Itchy and Scratchy - in Addis Ababa

It has now been more than six months since we moved to Addis and I am utterly confounded by a peculiar medical issue. I have crops of allergic papules erupting on my extremities every evening. Let me describe the symptoms in detail first and then we can examine the clues and literature to pin point the source. I notice a ferocious itching in my lower legs usually about half an hour after returning home in the evenings and changing into pajamas. Once I start scratching, of course the itching increases and then what started as one localized red spot has soon mushroomed into a whole crop of papules, scratches, erythema and edema and more itching. Of course I know the whole mast cell degranulation-histamine release-vasodilatation cascade but when it itches, you scratch and mast cells be damned.

Tasteful photograph taken with a view to minimize  the gore and skin show  

Thinking logically and being my fathers daughter and having inherited a fervent hatred of all indoor insects, I first blamed the ubiquitous mosquito. The problem is that mosquitoes are few and far between in Addis and of course, when the mosquito is the culprit you can hear it, see it and DESTROY it. I even contemplated a silent, invisible,ninja-Addis mosquito species for a while but as the problem persisted even with multiple mosquito repellents, I need an alternate suspect. As an aside, liquid mosquito repellents are not available in Ethiopia and you are well advised to carry it with you. I ran out and made my sister bring it in from Egypt when she visited.
Next I contemplated if an army of bed bugs was lurking in my mattress which silently emerged under cover of darkness to suck my sweet blood. So, I had the mattresses and sheets baked in the sun and sprayed the beds with whatever pesticide I could lay my hands on, to no avail. The itching and scratching continued unabated.Also, bed bugs are not microscopic so I should have caught sight of them at some point especially when I started switching on the light in the middle of the night and obsessively picking through the bed linen. My husband was not amused. Oh, and what of my husband amidst all the itching and scratching you ask. Well, he is as affected as I am but as he considers all non - Delhi places infested with phantom itch causing vermin, he is content scratching and grumbling and thinking no further about it.
 At the end of my wits, I called my neighbor, an eight year old Addis veteran, to pick her brains. I had an illuminating conversation from which I gleaned the following - the phantom itch affects most Indians who move here, some more than others.There is a cream called Mos-bit on the market which is of questionable use. No one knows exactly the source of the allergy. It can be reduced by rinsing your clothes in dettol, ironing your clothes on the inside before wearing them ( heat sterilization ) and putting naphthalene balls in the cupboards.
I have instituted all the above measures and shall return from Delhi armed with naphthalene balls ready to renew the battle with the phantom menace. Return from Delhi? Well, yes. We are off to Delhi for a two week break which includes a week in the Andamans where the azure water will cure me of all dermatological defects for a while.You can do the slow burn now.     

Please leave a comment!

I am really surprised that my stats show that with over a thousand page views from Lithuania to Zimbabwe, this blog has merited only one comment till date! One! So this is an open invitation to all you voyeuristic nocturnal blog trawlers from around the world - leave a comment. And of course, if you actually want to know anything about any of the topics I write about - Addis,Delhi, Ophthalmology,Diapers- don't hesitate to ask. 

Addis Ababa for dummies – Part 4/ Crime- II ( or how I got mugged and lost my phone )

Read the last line of my entry on prevalent crime on the streets of Addis here. Am I a regular Melisandre gazing into the flames or what? (Full disclosure – the reason I am writing after a month despite several blog-worthy incidents is because I was too busy working my way through five parts of Game of Thrones. I’ve never been into Fantasy fiction but this....I could wax lyrical for a couple of pages on the sheer imaginative genius and body and soul addictive power of the series but I have just one thing to say – Write like the wind - GRRM !)

But I digress. So, its been almost four months since I started wandering the streets of Addis and predictably my level of comfort was increasing and caution was plunging by the day. We have access to a car with a driver which I usually use for running errands but he has a weekly off day on Saturday. On this fateful Saturday, we were caught without any yoghurt on the fridge and no car. Now the seriousness of the situation can be grasped only by a fellow Tam-Bram. A day without curd rice! Gasp! Shudder!

At around six p.m. my mom and I set off by foot to obtain the weekend groceries, leaving Vihaan and Vishal at home. As if that wasn’t ill advised enough, we proceeded to load ourselves  with  more groceries than we could carry. Seven p.m. found us staggering home with a heavy bag in each hand in the gathering darkness. Suddenly, I was accosted by a street urchin peddling the ubiquitous chewing gum and telephone card. I politely brushed past him only to realize that now there were three of them and before I knew it a crowd of ten urchins of various sizes had surrounded me and cut me off from my mother. Some started yanking at my hand and some at my clothes while all of them were yelling at the top of their voices- Indian! Hindu! Telephone card! I was terrified and trying not to show it and trying to politely get out of their clutches all at the same time, I mean I couldn’t hit a child could I? Then as suddenly as they converged,the crowd melted away. I gathered my wits and looked around to see my mother watching the spectacle,stunned and then it struck me. I opened my purse and my beloved iPhone was nowhere to be seen.

