Updates from India 75

What a month.

The monsoon has been in full swing with flooding all across India. The worst has been in the state of Kerala in the south where hundreds of thousands have been displaced and hundreds killed. A series of dams for supplying water were overcome by the sheer volume of rain and had to have their spillways opened to prevent the greater disaster of a dam collapsing. An intense effort is being made nationwide to help.

Thomson Reuters

By Jose Devasia and Malini Menon

KOCHI/NEW DELHI, India (Reuters) - Indian health authorities prepared defences against the spread of disease in flood-hit Kerala state on Monday as the water receded and a huge clean-up gathered pace after the worst floods in a century killed more than 200 people.

Incessant rain since Aug. 8 in the southern state has swelled rivers and triggered landslides. Dozens of people are missing and nearly a million are sheltering in thousands of relief camps, state officials said.

"The biggest challenges immediately ahead are cleaning of the flood-hit houses, rehabilitation, and prevention of water-borne diseases," said Mahesh P., a village-level officer from Rayamangalam, some 45 km (28 miles) from Kerala's financial capital of Kochi.

Light to moderate rain was expected across Kerala on Monday, bringing some respite to rescue workers, who have been battling rising waters and mudslides to reach tens of thousands of stranded villagers.

Rainfall in the state during the June-September monsoon season has been more than 40 percent higher than normal, with torrential rain in the last 10 days forcing authorities to release water from dozens of dangerously full dams, sending surges into rivers that then overflowed their banks.

Anil Vasudevan, who handles disaster management at Kerala's health department, said the state was preparing to battle any outbreak of diseases in the relief camps and preventive medicines were being distributed.

Mahesh said villagers had all pulled together to rescue people and prevent an even bigger disaster.

"The bulk of the credit for the rescue goes to the ordinary citizens. The army, the navy, the local authorities assisted them," Mahesh said.

"The flood has bonded the people like never before, with people sharing whatever they had."

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said there was no shortage of food in the state as traders had stocked up ahead of Onam, the state's biggest festival which falls on Aug. 25.

The state has cancelled all official celebrations in connection with the Hindu harvest festival.

All we can do is donate what we can to the relief effort and offer our prayers for those poor souls caught up in this disaster.

Christine has been unwell this month with a severe reoccurrence of the lung infection she has been suffering, resulting in near pneumonia. I will let Kris fill in the details but it looks as though a visit to a specialist in Ahmedabad may be on the cards soon.

In other medical news I have also been unwell. It seems I have developed a stomach problem, IBS, Irritable bowel syndrome.

·         It causes symptoms like stomach cramps, bloating, diarrhoea and constipation. These tend to come and go over time, and can last for days, weeks or months at a time.

·         It's usually a lifelong problem. It can be very frustrating to live with and can have a big impact on your everyday life.

·         There's no cure, but diet changes and medicines can often help control the symptoms.

·         The exact cause is unknown – it's been linked to things like food passing through your gut too quickly or too slowly, oversensitive nerves in your gut, stress, and a family history of IBS.

IBS can also cause:

·         farting (flatulence)

·         passing mucus from your bottom

·         tiredness and a lack of energy

·         feeling sick (nausea)

·         backache

·         problems peeing – like needing to pee often, sudden urges to pee, and feeling like you can't fully empty your bladder

·         not always being able to control when you poo (incontinence)

Lovely isn’t it! Looking on the bright side I have lost some weight.

Where this is going I don’t yet know but no doubt with Gods help I will cope.

Sorry, this is a short blog but we are both very tired and nearly didn’t do one.

      One small part of Kerala. This level of devastation goes on for mile after mile.

Continuous rain has filled the reservoir to bursting point.



Chickens we have added 20 chicks to our flock at the moment they’re too young to know how many are female, time will tell. They are settling in nicely they were about six weeks old when I got them and they’ve doubled in size. Very sociable and happy chicks, which we have separated from the older five hens till they’re bigger otherwise the older hens will peck the younger ones and could cause problems. We do have a black one which I reckon is going to be male and it keeps trying to escape so I have nicknamed it Houdini.

