Since arriving in India, we have been reading one of the main papers, The Hindustan Times, over breakfast each morning. This is an excellent way to get an insight into Indian life and this morning's paper contained a particularly enjoyable selection of stories. The HT seems to be a fairly popular and a well regarded morning read along with The Times of India, though I'm sure we'll see a range of papers whilst we're here.
We enjoy comparing the stories with parallels in the UK (rising food prices, too many potholes, does this sound familiar?) with those which would be rather more out of place in the UK news.
My favourite story of this week relates to the telegram. I've only come across these in Downton Abbey, Pride and Prejudice and Enid Blyton books so was delighted to read that they are still going in India. But only until tomorrow, when the Central Telegraph Office (CTO) will open for the last time. Sad though this is, it has created a run on the telegram office over the last few days, with 98,257 telegrams booked in April and May. One man is quoted as saying "I don't know what we will do once the service shuts down". I could offer some suggestions, but agree that this is indeed the end of an era.
Another top story at the end of this week is regarding the possibility that people who are currently in jail may no longer be able contest elections. I had to read this twice to make sure I wasn't mistaken. In fact, some research told me that 30% of Indian MPs has a criminal conviction (see Times of India article below) so no longer being able to stand for election whilst in jail could pose a bit of a problem! Some of our infamous British MPs (including those with large gardens backing onto the Cam) wouldn't make the headlines out here.
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-07-12/india/32648222_1_criminal-cases-vote-in-presidential-election-national-election-watch
Regarding sport, this certainly plays a big part in the papers, with Wimbledon and the Tour de France both reported upon, but it's cricket that dominates, both in the paper and in general conversation. I've been checking the Ashes progress before going down to dinner because I know that the waiters will ask about it! Phil is particularly pleased to have full Ashes coverage on the hotel TV. I doubt that I will be watching much else between now and when we leave.
The HT has three sections; the main bit, "Cafe" (lots of celebrities) and Mint (business) and Phil always nabs the main bit so I've been brushing up on my Bollywood and business knowledge instead. I am already coming to learn that there is a huge cult of celebrity out here and that certain Bollywood stars will be in the paper every day, whether they've done anything specific to warrant this or not. Kapoor, Bachchan and Khan seem to be the surnames to look out for, and their upcoming films are advertised everywhere. Bollywood is glamorous and adored here, particularly in Mumbai, and you can't help but see and learn about it. One of the biggest stars, Shah Rukh Khan, lives a short distance from our hotel, and there are usually fans posing for photos outside his gates when we go past.
India is one of the few places in the world where newspapers are booming, and we'll certainly continue to read once we leave the hotel. Considering that the HT is 3 rupees per paper, plus an extra approx 5 to 10 rupees *per month* for delivery, there really no reason not to.
In other news, Phil has been out and about this week, traveling to Bangalore yesterday and returning today. We are only a short drive from the airport and now have bought a car and have employed a driver, which gives us a great deal more freedom and flexibility. Our driver is young and worked for an expat Australian couple before coming to us, who sold the car to us and gave him a positive reference. He speaks a little English but seems enthusiastic and keen to work with us (expat jobs are sought after for good treatment and pay). He'll be driving for us for two weeks and then we'll all make a decision whether to go ahead permanently.
Our biggest concern is that he'll be sitting around a lot doing nothing, so we'll find lots of tasks for him during the day, but we have to remember that being a driver (when treated well) is a desirable and well regarded profession, and a good start in life. Whilst it would be a bizarre concept to have someone sitting around with a car in case you need it in the UK, in India it is the way that we can have the freedom to move easily and conveniently around the city, as well as provided someone else with a good job.
Photos to follow...
We have now finalised the lease on our apartment and completed the agreement process by registering the lease at the local registration office. This was, frankly, a fascinating yet bonkers experience. Yesterday afternoon, I was picked up from work and taken to a crumbling office on the first story of an unassuming looking apartment block. As we approached the top of the stairs, I saw the office to my left, a packed waiting room to my right, and the same number of people as in the waiting room seemed to be milling about in the hall, all on mobile phones or trying to catch the attention of an official. My agent seemed a bit agitated about the number of people, sent me into the waiting room, and spent the next 30 minutes trailing around after people in uniform to get us seen. Eventually, I was ushered through into the office, with several other people (I have no idea who they were) where a man sat behind a huge (empty) desk with an official looking stand in the middle, apparently doing absolutely nothing. After I'd had a few photos taken, my left thumbprint scanned and my passport checked, the man behind the desk confirmed that I was free to go to the next room.