 And that is how I got mugged for the first time in my life. Note recipe for disaster – Two inattentive ladies + heavy shopping bags +  darkness = Irresistible target. To our credit, this incident didn’t happen on a dark side lane but on main Bole road, a few yards away from Day to Day and Fantu supermarkets. I didn’t write about the incident immediately because that would have been an angry, bitter entry damning every thieving street urchin to the hottest corner of hell. I fully understand the economic disparity and the lure of easy pickings driving the pick-pocket industry but dammit, I loved my phone! Anyway, after resolving to live with a Nokia 1100 which lasted for about 5 days, I got my Dad to send me a Samsung Galaxy S II because I really can’t afford an iPhone 4 S. ( Bite sized review – Beautiful screen, crappy camera with a long lag time and some of my medical apps don’t function as well on an Android system )

I carry the Samsung only to the hospital and use a cheap phone when I go walking or shopping. But there is no denying the fact that I feel like a walking bulls-eye now and I clutch my bag for dear life and scuttle around on the streets darting suspicious looks at all and sundry.And  I know every street vendor on Bole has a hearty laugh when he views my pitiful-avoid-a-repeat-mugging-maneuvers.      

Ethiopia for dummies – Part 3/ Internet ( And how the Skype ban affects me)

I know I haven’t updated in weeks. This post was written a while back but not completed and with the recent uproar over the ban on Skype and its bretheren in Ethiopia, it seems an appropriate topic to pontificate on.

 When I was web surfing in Delhi for details on internet quality in Ethiopia ( I fully appreciate the irony ) I came across a lot of scary blog entries with facts like Ethiopia has the third worst internet in the world and a number of common social networking sites are banned etc. In fact since this blog is hosted by Blogspot, I actually wrote to their customer support to check whether I would still have access from Addis. They never replied but I have my answer now. I am unsure of the legal issues or the level of government sanctions still prevailing, so I can only write on the current internet situation as perceived by a non-tech savvy foreigner. The first thing to be noted is that there are no private players in the telecom or internet sectors and all services are provided by the government agency, Ethio-telecom or etc.

First – Internet access.

There are two ways to activate personal internet service. The first is by purchasing a plug in modem. EDVO wireless internet was introduced end of 2009 and offers a speed up to 3.1 MBs and you pay per bite. It requires a modem from a computer/phone store or the Ethio-Telecom office and costs around 2000 Birr(112 $ or 6500 Rs). The ‘limited data plan’ EVDO service (400-700Kb/s) provides three options: a 1 GB internet access for Birr 300 monthly payment, a 2 GB internet access for Birr 500 monthly payment, and a 4 GB internet access for Birr 700 monthly payment. In the recent past, Ethio Telecom provided unlimited EVDO that apparently was often used in Internet cafés but this is no longer available.

The EVDO modem

We use the EVDO modem with a 2 GB limit. Practically we need to recharge with 500 Birr at the beginning of the month which suffices for all normal internet surfing. We obviously keep downloads to the minimum but usually set a download on the last day of the month to use up all the credit. Needless to say, any money left at the end of the month does not carry over to the next and a fresh recharge of 300/500/700 Birr is necessary.

The Ethio-Telecom website is advertising that ADSL connections are now available with a 6 GB limit and up to 2 Mbps speeds. The pre-requisite is an available landline. I think they have just started offering this service and I don’t know of anyone availing this service at the moment.   

The second way to access the net is on your smartphone or notepad with a 3G Sim card. Though normal mobile Sim cards are dime a dozen  and regularly thrust in your face by hawkers on the street, 3G Sim cards are difficult to obtain. I first tried one out loaned by a friend, realized it worked well and then bugged my office until they obtained one for me. To the best of my knowledge,3G Sim cards are available only from the Ethio-telecom office at the Piassa. Normal Sim cards cost around 25 Birr (80 Rs/1.5$) while the 3G Sim cards cost around 200 Birr (650 Rs/ 11$)

The internet connectivity is good on most smartphones, I am using an iPhone while my husband has a Samsung Ace. I also have various news and entertainment apps ( Fashion Police, anyone?) to surf the web other than Google, all of which are fast enough to be functional. I think it goes without saying that we don’t have too many patients and I have far too much time on my hands.   

I have a prepaid connection so I have to recharge by buying a 20/50/100 Birr card and entering the relevant code. I don’t think the 3G Sims are used very commonly because it is working out to be really cheap.      

Update – In case you have no interest in things Ethiopia, you may have not heard this piece of stunning news. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-18461292. I had downloaded some now unmentionable apps which let me call any phone number in India for a small fee. A payment of 13€ (20$/1000Rs) enabled unlimited calls to any mobile or landline in India. I was able to send a continuous stream of photos and videos of Vihaan to appease the grandparents. I could even send clinical photos to colleagues for a quick consultation. 