These are some of our new chicks, the black one on the right is Houdini

This side sectioned off to give the chicks shelter and
protect them from the older Hens

Lots of fruit on our Papya trees

Training a flowering shrub across our drive

More fruit on another Papya tree

OOPS.....................

Comments by Kris

Well this month finds me with yet another chest infection, bacterial due to previous exposure to black mould spores in the previous house we lived in which had a lot of mould on the walls, Doctor said it can take up to two years to clear. I am now on further treatment but if things don’t improve we’ll go to Ahmedabad in next state to see a senior respiratory consultant for their opinion. They are a little concerned if it does not respond it could become pneumonia but I feel this treatment will see me right.

Chris has been diagnosed with IBS so it has been a rough month for us and will mean the blog is shorter this month as we have not been anywhere due to health issues On a positive note we have an aruvedic remedy which is helping the IBS.

Moti our three legged street dog has been unwell this month and has been living with us, he’s now feeling better so went out today, he comes and goes as he pleases. He got so wet in the monsoon that he had difficulty keeping warm so in he came dried off and given a bed in the living room to keep him warm. He’s getting old now and his arthritis is definitely a problem now, slower at moving when he first gets up and very stiff in the joints. Saying that he still is very protective of me and would see off anyone or animal that causes me problems. Recently he gave a friend Peter a shock when he thought he was being threatening to me, it was just simply the friend ran after me as I was getting into a taxi and Moti took it as a threat even though he knew Peter quite well. I don’t think people believed me that he was very protective. Luckily Moti just gave a warning and did not actually bite Peter as I reassured him it was ok and Peter was a friend, Peter continues to give fuss to Moti which he loves.

Chris started smoking again about 2 years ago and was desperately trying to stop for some considerable time. Well with the help of patches he’s now up to day 9 without a cigarette, fabulous. I am trying to support him and I remain very proud of his achievement. We tried medication but it did not help and the side effects were really bad, so patches it was to be.

Today was quite a shock for both of us, Amba Chris’s sister brought her neice Gita to see us with her mother. The child who is about four or five was badly burnt about a year ago and although scarred on her face and body its her arm that is the really big worry. The tissue is badly damaged, weeping and you can see her bones, she has contractures of her elbow and wrist and the hand is swollen with oedema. This is a really serious and painful injury for a child and if not treated could kill her, we immediately took her to the hospital for treatment. They are very poor and live in an isolated area so financially they were probably unable to pay for treatment. Both doctor and nurses were very shocked at the state of Gita’s arm, I am doubtful they will be able to save the arm and she may need amputation near her shoulder, at least she is going to have to undergo daily painful dressings and at least two surgeries to help the contractures. My heart broke as she screamed whilst having it cleaned and dressed. Dr Goyal was great with her as were the nurses, she’s now on medication and pain relievers which should make her more comfortable. Because of her age they have little they can give her to take all the pain away. I can’t imagine how she has coped over the last few months and I thank God for Amba that she had the sense to bring her to me for my opinion after she saw me dressing Chris’s burn. We have suggested Amba, her sister and Gita stay with us so were near the hospital and we can look after the little one. It’s difficult for Amba as her sister lives over an hour away in the jungle area on the outskirts of Udaipur and her brother in law doesn’t care as it’s a girl not a boy, which is still a problem especially in rural areas. Please pray for her quick recovery and hopefully we can save the arm.

This last month was Raksha Bandan (Rakhi) for the fourth year I tied a band on my Rakhi brother Jatin and for the second year Amba tied a band on Chris and I, this year her elder daughter also tied a band on Chris and I. For us this is not a tourist gimmick we take it serious and respect that it makes us family. I remain known as Bhabhi (pronounced Barbie) which means older brother’s wife. 

Well thats all for this month
God bless you
Chris and Kris
Udaipur

Updates from India 72

Monsoon, a few personal thoughts.

The heat of the summer has passed and the weather is becoming more humid, 70/80% is normal with the temperature still in the 30deg range. You sweat but it doesn’t evaporate, this is the worst part as far as I am concerned, you never feel clean. Your clothes are always damp, energy to do anything evaporates. Cuts take forever to heal and flies are beginning to be a nuisance.

This is the only season here I dislike, the period between the summer and the onset of the rains.

