Sleepless in Pune
We made it back to Pune at 4am and had to be up for 7am. So 3 hours sleep later and we were on our way out of pune to someones home in the country. It was beautiful, it was somewhere I hadn’t been around Pune and the quiet was lovely. We spent the morning discussing the use of bamboo in disaster situations as a shelter solution, especially issues such as harvesting and treatment. It was the start of project being organised by Oxfam but coordinated by Dave there was a mix of humanitarian experts and bamboo experts so we got both sides to the story. After lunch we went exploring around someones bamboo plantation and to his factory where he experiments with different uses of bamboo and different types of coating. It was a lot of fun but I also learnt a lot!! After the course Me, Sarbjit, Dave, Lorren, Pradeep and a few others went out for dinner even though we were exaughsted and desperately needed sleep.
I didn’t get my sleep Sunday but instead ended up in the office for a meeting then taking Dave out for the day round Pune we had a civilised lunch and played on the internet before heading to Laxmi road to get some material and Dave wanted a sari as a present. While there we discovered a newly renovated building which we had to explore. It was once a small place, then a school but it has been recently unused. It was beautifly renovated. We were discovering the upper rooms when a local dance group arrived to reherse for a show. They do a dance show that can use anywhere between 70-250 people!! I had read about it in the paper, it is about the local warrior Shavji and his life story. They let us stay and watch, it was great it is local style dance and really intresting! After some of them helped us with the Sari shopping which ended up taking 2 hours. I bought a local sari and a Kashmiri sari, the kashmiri one I intend to turn into a western cocktail dress. After this Dave and I went to e street as it seemed as good a plce as any at 10pm and was open. At 2am we got home, I had to be up at 7.
So bright and early and beyond sleep deprived I got in the car with Rahul Pathk to go to Sangli for the day. It is about 4 hours, 200km, from Pune. We were going to Kiloskar Brothers, a pump manufacturer company, to meet the doctor who had asked us to conduct a monsoon rescue training course. We eventually got there and had the relevant meeting with the doctors. Kiloskar is a bit like the Cadbury family and have a complex with cool facilities for the workers. We discussed the course then went to look at the local village that we wanted to use for the water rescue part of the training. When we got there we had to meet with all the elders and discuss our plans. Obviously they were thrilled to have people intrested in helping their village with monsoon preparation. After our discussion they thanked me for coming from UK America, and we all got a coconut as a thank you! After lunch we headed back to Pune, I slept most of the way and after 8 hours driving went to Rahul’s for tea and to meet his family before going back.
I didn’t feel like going to the gym, but neither did feel like eating alone. SO I called Sonali who I go for tea with in the mornings after running and asked if I could eat with her family. So I went round and watched Chitty Chitty Bang Bang with dinner, it was great! Even if I did fall asleep before her 4 year old!!
Tuesday was back to the office where I was prepearing for the training course so pottered around the office and tried to make arrangements for Passover in Mumbai. I slept in the afternoon and meet up with Yonat in the evening, she came round for pizza and to watch Prime. It was a lot of fun!
Wednesday Again was preparation in the office and I don’t rembemebr doing too much, I did make it to the gym in the evening. Thursday was similar and again it was the gym then bed. SO Friday was a bit stresful our water rescue trainer cancelled on us at the last minute, so we spent the day desperately trying to find another before we were due to leave at 5pm. We didn’t do so well, the best we got was a guy who works with the merchant navy who would join us in the evening on Saturday, so we had to make do. This didn’t give the greatest feeling about the training but we had no choice. So we finially set off collecting Dr Vivek and his family on the way. After breaking one of our beer bottles we were finally on the 4 hour journey. At 10.30 we stopped for dinner and beer and made it to Kiloskar at around 12.30.
A nice early start and we set up the traing hall before the course was opened by various important people. The course was being conducted in Marathi so I did nothing all day except watch and offer help when I could. After the sessions eneded Me and Charu went to the pool so I could give him a crash course in water rescue, while the Vivek’s went for a swim. When we got back Ajeet (from the merchant navy) had arrived so we chatted as a group, with our beer before dinner and bed.