Hourly updates on the Vihaan channel

Now that these easy breezy means of communication are a thing of the past, a feeling of glum depression is settling in. Freedom is a right appreciated only when denied. Homesickness may be a palpable reality now that I can no longer call my mother at the drop of a hat to confirm a Sambhar recipe or a senior to ask the best way to sterilize iris hooks. Suddenly the scorching heat of Delhi doesn’t seem so bad and Ethiopia seems much more remote from home than a six hour flight.  

Reading,Riting and Rithmetic

I can’t believe this day is here already but my baby starts school tomorrow. Admittedly the day of leaving the nest, even if only for a couple of hours, has been preponed by our Addis Ababa move. Back in Delhi, I might have waited till he turned two before unleashing Vihaan on the world. Although I used to feel rather guilty about not providing him more company his age there as well. One of the advantages of living in huge housing boards is that your kid can create his own band of brothers just by stepping into the common playground, an advantage denied to me both in Delhi and in Addis. So basically I am going to pay a huge amount of money to get my son the companionship which I could get 30 years ago by venturing into the colony and my mom could get 60 years ago by venturing out of bed. Just to give you an idea of scale, my medical education was cheaper than Vihaans playschool.

Time to braid his hair

A few sentences of defence. Yes, Vihaan is too terribly young to actually start school but he really enjoys the company of other children or “Beby” as he puts it and I hope he will miss the 1001 people pampering him at Delhi a little less if he is busy. Also his social skills are a trifle cave man like at the moment consisting of random poking and shoving and hoarding of precious “taupies”. I am perfectly willing to send him to a clean ( and cheaper ) neighbourhood crèche but unfortunately, the number of establishments willing to take a child this young are few. Also, we really, really, really  liked this place. Also my school fees was Rs.5 a month so I have to compensate to the universe in general.We’ve decided to let him attend this playschool for a few months and to take a call on shifting him to a less premier institution once he turns two and more socially acceptable. 

I will detail more on the playschools I have explored in Addis Ababa once the experiment is underway. To the next eighteen years of education !

Too early for the arclights

Footnote : The first day was a huge success. Vihaan immediately waded into the toddler melee clutching his tiger soft toy and did not look back till it was time to leave three hours later. I realized that it was the first time he has ever been out of sight of a family member for any length of time and the first time I couldn’t get a detailed account of his activities. My nanny is lovely but has limited English skills. I could elicit that both of them had fun, that there were children younger than Vihaan as well in his group and that he pulled a child’s hair during the course of the morning. So, we will be back in school on Friday if they are willing to have him. Maybe the fee isn’t too steep after all.  

Last minute chaos

Vihaan and Vishals mom are due to arrive tomorrow by Ethiopian airlines. The trip has been planned for weeks, the tickets bought, a three month visa obtained and endless packing and re-packing done. And now we are keeping a midnight vigil and biting our fingers to the bone because Vishals mom packed the authorization letter for travelling with Vihaan in her suitcase which has been checked in.She can't clear immigration without the letter so we have mailed her another copy which Rahul is taking franctic copies of, as I type. The best laid plans of mice and men...... 

Addis Ababa for dummies – Part 2 / Crime

It is probably not fair for me to comment on the crime levels in Addis after being here for less than a month. What I write is mostly based on anecdotes of long time residents and how safe I feel walking on the streets. I lead an extremely sheltered life here, we live just off Bole Road which is Expat Central and the hospital we work in is one minutes walk away.

I feel reasonably safe walking around the main streets during the daytime. I don’t get harassed too much by the begging kids either because I am not obviously faranji. The constant advice we have received is to be wary of pickpockets and mobile-jackers. And to never talk on the phone on the street. The common technique is for a man pillion riding on a bike to shove you hard from behind and then to grab the mobile which falls down from your hand. Unfortunately, this has meant that I have been able to take very few candid street photos till now. Maybe we are being too cautious but obviously don’t want to take a chance. Recently I heard of another mishap – two Indian guys were returning home from a party around midnight. They parked their car outside their house and one of them got out to unlock the gate. A man hiding in the shadows jumped out and assaulted him, grabbed his laptop and phone and fled. The victim had to be rushed to a hospital in the middle of the night for stitches on his scalp. This was probably a one off incident but still scary.

The Indian community in Addis seems to be well settled and set on rapidly augmenting their numbers both by breeding and importing family members from India. The ladies also have tales of visiting the dreaded Merkato market to hunt down elusive Indian ingredients.Though Ethiopia is a virgin market and business oppurtunities are numerous, I am sure this would not supercede their concern for personal safety, so overall,that is a good indicator of the safety profile.