Ah, the rains, wonderful when they come. Refreshing all the country and the people, I love this time of year even if I won’t ride in it often (far too many potholes). For Indians, it is an adventure to get on a bike and ride off through the rain………….sorry after growing up in the UK I have seen enough miles on a bike in the rain to last me a lifetime!

Plants burst into growth, grass turns green again, suddenly nature awakes from her long summer sleep and the world is a riot of greens. Everything seems to grow as you watch it. Rivers and lakes start to fill, children play naked in the puddles screaming and rushing in and out with sheer joy.

Roads are washed away, houses flood, everything leaks and nothing can stop the monsoon rain at over two inches per hour it’s like a waterfall. Yes, we get water in the house despite our best efforts windows leak, paths flood. This year so far we have been lucky, no flooding in the house……….yet.

This will go on for several months gradually cooling into winter as the weather dries up again. Then the rains stop for another year, have we had enough to fill the wells? Only time will tell.

I love the monsoon for all its problems and for its rewards. A unique time of the year.

An explanation of the monsoon weather pattern

During warmer months sunlight heats the surfaces of both land and oceans, but land temperatures rise more quickly. As the land's surface becomes warmer, the air above it expands and an area of low pressure develops. Meanwhile, the ocean remains at a lower temperature than the land, and the air above it retains a higher pressure. This difference in pressure causes sea breezes to blow from the ocean to the land, bringing moist air inland. This moist air rises to a higher altitude over land and then it flows back toward the ocean (thus completing the cycle). However, when the air rises, and while it is still over the land, the air cools. This decreases the air's ability to hold water, and this causes precipitation over the land. This is why summer monsoons cause so much rain over land.

Monsoon clouds closing in

Fantastic view of incoming rain

Summer

Monsoon

Main road flooded in city centre

Yes this is a main road

Road flooded outside of railway station, normally
trucks and rickshaws are parked here for pickups
except during monsoon

Top Right is the bus stand flooded

People trying to cross flooded road

City centre and its only been raining ten minutes, it
will get deeper the longer it rains, thats when people
abandon cars, bikes and rickshaws

Ominous clouds approaching but yet beautiful

Rain running down off
our first floor cornice

One of the many roads that gradually grow enormous pot holes

Our Health has suffered during the last month, my asthma has been bad, recurring lung infections, which take longer to get over with the humidity and changes in the weather there are a lot of viral conditions going around.

Chris has a nasty burn on his calf, which he did on a very hot bike exhaust, he is having daily dressings and antibiotic treatment which I am undertaking, its starting to heal but everything takes so much longer to heal in this climate. To make matters worse he stubbed his toe again and caused a nasty cut, which again will take time to heal.

Chris painful stubbed toe

Chris's burn on his calf

Yes its very sore, daily
dressings needed

Our beans at the back of the house

Chris picking the beans as I can't
reach, hee hee, theyre like french
beans and very yummy

 Brother Peter got married. 

 My younger brother Peter got married this month to the lovely Liz, unfortunately too far and too expensive for us to attend. So congratulations Peter and Liz and we both wish you many happy years together.

Peter and Liz getting married

Kris's brother Ian, Marti, Sylvie,
Alex and Emma at the wedding

The 3 monkeys are Kris's brothers,
Ian, Peter and Alan

Sylvie and Emma were bridesmaids, Alex paige boy and
Ian best man

Peter and Liz with Kris's cousins
Mandy, Barry, Davina, Christopher, Pamela
and Richard

Happy family photo

Comments by Kris

This month we thought we’d give you a flavour of what it’s like to live in a country with monsoons, so I thought I’d share some observations we have made.

Monsoon rain is a blessed relief after the scorching high temperatures of summer, locals often run outside at the first sign of real monsoon rain and dance with joy. I confess Chris and I go into our garden and embrace the rain and yes I do have a little dance. On the negative side we have many more power cuts and we remain thankful for our inverter which means we have fans, tv and the freezer is ok. The power can be off for many hours or off for shorter times but several times day and night.