This was where the fun really began. Two copies of my apartment lease (~10 pages long) were bought out for me to initial every page on the front and sign every page on the back, as well as signing a load of other documents written in Marathi. I have no idea what I agreed to, but had to trust that it would all be fine. There was a man behind the desk (covered in piles of paper) rigorously stamping everything in sight. The really exciting bit was when I had to seal the deal with my left and right thumbprints. I took the photo below afterwards to mark the occasion. I'm going back to the office on Monday to arrange an internet connection for the property. I'm not quite sure why I have to go back, but am doing what I'm told.
I'm not involved with any of it, but it's clear that money changes hands at every stage of these operations, and my agent confirmed that this is the only way that business can be done in India. If not, my papers would never go anywhere.
Other progress includes a working bank account (100 signatures and several photographs later) and we are both now in possession of a working mobile phone, though through very different routes.
In India, mobile phone handsets are entirely independent from the sim card. Handsets are trivial to buy where as sim cards seem to require every piece of information under the sun; your father's eye colour, the last three places you went on holiday....it's not that bad but not far off. Apparently this started after the terrorist attacks in 2008, from which times sim cards have been much more tightly regulated.
I ordered by sim through work, which took many many forms, documents, signatures, photographs (rejected the first time as I apparently wasn't looking at the camera...) but I eventually got a working phone set up on Thursday. Phil, on the other hand, asked a local science contact to arrange a sim card which happened very quickly and with no documentation (!) but was unfortunately sent to our hotel over 10 days ago addressed to the wrong room number and a "David Phillips". We can't really blame the hotel for failing to guess that this was for us. Anyway, we worked it out eventually and thankfully the hotel hadn't thrown it out, so we are now both fully set up.
In other happy hotel news, on my return from the crazy registration office, I found that or housekeeper had installed a shoe rack to replace the neat line of shoes. He came to see me shortly after I'd got back to check I was happy with it - he was obviously very pleased that he's thought of this for us!
Tomorrow, we will head out to the shops to buy a few essentials for our apartment which we will move into a week on Saturday. Whilst we'll have some furniture, we have no bedding and our shipment is not due to arrive from the UK for another three weeks. We're also going to visit a range of gyms / clubs / hotels to see what different exercise and social options are open to us. We've had some recommendations so are going to investigate these. We're hoping to see a film in the evening, possibly something English or with subtitles until we've improved our Hindi. Mostly, I'm hoping that the weather will be a little less apocalyptic than it has been for the last few days (picture below). The UK seems to have sent all the rain over here!
On the journey home today, we noticed that a Marks and Spencer is opening in Bandra very close to our apartment. We didn't move to India for M&S! It did make us smile though.
The HT
We enjoy comparing the stories with parallels in the UK (rising food prices, too many potholes, does this sound familiar?) with those which would be rather more out of place in the UK news.
My favourite story of this week relates to the telegram. I've only come across these in Downton Abbey, Pride and Prejudice and Enid Blyton books so was delighted to read that they are still going in India. But only until tomorrow, when the Central Telegraph Office (CTO) will open for the last time. Sad though this is, it has created a run on the telegram office over the last few days, with 98,257 telegrams booked in April and May. One man is quoted as saying "I don't know what we will do once the service shuts down". I could offer some suggestions, but agree that this is indeed the end of an era.
Another top story at the end of this week is regarding the possibility that people who are currently in jail may no longer be able contest elections. I had to read this twice to make sure I wasn't mistaken. In fact, some research told me that 30% of Indian MPs has a criminal conviction (see Times of India article below) so no longer being able to stand for election whilst in jail could pose a bit of a problem! Some of our infamous British MPs (including those with large gardens backing onto the Cam) wouldn't make the headlines out here.
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-07-12/india/32648222_1_criminal-cases-vote-in-presidential-election-national-election-watch
Regarding sport, this certainly plays a big part in the papers, with Wimbledon and the Tour de France both reported upon, but it's cricket that dominates, both in the paper and in general conversation. I've been checking the Ashes progress before going down to dinner because I know that the waiters will ask about it! Phil is particularly pleased to have full Ashes coverage on the hotel TV. I doubt that I will be watching much else between now and when we leave.
The HT has three sections; the main bit, "Cafe" (lots of celebrities) and Mint (business) and Phil always nabs the main bit so I've been brushing up on my Bollywood and business knowledge instead. I am already coming to learn that there is a huge cult of celebrity out here and that certain Bollywood stars will be in the paper every day, whether they've done anything specific to warrant this or not. Kapoor, Bachchan and Khan seem to be the surnames to look out for, and their upcoming films are advertised everywhere. Bollywood is glamorous and adored here, particularly in Mumbai, and you can't help but see and learn about it. One of the biggest stars, Shah Rukh Khan, lives a short distance from our hotel, and there are usually fans posing for photos outside his gates when we go past.
India is one of the few places in the world where newspapers are booming, and we'll certainly continue to read once we leave the hotel. Considering that the HT is 3 rupees per paper, plus an extra approx 5 to 10 rupees *per month* for delivery, there really no reason not to.
