Baby Naming

This past Sunday, Corban and I went to a baby naming ceremony for our househelper's grandson. It is a Hindu tradition to wait to name the baby for weeks or months. This baby is 3 months old. At the ceremony in their home, family and friends said prayers and put paint on the baby and mother's foreheads (the Hindu signs for spiritual "eyes") The guests sprinkled things over their heads... and my favorite...passed the baby between two people on opposite sides of his bassinet under and over the bed in a circle 3 times. Not sure what it meant but it seemed like a common ritual, with everyone clapping when it was complete. There were snacks served and pictures taken. I'm still not sure what his name is because I have trouble understanding names sometimes. It sounded like Cheriyan Jeevan to me but it's highly likely that I got it wrong:) He was very cute and napped most of the ceremony. His aunt (who speaks english) told me that he sleeps all day and is up all night. His mom wakes up her mom (our househelper) to take care of him during the night while he's crying. Poor thing...she doesn't get too much sleep and her daughter and grandson get to sleep all day while she works.

Solar Eclipse in India

This morning there was a solar eclipse over Asia. I learned about it yesterday when my neighbor came over to translate for our housekeeper. She told me that she would be coming late to work b/c of the eclipse. She told me that during an eclipse Hindus offer up prayers and from what I gathered they find it bad luck to go out during and a period after the eclipse. She said a lot of schools were starting late and Brian said he expected people to come in late to work. I read a news article about it this morning and below are some excerpts from it. It will give you a little glimpse of the Hindu religion. It is made up of mythology, superstition and fear. (I don't say this with disrespect, one of my Hindu friend describes it to me with these same words.) Sadly, this morning, a woman was killed and others injured as a stampede occurred on the banks of the Ganges River while people were trying to get into the sacred water to cleanse their sins during the 3+ minutes of the eclipse.

Did I view the eclipse? If you know me, you know I wasn't awake at 6:30 am to view it:D

AP News: "The longest solar eclipse of the 21st century pitched a swath of Asia from India to China into near darkness Wednesday as millions gathered to watch the phenomenon. But millions more, seeing the eclipse as a bad omen and gripped by fear, shuttered themselves in. India abounds in superstitions and fables based on Hindu mythology, one of which says an eclipse is caused when a dragon-demon swallows the sun. In some parts of Asia it lasted as long as 6 minutes and 39 seconds. One of the best views appeared to be in the Indian town of Varanasi, on the banks of the Ganges River, sacred to devout Hindus. Thousands of Hindus took a dip in keeping with the ancient belief that bathing in the river, especially on special occasions, cleanses one's sins. Millions across India were shunning the sight and planned to stay indoors. Even in regions where the eclipse was not visible, pregnant women were advised to stay indoors in curtained rooms over a belief that the sun's invisible rays would harm the fetus and the baby would be born with disfigurations, birthmarks or a congenital defect. Krati Jain, a software professional in New Delhi, said she planned to take a day off from work Wednesday to avoid what she called "any ill effects of the eclipse on my baby." "My mother and aunts have called and told me to stay in a darkened room with the curtains closed, lie in bed and chant prayers," said Jain, 24, who is expecting her first child. In the northern Indian state of Punjab, authorities ordered schools to begin an hour late to prevent children from venturing out and gazing at the sun. Others saw a business opportunity: one travel agency in India scheduled a charter flight to watch the eclipse by air, with seats facing the sun selling at a premium."

Power Outages

I've posted before about the daily power outages in Bangalore. I stopped complaining about it somewhere along the way b/c i figured out it doesn't fix the problem to complain:) So as I write this I'm not grumbling:) I just like to paint a realistic picture of life in developing countries for my friends and family living in the U.S. Knowing what you have that many others don't makes your blessings (like continuous power) that much sweeter.

I'm not up on the details of energy consumption in India but from our daily experience, I gather there's not enough to go around for 1 billion people, which is understandable. So each day there are multiple outages and even scheduled outages to conserve energy.

For instance, last week we had a hair appt for the boys at 12pm at a salon down our street. When we arrived the power was out...which we're all used to...so we just took a seat. They informed us that without the power they couldn't use the electric clippers for the boys hair. Most businesses and buildings (like ours) have back-up generators that bring low-voltage power back on until the main power is restored. Amazingly this popular chain salon didn't have one. So they told us to go home and they'd call us when it came back on. In about 30 minutes they called to tell us it was on so we loaded up and drove back. We got through 2 haircuts and just as they were beginning Haddon's the power went out again:( His hair requires full clippers so I should have had him go first but wasn't thinking strategically:) So we sat there and waited, about 45 minutes, and it never came back on. Finally, we went back home for naps. What usually would be about a 20 minute process took almost 2 hours. Last night we went back to finish the hair cutting project but not before I called to make sure their power was on:)

The city schedules 1 hour outages for each part of Bangalore. At our complex last week, our outages were at 6am and 6pm everyday. This week is 7am/7pm. I have to say it's better than when they were being scheduled at 2 am and 2 pm for about 2 weeks! What this means is getting out of bed to turn off the refrigerator b/c the current can't handle high voltage appliances. And unless someone switches off the fridge, the power surges on and off (meaning our ceiling fans when we are sleeping). Thankfully it doesn't wake the boys up, but for me the silence/power/silence/power is a little too much to sleep thru:) Sometimes they even throw in an extra outage at noon. Although these are not peak appliance usage times for most Indians...it translates into meal prep times for Americans 12 pm:lunch, 6pm:dinner:) Also, when the generator is on, the high voltage appliances like microwaves, washer/dryer, and water heaters don't work. So many of our laundry loads get spoiled from sitting either wet in the washer or wet in the dryer for an hour at a time:) My friend who owns a home without a generator says her daughter does her homework by candlelight in the evenings b/c of their outage schedule:) She says her daughter thinks it's fun:)

But like I said, now it's like second nature...it doesn't usually bother me. But after the salon incident it did remind me of the beauty of continuous power:) And had to share. BTW as I'm typing this right now our power went out:) 7:15-8:15pm schedule. Everyone who owns a computer also owns a UPS back-up battery to make sure the computer doesn't shut down when the lights do:D Thank goodness for those!

Out and About

Brian's Day Off
Last week we went for a family outing to Wonderla...an amusement park outside of Bangalore. We went last year for Corban's birthday but didn't ride the land rides. So this time we did the waterpark and the rides. It was great b/c school is in here so there were no lines.
4th of July
On Saturday night I was so happy to be able to get together with my friend Lisa and some of her neighbors for a Girl's Nite Out. It ended up being 5 Americans and one British girl who recently moved from Cincinnati:) I'm not often around Americans so to spend the 4th of July with so many was great. And not to mention getting to have whole conversations without any distractions or interruptions (which is normally how moms interact) was a bonus:)
Perfect Weather
I hate to rub it in to my Texas and Louisiana friends and family who are surviving sweltering heat and drought...but just incase you are curious:) Bangalore has a very mild climate. We are past the summer months, which do get hot, but only last about 2 months. Yesterday with the windows open it even felt chilly...i had to put on a jacket. So if you need a break from the heat there's always Bangalore:)