My sorry-ass photo of Merkato taken from INSIDE  the car

I went to the Merkato as well. Unfortunately my escorts were as lily-livered as me and we all pussy footed around the periphery, ran our errand and were back before you could count to ten.

Ethiopian women also seem to have a great deal of freedom, they travel by public transport and are walking and driving on the streets even late at night. Public transport, especially the ubiquitous minibus seems really safe, if cramped and are extremely cheap. I haven’t experimented with late night taxis till now but they are supposed to be a good option. 

  

I have heard it repeated again and again that serious crime is rare in Addis and only petty thefts are common. However, all the houses have a high stone compound wall topped with barbed wire or glass shards. I assume they are there for a reason. Also I am not terribly comfortable with the ubiquitous chat shops in every neighbourhood. I am of course, more used to the Indian attitude towards intoxicants of all types – it is indoctrinated in our systems that alcohol is an evil consumed by bad people which makes them do bad things – like wife beating ! Horror! Shudder! And the liquor shops comply by having forbidding  barred windows whence they stealthily dispense unidentifiable bottles securely wrapped in brown paper. {( Whence? Really?) and who passed the colour coding laws – Alcohol in brown paper and feminine personal hygiene products in black plastic packets} And the customers comply by approaching the shops in an appropriately furtive manner, obtaining the aforementioned wrapped bottles and slinking into a dark basement “ Government licensed Permit Room with A/C” – And the villagers throw stones at them! 

Compare this to the Addis Ababa way where come sundown you gather at the neighbouring watering hole for a few hours of meditative chewing and gentle hallucinating while watching the world go by. No wonder my gentle Hindu soul shudders. Kidding, love the 8 Birr beers which are EVERYWHERE.   

For now I am going to continue with the routine precautions, give a wide berth to the chat chewers and I bet I’ll still lose my phone six months down the line once I let my guard down.  

Easter Lunch

Lambs to the slaughter - literally!

Easter was last Sunday and I still haven’t posted about it which means my laziness is now pathological. I have only one thing to say about Easter in Addis Ababa – The Goats Die! From Good Friday onwards there was a goat invasion of Addis with herds of them in every market, even grazing on the grass growing on the road divider on Bole Road. Apparently they cost around 2000 Birr per goat. The chicken cost between 50-200 Birr with the prices being hiked up for Easter. One of the English newspapers had an amusing headline on Monday protesting the steep prices ‘Doro-What??’- a pun on Doro-Wot  which is an Ethiopian chicken dish. I understand Amharic puns now. Clap, clap. Although if you consider that the majority of the readers are probably expats whose Amharic is as sketchy as mine, then  reporter was probably just playing to our limited intellect. 

Grab a plate

When we arrived at our hosts house, the goat had already been butchered and the meat was marinating for the barbeque.The raw meat did make me squeamish as expected and I did not try it, but  even hardened non vegetarians steer clear of it so thats ok. The Ethiopian chilli pastes taste really good and are definitely not too spicy for the Indian palate.  I am developing a taste for Injera but not the wots.I think it will taste rather good with a curry instead. Will report on the experiment.

The more conventional way to eat the meat

Residence Permit

My Green Card!

Both my residence and work permit are here and not a day too soon as my one month Business visa expires today. Strangely enough the Ethiopian embassy in Delhi issues visas starting from the date of application for the visa and not the date of arrival in Ethiopia,so you have to time your departure well. For example, my mother in law and Vihaan arrive in Addis on the 3^rd of May ( Yay!) and she returns on the 26^th of May. Therefore, I’ve asked them to apply for a visa after the 26^th of April so she will be well within the specified period. The other option is to of course, get a visa on arrival which is possible for Indian citizens. But I don’t want her to stand in an additional line with Vihaan who will definitely be uppity and jumpity and probably poopity pants by then. The visa on arrival is definitely an option I’ll explore when my mother arrives as she will be travelling alone.

In other news, tomorrow is the Ethiopian Good Friday and the following Sunday is Easter. This would also mark the end of the fasting season. Selfishly, we were rather grateful that we arrived when the general populace was fasting because getting vegetarian food was easier. And we never had to explain what vegetarian food was, we just asked for fasting food. This actually consists of vegan fare as it is dairy free as well but works well enough for us. Come Sunday it is going to be every man for himself. Our social calendar is surprisingly full as we are invited both to an Easter lunch and a Tamil Sangamam event to celebrate the Tamil New Year.

I still haven’t figured out why there are so many Tamilians in Addis Ababa. Geographically, it is more distant without even a direct flight and yet..I did read that the erstwhile Emperor Haile Saillasie recruited teachers from Kerala to work in the state government run schools and Universities, so are the Tamilians part of that connection? Currently, I have to admit they are utilizing the business oppurtunities well and are rushing to meet the demands of a developing economy. Most people have established business interests other than the salaried job for which they originally came here.  And although they complain about the living conditions and food, they have also relocated entire extended families here.  It will be interesting to find out the rest of the story. As for the Easter lunch, I am steering clear of the kitfo.

