So I’ve hardly posted anything here since the start of the year… partly due to being unbelievably busy at work for the last 3-4 months, and when you spend most of your day writing documentation, going home and writing more stuff doesn’t really appeal.

Plus I’ve been in India for 3½ years now, and I think I’ve probably reached the point where I’ve already said most of the things I wanted to say about the country, and reported most of my observations about how things change when you move to a place like this as an expat.

Just after moving here, I wrote that while moving to Bangalore for 2 years had been an adventure, I expected being in Delhi to be more of a challenge.

Well it certainly has been a challenge recently…

Weather (again)—Today was the hottest day in Delhi for 62 years.  They registered 47.8 Celsius at Palam airport, although most of the city was “only” around 45 degrees.  It’s been about the same for 3 days now, and some areas are suffering power-cuts, which doesn’t bear thinking about.  Not being able to even run a ceiling fan, never mind a jungle cooler or a proper air-conditioning unit, would make life unbearable.   Especially at night—it hasn’t been below 30 degrees overnight for a couple of weeks at least—it would be almost impossible to sleep.

Dog Bite (again)—Yes, I was bitten by a street dog again this week.  Just like last time, it jumped out at me from behind a parked car and before I had time to even see it, it had hold of my ankle.  This time however, it was broad daylight, 6pm, and I was right in the middle of Defence Colony market, doing some shopping after work.

Unlike last time I was a lot less worried… the dog didn’t draw blood and I had already had Rabies shots last year (on top of the vaccination I had before leaving the UK in 2010), so I went along to the hospital to see a doctor the next day.

Also, this time I went to a nearby private hospital. I got a jab, spoke to a doctor, and was out of there pretty quickly, after paying the princely sum of Rs 300 (£3.00).  And because I’d had the course of 4 shots last year, the doc told me I only needed to have one this time to boost my immunity.

Ropalidia marginata (photo: Wikipedia)

Wasp Bite (first time)—last week when the water delivery man came round with my 20L can of drinking water, he rang the doorbell but it didn’t work.  I let him in, and led him across my roof terrace to the kitchen, which has a separate door.  As we passed the doorbell, I was subliminally aware of something moving at me at enormous speed, followed by a huge amount of pain in my right ear.

The pani-wala was waving his hands and shouting “dangerous! dangerous!” but all I could do was yell.  Very loudly indeed.

It turns out that there had been some wasps nesting in the doorbell, and his ringing (which didn’t ring) must have enraged one of them, and it came out and bit me.  He was telling me to put lemon juice on it but I didn’t have any… a quick google suggested Aloe Vera would soothe it, and I have loads of that growing on the terrace, so after giving it a good wash I slathered it in Aloe gel and then held a bottle of iced water on it to keep the swelling down.

Boy was it sore though… and for a couple of days.  And now every time I see one of those wasps the hairs on the back of my neck stand up!  These are some kind of Paper Wasp, all yellow/orange, with no stripes.  I’ve seen one on the terrace a lot, bumbling around and always apparently looking for water to drink, directly from a dripping tap, from a saucer with a plant sitting in it, or from a puddle.  I’d always thought they were fairly harmless, but I guess they’re not the same when they’re angry.

Also, it was about this time last year when my doorbell went up in flames… if they are making a nest in there at this time of year (out of paper), and especially when it’s 40+ outside, it’s hardly surprising it went on fire.

* * *

There’s quite a backlog of things I’d like to write about, but I never seem to have the time. Sometimes being so backed up makes me consider finding an affordable writing service to help with the load. I have several unfinished posts all sitting here in WordPress.  If anyone’s actually reading this please let me know, and it might give me some incentive to get on with finishing them!

Yet another anniversary… today is one year since I arrived in Delhi.

The last 3 weeks have seen cold, grey, damp, foggy weather, and even some rain on Friday, the first for a couple of months. (It was even cold rain—a first for me in India.) But thankfully the weather was great today, with clear blue skies and enough sun to get the temperature up to about 17C.

Meanwhile at night it’s still down to around 7-8 degrees, and I’ve got 2 duvets on the bed, because the only heating in my entire flat is a little electric blower thing.  Another couple of weeks and it should start warming up again.  By March we’ll all be sweating again and I’ll be getting the air conditioning serviced and ready for months of constant use, day and night.

Anyway… Ek saal Dilli mein. One year in Delhi. I was in a celebratory mood today, although it might  have mainly been due to the very welcome sunshine. I can’t ever remember 12 months  going by so quickly before, and I’ve certainly been extremely busy with work, but I think it’s been a good year.

India now feels totally like home, to the extent that I even forget I’m living overseas most of the time. I still get little pangs of homesickness from time to time, but these are invariably focused around people I wish I could see (but can’t), or food I really want to eat (but can’t)… I was craving good Scottish Kippers and crusty bread for breakfast the other day. *sigh*

My Hindi classes have been a bit sporadic for the last few months, but I noticed recently that I am understanding whatever taxi and rickshaw drivers are throwing at me without having to think about it.  Definitely need more practice though.

