JC in India

India is rarely described as being a land of silence, of peace or tranquillity. More often the association is one of honking horns, noisy crowds and a general mele of hustle and bustle. Often the latter description is true. However, there are parts of India which can be described as tranquil – the backwaters of Kerala, the sand dunes of Rajasthan. But it is not these places about which I write today. Here in Delhi, such tranquillity is quite elusive. In Delhi, it is hard to escape the cacophony of daily life in one of the world’s most populous cities.

My apartment is in Vasant Vihar. A leafy suburb in South Delhi, which is in truth one of the more peaceful and quiet parts of this city. I sit in my apartment looking out at treetops (although one less tree more recently as I described in my last post…). I can hear the birds singing, and during March – the best month to be in Delhi – it is actually possible to sit out on my terrace and enjoy the environment.

It is very easy here to forget that just around the corner is a bustling local market block, and not even a mile away there are slums which are home to countless people all without the luxuries that I am fortunate to enjoy. But that is India. It is a land of contrasts, and of the haves and have nots. All of whom coexist in mutually accepting ways.

Despite the relative peace of my apartment (my refuge), I can still hear an underlying humdrum of activity outside. Right now, there is music playing in the distance, there are occasional cars going by. I can hear someone sweeping a floor somewhere, and regularly one of my street dogs will take it upon themselves to loudly announce their presence to all. A practice they seem to also enjoy doing in the middle of the night. There’s a good dog now… 

Additionally, being relatively close to the airport and living between the flight paths of two runways means aircraft noise is a routine experience which after a while is tuned out. When aircraft are taking off to the East, and from the closest runway, it can be quite loud. Given the airport is 24/7 operations this can lead to some overnight audio too. Thankfully though that runway is the shortest and as a result is mostly used for domestic flights, which means smaller aircraft and less overnight activity. But still, there have been occasions when I have been woken in the night by the thunderous noise of a departing large aircraft virtually right above.

India seems to accept noise and intrusion as a normal part of life. In a country of 1.4 billion, it is often hard to find solitude if you do not have the means to pay for more exclusive living. As a result, there is an expectancy and an acceptance that you put up with the hustle, bustle, and noisy environment. I have written before of the general lack of queuing etiquette, which I believe stems from an upbringing of competition to get ahead and self-preservation. Accepting the noisy environment also stems from the same I believe.

I have witnessed many times people watching videos on their phones on flights without headphones, volume turned up. I have had kids sat behind me playing loud video games, with parents seemingly oblivious to any impact this is having on those other passengers around. I have listened to numerous, what can only be described as ‘shouty’ phone calls from people next to me without a care in the world who else is listening or the intrusion it causes. But when I look around, I see no one else seemingly caring. It seems to be just me, living true to my prim and proper Englishman title who seems to notice. Everyone else just accepts that others will be loud and intrusive, and so be it.

Such acceptance also transposes into other areas too. On occasion I have been subject to forced participation in one of the downstairs apartments loud music going on all night. And I mean all night. The record I recall is it only finishing about an hour after sunrise one morning. Thankfully that is rare and has not happened in months. But the fact is it was seemingly accepted and not one of the other two apartments complained. Nor my night guard (Pushpender) was considered to do the door knock that would have doubtless occurred elsewhere, tells the story.

There is a loud water pump for the apartment building which makes an annoying whine when it is turned on. This must happen each morning for about an hour to pump water up to the roof tank, so fair enough I do not mind and have gotten used to it now. But for some reason the other day, Pushpender decided it was a good idea to turn it on at 11pm. After thirty minutes I messaged him to ask why he was doing it then, and he simply responded sorry and turned it off. The fact is though, it would not have occurred to him that it was an intrusive noise, and it was late in the evening when people would be going to sleep. Noise at any time of day or night is just part of life, and people adapt.

