Power and Mom's Visit

It’s been some weeks since I posted to this blog. I think that indicates that life is settling in to a new normal and I feel like I have fewer new crazy things to tell you about.

Right now I am typing on my laptop in the dark. The power is out but we’re delaying turning the generator on. A cyclone is sweeping in from the ocean north of here and it brought some rain to Chennai. When it rains there is a good chance the power will go out. Likewise when it’s windy, or there is a strike, or it’s sunny, or cloudy.. you get the picture. Really, though, chances are good when it rains that we’re dark.
It’s funny. We went to “our hotel” today for brunch and met two other families. The conversation did not miss even ½ beat as the lights went out for 3 minutes or so, then came back (likely the generator clicking over). It reminds me of when we lived in Los Angeles and the locals would talk right through an earthquake like nothing was happening. After so many you just know how it goes.

But, wait, didn’t I just gloss over being in a cyclone? Yes, because apparently a cyclone does not mean what I thought it meant. Apparently it means rain on and off for a day, with maybe the breeze turning in to wind for a few minutes at a time. But the good news is that it keeps people off the streets and the roads were ours today.

Mom was here for two weeks and can testify to the sad state of power availability at our house. By day 10 I think she said, “I can see where this would get old fast”, or something along those lines. In any given day the power can go down and up many times. That is why, between the power lines and our TV and computers, we have a whole-house generator, whole-house power stabilizer, UPS with battery backup, and 220 to 110 step-down transformer.

We had a great time while Mom was here. We had developed a list of sites to visit in Chennai so we kept busy. We went out to eat pretty much every day, from five-star hotels to local Indian chains where you close your eyes if you have to use the bathroom (but the food is worth it). We got her hooked on South Indian coffee, which is very strong and mixed with boiling milk, best with sugar stirred in. We also went shopping, got a few massages, and drank champagne in our pool.

Luckily, we had a few brushes with local custom during her visit. There was a puja holiday where people pay respect to the machines they work with. One day our caretaker and maid came over and placed fruit, flowers and oils in front of our generator room. They did a little ritual where they broke a coconut on the ground, bent down and placed their faces in the coconut juice, then placed a candle in a pumpkin (which seems to be the generic term for all hard squashes here) and walked around the house three times with it. They took the pumpkin and a coconut and smashed them in the street in front of the house. They used red and white powder to put dots on our foreheads, and we saw that they had placed similar dots on the gate, generator, and pool pump along with flowers and leaves.

Apparently this is about appreciating the things we use in our daily lives, pushing out bad spirits, and welcoming in good spirits. But we didn’t have a narrator so can only piece together what we’ve heard, what they told us, and some Wikipedia references.

The next day our truck got a similar treatment with our driver and the caretaker. It was all quite charming and we were glad to have Mom here to share it with.

The next local encounter came courtesy of a local man from work. He invited us to go sari shopping with him. The sari is the long (6 or 9 meters) piece of cloth that traditional women wear by wrapping it (rather intricately) around themselves. People give saris as gifts at Diwali, the festival of lights, which is like their Thanksgiving and Christmas wrapped up in one. He was buying saris for his mom. His friend met us at this beautiful store which had a huge selection of saris, other clothes for women, men and children, plus some house linens and small gifts. Mr R tried on a cloth men wear wrapped around their waists which would I would describe as a sarong. I bought a beautiful salwar suit, which is a long shirt, puffy pants, and a long scarf that most of the women at my office (myself included) wear.

We visited one more women’s clothes store (gorgeous fabrics) then Mom and I were invited to my co-worker’s friend’s grandmother’s house to try on saris. This is how nice people are here. This young woman never met us before but took us home with her. Her grandparents and mother were there and were just as gracious as could be. The grandmother had a gorgeous collection of saris that she showed us. We selected two, then the young woman wrapped us up in them. It was so much fun, like we were her Barbie dolls. The funny thing is that she was trying to prove to us that wearing a sari is easy. After the tucking, gathering, wrapping and pinning neither of us was convinced! But, boy, did we feel fancy! The family was brought back in to the room to inspect us, then they handed us their jewelry to put on so we could be photographed. After we changed back they showed us their very nice apartment and chatted with us a few more minutes.

But we were off to lunch, where Mr R and my co-worker were waiting for us. We had a great meal courtesy of our new friends, and really enjoyed our time with them.

It was after Mom left that the story ends. We had taken my suit out to be tailored (which is the norm here, they sell some suits cut out but not sewn) that day. A week or so later my co-worker picked it up and brought it to me at work. But he also brought me Diwali gifts! When we were out he had purchased a suit for me (lovely- cream and peach), plus his friend sent me a flourless chocolate torte (to die for!! I had to put some in the freezer or I would have eaten the whole thing without stopping), and his mom sent a bunch of really good chocolate candies plus some sweet snacks. I am still reeling from the generosity of this young couple and their families.

Not every day was so exciting during Mom’s visit. We spent a few days just hanging around the yard, reading, swimming, napping, and just chilling our heels. It was fun to have her and hard to see her go. But she will be back soon enough, so we need to do some more exploring so we have new places for her (and you!) to visit.