India: Monsoon Season????

Monsoon season in India was supposed to be very large and wet this year… then why have we barely seen any rain? The front page of The Hindu said that over 80% of India was covered in a monsoon originating from the southwest…somehow it managed to miss Mysore.... Monsoon season typically begins near the beginning of June and so far it is a month late. Since we have been here we have had a couple showers, each a 10 minute burst. Because much of the electricity is generated by water, the lack of rain has created a bit of a problem for us at the clinic. The generators and batteries only last so long when there is no electricity to charge them the day/night before. Many of the smaller shops and snack stops are using candles to keep their businesses going at night. Performing microscopy at the clinic completely halted last week since the microscope would only flicker on and off, making it difficult to even capture a glance of the contents of the specimen. I evetually had to surrender and tell my coworkers we would not be able to do lab wet-mount and some women would have to come back for the full lab analysis. Of about 10 women that showed up to the clinic on wednesday, I was able to complete ¾ of one specimen. With the current problem, the clinician was also struggling to perform pelvic exams and access to the internet was limited...Boooo! Today, the generator was providing power until 11:30 then it was lights out until 5pm. While I have never been one to complain about having fantastic weather, I will go absolutely insane if the entire summer, lights continue to go out while I am in the middle of microscopy or eating dinner(which suprisingly, restaurants still continue to operate). Kavitha says she doesn’t remember it ever being this bad… hopefully the downpours will begin in Mysore soon. I dread to think what will happen to all the crops if it doesn’t start raining.

I’m such a push-over…
Two weekends ago we went to one of Tipu Sultan homes at Srirangapatna. This was a moderately sized, open-air, two-story residence and nowhere near the size or extravagance of Mysore palace…though still extremely impressive. Every wall was covered in elaborate designs and patterns with rich colors, some in gold. Each 1 inch flower had every petal painted in intricate detail. The ceilings were even more amazing then the walls with giant turquoise and maroon designs surrounding a glass or gold fixture in the center! We admired the large paintings on the wall of the kings of India at the time of Tipu Sultan and depictions of the battles with the British. The French fighting with the Indians were distinguished from the British by a thick curled mustache.

Afterwards, we visited his resting place where a random guide followed us around giving us the history of Tipu Sultan’s death. He also pointed out the different markers for the members of the family and the different graves for males and females. Pregnant women who passed apparently didn’t have a stone marker placed on their burial site to allow room for expansion of the belly. Towards the end he mentioned that while donations are not required, however because this area was not government owned they rely on visitors for the up-keep. I willingly gave him Rs.100 ($2). He then said “No, there is two of you, so Rs.200!” What!?!?! I thought this was voluntary and I had already put Rs.100 in the little green donation box-thingy before-hand. After telling this story to my coworker, turns out, many of the tour-guides will pocket money from tourists.

I also ran into a little bit of a problem when we went to the fort to see the spot where the British killed Tipu Sultan. One of the numerous walking vendors followed us with little “sandalwood” figures for our entire walk from the temple back to the taxi! After at least 5 minutes of flat out refusing, I grew weary and gave him Rs. 200 for two little carved elephants. They are actually kinda cute and smell quite good despite the fact they most likely are not real sandalwood. I recently went sandalwood shopping… I only wish even the smallest figurines were Rs.200. Afterwards, we went to Brindavan Gardens and a nearby bird-sanctuary…

This following Friday was my first time going to the Prerana Health Camp at one of the villages. I mainly stayed with the nurse and other laboratorians and watched as they collected blood, performed blood-typing, hemoglobin levels, and protein counts. Remaining blood from the patient is tested for HIV antigen. Rani, the PHRI nurse who is the acting phlebotomist, kept eyeing the large vein in the crease of my arm as I sat observing. She then laughed at my horrified expression once I figured out what she was looking at! (Note to self: must wear long-sleeves when Rani is working with needles =P ) I do have to say, that I definitely enjoyed being there. I liked being able to be around lab work while still having the chance to be around new people. Maybe I can beg Shalini to squeeze me into the van for the next trip… (please Shalini!). After camp we had lunch at the absolute most beautiful lake I have ever seen! And of course, what happens?... The camera battery dies right before I take the picture! My luck… = (