Good Luck Finding It

Shortly after my arrival in India, I had a cold, just a cold, probably from constantly moving from cold to oppressive heat and back to cold. They are very judicious in their use of Air Conditioning. Offices and major corridors are Air Conditioned but lesser used hallways, elevators, washrooms and the cafeteria are not. So someone like myself is constantly perspiring, then cold, then perspiring, then cold again. So, anyways, cold equals runny nose which would then lead to the use of a tissue or would it. No tissue exists, anywhere. It reminded of the many other things that did not previously seem like luxuries but now are.

Don't look for napkins when you are eating, you won't find them. So far I have only found paper napkins in Western style eateries but I will continue to seek them and report my findings. Don't look for toilet paper when you use the toilet. So far I have only found what they call a 'commode' which here, is a toilet with a water sprayer nearby. You would use it in the way that you might use a toilet with a bidet. There are instructions on how to use them (not specifically for westerners) which suggests that the commode is not as common as it should be, I believe there are previous generations of the commode in existence (possibly prevalence) where there is a toilet and a jug of water. I have read about this but I have had the fortune to not need its use yet. After you are done with the commode and have washed your hands, don't look for paper towels, hand towels or even a hand blower because you will not find those either. Indian's carry a handkerchief for this requirement. Ecologically sound idea, one of the very few that they have

When visiting a foreign country, there is no reason to assume that said country should conform to my need for Western goods. I believe this is axiomatic and I am not seeking Western goods but I am seeking what I would call 'transitional' goods, items which are recognizable to me in either their ingredients or their makeup. Goods that have one foot in the West and one in the East. With these goods, I would be able to make the leap from east to west by way of transitional stepping stones. Indian foods are unrecognizable, the names do not describe what might be in the food, the people making it do not speak English and the people that speak English do not know what is in the food most of the time or they cannot translate into understandable terms because the Indian words do not always have English counterparts or it is not made in a way that they are use to since they come from a different part of the country.

During Diwali which is a festive season akin to Christmas I was given a Diwali gift by a co-worker, I thanked my Diwali fairy profusely because I was really looking forward to trying something local. On the box it describes the contents as "a mouth-watering combination of Sweet and Namkeen assortments....". The entire box is in English except the one word 'namkeen' so i know it is NOT a synonym for sweet. So I ask, "what is namkeen?", he stutters for a bit and says there isn't a word for it, "are you trying to not say that it means 'spicy hot'?" " no, it is definitely is not spicy hot," he affirms, guess what, it was spicy hot. If you are interested, the best description I can offer is to sprinkle chilli powder on your caramel popcorn before eating it.

Remember, even the best made plans can fail.