Cocoa Masala Chai

My friend and I walked up to the pharmacy counter in Ahmedabad. We asked the clerk if there's rubbing alcohol so we can sanitize and disinfect our hotels as we go on our road trip throughout Gujarat. No, there's no rubbing alcohol, but there is a big bottle of Sterillium which is fancy, medical grade hand sanitizer and bottles of regular sanitizer available. We remark that this is a big bottle and ask if they have anything else, but he doesn't give us other choices.  As I'm staring at this 500ml bottle, I'm trying to think how I'm suppose to get this on a plane because I don't feel like checking my bag.  What I'm not worried about is how I'm going to pay.  The clerk manually types in each of the items we are going to buy and proudly shows us the discount.  It was Rs.800, but for us, it'll be Rs. 680. As I'm getting ready to pay, my friend pulls out a Rs.500 note and says "This is what I have." I had to admire her smooth resoluteness...

Everybody eats. Unless you live on a self-sustaining farm, chances are you go outside to buy your foodstuffs. And you can learn so much about a country and culture through their food -- if you can buy it first. India is both ancient and modern in many respects, including in its food.  You can easily go to a modern market to buy food or buy from a vendor at a street stall or one who will conveniently come down your street so all you have to do is come out the door to buy. The modern grocery store offers a shopping experience that I'm most used to - minus the people who will cut to the front of the line (it's a cultural thing that I just don't get and it either irks me or makes me laugh at their shameless brazenness) because they only want to buy one thing and the cashier will either tell them to go back to the end of the line or ring up their item. At hypermarkets, (think Super Walmart or a Target with a full groceries section), you can get both packaged food items, fresh f...

What's it like being in India? How are you adjusting? Don't you love it? We all love going on vacation. As you relax on beautiful beach, feeling the warm sun and breathe in the salty sea air, or as you walk through verdant park filled with luxurious trees and vibrantly colored flowers, or as you witness a picturesque sunset on an awe-inspiring landscape, I'm sure you've thought to yourself, 'I would love to live here! These people have it made, to live in a place like this every day must be amazing.' And I'm sure you've asked yourself how much would it cost to buy a house there or rent, or fantasized what you'd need to do to make the move to your dream location. All too quickly, the vacation is over and you have to go back home to the daily grind.  You realize that during the vacation, you were a tourist and had a free schedule to do anything, everything and nothing. It was that freedom you enjoyed along with the beautiful surroundings. But for the l...

Don't knock it till you've tried it Most Americans are used to their daily ablutions in a shower, whether it's a tub shower or a separate stall. For special occasions to relax or unwind, one might set up a bubble bath. And for the little ones, bath time in the tub is more like play time until they turn into wrinkled prunes. In India, it's a little different.  Often times, people bathe using a bucket and smaller mug, the size of a measuring cup, while sitting on a stool.  This blog entry won't get into the history of bucket baths, but only a high-level description of what it is.  Taking a bucket bath vs. a shower isn't better or worse; as with everything I'm learning about India, it's just different and is valuable and valid all on its own. Many bathrooms in India will have their own individual water heater called a geyser (pronounced as geezer, as in 'an old geezer'). Instead of 40-60 gallon heater for a whole home, the geyser may be 10-25 liters...

When I first visited India, my friends and I had a chance to spend some time with a senior citizen Indian woman who was anything but senior. She was challenging herself by learning a new language and she 'didn't take no mess' from a subziwallah (vegetable vendor) who surreptitiously tried to weigh out more vegetables than she wanted or needed.  She was kind enough to invite us back to her home told us "You should take some rest." It was 2 in the afternoon and I figured maybe she needed a break. While I thought it was a little weird to take an adult nap, others thought it was great idea and took a quick nap. Towards the end of my second visit to India, something similar happened with a different family I was with. I thought that the tiredness was may have been diet related, because after spending the first few weeks eating mainly vegetarian, I was definitely feeling more tired than usual (that and taking planes, trains and automobiles to crisscross the country over...

