The View from the Cheap Seats

Two things that are probably misunderstood are cows and swastikas. Here is a little background for you on both!

So many people mistakenly think cows are “worshiped” in India and that is plain wrong. In Hinduism, they are not worshiped. They are respected and appreciated and even revered. Cows are a useful gift to mankind. Without them, there would be no milk, butter, ghee.

Cows we saw standing in the street while we were out shopping today.

In fact, cows provide milk like mothers do, so they can be thought of as surrogate mothers to mankind for what they provide. Lord Krishna was a cowherd, and Lord Shiva’s vehicle was a bull, so there are roots for cows being important in Hinduism. Want to understand more about cows and what they mean to Hindus? Here’s a short and interesting site to check out.

The swastika has a very long history but it was so distorted by Hitler that so many people

A shop we saw today. Notice that the swastika symbol looks different from the symbol used to represent the Nazi party.

all around the world see it only as a symbol of evil and hatred. In fact, the swastika was used more than 5000 years before Hitler “hijacked” it. The symbol means “good fortune” or “well being”.  In Hinduism and some other religions, the swastika is still a sacred symbol. In fact, it is not uncommon to see it here in India. Today while at the mall, Brenda and I were looking at some beautiful Indian items in a culture store and saw a beautiful jeweled swag but rejected the notion of buying it because of the swastika on it. The simple act of displaying it would be misunderstood to the point of hostility. The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum website offers a really interesting history of the swastika.

I do declare, it is getting easier for me to run in this hot, humid weather! I had a really nice run this morning. And while I was on my run, something interesting happened.

A couple days ago Brenda had noticed a cat in the park. Stray cats are not commonly seen around here, at least not as commonly seen as stray dogs, which are everywhere. The cat Brenda saw was a lanky, think cream colored cat. Like the dogs, the cat might be thin because it’s hungry or because the animals here might be built that way, or a little bit of both.

Skinny kitty in the park. (Photo credit Brenda Hanik)

This morning, I saw the cat while I was running. It was just lying in the shade, paying no attention to me or anyone else. As I finished my run, I decided to do a couple cool down walking laps (it sounds almost ridiculous to say “cool down”). As I did my first lap, I stopped and poured a little bit of water out of my water bottle on the ground for the cat. She came right over to it. I kept on walking. As I approached her on my second lap, she was lying in her spot in the shade but when she saw me, she got up and came over to me, meowing, and rubbing up against my legs. I poured her a little more water because that’s all I had to offer, gave her a few scratches, and finished my exercise. I was amazed that after one little act of kindness, this kitty remembered me. But I probably shouldn’t be surprised. The stray animals here don’t always get a lot of kindness so when they do, they remember who treated them well. There is a mom dog and her three pups at my dad’s work that he and Ahmed feed every morning and my dad tells cute stories and takes adorable videos of these dogs and how excited they are when they see the red car pulling up. They remember. They know these guys are going to give them some yummy stuff.

Now, I’m sure there is likely somebody reading this that doesn’t see much heart-warming information in that little story. Maybe they are’t animal lovers. Maybe they get frustrated by the assistance people give animals but seem to eschew their fellow man. Well, what I can tell you is that from my perspective, they are all God’s creatures — people and animals alike, and I do what I can to help those who need it regardless of how many legs they have.

So just to make sure everyone knows that yes, we do care about the numerous homeless animals we see here in India but we don’t ignore the many people who live in poverty. The last time I was here, there were two instances where we provided food for children begging on the street. On this trip, we were barely out of the airport before our car was approached by a child begging for money. My dad and Brenda quickly rolled down the window and offered what they could. The plight of those who live in poverty here isn’t lost on us. But neither is the plight of the animals who roam the street.

There are so many people who live in poverty here. There are so many animals who are homeless and uncared for here. We can’t help them all, but we help as many as we can — people and animals.

Today is the first day I did not take a nap since arriving in India. I’m hoping that means my jet lag is finally gone!

While Dad was at work, Brenda and I worked around the apartment. The air conditioner in the master bedroom was dripping water so a repair crew had to come in to fix it. They were supposed to be here at 10:30 but it was after 1:00 when they finally showed up.

I worked on my Curriculet assignment — finished it!

Since I spent my time in the apartment, I thought I’d share a few things that are a little different here than at home.

For breakfast, I wanted to make a hard boiled egg. Simple enough. But first I had to get water. We don’t drink the water from the tap here; we drink bottled water. But cooking with bottled water can be expensive, so we use water from the filtration system installed in the kitchen. Then to cook the egg I had to turn on the gas and the electricity for the igniter on the stove to work. All outlets and electrical appliances are switched so it is not uncommon to see many switches on one switch plate.

Each room in the apartment has a separate air conditioning unit. A remote control is used to change the temperature, which is all done in Celsius. I am woefully inept at the metric system, so I can tell you that I keep the AC in my room set anywhere from 22 – 24 Celsius and I have no idea what that temperature is!

Taking a shower requires a little bit of advanced planning. The hot water heater needs to be turned on first. There is a separate switch for each water dispenser in the apartment. It takes about 10 minutes for the water to heat up, so you have to know you want to take a shower 10 minutes before you get in!

Some people might think things like the ones mentioned here are a hassle, but personally I find them to be part of the excitement of visiting another country!

The water filtration system

The remote to control the AC in my room

The AC unit in my room

The switches on the wall are for the igniter on the stove; the yellow latch on the pipe to the right turns on the gas.

