he did was put the papers in a file and the next day asked us to submit the passport and come back the next day.
6. Day 3: Go back to the officer and he will ask you to submit your original passport at a specific counter and take a receipt. They will give you a specified time to come back the next day to pick up the passport. In and out in 15mins.
7. Day 4: Go back to the counter with you receipt. They will make you talk to the assigned officer and one other guy and then the passport will be ready for pick up at the counter. The process only took about 15-20 mins. Make sure the passport is stamped with multiple entry and for the period the passport is valid. Now, you are free to travel and out of India and reside in India without any restrictions.
So there you go! Allow yourself 4 consecutive working day mornings/afternoons to get this stamping done. The process as such was simple except for the multiple visits. No bribes, no cost for the whole thing. Except for ofcourse get the photocopies and affidavit (about Rs200 for that)
Note on Financial affidavit:
You can download the template from the FRO website. Take to a typist/notary service store , usually found near registrar office of your area. Typically you will find several of these notary people. Some people act like they are doing some sort of free service and give you the runs, don't waste your time with them. Just go to a more professional looking one. This should not cost you more than Rs200. There is also a "Advocate" signature part, this will not be done by the notary. You will have it find a lawyer in your area ( yellowbook) call and get this done. Should cost maybe another Rs200 or so. I had it done through a friend who happened to be a lawyer.
Address proof: Make sure you take copies of electricity bills, bank passbooks, rental agreement, sale deed etc. If you are staying at someone's house, make sure you take a letter stating the same, written and signed by the homeowner (whose name should be on the electricty bill).
Good luck with the process, although time consuming, We did not find this process painful.
Friday, September 18, 2009
House to Home
Its been a very long time since I have found time slots than 10 mins to do anything. Other than the 8 hrs of much needed sleep ( which I do not intend to use that to write my blog - I am far from being that blogaddict yet) , I barely get time to even read the newspaper.
Anyways, the past 2 months have been focused on getting our apartment remodeled to suit our lifestyle, taste and comforts. We have learn a lot about working on making a house our home. Apartment living is sort of new to us. We have taken a little time to come to terms with not having an eternal dump ground called the garage :-). So we are sort of super organized and have a strict policy of "if it doesn't fit in a proper place, it goes out of the house". The downsizing and planning during packing up at Denver has paid off. We are almost there with the house becoming a home.. and we have finally dry bathrooms and shower stalls.
Our experience in Bangalore in terms of finding stuff for the home - like washbasins, kitchens, bathroom stuff, tiles etc.. was overall decent. The choices are wide. But, the only catch is, if you do not know the right places or the right people, you can either miss the choices or get ripped off. For example, if you want some good light fixtures, you can go the local stores and find decent stuff, or you can go to a street in the middle of the city and they have tons of stores. But, you have to bargain and spend half a day to get what you want. The customization of stuff is also very good in India. They can pretty much put together anything you want in any style, shape, color and even price range. If you are clear about your budget, its easy to find the choices. Of also, you can show a catalog of pottery barn - the local carpenter can make you a great looking replica :-)
Home remodeling was a fun and frustrating experience. After a few weeks into it and when it came to the last details, cleaning up and finishing - thats when the frustration starts. What we are used to as "good quality" and "good finish" in the US, is way off from the understanding of the guys who do the job. There is nothing called "standards" here. It took us a bit of time to realize that, its not really bad quality of the job, its the guys who do the work. They have no clue as to what we mean by quality and finish. They have never seen, lived, built anything of high quality. A lot of little things here in India are handmade and lack the tools machinery we are used to in the US. Even if you hire the so-called Interior designers - the guys who actually drives the nail or paints the wall - is someone not to familiar with high-end quality.
This difference in the financial and lifestyle slabs between us and the guy who works, is so apparent when you see him work on the finishing of a product. Its sometimes funny - the guys cannot even comprehend why we would choose to do certain things the way we do. The pace at which we expect things to get done is also a whole different issue. They just don't understand why we would want our home ready in a month. They just don't get our paranoia with time and completion of work. Seriously, they really think we are in some kind of rush in life for no reason. This is partly because, their lives seem to be so hopeless and monotonous. They don't expect any changes or improvements. They barely have any goals in their lives. They live one-day at a time and get drunk on sundays. So, never schedule anything with any handyman for a monday morning.. they never turn up. And worse, they will be happy to give you a super lame reason for not showing up. Best way to deal with this, always - I mean it.. always expect things to get delayed. Always!
