Indian summer?
I believe this is the high time to give a comprehensive and honest account on the heat in Delhi… Yes, I know for many of those enjoying the spring that is taking off at full power these days, it would be little bit difficult to understand, but I’ll try to explain.
It is 45 C (113 F) these days. Even by Indian terms it is quite hot for this time of the year. In fact, the heat started taking over already in early April. May and June in Delhi are supposed to be months of dry heat accompanied with dust storms now and then, but no rain. Mornings are comparatively good as the air has not yet warmed up till maximum. Noon and afternoon is not really a desirable time to go out: it doesn’t come down to sweating after every step, it’s about overall weakness. Last Sunday 2 friends and me had to undertake a sally to the market (5 minutes walk from home) around 2 pm – I sort of survived, but even if it did not cost me the friendship of these people they got majorily irritated. You feel the sun fills in the whole space around and there is nothing but warmed up air to breath in. No breeze and if it comes – no difference – it is also warm.
How do people manage? Well, believe me, they have developed a number of ways here. As you might imagine AC (air-conditioner) is the most effective mean to cool down. AC is very cool – truly! Essentially, everything around gets heated from inside. Even you yourself feel as a piece of a warm substance. Our flat is in the upper-most floor, so everything gets way too warm: plates in the cupboard, skirts in the cupboard, shampoo in the bathroom, books on the shelves, water running from the tap. I remember how 2 weeks ago Juan-Mi joked that while in winter we had to boil water to take shower now we would be adding ice-cubes instead. And just two days ago one of my flatmates started storing bottles of non-drinking water in the freezer for shower occasions. The other week we began putting our medicines and toiletries in the fridge to preserve those somehow. I myself would not mind hiding in the fridge for some time, frankly speaking. You are dieing to cool down and AC does its job well. If one condition holds – electricity must be there. Powercuts happen now and then and you never know for how long one might last. Also, AC (whether you are buying or renting one) is the most expensive option considering the rent and the electricity cost that sky-high once you use one. Thanks God, in the offices they have AC, so work is the place to be these days.
Fans are a cheap alternative to AC, yet still many venues are provided with both and both are in use when it gets warm. My room has a fan. So has every room in every house or office in India. Even semi-open-air shops and eateries would be provided with one… or two… In our flat we’ve been discussing the alternative of fixing a cooler (such a device that cools down apartment, works on water) or renting an AC. As we’ve got major troubles with water every now and then – not properly working pipes, broken pump, no water supply to the whole area etc – cooler would be too optimistic for us to think of. We opted for AC for each room, but decided to postpone getting them until it’s really hot. So, Daniela and Karoline have already got themselves an AC with a meter, as they could not sleep at all. The rest of us is still pushing their limits and we’ll see how far those would be pushed.
Juan Mi and me are still managing with the fan. It was him who suggested in the beginning we start increasing the power gradually so that we give our bodies a chance to cope with the coming heat on their own. We both can sleep without troubles. Today I got to speak to a girl who takes 5 showers in the night to soak the clothes she sleeps in: very truly, it’s a great relief to be in wet clothes under a fan. Yet, it is so warm that you get dry too quick. Thanks God, I do not take showers in the night – at least so far. But almost every morning I wake up sweaty (sleeping with no clothes on and covering with a light sheet). Earlier, I used to wake up coughing or not able to move my neck properly: the latter would mean there was no need to set up the fan so high. Also, before I used to be annoyed by the very sound of fan put on the highest speed – it gave me the feeling of huge uncozy waiting hall at a railway station. But as soon as you realize fan really helps you to sustain in this heat, you accept the drawbacks. And then, somehow, here you find yourself in two contradictory states at the same time. Either sweating should you get outside by day (oh my God, people wear jeans and long sleeve shirts – how come?) or even to come to your warmy-warm room that has been heating up the whole day. Or getting cold due to the ice cold, burning-your-mouth drinks you feel like having (at times, it feels like eating ice-cubes), cold showers you feel like indulging (no need in the boiler any more, water comes warm enough already from the heat-up pumps and even if it comes not that warm – even better for suffering you)…
It is rather dry and therefore dusty. We try not to keep the balcony door open– pointless anyway, only warm air is coming through, that one we’ve got plenty of. But if we do – our beds and anything in the room gets covers by a layer of dust very soon. My arms have got this color of tan mixed with some dust – none of the mixture components goes however hard I try with washing…
Indispensable sign of summer in India are power cuts and problems with water supply. Each deserves a word to be said about.
