We Survived Our First Year

JOURNAL ENTRY: Sunday September 27th, 2009 "Day 3: So far, so good. I was freaked out the first night, but am doing better each day. We saw our first temple yesterday, got our first bindi, and road in our first rickshaw. Welcome to India!"

Yesterday, September 24th, was officially our first anniversary in India. We have survived one year! It is amazing how fast the time has gone and how much difference one year can make. Now we navigate around Gurgaon and Delhi like old pros telling Arun left, right, straight, etc. Our map guide book is actually worn from the page flipping. We no longer pull out our camera when we see a cow or donkey on the street, but instead we just smile and say "Incredible India."

From my point of view life has gotten easier the longer we have been in India. I now feel comfortable walking to and from the market, taking bike rickshaws, and navigating the local area alone. When we first arrived it took everything I had to leave the apartment and walk to a market or the gym. My level of bravery has doubled, while still being VERY aware of my surroundings. India is not a place one can ever feel comfortable or at home. The city is always changing and throwing new road blocks at us, but we now adapt with very little hesitation or frustration.

We have seen and done so much in the last year. We thank God for keeping us healthy and safe as others have not been so fortunate. A case of Delhi Belly for Ben and a few minor colds for both of us, but no emergency medical visits or hospitalizations. We are doing very well and really looking forward to our next adventure in life. We have six months to wrap up our duties in India and then we are off to a new country, culture, climate, and language. At this point in the game we are preparing for these new challenges with a smile on our face as there is hope. We have successfully conquered year one and even have a few stories for the grandchildren.

You'll never guess what I did today...

Ben receiving his red bindi mark on his forehead. Known as his 3rd eye.


Praising the God of Engineering


Celebratory Fire in the middle of the production floor.


The Indian CEO receiving the holy coconut. He then broke the coconut over a machine to bless it.


The shrine...no words for this.


When a person lives in India and their husband walks in the door on a Friday night and says, "You will NEVER guess what I did today" it is best to just sit down and grab a pad of paper. The information that is about to come from his lips is definitely going to be blog worthy. However, the events of last Friday I could have never guessed in a million years.

Incredible India is unpredictable and always throwing something new at a person. Last Friday September 17th Ben and his boss got an entire holy ceremony thrown at them. Unannounced to them it was Vishwakarma Puja, the God of Engineering day. Right in the middle of the afternoon their day was stopped for a ceremony on the production floor to honor this God. Ben and his boss had to immediately drop the projects they were working on and sit on the production floor in a respectable fashion. While these pictures may make you laugh, it was a very serious ceremony and a time when Ben had to keep a straight face. This is just another challenge of working in an Indian company.

The ceremony starts with the placing of the third eye on the forehead. They all received a wrist band made of string to protect the evil noises from entering their ears. In the middle of the ceremony a fire is started with wood and butter. Each person in the front row throws rice, flowers, and some kind of mulch onto the fire. Ben commented that the mulch REALLY smells bad. Next, everyone stands up and claps and sings while each person waves the plate in front of the shrine that is surrounded by the production floor tools. The plate is waved to bless the tools so they don't harm the employees. Finally, the priest hands the "holy coconut" to the CEO to smash over a production molding machine. The purpose of smashing the "holy coconut" is to bring the machine good luck. Thankfully the coconut broke during the smashing, which is a good sign and brought the production floor into cheering and clapping. Really, just another day in India!

The purpose of Vishwakarma Puja is to:
-Increase productivity
-Provide inspiration for creating novel products
-Celebrate the start of the festival season
-Honor Biswakarma, the creator of entire universe, heaven, and earth.
-Honor all workers and engineers.


More information is available at:
http://hinduism.about.com/b/2010/09/15/vishwakarma-puja-2010.htm

How to survive the monsoon in Gurgaon

News article from today's paper written by Pavan Choudary, a wisdom educator. Article is titled, "How to survive the monsoon in Gurgaon."

1) Use a high floor SUV if you have one.
2) Whatever four-wheeler you drive, wear gum boots.
3) Remember that the water on the roads does not let you see what all has it come in touch with.
4) Empirical evidence suggests that driving in first gear keeps the water out of the silencer and the engine.
5) Pray while your vehicle wades through water.
6) Have a backup plan (route).
7) The water logging is stripping the roads of the remaining metal.
8) An important tip for two wheeler riders: Don't assume that if yesterday the ditch had a smooth surface it will be so today as well.
9) Two-wheeler riders also note that if it is raining heavily, they can take shelter under a fly over.
10) There is no point in complaining about water logging to the authorities. The situation is unfathomable to them.