A
homestay experience in India is certainly one of the best ways to observe how
the locals live in a residential area like Delhi’s South Extension Part II.
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| The nearest provision stores to our homestay at South Ex II for fresh milk and other daily provisions |
On
the first morning, our host took us on a walking tour of the neighbourhood to
show us the shortcut to the provision stores and nearby shopping areas. My family and I were amazed to see an
eclectic mix of local businesses alongside international brands in rows of shops
with street food and fashion accessory vendors parked on the pavements. There was even a Marks & Spencer outlet in
a separate building!
With
Delhi as our base, we made day trips to Jaipur in Rajasthan state and to Agra
in Uttar Pradesh state to see the renowned Taj Mahal. We had an exciting Indian experience – and
more, as we walked about, drove around, explored sites and savoured the delicious
cuisine.
At the end of our stay, we are more
than familiar with the constant honking in the streets (despite the many signs
reminding drivers not to honk), as part of India’s way of life.
Here are ten things that are happening only in India.
Here are ten things that are happening only in India.
1. Female
manual workers
While manual labour is readily available in India, it’s
interesting that the building construction industry usually employs a female
workforce.
It was amusing that these hardworking
women at a construction site in South-Ex II, also thought that we were a
curious sight. As I watched them, I
believe they must have such strong backs and necks because one of the women
carried nine bricks on her head!
2. Cows
and the right of way
In India, cows are
revered as sacred animals. The cow
earned its place of honour in this agricultural region because it was heavily
relied on for providing dairy products while its manure was used as fertilizer
and fuel. The cows’ exalted position
gives them the right to roam the streets and we watched in amazement as drivers
skillfully avoided near-miss collisions as they steered around these animals on
busy streets.
3. Colourful
crisps and nuts
This crisps and nuts vendor near the India Gates reminded me of
our traditional kacang-puteh man in Malaysia who
has since disappeared from our city streets. I always wondered how the vendor kept his
roasted products fresh and crispy in such humid weather when they are stored in
open containers… For this vendor, I
guess the plastic spoons are not just for decoration but used to spoon the
customers required quantity?
4. Camel driven carts in Rajasthan
On our drive to Jaipur in Rajasthan state, we
spotted many camel driven carts like this. It was good that this camel cart had
a dedicated lane that ran parallel to the road. At the expressway tollgates, we saw these
graceful working animals joining the queue with trucks, auto-scooters and cars
for their turn to pay the required toll. I wonder how much toll was charged per camel
cart?
5. The “corn man” toasting corn
From the number of vendors spotted all over
the city, we can safely conclude that freshly toasted corn-on-the-cob must a
popular snack here.
This “corn man” was
parked right in front of a McDonald’s outlet at South-Ex II where customers
clearly preferred his corn to a McD product.
Charcoal toasted corn must be tasty but I wondered why they didn’t toast
the corn on a metal grill but directly on the charcoal?
6. Sweet and savoury street food
Walking around the shops in South-Ex II, I
saw street food vendors selling a range of fruit juices, chai and fast foods like momos
– small dumplings that resembled Chinese pau – and Indian sweet and savoury
snacks. This vendor offered a choice of freshly
made gulab jamun, samosa, fried bread pakora
and jalebi with a range of Indian sweets
in the showcase behind.
7. Beware
of these trucks!
India is renowned for
lawlessness on the roads and driving in the opposite direction on a
dual-carriageway, simply takes the cake!
On the drive to Jaipur, imagine our horror when we saw a cement-mixer
truck hurtling towards us! Thankfully,
our driver was safely on the next lane of the dual-carriageway and left enough
space for that rogue truck to pass in the opposite direction.
8. No
helmets and multiple passengers
While
we saw stalls that sold motorbike helmets, very rarely did we see riders
wearing helmets in India. Women pillion
riders, always sat sideways on the motorbike and elegantly kept their saris
around them as the bikes wove through thick traffic. On our way back from Agra, I caught sight of
this rider who was comfortably carrying not one or two but three passengers!
9. A traditional 2-pan balance weighing
scale
Mobile green grocers provide a
convenient service in residential areas and I could not help but pause to look
closer at the range of fresh vegetables for sale. While we are familiar with the dacing type of hanging weighing scale,
it was rare to see a vintage-looking 2-pan balance weighing scale. It was interesting that this vendor still
used this traditional balance scale with a range of standard mass weights to
weigh his products.
10. The “iron man”
Too lazy to switch on your
electric iron to press your clothes?
Then
take it to the “iron man” who has been operating his ironing business at
South-Ex II for the past 22 years.
It
was fascinating to watch them preparing their heavy traditional irons filled
with charcoal embers before pressing garments flawlessly smooth.
His daughter, who speaks English, said their
charges are 4 Rupees (25 sen) for a small garment and 5 Rupees for a larger piece.
A version of this was published in The New Straits Times, Life & Times on 29 September 2016