A few rules when you try to get a home setup in India/Bangalore
1. Find a good driver/friend who knows the streets of Bangalore
2. Find a contractor to do your remodeling through someone you know and has some leverage on the person.
3. Never ever expect things to fall in your schedule. Give enough room for delays.
4. Set you expectations quite high with the contractor and expect to get atleast 75% or less in reality.
5. Take your time to research products, talk to neighbors. There are several small problems that only a person who has lived in Bangalore long enough can explain.
6. Don't adopt "anything can be done" policy .. no somethings are simply not possible - even if they show it in a catalog. Classic example - Asian paints' new texture line of paints. They hv a cool catalog, a crew that claims to know how to do it. But, trust me, set your expectations low or get your hands dirty and do it yourself.
7. Do-it-yourself is NOT easy. there is no home depot - or even if you find a small time home store, you will never find someone to explain how it works. Concrete walls are a pain in the butt.
8. Direct every single detail. Never ever ignore explaining the obvious - remember - nothing is obvious to these people. you simply have to explain - and as frustrating as it can be - be ready to hear the explanations at the stores. For eg - we wasted 10 mins listening to a guy in an electronic store explaining how a universal remote works... we realised what he was trying to explaing only in the 10th minute...sales people are extremely nervous, confusing and lack any sense of rational thinking.
People here either assume you know what you want - like taking the order for your lunch without handing you a menu! Or the other extreme of people assuming you know nothing (inspite of you flauting your foreign clothes and accent) they will try to explain how to push the power button on your remote and how magically the TV turns on and shows awesomely pixelated soccer games! HDtv - Please - hurry to India!
Anyways, the past 2 months have been focused on getting our apartment remodeled to suit our lifestyle, taste and comforts. We have learn a lot about working on making a house our home. Apartment living is sort of new to us. We have taken a little time to come to terms with not having an eternal dump ground called the garage :-). So we are sort of super organized and have a strict policy of "if it doesn't fit in a proper place, it goes out of the house". The downsizing and planning during packing up at Denver has paid off. We are almost there with the house becoming a home.. and we have finally dry bathrooms and shower stalls.
Our experience in Bangalore in terms of finding stuff for the home - like washbasins, kitchens, bathroom stuff, tiles etc.. was overall decent. The choices are wide. But, the only catch is, if you do not know the right places or the right people, you can either miss the choices or get ripped off. For example, if you want some good light fixtures, you can go the local stores and find decent stuff, or you can go to a street in the middle of the city and they have tons of stores. But, you have to bargain and spend half a day to get what you want. The customization of stuff is also very good in India. They can pretty much put together anything you want in any style, shape, color and even price range. If you are clear about your budget, its easy to find the choices. Of also, you can show a catalog of pottery barn - the local carpenter can make you a great looking replica :-)
Home remodeling was a fun and frustrating experience. After a few weeks into it and when it came to the last details, cleaning up and finishing - thats when the frustration starts. What we are used to as "good quality" and "good finish" in the US, is way off from the understanding of the guys who do the job. There is nothing called "standards" here. It took us a bit of time to realize that, its not really bad quality of the job, its the guys who do the work. They have no clue as to what we mean by quality and finish. They have never seen, lived, built anything of high quality. A lot of little things here in India are handmade and lack the tools machinery we are used to in the US. Even if you hire the so-called Interior designers - the guys who actually drives the nail or paints the wall - is someone not to familiar with high-end quality.
This difference in the financial and lifestyle slabs between us and the guy who works, is so apparent when you see him work on the finishing of a product. Its sometimes funny - the guys cannot even comprehend why we would choose to do certain things the way we do. The pace at which we expect things to get done is also a whole different issue. They just don't understand why we would want our home ready in a month. They just don't get our paranoia with time and completion of work. Seriously, they really think we are in some kind of rush in life for no reason. This is partly because, their lives seem to be so hopeless and monotonous. They don't expect any changes or improvements. They barely have any goals in their lives. They live one-day at a time and get drunk on sundays. So, never schedule anything with any handyman for a monday morning.. they never turn up. And worse, they will be happy to give you a super lame reason for not showing up. Best way to deal with this, always - I mean it.. always expect things to get delayed. Always!