Light switches in my room; the one on the right is for the water heater

Another laid back day here in India. When my dad left for work, Brenda and I hit the park for some exercise. The park is a really beautiful venue for running and walking. Today was not quite as humid as the other day, so my run was a little easier. I also slowed my pace a little bit. It sure takes some getting used to, running in the heat and humidity. I should be ready for Illinois by the time I get back 🙂

Brenda and I spent the day relaxing while dad was at work. I sat on the balcony this afternoon. There was a nice breeze and it was fun to see all the kids playing in the park.

For dinner, we walked over to a restaurant called Out of the Blue. They have a nice menu of a wide variety of food. It was a nice dinner.

After dinner, we went to Haiko, which is a grocery store. I wish I was allowed to take pictures in there because it is crazy how crowded it is! But I love going to the grocery store. There are so many cool things to see, both Indian items and American items that are packaged differently. For instance, they had strawberry creme and orange creme Oreos. Neither one sounded appealing so I passed on both.

After that we strolled over to Haagen Dazs and grabbed some ice cream. I took some video of the traffic again. The traffic here never ceases to amaze me. There is so much of it and it’s always so haphazard (emphasis on HAZARD!) and so noisy with all the honking. Brenda was a bad ass, though, and just stepped out in front of a bus and crossed the street! Like a real resident of India 🙂

We are just over a week away from leaving for Dubai. I am enjoying my time relaxing here in Mumbai, though. As I’ve said, I really enjoy the atmosphere of the buzz of people and activity all the time.

Sometimes you feel like a rock star. Like today.

The day started with watching hockey at 5:30 in the morning. Dad, Brenda, and I watched the Blackhawks smear the ice with the Anaheim Ducks to earn their way into the Stanley Cup finals.

We spent the day shopping at a mall. Once we arrived at the mall, the car had to be checked and we had to go through metal detectors and be wanded — women go behind a curtain to have this done by another female security officer. Just to go the shopping mall. They take their security very seriously in India.

At Viviana Mall, where we shopped today.

I picked up a cute pair of shoes at the mall. The salesman fell allover himself taking care of me. He acted like I was Cinderella with the shoes. I also picked up some more beautiful Indian clothes in lighter colors for summer wear. I absolutely adore the clothes women wear in India. The colors and the fabrics are so pretty, and they are so comfortable! I’m telling you, Indian women know how to dress attractively and comfortably!

Ahmed carried my bags for me, which was very kind and a nice treat since when I go shopping at home, I’m the bag carrier!

While we were walking the mall, I noticed a group of three young Indian women, probably in their 20’s. I was admiring the bright hues of their clothes when they stopped and asked Brenda and me if they could take our pictures. We posed with each girl to have her picture taken with us. Thus happened the last time I was in India. It must be something about the blonde hair! It’s strange but flattering to think that I’m somehow “picture-worthy” even though I am a total stranger.

Being chauffeured around through traffic, shopping, having someone carry my bags, being stopped for pictures — it’s the rock star treatment.

I am so excited to say that I am back in India! I had the trip of a lifetime two years ago and I must have sailed under a lucky star to have ANOTHER trip of a lifetime!

So far all I have done is travel. I arrived at O’Hare two hours before flight time and was glad for it since I needed to see a ticket agent and there was only one and he was busier than a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest (I think that phrase was learned from my dad). The flight from O’Hare to Newark was uneventful, I assume, since once we were wheels up, I fell asleep. I woke up when the captain was announcing that we were landing in 25 minutes.

I spent a nice long layover in Newark. Grabbed myself a banana and a bottle of water ($4.00, please!). Lots of New York Rangers stuff being sold there. Should have work my Blackhawks jersey!

Brenda’s plane arrived and we boarded. We left Newark late but had fun talking and getting caught up. The mimosas were fun, too!

Mimosas!

Brenda and me on the plane

Overate ate dinner. But it was yummy! Fell asleep watching Clueless.  Woke up about 5 hours later.

Before dinner snack — warm nuts and an Indian snack!

Appetizer — chicken tikka skewer with mint yogurt.

Dinner — Indian Vegetarian selection — spiced mixed vegetables, cumin basmati rice, lentils with tomatoes and chiles, curried yogurt with okra, tomato-cucumber yogurt, and pickeled vegetables

One dessert option is assorted cheeses and grapes, but I’m all about the ice cream!

Breakfast before we landed

The I decided to watch American Sniper which I have wanted to see but was hesitant. I have such a hard time with torture and viciousness so I was worried. This version said it was edited for content, so I am assuming some of the worst gore was removed because it wasn’t edited for language. Regardless, I was impressed. Powerful movie. Bradley Cooper was very impressive.

I also decided to watch my first Bollywood film, so I started watching Bang Bang. Sadly, I didn’t get to finish it since we landed. I’ll finish it on my return flight. What a fun movie so far, though!

It was so cute seeing my dad and Ahmed waving excitedly at us when we came out of the airport. Once we got in the car, everything became familiar again. The noise, the traffic, the people everywhere, the dogs, the heat, the humidity. In general, just the hustle and bustle of Mumbai that made me find the place so enjoyable the last time I was here. It’s always so alive.

I enjoyed a Kingfisher while I unpacked,

Kingfisher makes unpacking fun!

and now, at 1:16 AM I am writing this. Afterward, I will go to bed, still able to hear the cars 27 floors below me.

Excellent!