Power cuts happen now and then and vary from innocent leaps when your computer reloads all of a sudden (well, innocent unless you forget to save your files now and then) to the trying you patience short cuts when u start realizing that no more that 3 minutes you’ll manage without AC to actually those that truly challenge your stamina when for an hour or so you try to achieve the condition of homeostasis – no move, no breath in, no breath out… It is actually amazing to watch the whole market area without electricity: those shops with powerful generators carry on as nothing happened … the others are using candles… U feel the great survival spirit of the whole local community facing this sort of challenges on an everyday basis.
Water supply is yet another issue here. In the area where we stay water comes at certain point of time and gets collected in the tanks (separate for each apartment). Somehow we are never sure if there is something wrong with our pipes that have been troublesome for a couple of times already or none of our neighbors get any water either. There was this instance when we did not have water for 1,5 weeks. Then even washing… as if taking bath (washing clothes should be outsourced or postponed till better times) is a whole undertaking. And if you consider that you start sweating just once you raise your finger… you may wonder…. Well, now and then you can steal some water from neighbors’ tank. My personal achievement set at those days is to do the whole bathing (incl. washing hair and shaving) with 3-4 liters of water. What to do, man?... as they say here ;o)
Re-read… Looks like an account of big-time suffering and deprivation… No, I did not exaggerate the facts. Somehow you look at this differently once you find yourself in there. Ask people,. Many of them are having normal kind of life with some respective seasonal adjustments. But otherwise – no major pain….Your threshold of sensitivity is getting sky-high…
I remember one day Juan Mi just draw my attention to the fact it was already 42 C by day, so we’ve already done great job in the sense we did not realize how hot it was… It occurred to me it’s mentally safer not to think of the temperature hassles we face all the time. But once in a while – stop and think – you’ll get surprised with how much you can handle. It’s not like we are all cool people… I got seek the other day with heat influence as the most probable diagnosis. Even before and now – feeling of being tired, lazy, ever-sleepy, weak… is there.. I am sweating big time when writing these lines – I’d go and take my next warm shower.
PS
The night I wrote the post…. A major powercut happened… So, by 11-30 pm I was ready go to bed as there is hardly any activity but sleeping you want to pursue in the ultimate heat that fills in all the space around you. As I could not make any use of the plug-in mosquito protection I had to put on repellent cream that feels rather sticky on the skin. The power came in half an hour and along with it – a major relief. Around 4-30 I woke up because I realized the fan does not work any more… had to take shower with my small top and shorts on to get at least a little bit chilled. Otherwise, we do not suffer here….. ;o)
It is 45 C (113 F) these days. Even by Indian terms it is quite hot for this time of the year. In fact, the heat started taking over already in early April. May and June in Delhi are supposed to be months of dry heat accompanied with dust storms now and then, but no rain. Mornings are comparatively good as the air has not yet warmed up till maximum. Noon and afternoon is not really a desirable time to go out: it doesn’t come down to sweating after every step, it’s about overall weakness. Last Sunday 2 friends and me had to undertake a sally to the market (5 minutes walk from home) around 2 pm – I sort of survived, but even if it did not cost me the friendship of these people they got majorily irritated. You feel the sun fills in the whole space around and there is nothing but warmed up air to breath in. No breeze and if it comes – no difference – it is also warm.
How do people manage? Well, believe me, they have developed a number of ways here. As you might imagine AC (air-conditioner) is the most effective mean to cool down. AC is very cool – truly! Essentially, everything around gets heated from inside. Even you yourself feel as a piece of a warm substance. Our flat is in the upper-most floor, so everything gets way too warm: plates in the cupboard, skirts in the cupboard, shampoo in the bathroom, books on the shelves, water running from the tap. I remember how 2 weeks ago Juan-Mi joked that while in winter we had to boil water to take shower now we would be adding ice-cubes instead. And just two days ago one of my flatmates started storing bottles of non-drinking water in the freezer for shower occasions. The other week we began putting our medicines and toiletries in the fridge to preserve those somehow. I myself would not mind hiding in the fridge for some time, frankly speaking. You are dieing to cool down and AC does its job well. If one condition holds – electricity must be there. Powercuts happen now and then and you never know for how long one might last. Also, AC (whether you are buying or renting one) is the most expensive option considering the rent and the electricity cost that sky-high once you use one. Thanks God, in the offices they have AC, so work is the place to be these days.
Fans are a cheap alternative to AC, yet still many venues are provided with both and both are in use when it gets warm. My room has a fan. So has every room in every house or office in India. Even semi-open-air shops and eateries would be provided with one… or two… In our flat we’ve been discussing the alternative of fixing a cooler (such a device that cools down apartment, works on water) or renting an AC. As we’ve got major troubles with water every now and then – not properly working pipes, broken pump, no water supply to the whole area etc – cooler would be too optimistic for us to think of. We opted for AC for each room, but decided to postpone getting them until it’s really hot. So, Daniela and Karoline have already got themselves an AC with a meter, as they could not sleep at all. The rest of us is still pushing their limits and we’ll see how far those would be pushed.