A few rules when you try to get a home setup in India/Bangalore
1. Find a good driver/friend who knows the streets of Bangalore
2. Find a contractor to do your remodeling through someone you know and has some leverage on the person.
3. Never ever expect things to fall in your schedule. Give enough room for delays.
4. Set you expectations quite high with the contractor and expect to get atleast 75% or less in reality.
5. Take your time to research products, talk to neighbors. There are several small problems that only a person who has lived in Bangalore long enough can explain.
6. Don't adopt "anything can be done" policy .. no somethings are simply not possible - even if they show it in a catalog. Classic example - Asian paints' new texture line of paints. They hv a cool catalog, a crew that claims to know how to do it. But, trust me, set your expectations low or get your hands dirty and do it yourself.
7. Do-it-yourself is NOT easy. there is no home depot - or even if you find a small time home store, you will never find someone to explain how it works. Concrete walls are a pain in the butt.
8. Direct every single detail. Never ever ignore explaining the obvious - remember - nothing is obvious to these people. you simply have to explain - and as frustrating as it can be - be ready to hear the explanations at the stores. For eg - we wasted 10 mins listening to a guy in an electronic store explaining how a universal remote works... we realised what he was trying to explaing only in the 10th minute...sales people are extremely nervous, confusing and lack any sense of rational thinking.
People here either assume you know what you want - like taking the order for your lunch without handing you a menu! Or the other extreme of people assuming you know nothing (inspite of you flauting your foreign clothes and accent) they will try to explain how to push the power button on your remote and how magically the TV turns on and shows awesomely pixelated soccer games! HDtv - Please - hurry to India!
Friday, June 5, 2009
The views
Being back in India is quite an experience emotionally. Really, there are some things I see everyday, moves me so much that I have to hold back a bit and take a deep breath. I am not necessarily talking about the poverty, the poor standard of living(in comparison to the western world) and such negative things. It is quite moving to me when I see the little things. The sweet face of a flower girl on the street, the respect people show to our kids, the grin on the doorman's face when we thank him. There some extremely creative people who come up with solutions for their day to problems. There are a lot of crazy little things I witness and surprisingly there is always a darn good reason behind them. The solution may a bit crude - but it works and the reasoning behind it quite convincing.
To give you a simple example - there is a huge pigeon problem in the high rise we live.. ..you should see the different things people have come up with to avoid the bird droppings. Some of the richer folks have built glass enclosures to the balconies, some have simply stopped using their balconies, some have a fishing net covering the whole space, some people like us, with compulsive Googling habit ...have a bunch of flashy CDs dangling from ropes to scare the pigeons.. I have to show off.. the CDs actually work :-) It may be an eye sore... wait a minute.. did I say eye sore.. that is the fun part about being in India.. there is nothing called an eye sore. People are practical and live within their means. People who have lived and traveled to western countries.. think of these little crude solutions as eye sores. But they fail to see the creativity and practicality involved in such solutions. The reality is, people simply cannot afford to be fancy. What an eye-opening experience - if you think of this as "living green". It is amazing the way things are reused, recyled here in India. Will write more on that soon. There are times when I terrible for our way of wasteful living.
It really is super apparent that the problem-solving is more important than the appearance of the solution. This is something that might take us a little time to accept and more so to adapt to. Really, no one cares a hoot about how your stuff looks. Not true for everything.. but for the most part, yes, you can do what you want Without being under the fear of being judged. Life away from conformity. I truly enjoy this freedom of breaking away from the conforming lifestyle. What a contrast from living in America. I am not saying its bad to live in a conforming lifestyle - there are huge benefits in doing so. But, at the same time, there is a such a sense of freedom and interest to everyday tasks and chores here in India. There is not much of a pre-set way of doing things. There is no pressure of doing things a certain way, just because the rest of the country does so. This sense of people doing things their own way is very apparent while you shop, when you see kids play at a park, when you walk the streets, cross a road. Simple example, when you try to walk from point A to point B on any road.. there is no sidewalk.. so people can choose where they want to walk. There is no automatic sense of sticking to the left (assuming people drive on the left... half the country does not drive. so no sense of leftside/rightside) I, of course, being a creature of habit, walk on the right side of the road and stick to the right when someone comes in my way. But this did not quite work.. i was bulldozed by people, dogs,Bicyclists, cows, pigeons, auto rickshaws, puddles and rubble. All these things have their own minds and do their own things. Just accept this and move on. when you find a clear spot on the road in the direction towards point B.. just take step into that spot keep going. Don;t look around, don't ever think the person or thing next to you knows why you are stopping... they simply don't. Just barge in, move forward, and be happy and get to your destination. Some people call this lack of civic sense, I call this survival. Of course this have to slowly change and make it more easy to walk around. The problem is not the people, the problem is the knowledge transfer and infrastructre. When they build a sidewalk, people are not educated on how to use it.
