Delhi's temperature today is 41C. As I decide to go out, I tick off on my check list.
Bottle of cold water (a 20-yr long habit) - check!
Lip balm - check!
Deodorant - check!
Hand sanitizer (in case I have to eat somewhere) - check!
Wallet - check!
House keys - check!
My pocket notebook (with the "Things to do" list) - check!
Pens of different colours - check!
Cap (I hate carrying a bulky umbrella) - check!
2 Cellphones - check!
I used to carry a SPF lotion in the US but seems like carrying things too far here. I don't use it here although it makes more sense.
And, I walk out to face the scorching heat and to the tailor shop about 100 meters from home. Barely 50 meters later, sweat pours down my face and gets into my eyes. The salt irritates me. I curse the heat and the tailor whose shop opens only after 10AM. Why can't it be earlier?
I am now at the tailor's shop. Farid is the tailor. He is a young man, possibly in his early 20's. The shop is a little shack of four poles holding up a blue tarpaulin sheet. Delhi's infamous hot winds (why is it called Loo?) blows in all directions around him. Sewing machine in front of him and a small cupboard with boxes of needles, threads and clothes beside him, the shop is abutting an empty plot (which has not yet been mutliplexed or apartment complexed) on what is technically a pavement but essentially just rubble.
I want to get my clothes (bought at Sarojini Nagar Market at hard bargain, rock bottom prices) re-stitched. He says Rs. 15 per piece, I say 10, we settle for a figure in between. He asks me to come back after 3-4 hours, I want them done right away. I don't want to trudge out in the hot sun again. He already has a pile of clothes ahead of mine and after much back and forth, he agrees to deliver them at home at no extra cost. Mission accomplished. Am back home. Phew!
Heat obviously means different things to different people.
Bottle of cold water (a 20-yr long habit) - check!
Lip balm - check!
Deodorant - check!
Hand sanitizer (in case I have to eat somewhere) - check!
Wallet - check!
House keys - check!
My pocket notebook (with the "Things to do" list) - check!
Pens of different colours - check!
Cap (I hate carrying a bulky umbrella) - check!
2 Cellphones - check!
I used to carry a SPF lotion in the US but seems like carrying things too far here. I don't use it here although it makes more sense.
And, I walk out to face the scorching heat and to the tailor shop about 100 meters from home. Barely 50 meters later, sweat pours down my face and gets into my eyes. The salt irritates me. I curse the heat and the tailor whose shop opens only after 10AM. Why can't it be earlier?
I am now at the tailor's shop. Farid is the tailor. He is a young man, possibly in his early 20's. The shop is a little shack of four poles holding up a blue tarpaulin sheet. Delhi's infamous hot winds (why is it called Loo?) blows in all directions around him. Sewing machine in front of him and a small cupboard with boxes of needles, threads and clothes beside him, the shop is abutting an empty plot (which has not yet been mutliplexed or apartment complexed) on what is technically a pavement but essentially just rubble.
I want to get my clothes (bought at Sarojini Nagar Market at hard bargain, rock bottom prices) re-stitched. He says Rs. 15 per piece, I say 10, we settle for a figure in between. He asks me to come back after 3-4 hours, I want them done right away. I don't want to trudge out in the hot sun again. He already has a pile of clothes ahead of mine and after much back and forth, he agrees to deliver them at home at no extra cost. Mission accomplished. Am back home. Phew!
Heat obviously means different things to different people.
yeah! I jus think of the traffic policemen, the construction workers, maids, vendors...
ReplyDeletephysically they are made of the same stuff as you and i are, but i think it is their mental make up which makes them endure the heat and grime better than what we do.
started off well... but ended abruptly...
Yes! Loo in Urdu is Hot wind and the word LOOH KHALAM is INK PEN..... SO LOO-HOT WIND AND LOOH-INK
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