Back to Bombay Bliss

After 7 weeks in the UK, I finally returned home to Bombay. I've actually been here for 2 whole weeks now, without managing a blogpost, but somehow have been too busy not working. I had been under the (false) impression that giving up work, i.e. the office job, would result in my having acres of free time to meet friends, sleep, party, chill, write, read and watch all of those fabulous reality shows I never get time to watch. In fact, the opposite is true. By the time I've done my daily exercise session (either power plate or yoga), scheduled my hindi class, dropped my son to playgroup for his half an hour session (they start them off slowly) and run a few errands, the day is over. Conversely, when I get up for the office, drive there, spend the day there, work feverishly through lunch, juggle meetings, send a million e mails, and finally leave early evening, the day stretches forever and I seem to get a multitude of things done. Hence my conclusion that work makes one more productive, generally. Perhaps its just down to that feeling of the batteries continually being charged, without the opportunity to slip into that soporific mid afternoon dozy feeling. Or perhaps the chores I now seem to be catching up on, are actually incredibly time consuming. Either way, though I'm loving the break, I'm missing having time, ironically, though having said that, my hindi is finally improving and I'm toning up, so that can't be a bad by product of quitting the corporate rat race.

Its wonderful to be back in the sunshine. After a month in a chilly climate (the first 3 weeks were gloriously warm by British standards thanks to a late summer heatwave), my bones were aching, my knees literally creaking, my skin was scaly and lizard like and I just felt generally miserable. The cold gets deep inside me, and no amount of clinging to a hot radiator can replace the feeling of being warmed naturally by the sun. I just adore the sunshine, though I generally don't lie out in it (too much of a good thing, and all that), the sensation of moving around in cut off jeans and a t shirt, flip flops and sunglasses is heartwarming as well as body warming. I'm fully charged again to handle Bombay's madness, though the nonsensical, non existent "customer service" of the banks and phone companies still leaves me frustrated and spitting venom. I applied for a new bank card 10 days ago, as my existing one had just stopped working. Paperwork completed, they told me it would take 3 working days. I made the usual mistake of believing their claims. After 7 working days, I dropped into the bank. No sign of the card ... and lo and behold, an administrative issue meant that my original application was null and void, the guy who had so helpfully taken my details and promised me a new card in the blink of an eye had been on holiday and now was in the hospital (not sure if those incidents were connected or even true) and no one had bothered to think to inform me, I guess they were hoping that me and my card application would melt away into thin air if they ignored me for long enough. Another trip to the bank, more forms filled and then a call from the bank, informing me that my current PAN card name doesn't match my account name. As I had explained to them when I made the application a fortnight ago, to which they said - no problem no problem madam. Or rather, the elusive holidaying / dying bank guy had said. Now it appears that this has suddenly become an issue, and in typical Indian style they now need to see my original marriage certificates. When I told them that marriage didn't necessarily mean that I had changed my name and in fact I had legally changed my name after that, again came the silence. "Madam this is India and in India we need your marriage certificate". "What if I didn't change my name when I got married but changed it afterwards". "Madam we need your marriage certificate. This is India". Me - Sigh. Huff, Sigh. "OK. Whatever". Infuriating. Irrational. India.