After coming back from Mumbai where we spent our Christmas/NewYears holidays, the first thing we noticed was the COLD! Mumbai wasn’t the best NewYears ever since I was lying in the hospital with a broken arm, but at least it was comfortably warm. The sun was shining and we did our sightseeing tour just wearing t-shirts.
With continuing bad luck, we had to wait for an hour at the domestic airport since our cab was waiting at the international airport. To fight the cold, we ended up shivering, with blankets tied around our heads and shoulders, looking exactly like the average rickshaw driver. The question could be: Why were we freezing at all? Isn’t it normal for us to have these or even lower temperatures in Europe? I can’t speak for Simon (although I think that there is not much difference between the winter in the UK and in Germany), but yes, we are used to these degrees! Nevertheless, I am feeling really cold in India right now. Actually I am freezing inside our house as well. Eating breakfast wrapped in a blanket, going to bed with two or more layers or sitting shivering in front of a electric heater is not an uncommon sight at the Kapoors Mansion. But why is it like this?
Right Now in Hamburg (My Family's House)
This Indian winter is quite the opposite of the one in Germany right now: Whereas here the temperature barely falls under 10 degrees, it almost never gets warmer than – (minus!) 5 degrees! Whilst Germany is covered under a thick layer of snow, here it is just a persisting layer of dust. But paradoxically I am sure back home in Hamburg I wouldn’t be as freezing as I am here. The difference is that we expect the winter to be as cold and fierce as it is right now throughout Europe. Our houses are built with thick insulation and equipped with central heating. Even if it’s very cold outside and you enter the house, most of the time it will already be warm or easy to heat up. In India, the cold time of the winter lasts only around January and the rest of the year it is mostly unbelievable hot. So the houses are built in a way to be comfortable during the hot season.
One Week Ago - Proper Winter in Hamburg
Take for an example the Kapoors; the walls and windows aren’t insulated and there is of course no central heating. So when you enter the Kapoors, it is as cold as outside and not very comforting. Another difference is that in Germany I would wear proper winter clothes. But when I packed my suitcase for going to India, the thick jackets and pullovers were the first things to go back in the closet. So all I have to wear is my light summer jacket that I can’t even close because my cast isn’t fitting (now I have a lighter one and it works). Luckily, some time ago, Simon and me bought gloves, scarves and winter hats for our trip to Nepal. I am always amazed when I see Indians wearing just Flip-Flops while I am shivering in my rickshaw on the way to work.
But luckily the heating-situation in our Mansion has improved during the last weeks: With the financial backing of our beloved company and our landlady, our favourite electrician/plumber Rishi installed a new inverter at Kapoors! So from now on we are able to use our heaters during a power cut! And so far the system is working perfectly (we have had enough opportunity to test the new system with an average of 4 power cuts per day).
Let’s hope it will stay like this and we will survive the next two weeks of the coldest season in Gurgaon. And that I don’t break my other arm……
safiyekm
Simon
algemaedchen
jacekratajczak