The next morning we were to head to the river where the water rescue was to be conducted. Once there the villagers did an inauguration ceremony and gave us all flowers. Then Ajeet started his session and I went in the river to swim. This caused quite a stir and many of the villagers started messing around. However the focous of the training was completely ignored, there was locl press there who didn’t photograph the training, only me-it was like being a celebritiy on holiday!! So the mornings sessions was not overly successful and many lessons have be learnt. The afternoon was more theory, I spent a large part on the phone to mum. After the training course we packed up and left, I was allowed to drive for 10 min, though the Marati van was sooooo heavy to handle it wasn’t much fun! SO we stopped for dinner at 11 and left around 12.30. SO I got back to pune around 1.30.
My body clock woke me up early but my knee was hurting so id dint go for a run, instead I went to Sonali’s for tea and frosties before I went to the office. I was hanging around in the office waiting for my laptop to be delivered form the project it had been used for, then I was heading to Mumbai for the week. 2 hours after my laptop was supposed to arrive and a hissy fit later I left laptopless. I finally got to Shailja’s at about 7.30 to be handed a glass of red wine as I walked thorugh the door. That set the tone of the next few days…Monday night we had 2 bottles between us and not much food (we resisted eating the birthday cake early), then we went for crepe before we both fell asleep in the same bed. Shailja left when her husband called her to see where she was, so she stumbled next door!
On my BIRTHDAY moring, I woke Shailja as she is getting old and cannot handle her wine anymore! She went off for a mornings job interview while I had a lazy morning. After she came back we went to take my dress to be made then lunch and cocktails before my first haircut in 7 months! It was drastic! We went home and continued with the wine and birthday cake, though Shaulja’s daughter blew out my candle as pratice for her birthday on the 4th of May! So after more wine Me Shailj and her husband went for dinner and ice cream before coming home and crashing with drunkedness!!
The next morning Shailja and the family were getting ready to go to Dehli that afternoon. So we chilled then collected Anithi from school before they left. I was hangiong around as I had keys to the apartment. I decided to go and find Chabad Mumbai as I was palning to stay near by from Friday for shabbos and Pesach. I went over to COlaba to find Chabad there, which is a whole apartment building with 2 floors of exc rooms for people who get paid more than me to stay in, a study floor, free internet and a massive eating area, which was being renovated before Pesach. I chilled with Rifki the Rabbis wife and had a good time, it’s the ususal story of if only I had met them sooner! After leaving them I met up with Joe from couch surfing, who is a pilot for the navy, apparently he is not allowed ot mix with forigners incase he gives away secrets!! We had dinner then went out to some of the POSH places around the gateway to India. While in Indiago I met some random people and joined them onto a club for an hour, before it closed at 1.30-India is far too strict on mid week drinking!!
Late the next morning I finally got up and successfully did nothing, its been a long time since I did that. Eventually I headed out to meet Neesha and Aparna to go to their Caperoia class to see wat it was all about. It was fun to watch but the heat in Mumbai kills you in the afternoon so I was still tired. On my way back I bought essential supplied for when Shailja gets back (wine, bread, ice cream and Heinz baked beans) and had beans on toast for myself for dinner, its deffinatly true, Heinz Meanz Beanz!!
Guess wat I had for breakfast? After fuelling up on beans on toast I headed over to Colaba with my stuff to stay in the hostel. The beans kept me going nicely and after a chilled morning looking at the tourist stuff I got chatting to a girl who happened to be in my room in the hostel and we had just missed each other in the morning. Due to the afternoon heat we went back to sleep away the afternoon, then I headed to Chabad for candle lighting. Having gotton on so well with Rifki I disappointed with the firday night. I was the only non Hebrew speaking person present and spent the whole night bitting my nails for lack of anyone to speak to. At the end of it I was dreading the seder, was I going to have another night of talking to noone and not know what was going on. However I spoke to Rifki after and she promised if I needed to to sit next to her and she would translate, I didn’t have any other options.