It’s so humid that its difficult to dry clothes indoors and out, everything feels so very damp even after ironing. I have got used to going to bed and the sheets feeling damp, there is no way to keep everything dry. After bathing you feel great for about ten to fifteen minutes then you feel as if you need to bathe again, the humidity is the hardest part to cope with. The atmosphere feels oppressive at times just before a storm or rainfall, but so pleasant during and after. Its not cold like the UK, I actually enjoy riding my scooter and getting wet as the rain is reasonably warm in comparison. Moti our friendly street dog visits us more often as he shelters from the rain, he either comes into the house or lies outside under shelter on his bedding, then leaves when he wants to.

Roads flood quickly and pot holes in the roads increase during  this season as the rain washes the road surface away so driving and riding a bike becomes more hazardous. Its more difficult to get an auto rickshaw or taxi as they are much more in demand during the rain. Luckily here in Udaipur the taxi prices remain the same, this is not true of all Indian cities where the prices rise due to high demand.

Do I actually enjoy monsoon with all its difficulties you may ask and I say a very definite Yes. The rain transforms the countryside from bleak and barren to green and lush in a very short time. The animals have more grass to eat and more grazing areas.

Our garden is undergoing a major transformation more on that next month, important that the work and planting is done now as monsoon helps the plants get a good start before winter comes. We’re employing three local lads as labourers to take the heavy work away from our aching bones. They’re hard workers and life is difficult here for day labourers as they are never guaranteed regular work. With us they’ve been guaranteed four days work this week which is good. The Papaya and mango are starting to fruit so it’s a great time in the garden at the moment.

I plan to buy twenty more chicks this month to add to my flock, so we have rearranged the chicken coup to section them off till they’re more able to cope on their own.

College has restarted after summer break and this semester I’m teaching Humanities which is great as I loved studying this at uni, but as I only have one semester it will just be a brief introduction to a vast subject. First years have yet to start that will happen soon after clearing through the college enrolment system. Then its workshop for them with Chris and I.

God Bless from Chris and Kris in rainy Udaipur, 

hope you enjoyed the blog this month.

Updates from India 71

Well here we are again, another month passed in this amazing country.

Summer is fading now as the temperatures begin to fall from the high of 46degC we have been experiencing. It isn’t passing without a struggle though. This year it gave us a parting dust storm that lasted over two days. Fine talcum-like dust that got into everything. Breathing became difficult for people in the worst areas, sadly people have died. This was the first bad dust we have seen here; inside the populated area for some reason, we don’t expect this, in the desert yes, but here? Well yes, nature woke us all up again. As always we have pre-monsoon storms, severe gale force winds that bring down any weak trees and heavy rain, maybe an hour, maybe all night. This past week it has rained almost every day for limited periods. This is not yet the monsoon, another couple of weeks before we get the full-on rains that mean so much to the survival of the people of this state (Rajasthan). All our water comes from the monsoon, lakes are filled aquafers gradually fill if there is enough rain. How bad next summer will be for the people of this state is determined by the monsoon. Not enough and wells will go dry and crops will die. Followed by animals and then people.

At this time of year, we are all praying for God to give us the water we need.

Next month we are planning to do a ‘Monsoon’ blog because so many of our friends who don’t have this weather cycle have asked what it’s really like. So, next month by request ‘The Weather’.

Warm Aid will begin again soon collecting money for blankets to help the very poorest in our society survive the coming winter. This year we can because of the help we receive from ordinary people expect to help over 200 people. We hope to expand our efforts into the country villages where poverty and suffering is worse. The slums of our city are under great pressure now because of the coming monsoon, flooding is common, next comes winter when the old, infirm and youngest girls die because they are at the bottom of the list when it comes to family resources. Somehow we must find ways to help them.

If you don’t already support ‘Warm Aid’ please consider making a contribution. We keep strict accounts and always give receipts; we pay nothing to our volunteers. Every single Rupee goes to buying blankets. All other costs are freely given by those that help us. Some of our volunteers drove hundreds of kilometres last year helping the very poor, they gave their time and money to help their fellow man and we are immensely proud of them.

Please, as we say in all our publicity ‘Help us to help them’.

Warm Aid is also taking part in the effort to plant useful trees. We have twenty mango seeds that we will plant in villages this monsoon. We fully support this effort and will no doubt plant many more seeds as we go along.

