It's Getting Hot in Here!!!

The time has come to address the topic that is close to the heart of every Canadian. The weather, of course.

First of all, before I opened my India travel guide a few months ago, the idea that winter/spring/summer/fall are not "universal seasons" never crossed my mind. Sure, I knew that +15C could be summer in some places and winter in others and that winter could mean drought, rain, or snow depending on where you are... but somehow I always assumed that everyone out there knows what exactly spring is and which season it follows. So I was quite surprised when a friend from tropical country asked me about the names of all seasons and about which one of them comes after winter. One of those eye-opening experiences...

So India has 3 major seasons: winter, summer, and monsoon. Winter (November to February) is considered to be the most pleasant time of the year in most parts of the country (a.k.a. the best time to visit India), with temperature going to as low as 15-20C, while Indian summers (April to June) are generally very hot (up to 45C). Monsoons that follow cool things down and provide some relief to all living things that are about to evaporate.

My stay so far covered the end of the Hyderabadi winter and two thirds of the Indian summer, and here’s my subjective assessment of the local weather. If I had to choose one word to describe it, that word would be – you guessed it! - HOT. One word, however, would not do justice to the variety of feelings and emotions that different types of hot weather can evoke... So here’s a more detailed description.

* Mild hot (28-33 C): Combined with a cool breeze, makes for the most comfortable living environment for a human being (in my opinion, of course), as strikes the perfect balance between need for clothing (minimal) and sweating (also minimal) :) Can sleep at night.

* Medium hot (34-39 C): Can’t sleep without keeping the fan on at night (that is, if you don't have AC/water cooler). You discover that you can in fact drink 3 litres of water and not need to go to the bathroom at all, as that you drink will immediately come out through your skin (it's amazing, I’m telling you!). The above is known as "the more you drink, the more you sweat" principle.

* REALLY hot (40+ C). Everyone adopts the very Canadian habit of religiously checking the weather forecast and starting any conversation with a discussion of the weather outside. Heat rash. Sweat stains. Feeling dehydrated in the morning. Breaking a sweat within 1 minute of taking a shower. Yiiikes. Have in mind that this description is coming from someone who spends a good chunk of the day in an AC'd office… I wonder what people who work outside would have to say about it.

Patiently awaiting the monsoon season,

Zhenia


P.S. By the way, it’s salwar kameez, not salwar kamiz (see the heading below). My mistake.
P.P.S. Mumbai IS the largest city in India. My mistake again, thanks Anoop.

I'm back! Bombay, Salwar Kamiz, Yoga and Other

So I have been bad at updating my blog… aiiii. Hey Candice, I think you were the one who promised to send me angry messages when that would happen. But I promise I’ll make up for the entries I missed over the next few weeks although it’s not very easy since I don’t have own computer and Internet connection at home. Anyway, on a different note, thanks to everyone who has been leaving comments: it’s great to hear back from people, even those who I don’t know!

Anyway, here’s a quick run through what happened to me over the past month or so..

A group of us went on a 4-day trip to Bombay a.k.a. Mumbai. Bombay as such definitely deserves a separate blog entry but we only had 4 days in the city and as a large group spent a lot of time waiting for each other so we only experienced a tiny part of Bombay life. So for now, here are my initial observations (I will definitely be going back)….
First of all, the city is huge and growing, both in terms of population (12 million people, second the largest city in India after Delhi) and geographic spread. People in Bombay spend a lot of time commuting and going places. For example, a friend of mine over there takes 2 buses and a train – an hour on the road all in all – in order to get to work every day. There is an extensive network of local trains that locals use, and we rode those trains a couple of times as well. My stay in Bombay made me appreciate the convenience of living in a smaller city like Hyderabad where places are a lot easier and faster to get to.
Commuting aside, Bombay is considered to be the most exciting Indian city to live in. There’s a lot more variety (and quantity and quality) in terms of night life and entertainment, shopping, restaurants etc. And then there is Bollywood and movie stars. All trainees from Hyderabad, where most clubs close by 12:30 AM and where Chinese is the only well-established non-Indian cuisine, were very impressed. Bombay, of course, is also an economic and financial centre, and a lot of Big Companies have their Indian headquarters in Bombay.
Finally, weather-wise, Bombay is a little “cooler” than Hyderabad (if the word “cool” can be used to describe weather in any Indian city during the summer) and a lot more humid, which most locals complain about but I liked. And there is a nice nice breeze coming from the ocean…. ahhhh!!!

This month, I bought my first salwar kamiz (a.k.a. Punjabi suit). This is an outfit for women that consists of tight or loose pants, a long loose shirt/kurta (length varies, but sometimes it goes all the way to the knees), and a scarf (to cover the chest). This whole set ensures complete body coverage and seems to be the most popular office wear for women in India. I’ll try to post a picture sometime soon.

We (Satyam trainees staying together in 3 flats, see my earlier entry) started taking yoga classes. We found a yoga instructor that comes to our place, and we have 1-hour long classes on the roof of our building every morning before work. Many of us find it hard to get up early so the attendance has been steadily decreasing… but most feel more energized after classes, even if we have to get up an hour earlier. Sometimes our yoga instructor is pretty funny e.g. “just bend your leg and touch your ear with your foot, it’s easy!”… So we giggle a lot. Yeah, we clearly have a long way to go.

While in Bombay, I got a new haircut.

And lastly, I have had more issues with ICICI bank (although I’ve finally met some helpful some staff as well) and have experienced bad bad service in department stores. More on that later…