Life on our sector

OK, so apologies that it is over a month since the last post but we've been totally preoccupied finding a place to live which proved harder than expected and very frustrating with landlords pulling out of deals etc. Finally we are now settled in a lovely flat on the third floor of a small sector in Vasant Kunj.  We suffered the normal vagaries of Indian life with no water on the first morning  and no power on the second and then only water out of one tap but gradually things are coming together and we are building good relationships with plumbers and electricians!!!

Spring is definitely here, for as well as a profusion of flowers in riotous colours, everything that moves is mating! The pigeons are particularly annoying and i'm waging war to try to stop them nesting on my balconies! Helium balloons tied on string to the railings and water pistols at the ready to aim at them don't seem to be working very well! The dogs on the sector are also driving me crazy especially at night when they just bark and fight and mate!!! The government is trying to sterilize the strays to stop the proliferation of dogs but there are so many 'animal rights' supporters on the sectors that refuse to let the people in to round them up that it doesn't seem to be having much effect and everywhere there are cute little puppies! Shame they have to turn into skinny mangy creatures. The other annoying night time activity is the round of the bored security guard who takes it into his head that at 4 o'clock in the morning he should walk around the sector banging a large stick on the ground and blowing loudly on a Whistle! I presume this is to wake everyone up to let them know that he is not asleep but doing his job! I doubt very much whether it would deter any burglars.

The weather at the moment is warm and sunny but still fresh early in the morning and in the evening. It's the only time of year where it is really pleasant to sit out on the balcony and I love sitting here surrounded by my plants and looking down on to the street below. As i'm writing this I can see chipmunks chasing each other up and down  the branches of the  tree nearby and green parakeets  balancing on the topmost branches . Every so often a man pushing a large handcart laden with fruit and vegetables calling out for customers as he passes below and a man wobbles by on a bicycle laden with brooms, mops and brushes. I can see maids out on the balconies opposite sweeping away the dust and washing the floors or hanging out washing. A mixture of \Hindi, Bengali, Urdu and other tongues wafts around me.

My maid is a little young girl who looks no more than 18 and who speaks not a word of English so I manage to communicate in my broken Hindi and much waving of hands and pointing. I have found out that she is from Bengal and that she has an eleven year old son and five year old daughter!! When I asked her how old she was she didn't know her age but through an Indian friend translating I found out that she was married as a child and came with her husband to Delhi for work. Child marriage is still quite a common practice in rural villages in India even though it is supposed to be illegal. Now she hurries from one flat to another trying to do as much cleaning as possible in order to earn enough to live on and send her two children to school .

A spiritual rickshaw ride!

The other day a friend and I were out and seeking a rickshaw to take us back home  through Delhi. A very cheerful man with a big smile stopped and positively welcomed us aboard which I can tell you is very unusual among the usually grumpy Delhi drivers.  His English seemed very good and his opening sentence was "do you believe in God?"  He then proceeded to talk non stop about God being in everything and "Do you know what girl stands for ? God In Real Life! so I'm carrying two Gods in my auto!" 'we've got a right one here!' I thought. He was so busy talking away looking at us in his rear view mirror that at one point he nearly crashed into another vehicle! " Mind out bhaisaab!" I cried out, " Oh don't worry " he grinned wobbling his head  from side to side , " I'm not driving this auto, God is, so we're perfectly safe!" I think that was taking the God thing too far and I told him very firmly that if god was driving this auto then it was through him and he had to pay attention!

 Amazingly we got home safe and sound. Perhaps God was driving after all?!!