Addis Ababa for dummies – Part 1 / Drinking water

As I’ve mentioned multiple times previously, there is very less information about moving to Addis Ababa on the net. There were a couple of decent blogs which gave a realistic picture of life here but I still had a lot of stuff I knew nothing about. This basically means I carted along a whole load of woollen warmers and cooking utensils when I would have been better off getting more formal wear for the hospital and electronic devices.

In India, it would be an understatement to say that the standard of hygiene where street food and drink are concerned is extremely poor. You know that scene in Slumdog Millionaire where the kids fill tap water in empty mineral water bottles, re-seal and sell them, that may not be too far from the truth. I know of Caucasians who have developed unrelenting gastroenteritis after eating a plate of Gol-Gappa ( Delhi Belly anyone? ) However, as a true child of the land I pride myself on my cast iron stomach and can easily enjoy the many culinary delights of Chandni Chowk without so much as an extra gurgle in my GI passage. In all fairness, I also need to disclose that we have no running water in my locality and a tanker delivers  water of undetermined origin as frequently as we need it. We run this tanker water through a Reverse-Osmosis water purifying system and drink that. Pretty horrifying when you actually think about it.

Despite this background, imagine the extent of cultural snobbery when I decided that perhaps the water in Addis may not be safe enough for me and actually spent some considerable effort in trying to obtain a water purifier which can be fitted on to the tap. Thus even the water I used for brushing and washing would be safe to an extent. I would of course use mineral water for drinking and cooking. In my defense, I have an eighteen month old son to worry about and I’d read lots of blogs where people were peeling and washing all vegetables in bleach before consuming them. Also, I had a lot of time on my hands.

In reality,my house in Addis has 24 hour running hot and cold water. The water looks really clean and tastes good and lathers well. Locally manufactured mineral water is freely available in the usual 1 Litre, 2 Litre as well as 20 Litre containers for household consumption. There are multiple brands of water available,of which I randomly selected the Aqua Addis at the supermarket. You have to pay an initial deposit of about 230 Birr ( 700 Rs ) for the 20 L container but the empty one can be exchanged for a new one for 25 Birr ( 75 Rs ).  I am currently drinking the mineral water but use the normal corporation supplied water for all other purposes including cooking with no ill effects. I guess the Indian and Ethiopian immune systems share a common pool of antibodies for water borne pathogens or maybe they are generic third world antibodies. Full disclosure – my son has been vaccinated against Hepatitis A, the pathogen which commonly causes jaundice, before coming here.

As I’ve mentioned previously, I write this blog in fragments as and when I have time. And a day after I finished writing the above section the water supply suddenly stopped and we had no water for two days. Franctic enquiry revealed that a water supply pipe had been broken during road construction and no one had any information to how long it would take to repair it. The less said about those two days, the better except we discovered a new restaurant in the vicinity with great cheese pizzas.In Delhi, we have huge plastic water storage containers for just such eventualities but we were caught completely unawares here. We remedied that soon after and bought this plastic water can which should be able to store enough water for a day.

These water storage cans are available in Addis in all hues and sizes and their very presence indicates that water cuts are not an unusual occurrence.Our house also has a overhead water storage tanker which buffers us for a day, so actually there was no water for three days. I saw the familiar sight of water tankers parked on the road for replenishing the tanks, at an exorbitant rate of course. That is one aspect of Delhi which I am glad to forget and am fervently praying this was an isolated event.     

First movie in Addis

The first thing you need to know is that shifting to Addis is entirely my idea, so of course if anything goes wrong,then the responsibility is completely mine,at least in my head. As Vishal has very few requirements to keep him happy, I was hoping at least part of his list would be available.Before leaving Delhi, I went almost crazy trying to dredge the internet for details on internet speed ( I get the irony) and which, if any theatres would be playing Hollywood movies.So, weeks before arriving in Addis I knew about the Matti Multiplex which had opened a few months back and screened three different English movies at any given time! They even had a website where I checked out what shows were playing while I was in Delhi. Vishal was mightily relieved to realise that John Carter was on and which meant that every cheesy, special effect crammed, nonsensical, big budget extravaganza would be seen in Addis pretty much as soon as it was released.

