I was not sure how this will shape up during my final stretch. But I decided to jump in to see what else I would discover missing or needed before I can confidently announce that my mother can move in.
My first thought was the sump that receives the water. Realized that the float iwa not operating correctly. Then I realized the utility of the stick next to the sump door. Welcome to Indian way fixing things – put the stick on the float to lkeep the float down.
Next on the list was to combat the mosquito problem. Luckily the foresight of buying a mosquito net saved the day and the night for me.
Basic necessities were in good shape to have a cup of coffee in the morning, but the kitchen cupboard doors were so greasy, cleaning them before using them became the first order of the day. The rotten cupboard frames and doors were pulled out to open up the storage area. The drawers that hosted cooking spoons were in good shape and a coat of painting did the magic.
Floors were covered with paint that only a strong cleaning liquid can combat. The tiles over the sink in the hallway, tiles over the kitchen countertop, tiles in the bathroom all needed to be cleaned with a strong cleaner. The beautification of the tiles came onto my plate which was already full with other unfinished things. Two windows had broken glasses. One had no glass pane. They came on my list too.
The solar water was not warm enough. An electric coil heater had to be there to ensure the hot water supply. Buckets and mugs came on the purchase list. The gas water heater became a priority as the weather was not going improve for the next few days.
Where is the housemaid? No luck with the inquiries. Where is the cook? Again no luck with inquiries. What to do? I said to myself: start wearing different hats at different times of the day. Suddenly, I had a full-time job of a different kind for the first time!
The pressure started mounting from my sister’s side to get my mother back in as quickly as possible. But wait. My mother needs to perform some kind of purification ceremony to the house. Thus began the hunt for a priest! Wow! I have to really think fast on my feet. There is no way I am going to run around to buy things to conduct the purification ceremony! The priest has to do something from his end for this to happen – or the ceremony cannot be done or need to be postponed.
Done! The priest accepted that he will get the things needed. However, I spent a good few days to nail one. Why can’t things be simple in India? Why everything has to be struggle? Ask someone who has lived here. It is no struggle though for them! It is the way of life. What! Things are becoming crazier than I thought.
The prayer room was set up. Purification ceremony finished. Mother arrived. The full-time job now became an overtime job with no breathing space between breakfast, lunch, coffee and dinner. Where is the housemaid? It is me. Where is the cook? It is me. I thought I could handle this as I handled the same in US. But no! Things are different and enormously different!
This started bothering me a lot. What can be done about these things? Wait. I was not thinking of myself. I was thinking of future generation who would inherit this bad Indian way and start accepting it as the way of life!
Oh! No! My move has taken on a totally different meaning.