And so begins the second year in Delhi, and the fourth year in India.  Chalo.

So the monsoon has arrived in Delhi—and the rest of the country—somewhat ahead of schedule. Which means that summer is over, and we’re now into the rainy season.  

The cooler weather is obviously a huge relief to everyone… It’s hard to believe that only 3 weeks ago it was 45 degrees, but as I write this it’s currently 25.   Last night was the first night in 2-3 months when I didn’t have to have the air conditioning on all night in my bedroom.

Surviving the summer heat was one of the challenges I’d been anticipating, but in the end it wasn’t quite as taxing as expected.  Admittedly I did spend most of May sitting in an air-conditioned office, which helps a lot.  Three weeks of 45 degrees isn’t pleasant by any means, but it’s doable, so long as you don’t try and actually do anything outside.  I became quite used to arriving at the metro station drenched in sweat (like many others), and drinking a 1.5L bottle of water in the hour it takes to get to work.

Anyway, it’s good to know that’s behind us now.  The next challenge is dealing with 3 months of heavy rain!

My fledgling roof terrace garden has also heaved a big sigh of relief, and I went out this morning to trim back all the brown leaves that had been scorched by the relentless sun.  I was looking forward to pottering about out there, especially since the skies were grey so I wouldn’t have to worry about being sun-burned, but the heavens opened late morning and we’ve had heavy rain and thunderstorms pretty much non-stop so far today.

I’ve got 2 weeks vacation coming up at the end of this week, and really not sure where to go now… there’s little point in heading somewhere if it’s going to be raining heavily.  Time for some homework.

At the risk of being repetitive, I’m going to bang on about the weather again.  Because it’s now very, very hot.

Today it was 45 degrees celsius when I took the photo above, and reportedly it reached 46 in Delhi at some point.  Slightly trumping the previous hottest temperature I had ever experienced, which was 44 in Athens (Greece) and Brindisi (Italy) when back-packing around Europe in the late 80’s.  My memory of Athens was that elderly people were dropping dead in the street—according to the media—and that I was taking two cold showers a day.

A temperature of over 40 degrees in Europe is a freak heat-wave, but in Delhi it’s fairly normal for this time of year.  And it will possibly get hotter still between now and the monsoon arriving.

The mercury has been rising steadily since I arrived here 4 months ago, but what I’ve found interesting is the qualitative change as it reaches the big four-oh.  Once it’s over 40, one of the first things I noticed is that you can feel the hot air in your nostrils.  Not warm, hot.  As it climbs even higher, you can feel your eyelids and even your eyeballs responding to the searing heat—which is also extremely dry just now.  Humidity was 8% today!

On the other hand, I think I’m getting used to it.  An important factor is how you respond to it.  Avoiding walking around outside (!) really helps—so I’ve been getting cycle-rickshaws to and from the metro station, rather than my usual walk. Paying someone Rs 20 (24p) to haul my carcass for 5 minutes rather than walking for 15 and arriving soaked in sweat is a good deal in anyone’s book.  Work days are relatively easy because I spend all day inside an air-conditioned office, except when I have to walk to another building for meetings.  Weekends are more challenging because you can’t really do much, except for heading for a nicely air-conditioned café to while away the hours.

Or sleep.  I’m doing a lot of sleeping on Saturday and Sunday afternoons these days.

The plants on my newly-acquired roof terrace aren’t bearing up quite so well.  They’re desperately in need of some shade, and I bought shade netting but haven’t yet managed to locate some local bamboo-walas so I can actually suspend it in the air with something.  I’ve been watering twice a day, and moved everything close together so that the more robust plants will provide some shade for everything else, but even so a few plants have shrivelled, presumably due to the actual heat rather than from being in the sun.

My new apartment is great.  I moved up to the second floor (from the first) around 3 weeks ago.  Unlike the 2-bed place downstairs, this one has only 1 bedroom and feels much better for what I need.  It’s also the same overall area as the flat below, but with the benefit of the roof terrace.  The main downside is the kitchen, which is tiny, and you have to go outside to reach it.  It gets absolutely hammered by the sun during the day, and being so small it gets very very hot in there. During the first week I took a box of eggs out of the cupboard to cook breakfast, and discovered that all the yolks had burst.

Mind you, most of the rest of the flat gets really hot during the day too—the downside of being on the top floor.  Finding that your toothpaste or shampoo is warm when you use it takes some getting used to.  On the plus side, I haven’t used the water heater in weeks, because the water coming out of the shower is never cold.  The tap outside, which I use for filling the watering can, even supplies hot water in this weather.

Yesterday my doorbell caught fire.  Electrical wiring here is never that dependable, but it’s quite likely that more than 3 weeks of it being 40+ every day had done weird things to the metal parts, since it was mounted outside on the wall out on the roof terrace.   Maybe something got bent inside and caused a spark, but basically it went up in flames when someone rang it repeatedly yesterday afternoon.  Fortunately I’d taken the day off work, and noticed the smell of burning coming through the a.c. so I went outside and caught it in flagrante delicto. 

