On the 2nd Lavanya needed to get some work done. Unfortunately, some family drama kept her from getting any research done. First of all, in upper middle class households in India, the door bell and phone seem to ring off the hook. In the morning the door bell begins to ring at 8am and continues to ring until about lunch time.
Ring. The cook needs let in. Ring. Someone is here to pick up the trash. Ring. Someone is here to pick up laundry. Ring. The mailman is here with the mail. Ring. A relative across the hall needs something. Ring. A friend needs to use the washing machine. Ring. The maid is here to sweep.
A similar thing happens with the phone. Some days are not so bad. Some days Lavanya tells me how much she wishes she were back in the States where door bells do not seem to ring as often. The 2nd was a heavy door bell/phone ring day. So instead of doing work, Lavi and I went to get some copies done and find some speakers she needed to do some of her research. So, once again I got to take a bicycle rickshaw to the market. I am getting pretty used to the rickshaws, the market, and being an outsider. So, this trip was less tiring and much more fun.
The markets here in Dwarka are very interesting. You can buy just about anything you need in one place, but you buy it from over a hundred different shop owners. The market is about three or four stories, with the shops on the first and second floors and services such as real estate and tutoring on the upper floors. Most of the ground floor shops have a door that opens to the street or are just an open hole in the building with a counter. Other vendors sell on the side walk. No shop is larger than the size of a bedroom in the U.S. and each shop has a very specific purpose. Pharmacy, hardware store, kitchen electronics, household electronics, entertainment electronics, dry food goods, drinks, clothing, jewelry, computer shop, etc. So, you can buy anything you need, but you need to buy it from a number of different people. We stopped at almost 1o different places to find the few items we came to buy.
I bought my first items in India and learned two very important things about money transactions. 1. Always give and receive with your right hand. It is insulting to give or take with your left hand. 2. Never take dirty or worn out notes (dollars). They will not be easily used with other vendors, so it is best not to get them in change. I have already forgotten the phrase Lavanya taught me to say to vendors. But, I do remember that she told me to hold up the change I received and say "new note" until the vendor exchanges it. Getting the worn out notes seems to be something that is more common when a tourist is around. But, now I am in the know!
The majority of our shopping trip was spent in the small copy booth waiting for Lavanya's copies. In India, you do not do much for yourself. Because unemployment is so high, just about every human activity is turned into a job. Thus, you go to the copy shop and someone does the copies for you. So, both Lavanya and I had to wait for the copies to be done. Since it was going to be a long wait, the very nice copy man found us two chairs and let us sit in his very small shop (not much larger than a walk in closet.) His shop had two copiers, stained with the brown Delhi dust, and a number of different paper products. It was an open air shop, so it opened to the back of the market with a large counter. We sat and talked about India, our work, and our department. During our wait a many came by with a metal tea pot and small aluminum cups (the size of a dixie cup). The copy shop owner waved his hand as to say no and pulled out some clean disposable cups of his own. He had three chais poured and gave us each one. Lavanya and I eyed each other and decided to accept. We were both relieved when we felt the burning hot cup, meaning that it was most likely safe to drink. Lavanya told me that this is "real" chai as opposed to what we can get in the U.S. And, we sat and discussed the dilemma of the culturally sensitive anthropologist being gifted a questionably safe food or drink product. To drink or not to drink. But, I decided that since the chai quickly burned the tip of my tongue that it was indeed safe. And, I sipped what had to be the best chai tea I had ever tasted.
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