What's it gonna be- democratic rule or megalomania era?

What's it gonna be- Democratic rule or megalomania era ??

It has been an interesting few months since I last communicated. I attended my family reunion in March in Kochi where the 6 of us siblings met and enjoyed reminiscing about the ‘good ole’days’ and enjoyed good food along with laughter and those priceless moments to treasure!  My oldest sister who is a nun turned 85 and she has not lost her sharp wit and humour which was delightful to experience. We also celebrated another brother’s 74^th birthday as well. I baked my hummingbird cake with cream cheese icing for their celebration which was a big hit.  

My brother and wife travelled from the US for this reunion and I travelled to Kochi by car and had a great ‘acting driver’ who got me there in less than 4 hours! Unlike highway travel in the US, there are no rest stops where women would be able to find ‘suitable’ toilet facilities- so I usually stay dehydrated, sipping water like wine until I get to my destination!  Having a car and driver at my destination has become important for me so I can have the freedom to just come and go as I need, instead of depending on others for transportation.

It is an interesting concept of having drivers available when you need them to come and drive your car, whether it be local jaunts or outstation tour. You pay them a minimum rate for the first 4 hours of Rs. 300 which is about $5 and every additional hour at Rs. 50 or about 90 cents! For outstation duty, you pay Rs. 800 and per diem for food of Rs. 200. There are agencies that are in the business of providing drivers- they have profiles of drivers and their background checks and they hold the driver’s original license- one needs to give them an hour’s notice based on where you live and they will send out a driver according to your request. After a few trials of drivers you can even request a particular driver if you feel he fits your comfort zone as far as driving and knowing the city etc. I still experience some level of gender bias which as is the case so ingrained in the men that I don’t know if they are even aware- buying a laptop, smart phone, paying the restaurant bill etc. is still in a man’s world over here- the sales person doesn’t even look at me when I ask the questions, hand over my credit card and keep taking the bill to the man at the table even though I requested the check!

So the big news in India right now is as the Times of India calls it “the dance of democracy”- I have never experienced the chaos, name calling, communal rifts, tiffs, violence and amazing flurry of activity like the current times in India! There are 543 seats being contested for the lower house or Lok Sabha and numerous parties that are either going it alone or aligned with the 2 major parties in India- the Congress and the BJP.  So few women candidates are in the fray which is a pity considering the heightened dialogue currently about the status of women in India.  In the last general election in 2009, the Indian electorate was estimated to total approximately 714 million individuals, out of whom around 415 million actually cast a vote. Voting takes place in different times across the country and counting of votes will only happen on May 16^th. Some states in the Northeast have started the voting already. In Tamil Nadu it takes place on April 24^th.  A model code of conduct has come into force with immediate effect restraining the state government that is in power from making any new announcements that would be seen as an advantage with voters.

The election commission has been charged with ensuring that voters are not ‘bought’ with money and other goods- so they do roadside spot vehicle checks to see how much money one is carrying- you are allowed to carry up to Rs. 50,000 without documentation. Any higher amount must have the documents to show whether it is your business sales that is being taken to the bank etc. I have been stopped 4 times and once was even videotaped while I counted the cash I had in my purse for the officer!! A few times, I gave these fellas a hard time and communicated only in English which infuriates them and they start speaking in Tamil to my driver asking why did he not explain that this is a procedure mandated by the election commission! Of course these vehicle checks for unaccounted cash being transported to voters have yielded more than what the officers hoped for. Many criminals on the run have landed in the police net and several unsolved crimes have been cracked and stolen gold jewellery worth over Rs. 270,000 has also been seized in the state! Apparently the road that I live on has been the scene of many seizures and I wonder if the fact that my license plate being from Chennai makes me a target for these checks- since much of the money does come from outside this area.

I am in the process of getting my retirement home built. I have gorgeous views of the mountains in the north and west – similar to feng shui, the Indian equivalent is vaastu and I’m trying to ensure that the home complies with vaastu principles. It is an elaborate system and I’m glad that my architect has a good vaastu consultant to help with the details. I will be living in a village that has a local government system called the Panchayat and I must say that the people in this village are very hospitable, friendly and willing to help as much as possible. I anticipate that my retirement days will be filled with interactions that are just more simplistic, no frills and better connectedness with people and nature.

In fact the wind in that area is great perhaps because of the mountains making the heat more bearable as a result. Speaking of heat- we are in a heat wave with temperatures in the upper 90- 100 degree F which is hot for Coimbatore since we are so close to the mountains. The nights and mornings are very cool and comfortable. Of course Chennai is in a worse position with the heat wave. Seems like weather changes are happening all across the world.

I will be visiting the US in June for about 2 weeks and hope to connect with a few of my friends. Until the next time enjoy your springtime weather before the heat sets in. Do let me know how you are doing – I love to hear from you.