Juan Mi and me are still managing with the fan. It was him who suggested in the beginning we start increasing the power gradually so that we give our bodies a chance to cope with the coming heat on their own. We both can sleep without troubles. Today I got to speak to a girl who takes 5 showers in the night to soak the clothes she sleeps in: very truly, it’s a great relief to be in wet clothes under a fan. Yet, it is so warm that you get dry too quick. Thanks God, I do not take showers in the night – at least so far. But almost every morning I wake up sweaty (sleeping with no clothes on and covering with a light sheet). Earlier, I used to wake up coughing or not able to move my neck properly: the latter would mean there was no need to set up the fan so high. Also, before I used to be annoyed by the very sound of fan put on the highest speed – it gave me the feeling of huge uncozy waiting hall at a railway station. But as soon as you realize fan really helps you to sustain in this heat, you accept the drawbacks. And then, somehow, here you find yourself in two contradictory states at the same time. Either sweating should you get outside by day (oh my God, people wear jeans and long sleeve shirts – how come?) or even to come to your warmy-warm room that has been heating up the whole day. Or getting cold due to the ice cold, burning-your-mouth drinks you feel like having (at times, it feels like eating ice-cubes), cold showers you feel like indulging (no need in the boiler any more, water comes warm enough already from the heat-up pumps and even if it comes not that warm – even better for suffering you)…
It is rather dry and therefore dusty. We try not to keep the balcony door open– pointless anyway, only warm air is coming through, that one we’ve got plenty of. But if we do – our beds and anything in the room gets covers by a layer of dust very soon. My arms have got this color of tan mixed with some dust – none of the mixture components goes however hard I try with washing…
Indispensable sign of summer in India are power cuts and problems with water supply. Each deserves a word to be said about.
Power cuts happen now and then and vary from innocent leaps when your computer reloads all of a sudden (well, innocent unless you forget to save your files now and then) to the trying you patience short cuts when u start realizing that no more that 3 minutes you’ll manage without AC to actually those that truly challenge your stamina when for an hour or so you try to achieve the condition of homeostasis – no move, no breath in, no breath out… It is actually amazing to watch the whole market area without electricity: those shops with powerful generators carry on as nothing happened … the others are using candles… U feel the great survival spirit of the whole local community facing this sort of challenges on an everyday basis.
Water supply is yet another issue here. In the area where we stay water comes at certain point of time and gets collected in the tanks (separate for each apartment). Somehow we are never sure if there is something wrong with our pipes that have been troublesome for a couple of times already or none of our neighbors get any water either. There was this instance when we did not have water for 1,5 weeks. Then even washing… as if taking bath (washing clothes should be outsourced or postponed till better times) is a whole undertaking. And if you consider that you start sweating just once you raise your finger… you may wonder…. Well, now and then you can steal some water from neighbors’ tank. My personal achievement set at those days is to do the whole bathing (incl. washing hair and shaving) with 3-4 liters of water. What to do, man?... as they say here ;o)
Re-read… Looks like an account of big-time suffering and deprivation… No, I did not exaggerate the facts. Somehow you look at this differently once you find yourself in there. Ask people,. Many of them are having normal kind of life with some respective seasonal adjustments. But otherwise – no major pain….Your threshold of sensitivity is getting sky-high…
I remember one day Juan Mi just draw my attention to the fact it was already 42 C by day, so we’ve already done great job in the sense we did not realize how hot it was… It occurred to me it’s mentally safer not to think of the temperature hassles we face all the time. But once in a while – stop and think – you’ll get surprised with how much you can handle. It’s not like we are all cool people… I got seek the other day with heat influence as the most probable diagnosis. Even before and now – feeling of being tired, lazy, ever-sleepy, weak… is there.. I am sweating big time when writing these lines – I’d go and take my next warm shower.
PS
The night I wrote the post…. A major powercut happened… So, by 11-30 pm I was ready go to bed as there is hardly any activity but sleeping you want to pursue in the ultimate heat that fills in all the space around you. As I could not make any use of the plug-in mosquito protection I had to put on repellent cream that feels rather sticky on the skin. The power came in half an hour and along with it – a major relief. Around 4-30 I woke up because I realized the fan does not work any more… had to take shower with my small top and shorts on to get at least a little bit chilled. Otherwise, we do not suffer here….. ;o)
posted by Olga Tikhonova | 12:53 pm
2 Comments:
... this sounds really bad ... started sweating just because of reading through your lines ...
;o)
Wow, some people are really spoiled with this kind of thing compared with what you guys have to go through. Stay cool! Harry, Head Shaving Hair Removal Site
Post a Comment
<< Home