An Expat In India

In this surreal era of the Covid pandemic, the appearance of children out in public has become something of a rarity. You saw the boys I encountered playing street cricket in a recent post: it was newsworthy precisely because such a phenomenon is now, sadly, unusual. Meeting my neighbors--grandmother, son and grandson--a couple days ago (when their coconuts were being harvested) was also an unexpected surprise. So you can therefore understand my delight every time I am graced with the presence of one of these precious youngsters; most of all, the young lady you see in the photo above.  I have seen her from time to time in our society. She is always alone, which is surprising enough, being so young. Equally so is her ethereal, fairy-like, self-assured countenance, her fancy, fluffy dresses and her stunning, other-worldly smile.  She is completely enchanting and immediately captured my heart. She always smiles, always says "hello" to me, but no other words. When I tri...

What an eventful day this has been! Isn't it remarkable that, even in this era of Covid and lock downs, the most interesting adventures can still occur?! Maybe not SO remarkable...this IS India, after all! And, as always, the reasons to count one's blessings are ever present. To begin with, I set out mid-morning to buy some vegetables from the little local market that is a two minute walk from the front gate of our society. Today is thankfully the last day of the strict, ten day lock down; during the last five, though, Pune residents have been allowed to go shopping, but only in the mornings.  When I reached the front side of the market, a large, black cow was trying to nose her way up to the vegetables on display; large boxes full of enough delectable produce to entice human and bovine alike!  This particular creature was quite beautiful and, without a moment's thought, I did what I always do: made my approach with a little coo'ing noise to invite her for a sc...

Despite the mild disillusionment with India which I was experiencing when I wrote  the last post, it is nonetheless with great sadness and a heavy heart that I must soon take my leave of this magical land. My visa expires on July 31st. It is a ten year tourist visa, but has to be "renewed" by exiting the country each 180 days. My original plan was to jump down to Sri Lanka and visit a Facebook friend in the capitol city of Colomo for a week or so, before returning to India. The other possible choices of nearby, inexpensive excursions out of India included Nepal, Thailand, Bali, Vietnam, Maldives, and so forth.  All before Covid, of course. Sri Lanka has recently suspended any visas for entry into their country indefinitely. So have most other countries: borders are basically closed to all except for each country's own citizens. I COULD get a ticket to Thailand--no visa required for Americans--but I would get stuck there: India has suspended its visas--even ...

THE GOOD:  At least SOMEONE who thought of this wall art project in Koregaon Park had the right idea and best of intentions. I don't know if children painted this or it was MADE to look like children painted it, but the idea is wonderful, yes?! We ALL want to do right by our beautiful planet...how could it be otherwise? Yes, being mindful of conserving water...important worldwide, as it will soon be our most precious resource. In many parts of the globe, a shortage of clean water has already become a dire issue.  Sad fish...polluted waterways...uncool, people!  There is SUPPOSED to be a drastic reduction of the use of plastic here in India. Good in theory ...yet still I see plastic bags and containers in use and discarded EVERYWHERE!  Well, duh...of COURSE we use proper bins to dispose of our garbage, right?? Common sense and second nature, right?!?!... read on.... I thought about an alternate title for this post: "Homesick"! Every...

MY GREATEST EXPENSE Not rent, as you may suppose...which, in Koregaon Park, is not cheap: $330 U.S. for the month, just for the room in my present guest house (plus kitchen access and usage.) When everyone is in residence,  it is home to 4 guests, 2 young hosts (plus their baby), housekeeper and--during the weekdays--2 employees who work at my host's home office. Yes, I do think I am overpaying. Problem is, places to stay in Covid Days are slim pickings. Most apartment complexes--AKA "societies"--won't allow any visitors or guests at all. So, for the ones that CAN accept guests, this is the going market rate. My hosts' guest rooms are never vacant! No, dear readers, despite rent being a huge chunk of my monthly budget, in fact my greatest expense is... FOOD !  Yes, "food, glorious food"... as I expounded upon, once before, when still at the ashram.  But while the wonderful ashram food was included in my monthly room and board--and as such, was ...

Example of a crab walk....  As previously mentioned--in a blog post quite awhile back now--one of the greatest hazards I experience in India is that of crossing the street. ANY street!   The drivers in this country are crazy. Maybe they are that way everywhere... it is quite possible. What makes India unique, however, is that they don't seem to have any traffic laws! Or if they DO have them, there is rampant and flagrant disregard of such laws.  The drivers of every sort of vehicle speed, honking incessantly as a warning for others to get out of their way.  The volume of traffic is staggering... even in the semi-lock-down, which is still going on at the time of this writing.  There appears to be no regard whatsoever for pedestrians, who clearly do NOT have the right-of-way, as they do have--or at least are SUPPOSED to have--in Western countries like the U.S.A.  I have already mentioned that I feel like I am taking my life into my ha...

Presenting:  some favorite photos, not previously posted, for your enjoyment.  Since this is a redo--blogger COMPLETELY obliterated the original post!!!--the photos will only have VERY succinct captions. The "scooty": choice transportation for both man and beast! I get spoon fed my birthday cake! Then, got it smeared onto my face! Both an Indian tradition, apparently.... Pigs adapted to eat garbage... and teach their young the same... so tragic!  So cute...would love to abscond with these babes... another sweet street pooch R.I.P., gas main! huh?! play on words that I guess made sense to them! Indian jump bikes...clearly not used much! No one can tell me WHY so many trees/roots are painted this way! stylish "penguin" garbage receptacle...WHY a penguin?!?!? "garages" are popular take-away eateries! Eating healthy here... my classic salad! Amazing vines dangling down from these ...