Comments by Kris

Chris and I have been chatting about all the interesting wildlife that visits our garden and home here in Udaipur. I am so amazed at the variety we have cows, water buffalo that come for cucumber to our gate, street dogs especially Moti who we have known since moving onto the colony when we first came to India. Then there are the vast variety of birds and even owls, lizards, ants ugh, chameleons, frogs which are cute and often wander into the house, the dogs tried eating them but they taste awful and make them sick so they have stopped doing that. Then there is our one-armed visitor, a local young monkey, he has been visiting for some time now and is very friendly, he came a few weeks ago with a broken arm, which then dropped off. 

Yes this is the monkey's hand that was in our tree yuk
And just in case you wondered we did not keep it

Last week as Chris and Amba were pruning the tree branch he broke found his arm in the tree. Thankfully the monkey is managing very well without it. He likes cucumbers and bananas and if there is no one close by he happily reaches down to take them from me, however any sudden movement from others and he is off. The dogs like him especially Bleu who sits talking to him, Chilly just wants to play and chase him. We get butterflies and bees visiting the garden especially when the flowers are in bloom. Then, of course, we have my chickens who are happily living in their coup at the bottom of our garden, just spent the day raking out there quarters and changing the paper that they roost on before monsoon hits and it becomes a bog. I’m sure I’ve forgotten lots of visitors to our garden but they are lovely to see. We have even seen scorpions and snakes which we give a wide berth too, not messing with them and no I don’t feed them. The neighbours think I’m mad for feeding the cows, buffalo, street dogs and monkey but as they’re all God’s creatures I’m not going to stop.

Its cucumber feeding time for cows, buffalo and my chickens, yummy more, please

 

Whilst washing the drive with the hosepipe Chris went splat down the marble slope going up to the workshop and hurt his back, he’s ok but a little sore and achy, ironically he had a ramp built on part of the marble slope out of concrete to make it safer as I kept doing the same thing, but he was standing to the side of the ramp with the water flowing he missed his footing at the top of the marble slope and he slipped.

On the health front, I’ve been struggling with pain management due to the weather changes here and I confess overdoing things on occasion. Now monsoon is upon us soon I will get more pain but I can manage that with long soaks in my lovely bathtub which I still love. Chris has been known to wake in the early hours to find me missing and soaking in the bath when my pain has been bad.

The monsoon is just starting here were currently having pre-monsoon showers and the real monsoon will kick in in the next couple of weeks, everything has already started to turn greener and lusher. We will cover the monsoon in more detail next month with photos to give you an idea of what it’s like to live in the monsoon.

Monsoon protection to keep water out of my kitchen

New monsoon barrier 

I have been experimenting with cooking this last month, as I was getting bored with just having spicy food, so I dusted off some old recipes from my youth and gave Chris a taste of the food I had growing up. We have had meat pudding, leek pudding, sweet and sour chicken, apple pies, meat and potato pies and I yummy. I made Chris some chocolate cornflake cakes, and plan to make some peppermint creams soon. Today I am making dumplings for tea so really looking forward to them unless I decide to change it to Yorkshire puddings. I am also making my own bread, which tastes so much better than the bland bought stuff. Chris plans to make some Mexican chilli soon when I get him the ingredients. At last, I sourced some sultanas in town so Chris is planning to make bread pudding. Chris is a great cook and makes excellent omelettes.

The new semester has just started at college but the first years won’t start for a few more weeks. It’s always exciting to start a new year and encourage the students in their endeavours. The college faculty are holding a workshop for architects next month so lots of planning and organising by the faculty and oh yes more meetings. The timetable will be released soon so we will find out then what days we are working.

We had been planning to visit Shimla but with the water shortages have put it on hold for now and well go at the end of monsoon when there will be no tourists so it will be quieter.

This was my sieve before Chris murdered it
for the mesh he wanted for the bike whilst
I was out shopping. He tells everyone it
was so I could have a new sieve

Amba and her family sitting proudly on her new scooter, now part of our family. We are adopted
into the who family, Aunts Uncles and all!

Well, that’s it for this month,

May God bless you all

Chris and Kris

Udaipur India