In other news, Phil has been out and about this week, traveling to Bangalore yesterday and returning today. We are only a short drive from the airport and now have bought a car and have employed a driver, which gives us a great deal more freedom and flexibility. Our driver is young and worked for an expat Australian couple before coming to us, who sold the car to us and gave him a positive reference. He speaks a little English but seems enthusiastic and keen to work with us (expat jobs are sought after for good treatment and pay). He'll be driving for us for two weeks and then we'll all make a decision whether to go ahead permanently.
Our biggest concern is that he'll be sitting around a lot doing nothing, so we'll find lots of tasks for him during the day, but we have to remember that being a driver (when treated well) is a desirable and well regarded profession, and a good start in life. Whilst it would be a bizarre concept to have someone sitting around with a car in case you need it in the UK, in India it is the way that we can have the freedom to move easily and conveniently around the city, as well as provided someone else with a good job.
Photos to follow...
We have now finalised the lease on our apartment and completed the agreement process by registering the lease at the local registration office. This was, frankly, a fascinating yet bonkers experience. Yesterday afternoon, I was picked up from work and taken to a crumbling office on the first story of an unassuming looking apartment block. As we approached the top of the stairs, I saw the office to my left, a packed waiting room to my right, and the same number of people as in the waiting room seemed to be milling about in the hall, all on mobile phones or trying to catch the attention of an official. My agent seemed a bit agitated about the number of people, sent me into the waiting room, and spent the next 30 minutes trailing around after people in uniform to get us seen. Eventually, I was ushered through into the office, with several other people (I have no idea who they were) where a man sat behind a huge (empty) desk with an official looking stand in the middle, apparently doing absolutely nothing. After I'd had a few photos taken, my left thumbprint scanned and my passport checked, the man behind the desk confirmed that I was free to go to the next room.
This was where the fun really began. Two copies of my apartment lease (~10 pages long) were bought out for me to initial every page on the front and sign every page on the back, as well as signing a load of other documents written in Marathi. I have no idea what I agreed to, but had to trust that it would all be fine. There was a man behind the desk (covered in piles of paper) rigorously stamping everything in sight. The really exciting bit was when I had to seal the deal with my left and right thumbprints. I took the photo below afterwards to mark the occasion. I'm going back to the office on Monday to arrange an internet connection for the property. I'm not quite sure why I have to go back, but am doing what I'm told.
Inky thumbs
I would like to add at this stage that taking a photograph of both thumbs at once without the help of someone else is a surprisingly tricky exercise! This took me several minutes to get to grips (sorry) with.
I'm not involved with any of it, but it's clear that money changes hands at every stage of these operations, and my agent confirmed that this is the only way that business can be done in India. If not, my papers would never go anywhere.
Other progress includes a working bank account (100 signatures and several photographs later) and we are both now in possession of a working mobile phone, though through very different routes.
In India, mobile phone handsets are entirely independent from the sim card. Handsets are trivial to buy where as sim cards seem to require every piece of information under the sun; your father's eye colour, the last three places you went on holiday....it's not that bad but not far off. Apparently this started after the terrorist attacks in 2008, from which times sim cards have been much more tightly regulated.
I ordered by sim through work, which took many many forms, documents, signatures, photographs (rejected the first time as I apparently wasn't looking at the camera...) but I eventually got a working phone set up on Thursday. Phil, on the other hand, asked a local science contact to arrange a sim card which happened very quickly and with no documentation (!) but was unfortunately sent to our hotel over 10 days ago addressed to the wrong room number and a "David Phillips". We can't really blame the hotel for failing to guess that this was for us. Anyway, we worked it out eventually and thankfully the hotel hadn't thrown it out, so we are now both fully set up.
In other happy hotel news, on my return from the crazy registration office, I found that or housekeeper had installed a shoe rack to replace the neat line of shoes. He came to see me shortly after I'd got back to check I was happy with it - he was obviously very pleased that he's thought of this for us!
Tidy shoes
Tomorrow, we will head out to the shops to buy a few essentials for our apartment which we will move into a week on Saturday. Whilst we'll have some furniture, we have no bedding and our shipment is not due to arrive from the UK for another three weeks. We're also going to visit a range of gyms / clubs / hotels to see what different exercise and social options are open to us. We've had some recommendations so are going to investigate these. We're hoping to see a film in the evening, possibly something English or with subtitles until we've improved our Hindi. Mostly, I'm hoping that the weather will be a little less apocalyptic than it has been for the last few days (picture below). The UK seems to have sent all the rain over here!
More Monsoon
On the journey home today, we noticed that a Marks and Spencer is opening in Bandra very close to our apartment. We didn't move to India for M&S! It did make us smile though.
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