At first this loud and often intrusive environment can be intimidating, and in truth annoying. But after over two years here I am fully accustomed to it. To the point where I really notice the difference when there is peace and quiet. I now smile and chuckle to myself when witnessing some of the behaviours I have described. Because that is India, and once you are part of the country, part of its drumbeat, it becomes part of you. It becomes normal, almost comfortable. I now understand why there is a reluctance by some of my Indian team members to travel overseas. They are comfortable here and embrace the drumbeat of the lifestyle. It is what they are accustomed to and feel safe within. I can relate to it now also. 

In me this is most manifested through a more confident and comfortable nature around officials. I will regularly joke with the guards, or even with the border agents when arriving in the country from a trip, and the warmth received back is quite heartening. Treating our local friends with warmth and with respect is equally and quickly reciprocated, and this helps me feel accepted and at home here. Foreigners living in India who try to hide from India and remain detached will only struggle and are unlikely to survive. Not literally obviously. But to enjoy India you need to embrace India and become part of that drumbeat and cacophony where it exists.

I am currently in the middle of probably my longest continuous time away from the UK since I first came here. I was last back home in the middle of February, and I have not yet got my next trip back arranged. I suspect it will be the end of April, or even possibly later before I return. I have travelled though, with a trip out to Langkawi week before last for a work conference. Admittedly there are worse places to have to go on a work trip! The conference finished on Thursday evening, so instead of spending Friday flying back to Delhi in time for a weekend here I extended a day and flew back on Saturday instead which gave me time for a little personal exploring. It is a beautiful place and highly recommended.

I would have been going to China this coming week too but could not get a visa in time to join the trip. In truth I am quite happy to be staying put now for a few weeks. I do enjoy my apartment, and the simple life I have while here.

As I wrote last time, life is a little more solitary now, but I am fine with that. I am expecting the coming days to be quite pivotal in terms of my next steps and where / when I go from here, so in a way I am focused on this and preparing myself for what may come. Part of this includes getting my act together re my extra poundage!

I weighed myself when back in the UK and I had put on about 10lbs over where I would normally be. And even that ‘normal’ is about 6lbs over what I used to be when I was running and fit. I could also feel it in myself, so I have kicked into full on diet mode. And I am taking it very seriously, only eating what I need to survive each day and mostly existing on soups or salads. This means I am perpetually hungry at the moment, but I take that as a good sign as I will be consuming fat instead! Salads can be hard to come by sometimes in India and there is a need to be careful of the way such is washed. But I have a trusted supplier which so far has not done me wrong, and even this evening another few salad bowls are due to be delivered. Eating minimal at work is more challenging as it is pretty much all rice + stuff that is available. But I have managed to find one of the canteen servers who will make me an omelette, so I am alternating days between omelettes and Veg Thali’s. And I am only eating minimal quantities of the Thali’s.

I have lost 8lbs in three weeks. Given one of those weeks was travelling and at the conference which was harder to control dietary intake I am quite pleased with this. I will lose another 6 lbs over the next two weeks, which in total will be a stone lost in a little over a month. That will mean I can wear some of my nicer shirts again – they had become a little too tight! It also means I will be carrying less weight as I start to run more regularly again, which I shall hopefully be doing again soon.

I have relocated the treadmill back to the outdoors terrace and ordered a cover for it.

I barely use it, so have decided to instead make my ‘gym’ where it used to be. This saves me moving my sofa and rug each time I do a workout.

Plus, the temperature / pollution mix in March means it is viable to run outdoors this month, something I have so far done a few times and will do more of before the heat starts to become too much in the coming weeks. My little 5K circuit yesterday was under the watchful eye of many slightly bemused street dogs and the occasional cow. Time to get fit and in shape again!

The heaters have been put away too, having been retired for the year. While it is still dropping to mid-teens temperature during the evenings, the warmer days of around mid-twenties means the apartment is now at a pleasant temperature day and night. It is a nice landmark as the cold of the winter made for miserable chills indoors. This is now the transition month. When April comes around the air conditioning will get turned on, I expect, and it will go from one extreme to the other.

And so, the cycle of life in India continues. It is hard to believe it is nearly mid-March of my third year here already. The clock is ticking. And it is ticking more noisily as each day passes, and as the end of this adventure gets closer and closer.