Its not really funny for a lot of people to live in this kind of chaotic city and streets... but to me the solution lies in looking at this as difference and not a problem. The day we stop comparing western life to the way of life here in India.. Life will be so much more peaceful. A lot of people exposed to the western world have expectations and constantly compare their lives. But that is just a waste of time and living life in denial. They have to try an understand why what Dog or cow or puddle is there in the presume wrong spot. When you understand the reasons.. you stop looking at it as being in the wrong spot. It is in fact in the right spot.. considering the situation. Change has to come in a different form.. trying to squeeze the crazy, chaotic life here into a streamline life designed for the western world does not work.
My survival tip: Learn to understand and reason everything out. There is always a good reason for things being done a certain way. People have very complicated lives and priorities are very different. What is obvious and apparent to us is completely off the charts to some one else.
To give you a simple example - there is a huge pigeon problem in the high rise we live.. ..you should see the different things people have come up with to avoid the bird droppings. Some of the richer folks have built glass enclosures to the balconies, some have simply stopped using their balconies, some have a fishing net covering the whole space, some people like us, with compulsive Googling habit ...have a bunch of flashy CDs dangling from ropes to scare the pigeons.. I have to show off.. the CDs actually work :-) It may be an eye sore... wait a minute.. did I say eye sore.. that is the fun part about being in India.. there is nothing called an eye sore. People are practical and live within their means. People who have lived and traveled to western countries.. think of these little crude solutions as eye sores. But they fail to see the creativity and practicality involved in such solutions. The reality is, people simply cannot afford to be fancy. What an eye-opening experience - if you think of this as "living green". It is amazing the way things are reused, recyled here in India. Will write more on that soon. There are times when I terrible for our way of wasteful living.
It really is super apparent that the problem-solving is more important than the appearance of the solution. This is something that might take us a little time to accept and more so to adapt to. Really, no one cares a hoot about how your stuff looks. Not true for everything.. but for the most part, yes, you can do what you want Without being under the fear of being judged. Life away from conformity. I truly enjoy this freedom of breaking away from the conforming lifestyle. What a contrast from living in America. I am not saying its bad to live in a conforming lifestyle - there are huge benefits in doing so. But, at the same time, there is a such a sense of freedom and interest to everyday tasks and chores here in India. There is not much of a pre-set way of doing things. There is no pressure of doing things a certain way, just because the rest of the country does so. This sense of people doing things their own way is very apparent while you shop, when you see kids play at a park, when you walk the streets, cross a road. Simple example, when you try to walk from point A to point B on any road.. there is no sidewalk.. so people can choose where they want to walk. There is no automatic sense of sticking to the left (assuming people drive on the left... half the country does not drive. so no sense of leftside/rightside) I, of course, being a creature of habit, walk on the right side of the road and stick to the right when someone comes in my way. But this did not quite work.. i was bulldozed by people, dogs,Bicyclists, cows, pigeons, auto rickshaws, puddles and rubble. All these things have their own minds and do their own things. Just accept this and move on. when you find a clear spot on the road in the direction towards point B.. just take step into that spot keep going. Don;t look around, don't ever think the person or thing next to you knows why you are stopping... they simply don't. Just barge in, move forward, and be happy and get to your destination. Some people call this lack of civic sense, I call this survival. Of course this have to slowly change and make it more easy to walk around. The problem is not the people, the problem is the knowledge transfer and infrastructre. When they build a sidewalk, people are not educated on how to use it.
Its not really funny for a lot of people to live in this kind of chaotic city and streets... but to me the solution lies in looking at this as difference and not a problem. The day we stop comparing western life to the way of life here in India.. Life will be so much more peaceful. A lot of people exposed to the western world have expectations and constantly compare their lives. But that is just a waste of time and living life in denial. They have to try an understand why what Dog or cow or puddle is there in the presume wrong spot. When you understand the reasons.. you stop looking at it as being in the wrong spot. It is in fact in the right spot.. considering the situation. Change has to come in a different form.. trying to squeeze the crazy, chaotic life here into a streamline life designed for the western world does not work.
My survival tip: Learn to understand and reason everything out. There is always a good reason for things being done a certain way. People have very complicated lives and priorities are very different. What is obvious and apparent to us is completely off the charts to some one else.
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