Yesterday, we went to check the quality of the popcorn. Matti multiplex is located in the Edna Mall near the Bole Medhnalayam church. We took a taxi which cost us 60 Birr ( 180 Rs)but needn’t have bothered as it is actually a pleasant  15 min walk. The tickets cost 40 Birr (120 Rs ) on weekdays and 45 Birr on weekends. The theatre was small but with comfortable seats. There were barely 15 people in the theatre which was expected, considering that it was a weekday afternoon and the movie was a sappy chick-flick with a rating of 20% on Rotten Tomatoes. The only thing which was different was that the trailers of forthcoming movies had subtitles in both Amharic and French although the main feature didn’t. Disconcertingly, the upper third of the screen was fuzzy and blurred during the trailers but cleared up soon thereafter. Maybe someone cleaned the projector lens. A good time was had by one and all although the movie was on the awful side of the spectrum. And the popcorn? We didn’t get to try it because there was no interval.

On the subject of popcorn, we brought about half a dozen packets of Act II microwave popcorn with us and of course, we don’t have a microwave. Yesterday evening,it rained and was perfect popcorn weather so I popped the corn in the pressure cooker and what do you know, better than when microwaved. No charred paper and burnt bits at all, although I did have popcorn flying all over the kitchen when I opened the lid prematurely.You live and you learn.
P.S. The popcorn and Pepsi at Matti multiplex are decent and tickets for 3D flicks cost 90 Birr (270 Rs) with an additional 50 Birr deposit for the 3D glasses. You have to return the glasses and collect your deposit at the end of the movie. For real.    

First Addis Ababa post

Also second non Delhi post and first post from Africa, not that anyone cares as after the brief blip of popularity when Vishal posted a link to this blog on his facebook page (60 views!) it has managed to slide back to comfortable anonymity.

We arrived in Addis on Thursday at 7.30 a.m. local time. The airport is decent, maybe comparable to the Chennai one.

When you reach a new country,especially somewhere like Ethiopia which is far removed from our cultural conciousness, there are so many aspects to write about. I am only going to mention the overall impression of the city and the people now and save the specifics for later. I have been diligently trawling the internet for information about Addis for three months now like a lonely single haunting the dating sites and found precious little information. I came with low expectations and 106 kgs of baggage mostly consisting of rice,dals and masala. Well, I needn't have bothered. So far, Addis has far surpassed my expectations and I am sure things will only get better once we are actively at work.

The overall feeling is pretty much the same as if I had moved to a city in India which I know of but have never visited and has a language I don't speak, like Bhuvaneshwar. Like being in a Bizarro version of India, the same beggars and potholes but with subtle differences.

For example look at this mushroom and onion pizza we ordered at a Pizzeria close to home. Standard base,tomato topping, cheese and onions ? What distinguishes the Addis Ababa pizza from the Big Chill one is that bowl of green chilli paste served with it which the Ethiopians slather on generously before taking a bite. Also, how cute are those knives with 'pizza' cut out in them?

Same,same but different. 

5,4,3,2,1,1,1,1

I've been telling everyone that I'll be leaving by the 15th of March once all our certificates are attested and bank formalities completed. We got the all-clear from the bank on the 16th of March and asked our company to book tickets for the 19th, so we could arrive in Addis on a Monday. They took some time to confirm but finally  called to tell us that the first available tickets were for 20th (Tue) We were thrilled to spend another day wallowing at home but spent all day Monday in a final frantic round of repacking and getting last minute attestations. However, just to prolong the anticipation, we didn't receive the tickets till 5.00 p.m. And what I saw was this.

Flight Information

22 Mar 2012 Ethiopian Air Lines  (ET)  687 Economy (V)   Ethiopian Air Lines Confirmation Number: FGLODC   Depart: Delhi Indira Gandhi Intl (DEL) , Terminal 3 2:45 AM *Baggage: 40 Kilos Fare Basis: VEERTINA Arrive: Bole Airport (ADD), Terminal 2 Addis Ababa 7:10 AM *Contact airline to confirm  baggage allowance. So,of course we promptly stopped all the packing and commenced yet another round of farewells. The brilliant thing is Vishal and Rahul both got to celebrate their joint birthdays together again ( 21st) Also, I contacted a friend of a friend of a friend who is travelling on the same flight and he graciously agreed to take some of our baggage. You would be surprised how less 80 kgs actually is when you are attempting to transport six different types of  dal along with six different textbooks across the Indian Ocean. This is really my last post from Delhi. I swear. See you on the other side.

Goodbye Delhi, Hello Addis Ababa !

I and Vishal are flying to Addis Ababa by Ethiopian airlines tomorrow morning. So, this is my last post from Delhi for a while. I am not sure when and where I will be blogging in Addis because it is going to take a little time to get the internet up and running. Also access to blogspot may be restricted in Ethiopia so I may have to shift to a different site.
The last three months ,since we decided on the move , have been a whirlwind of passports, vaccinations, shopping and more shopping and endless chakkars of government offices for certificate attestation. Now that we are ready to leave the nameless, middle of the night fears have started. First of all, I need to take responsibility for the whole Ethiopian venture. Face it, as enthusiastic as Vishal has been, the whole deal is completely my idea.
I might feel a little better if I had someone available to answer my dozens of mundane queries. But there are still dozens of details I am hazy about.

