The New Delhi apartment. We're on the top floor. The landlord lives below with his wife and son, and his brother and wife live on the ground floor. Shammi, our landlady, is warm and tries to provide what we need. She is responsible for all things domestic and is currently overseeing the painting of the exterior of the house. She seems easily overwhelmed. She cooks in the morning and the smells from her kitchen which waft up the stairs are amazing.
Our main living space with balcony doors open to let in the day's warmth:
Kitchen with our new reverse osmosis water purifier which means we no longer go downstairs each morning to collect 3 liters of water from Shammi. The apartment is furnished but without the basics for self sufficiency such as a broom, mop, rag, more than one pot and small fry pan for cooking, iron, etc. The expectation is the good "boy" who has been working for the owners for many years can come and do the cleaning and the laundry can be done by another person. We are caught between discomfort with the egregious system of underpaid help, being more comfortable taking care of ourselves, and wanting to provide additional income to Raju who is available whenever we want him to come. We have found a middle ground for now. Cooking has been limited in part due to the lack of equipment and mostly due to the fabulous food to be had from our many, local eateries. A diet of Indian and Chinese/South Asian food certainly works well for us.
And the porch. We'll live here as much as possible (as with Sherwood).
One of the many street vendors walking past our house, crying out their products for sale:
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| True to Indian practice, we signed the lease with the husband, but all day-to-day interaction is with Shammi, his wife. She has been great. |
Our main living space with balcony doors open to let in the day's warmth:
Kitchen with our new reverse osmosis water purifier which means we no longer go downstairs each morning to collect 3 liters of water from Shammi. The apartment is furnished but without the basics for self sufficiency such as a broom, mop, rag, more than one pot and small fry pan for cooking, iron, etc. The expectation is the good "boy" who has been working for the owners for many years can come and do the cleaning and the laundry can be done by another person. We are caught between discomfort with the egregious system of underpaid help, being more comfortable taking care of ourselves, and wanting to provide additional income to Raju who is available whenever we want him to come. We have found a middle ground for now. Cooking has been limited in part due to the lack of equipment and mostly due to the fabulous food to be had from our many, local eateries. A diet of Indian and Chinese/South Asian food certainly works well for us.
And the porch. We'll live here as much as possible (as with Sherwood).
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