The next morinig I headed back to Chabad for lunch which was early to get round the not eating bread thing. Once there I chatted to the guys a bit then to Limor who became my saviour. Her English was great and she really made an effort to speak in English or translate. She was staying at chabad So after food I headed back to the hostel to sleep, the afternoons here are getting soo hot, its up to 45 degrees. After my nap I was hungary so went back to chabad to hang out in the air con! I chilled out until just before the seder when all the Israelis started to arrive, most young Isrelis speak English so most of them would talk to me or Limor would flip the conversation in to English. There became a small group of us who sat together through the seder and it was a lot of fun. There were around 50 people form all over the world. There were locals (some of them ex pats), isrelis, south African, french, Belgian all sorts. The seder itself was relatively painless and finished around 11.30 I left around 12 as I had a cerfew. It was weired though all the isrelis were there to get drunk on the free wine and feel like they were in Israel it had nothing to do with religion, but still they were there.
I wont annoyingly early the next day and again headed off to chabad, lunch was supposed to be around 12, but the men woke late so at 1.30 we ate, I was so hungary. After lunch me and Limor and her dad went down the gatway to India with sam an American guy it was so hot. Limor and her dad went off to see some sights so me and sam decided to explore the Taj. We walked around the foyer and decided to try to explore the residential part of the hotel. SO we got in the lift and started exploring, we expected to be thrown out at any moment, but wernt. We didn’t get into any rooms but did get into the free internet and paper part and chilled there! It was cool. The inside is quite Victorian inside and reminded me a bit of Jonathns in brum. After our explorations I decided to take sam to watch the locl cricket and explain the rules to him, as he is American I kept it simple!! We decided to nap the afternoon away, which I didn’t manage. Then we had arranged to meet to go to the seder together. However Sam overslept so I went without him. When I got to Chabad I felt guilty and so me and Limor went back to wake him (its 12 mins each way) so we rushed back to chabad for the second seder and of course we were late! So we caught up and downed out cups of wine and that was the theme for the evening, our ‘gang’ had doubled in size form the previous night but we still tried to drink anything alcoholic in sight! It was fun and there was much singing, espically to who knows one!
This time after the seder we decided to go to a club nearby. I got a box of matzos and left with the others the club was called ‘polyesthers’ so I couldn’t not go! We didn’t need money as it was free in and we just wanted to dance. At 3 me and sam headed back expecting to be locked out for the night as the cerfew is 12. The watch man hadn’t locked the gate properly so we just walked in!!
I was up at 7 to head back to Pune and show myself in the office. I got back around 2 and was starving. After a brief introduction to my new room mate Tushita I went shopping for veg to cook for the week. After much discussions in the office over various projects we called it a day. I headed back with Tushita and cooked. I attempted to make shakshuka after Yaniv had taught me how. I basically made lots of veg and tomato sauce and kept most of it for lunch and the rest I cracked eggs over and had for dinner.
The next day was the start of the Public Health Promotion (PHP) in emergencies course. So we headed off early for the first day of that, me with my lunch of veg and hard boiled egg. The group was of a large siz and is quite intresting. While im not interested in the course it is useful to be aware espically for Watsan engineers. The first day all the participants went out for the usual social dinner which I had to skip, I was gutted, while I went to Chabad for a cooked dinner. I met Shlomi there as he is leaving Pune so it was our farewell.
Another day on the PHP and as always it was long. This time Tushita and I made it back quite late so she ate at BIAF and I made Matzah bry when I got in, which she quite liked. I am very pleased that the two of us get on so well. Its nice to have company but everything takes twice as long cos we talk so much, so I always get to sleep later than planned!
So Thursday and another day of PHP, which I was beginning to get pretty bored of. This time we had to continue our group work in the evening. Tushita and I were in the same group but our other 2 group members disappeared so we just got on with it. At 9pm we left, both of us exausted. When we got back I had run out of pre cooked veggies so had to make salad for lunch and ended up making matzah bry again (im beginning to like this cooking, I espically love my chapatti plate!).