The day started off like no other. I woke up to my alarm, sat up in bed and turned on the nightstand lamp. I hadn't put my glasses on yet and out of the corner of my eye, I saw something emerging from under the nightstand. At first, I thought it may have been a little bug, but it kept going and going, like a train emerging from a tunnel, slinking along all hugged up against the floorboard as if it were trying to stay as far away from me as I was from it.  I shrieked and took a moment to collect myself in the middle of the bed.   Once I felt a little braver, I turned to get off the other side of the bed so I wouldn't encounter the multilegged insect and could escape from the bedroom.  Well, the millipede must have been thinking the same thing, because, sure enough, it had moved to the opposite side of the bed too and was there desperately trying to make its way across the floorboard to get away from the giant two-legged mammal that makes high-pitched shrieking noises ...

My four year old niece jauntily walked in to the library. During the whole summer I was trying to figure out what to do with my little people so they won't get bored and that wouldn't eat into my budget. It hadn't dawned on me that the local library is a great place to hang out until the last 2 weeks of summer.  At our local branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia were free STEM activities, free vouchers for the Art Museum, free movies, free A/C, free books that were being given away, and free lunch for the kiddos. And free is my favorite price.  As we walked toward the area with STEM toys , a huge chunk of metal caught her eye. She had seen it before, but my older niece was using it and the four-year-old got distracted by something else, as four-year-olds tend to do. But this time, it was all hers. She walked over to it and took it in. It looked like a keyboard, which she's very familiar with, but a very weird one. Instead of rectangular keys that are flush with th...

  What made me become interested in learning Hindi?   Among my many reasons, I find the language to be pretty and the culture of Hindi/Urdu-speakers interesting.   But one of my vainer reasons is that I like the clothes! If you’ve seen a Bollywood movie, you know what I’m talking about.   Brightly colored fabric, layered with intricate designs and sparkling sparklies covering every inch, draping over its wearer to highlight her femininity. Over time, I’ve come to learn that the showy fashion of Bollywood dance numbers, while fascinating, is not everyday wear.   Just like you wouldn’t wear a prom dress to do an Aldi’s run, so too the fancy outfits from the movies aren’t daily attire.   But still, the everyday sarees, salwar kameezes, and even the poshaks are very pretty to me because of their textile designs.   The women who sweep the streets even where dresses with detailed floral designs show their pride in how they adorn themselves, even when doing...

What a week it's been! It took me longer to get my post out, but here it is. Enjoy! *** Way back in when I first started working, Monday mornings always brought a certain ritual at the food trucks outside of my building.  As a people watcher, I couldn’t help but notice the familiar routine.  Patrons would come up to the truck and order something fairly cheap, maybe a muffin for $1, or if they were splurging, get it toasted with butter and jelly. Then they’d whip out the fresh $20 they got from the ATM after payday last Friday. The food truck vendor always was able to give the right blend of tens, fives, and ones as change. There was no hassle; they knew what their customers wanted and were prepared. Fast forward to the months right before the COVID-19 shutdown.  The ‘breaking a $20’ ritual was being replaced with QR codes or other stickers showing that the vendors took Venmo, CashApp or some other electronic payment. What does any of this have to do with me being in I...

Exotic Mexican Salad - when I saw that as restaurant dish on Zomato, I got super excited. What's not to like - beans, fresh peppers, onions, tomatoes and the like, sans any of the omnipresent sauce that's in many Indian dishes. My mouth had been craving the satisfying bite into a crisp vegetable and my ears missed the sound of the wet crunch from every bite (I've come to realize that food texture and the right mouthfeel is very important to me).  So I placed the order. Though I was a little disappointed that it turned out to be more of an 'everything' salsa 😑, I still ate it. I had gotten spoiled by the fresh veggie dishes available in Noida (just outside of Delhi) with absolutely no problems. Well, a few days later my digestive tract said it was unhappy with me and was very expressive in its protests. 'What did I eat? I've been cooking all my own food', I thought. Then I remembered the Exotic Mexican Salad. It's funny because I never considered M...