Exactly how slow and reliable is the internet? I have read pages and pages on the net about ethernet and the new evdo service, broadbands and plug ins. But I am still unclear about the exact situation or maybe I am hoping against hope that the situation is better than it seems. It is exteremely scary to a Google addict like me and a piracy promoter like Vishal to realize that we may have to make some serious lifestyle changes. I think what scares me most is that I may not be able to run to the internet for help for all those funny cases which you just can't figure out. Especially as we are able to carry only a couple of the most vital textbooks with us.

How cold is it going to be ? I know all the temperature charts but will I need a heater ?

What T.V. channels will be available and exactly how expensive is it going to be ?

How freely available are Indian groceries and will I get idly batter anywhere? This is almost as essential as milk because Vihaan sometimes goes for days where he refuses all food other than idli or dosa.

I have been repeatedly advised to carry all required clothes with me. Does that mean no shopping for a year? And can I wear salwar kameez to work or would that be hugely out of place ?

I guess all will be answered in a day. To new beginnings ! (I will complete the toast with St.George's beer tomorrow)

Weddings!

When you have two weddings in quick sucession in the family, then your life becomes a mad whirl of saree buying, blouse stitching, parlour visiting and jewellery matching. If both the weddings are out of town and you are squeezing in a conference in between, resigning your job and orchestrating a trans-continental move, then your life is on steroids.

Roshni, my younger sister got married on the 30^th of January in a traditional Tamil Iyer ceremony. The festivities started   on the 28^th with a cocktail party, followed by the Nitchyathartam or engagement on the 29^th and the wedding on the 30^th. 

Who shines brighter ?

Roshni’s wedding was a far cry from mine because the financial strain was much less. At my wedding every saree and beauty parlour visit was budgeted and accounted for. I remember long discussions over Roshnis sangeet lehenga which cost 5000 Rs at that time. This time you had Appa swanking around like a nouve riche Russian splashing out on hotel rooms and chauffeured taxis. Good times.

Necessary audience participation to maintain interest

Her wedding photos are absolutely sensational because she had two full time professional photographers covering all events as well as a horde of wannabe friends with SLRs and zoom lenses. One of her best friends, Khushi, was wonderfully focussed on documenting every moment of all three days. Sometimes you couldn’t see the homam smoke for the paparazzi !

Introducing the bride and groom

Rahuls wedding was a much more intimate affair. While Roshnis wedding had a predominantly firang flair to it thanks to her and Balajis classmates from Columbia University and Oxford respectively. Rahuls wedding party consisted chiefly of close relatives which meant he had an exceptionally pretty baraat. And Vihaan danced. At the sangeet, at the baraat, and everytime the music played in between. He is definitely over compensating  for parents with two left feet. 

All dressed up

The sangeet at home

When the bridegroom is really happy to get married

Vihaan had an absolutely great time with his cousin Sahil running around, throwing things and taking his first steps towards turning into a little boy tornado. I need to find him more kids his age to play with.

Learning to be a boy

And of course, the wedding

Holiday in the hills

(Written between 31.1.12 - 4.2.12 and posted today - an insight into my modus operandi)

Now obviously I should be writing about my sisters wedding which took place on Monday but I’d rather write about that when I have the photos to upload which won’t be till i reach Delhi. Meanwhile, Vishal and I are in Munnar for two days before proceeding to Cochin for the All India Ophthalmic Society annual meet. We are staying at the Club Mahindra, Munnar which is a rather cool five star-ish place. We have a semi detached cottage to ourself, the views and the buffet meals are fantastic all adding up to a great mini break. The only issue I have is that the walls are paper thin. I woke up with a start this afternoon when my neighbours phone rang, I am not even going to think about what he can hear. ( Afternoon naps – benchmark of any holiday )

Towels arranged as kissing swans on bed. Barf !  

We’ve mostly been lazing around in the resort but set off to visit the Kolukkumalai tea factory this morning. This tea factory was established by the British in 1936 and is situated on top of a mountain accessible only by jeep. I need to mention that the road leading to the factory is a mud track strewn with boulders which makes for an extremely bumpy ride lasting 8 km or around half hour. However the views are great with multiple tea garden photo-ops on the way. The tea garden itself was quaint, they still process tea partially by hand and with the original, century old machines. The place had a sleepy, forgotten and mildly sad air about it with the few women working and the men wandering around already drunk at noon. A far cry from the briskly efficient Warren tea factories I have seen in Tinsukhia. 

"Enclosed by tea leaves" photo taken by our jeep driver. In reality we are standing by the road side behind one scrawny tea bush. DIY trick photography. 

Aforementioned instrument of torture

I was supposed to have posted that two days back but didn’t. The day after the jeep ride I woke up with every muscle in my torso and back stretched and sore. So if you are loosely jointed with poorly toned musculature, I would advise giving the trip a miss.