It’s school holidays now, and around Defence Colony where I live it has suddenly become much quieter, especially in the mornings.  The metro is also not quite so packed.  I’m looking forward to getting away somewhere myself soon too—apart from the odd day here and there, I’ve not had any holiday since I started this job in January.

With the stifling heat here, I’m currently thinking of somewhere cool and lush in the Himalayas… perhaps Darjeeling, or somewhere in ‪Uttarakhand‬.  Or maybe finally going to Kathmandu.  Any suggestions?

Right then, here comes the Summer.  The ultimate test.  Maybe.

When I arrived in Delhi in January 2013 it was surprisingly cold.  Even for seasoned Dilliwalas it was something to talk about… supposedly the coldest winter for 40 years.

As the Times of India commented back in January:

For nine straight days since December 31, the capital hasn’t seen temperatures rise above 16 degrees Celsius and the minimum has remained below 6 degrees. Taking these two temperature limits as cutoff, TOI sifted through data for the past 40 years. No other unbroken spell of biting chill—both minimum and maximum temperatures staying this low—had sustained for as long as this, it was found.

Folks in more Northern climes will laugh at winter temperatures “not rising above 16 degrees”, but it did feel very chilly at times, especially in the damp foggy mornings.  And when there are no carpets and no proper heating anywhere.

Since the end of February/beginning of March, the temperature has gradually been moving up a notch every day or two, and for the past few weeks it’s been in the very pleasant low 30s.  A few weeks ago, I started having to put the ceiling fans on in the evening, and then in the bedroom overnight.

With a light breeze and blue skies, this is the kind of weather I would consider perfect on holiday.  (As it is, I’ve seen very little of it due to spending most of my days in the office.)  Over the past week or two I’ve noticed that butterflies are appearing everywhere during the day, and crickets are chirping in the evenings.

But now we’re at the beginning of summer, and that ominous-looking weather forecast above reckons we’ll hit 37 this weekend.  Found the first cockroach in the flat today too.

Given that it was 45 degrees for a week or two during a heatwave last June, I’m a little bit apprehensive about how I will cope.  For the last few days I’ve been arriving at the metro station and starting to drip with sweat as soon as I board the train.

Then again, my flat is quite cool and I’ve just had the air conditioning serviced, even though I’ve not had to actually use it yet.

So… I’m ready.  I think.

Over to you, Feargal.

You can see why people say one of the best things about Bangalore is the weather.  

Although we’ve been into monsoon season for 2-3 weeks now it hasn’t really rained much — just a few afternoon showers.  But the skies are now quite often grey, and there’s a cool breeze blowing most days.  It was even so cool yesterday morning that I could walk to work instead of catching an auto — normally infeasible because I would arrive dripping with sweat.

Meanwhile, the North is still suffering from a bit of a heatwave.  I can’t say I fancy 45 degrees much. And during power-cuts when there’s no air conditioning it must be unbearable.

So, the monsoon is upon us again — almost.

The newspapers here had been talking over the past week about how it would be “late”… it’s supposed to arrive in Kerala (first place of landfall) on 1st June. It’s now 5th June and you can see from the map that the actual (green) is 4-5 days behind the predicted time in red dotted lines. According to the map it’s coming in from the South-West, as expected, and has arrived at the Western Ghats mountain range.

(Bangalore is bang in the middle, between the green horizontal line and Mangalore on the left, and the black horizontal line and Chennai on the right.)

Regardless of the timing, everyone seems to be relieved it’s here. But particularly farmers, who rely enormously on the arrival of the rains to sustain their crops, and a late monsoon can affect yields very badly.

Also relieved will be our friends in the North, where there’s been a heatwave recently. Talking to a colleague in Delhi on a recent Saturday afternoon, she said it was 46 celsius there daytime max, and not even falling below 30 at night. Ouch! (Especially when there are constant power-cuts and you have no air conditioning…)

The hottest I’ve ever experienced myself was 44 in Athens, while backpacking around in the late 1980’s, and all I can remember of that was that I had to have 2 cold showers a day, and that elderly people were dropping dead in the street.

The weather in Bangalore has been great for the past couple of days though… about 30 degrees and sunny with blue skies, but a few welcome white puffy clouds and a cooling breeze, coming from the South-West which is the signature of the arriving monsoon. Brits would probably consider this a “perfect summer’s day”, although maybe a bit warm. It certainly makes a very welcome change from the typical 35 degrees and low humidity of April-May.

I guess the proper rains will arrive here in another 3-5 days… the monsoon itself moves in bursts apparently. Tonight the winds were getting stronger and the clouds bigger and darker. I’d always imagined the onset of the monsoon as being dramatic, and involving huge, foreboding clouds appearing on the horizon — maybe it is in Kerala or elsewhere on the coast, but here in Blore the climate is generally moderate, and many people tell me that’s why they like to live here.

Despite the supposedly-late timing, if I look back at my blog from this time last year I notice that my last entry on this subject was also on 5th June!