Carlile's Rules

Susan Carlile’s rules of correct behaviour are often violated here. And almost always it ends up being humorous. We were running late to meet some friends and our rickshaw driver—after having agreed on a price to take us there—decided that he needed gas. Without saying a word he pulled into a gas station—with a significant line…where we proceeded to wait. As we got closer, he waved us out and onto the curb. Then when he’d finally gotten to the pump and filled up, no one seemed to have change (a common problem), and so we waited some more while many people pitched in and eventually made it right (an admirable quality that appears with regular frequency, that perhaps should make up for the waiting ;-). Sheer improvisation is a wonder here. Rickshaw drivers often don’t know the names of major streets or landmarks, but they never hesitate or seem at all embarrassed to pull over and ask directions. I could certainly take a lesson or two in taking things as they come.

Of course, then something happens that makes me question the “take it as it comes mentality.” We were walking in a more upscale (by Delhi standards) section of the city (in Defense Colony) and being surprised by the 15 or so boutique-like shops, that we haven’t seen anywhere else. I was admiring carefully selected fashionable clothes and antiques when suddenly a clod of drying cement hit me on the head. After I moved on, nursing my dented head and dusting cement off my clothes, I could see what happened. A guy laying cement 3 stories above on a make-shift scaffolding--wooden poles tied together with twine—was positioned just above the street. Here’s a picture of another construction scene that gives you an idea just how precarious it all looks. But lots of buildings get built this way!

We started the window unit air conditioner in our little apartment—and it’s a dream. Lucky, lucky us. Let’s hope the electricity holds out as things start to heat up. It must have been 95 today. The heat has made all the bougainvillea bloom on campus. It's really beautiful.