We next reached Cochin by road. Due to usual hospital inefficiency, we didn’t have any accommodation booked but I’d asked my father to book us a room at the Railway rest house. This turned out to be right next to Ernakulam Junction so we ended up wandering on to the station to buy newspapers and coffee. All for 32 Rs a day. Made me rather nostalgic for the good old Indian Govt parasite days.

It was great meeting all our friends again, face it, AIOS is definitely more about socializing than higher intellectual pursuit. No small amount of Ethanol has traversed my system in the past week. First, Roshnis cocktail party, then at Munnar ( Its a tea plantation hill station, the ghosts of the erstwhile planters expect you to get mildly pickled after sundown ) and then all the reunion dinners. Vishal is continuing the party at an alumni dinner on a ferry with all the usual suspects.

I last visited Cochin almost 10 years back and I have a residual memory of Chinese fishing nets against the sunset and a lazy backwater cruise winding slowly  between sleepy villages. Kids ran along the boat on the banks while the firangs tanned on the decks. On this visit, the city seemed a lot more grubby with more touts and dreadlocked Israeli tourists. The food in the Fort Cochin Goa-esque shacks were nothing much to write about either. I really couldn’t understand the appeal of the city to all the tourists either, unless they use it as a base for short trips to Allepey or Munnar.

Oh, my talks went off well. As well as can be expected with an audience of ten people in a hall with a capacity of three hundred . The lethal combination of paediatric ophthalmology and community ophthalmology helped to exponentially decrease the level of popularity of the course and keep the audience at bay. It didn’t help matters that the AIOS quiz was taking place simultaneously. Oh well.

I am in Cochin airport waiting for my flight back to Delhi. For the first time, I’ve really missed Vihaan over the last couple couple of days and am looking forward to cuddling up with him tonight. A world with soft cheeks , curly hair and that indefinably sweet baby smell is a good place to be in.

How to Delaminate a certificate in three easy steps

I will come to the reason for stripping our precious degrees of their protective covering later. First let me solve a mystery which even Google and Wiki couldn’t answer definitively. If you Google “ How to remove lamination from a certificate” you get a lot of information on the lamination process , some wet blankets ( can’t be done, just apply for a new certificate ) and a couple of bravehearts who suggest dipping your certificate in hot water or even better, solvent. Ads for professional certificate delaminators also pop up from Cochin to Dhaka.

But here ladies and gentlemen is the patented ( not to mention tested ),painless, totally guaranteed, five minute  method of DIY delamination.

Equipment needed – Certificate to be delaminated ( duh ! ), a sharp pair of scissors and a hair dryer

Step 1

Cut the edge of the plastic as close to the certificate as possible without cutting the paper.

Step 2

Carefully examine the cut edge and find a gap between the plastic and the paper. Enlarge the gap with your nail or a safety pin, taking care not to peel paper.

Step 3

Use the hair dryer to gently heat the cut edge and carefully peel off the plastic. I think the heat melts the adhesive and makes the process totally smooth.

Ta-dah !

1001 ways to get cheated in Delhi

So, I was driving to work today morning and realized I was driving on an empty tank. I swung into my regular petrol station which is the Indian Oil outlet on the left just after crossing the Chirag Delhi flyover ( driving from Saket to Moolchand or south to north ). I parked, handed over my debit card and asked the attender to fill 1000 Rs worth of petrol. As usual, the attender went to swipe my card while the second attender started filling the petrol. Being of a suspicious nature, I made sure the display was set at zero before he started. I sat in the car and watched the numbers climbing. The display showed 800 Rs when the first attender came back and handed me the bill to sign. My attention diverted, I turned to take the bill. Then some instinct made me look at the screen again and I saw the second attender swiftly terminate the transaction when only 848 Rs worth of petrol had been filled!

I hope you are able to appreciate the truly heinous, fiendish and diabolical nature of the crime. Even more so when you realize that this isn’t a petty crime committed by the employee but probably an regular practice instituted by the management to make money. Think of how much their profit margins must shoot up if they are able to cheat even 5% of their customers a day. The attenders are probably tipped at the end of the day based on the amount of petrol saved. Just one more instance of how deeply entrenched corruption is in our society.

What happened next ? I created a ruckus but no senior personnel were available on the premises. I left my card and number and asked the management to get in touch with me and left without signing my bill. I have googled the owner of this particular petrol station and intend to call him to lodge an official complaint. Although I am sure that the only actual action I am going to take would be to change petrol stations and to watch the metre like a hawk in future.

Update – I called up and talked to the owner, a sweet old man who rambled on & on about the sad story of his life, his ill health, his children who neglect him, his bank loans and of course his swindling employees and then started sobbing on the phone. Lesson learnt – Old age is a bitch and I am a horrible person who makes old men cry.