Not exactly an average day (I hope!)

3 Feb 2010
Today started off like any “regular ol' day in India” – wait – no it didn’t. I was expecting one driver and the other driver greeted me at the front door for the car key. Hubby’s driver was to substitute for my driver today, but where was he…? I didn’t get much of an answer just simply, he couldn’t make it (head bobble). OK – running late – load the car – off to school. Asked again during the ride to school, "don't know mam, supervisor called me"...

It’s India Week at school. The kids have been learning a bit more about their host country and this is the week to celebrate it! Elementary has been a little bit more excited and dedicated to the exercise. I think the boys knew this week was happening around them, not certain. Anyway, Anna had her time to do the dance with the kindergarteners. The girls have been donning Indian attire daily. All in all it has been good. I’ll let you know how Friday goes – the WHOLE school will be festive in Indian attire. Honestly, I’m not certain how that will go over with the boys. We shall see. My only question regarding this issue: why are the boys’ shirts only in LONG SLEEVES??? (We are in India, after all!)

So we go to school, we are festive, Anna does her dance, I get conned by daughter number 1 (more in a minute)and finally get home… Priya (cook/housekeeper) greets me with (1) “you left me locked out of the house, you didn’t leave the key” (says the lady who was only 5 minutes early after a month of 30 minutes late) That almost got my goat, but I didn’t let it (isn’t that an odd phrase?! But I like it – my goat is still running free, so to speak! HA!) (2) “What happened to Jagan?” Huh?? What did I miss?? Turns out that my driver told the gardener’s wife, who told Priya, who told me… our other driver was in a motorcycle accident last night and hurt. WHY didn’t my driver tell ME this???? Oh, that’s how the grapevine is supposed to work, I guess, because when I turned around to ask him directly, he suddenly didn’t understand/didn’t know. Argh.

Oh but wait – this is after Alina had an upset tummy and was weepy and pitiful all during Anna’s performance.. I brought her home – one of those moments I really thought she was really ill, until I saw her GLEEFULLY skip to get her lunchbox to check out and then chatter happily all the way home– whoa… now that I think of it… Anna had been sick at home the day before…. Hmmmm… I think I’ve been had.

So I didn’t get to my Bible/Book Study. (bummer) But I stayed home to Nurture (the book we are studying! How ironic!) my little girl, who probably did need some mommy time. oh well. We head to school, I sit in back (unusual) to cuddle with Alina… yes, we had seatbelts on… and I look up to see an autorickshaw aiming right at us – on our side of the barrier/ our side of the road!! In slow motion, we dodge left, they follow. I see the faces of many men (turns out to be 5 of them) in the back of the tuk-tuk as the driver (actually related to the 5 in the backseat) overcompensates and slowly rolls it over into our car. It scrapes down the back quarter of our van, ever so gently (it was in slow motion, you know!), no harm to us. But lands with a thud and skid on its side. My driver stops, rubs his head looking at the car mumbling about the car… I tell him… don’t worry about the car… go check on the people!!!


I keep my pale face in the car as I’ve heard of mobs rioting for less offence. Of course, Alina is sticking her head out the window to look at our car, blond hair blowing in the breeze. I see people climbing out the side (now top) of the tuk-tuk. That’s good. They roll it back over, no one is laying on the ground, that’s good too. I’ve seen people who’ve been hit by a car/bus… they just leave them lying on the ground. No cover, no nothing. Just laying there. Everyone gathering and watching; no, not watching, just plain lookin’.. Amazing. So you can imagine my great pleasure when there was no one lying on the ground!! Kumar is apologizing profusely about the car and the accident – I guess he was expecting me to yell. Can’t really imagine. He dodged the crazy, overloaded tuk-tuk as well as possible. I call my Bible study friends who will be driving by… and hitch a ride.

But get this – at school, I have two separate friends tell me about my hubby’s driver’s accident (via their driver’s versions!). Much more detail, more rumors of course… amazing. Why was it that Kumar wouldn’t tell me something more? Alas, maybe he really didn’t know. They weren’t exactly friends. Maybe he’s just better at avoiding the rumor mill – that’s nice. Jagan calls later that night – to apologize no less – but he’s really messed up, lots of stitches and “dislocated muscles in his leg”! REALLY!!? Go heal and get better, stop apologizing!

Amazing how the mind works at times. I’ll not be able to figure it out.

Ah, but we are still in India!