Why am I in Bangalore?

Inquiring minds want to know why I am in Bangalore writing about the details of Indian living. Based upon my initial posts, a few readers questioned whether I abandoned my career aspirations within healthcare to become India's Martha Stewart.  I’m flattered, but Mekhala Singh Living’s first product line will just have to wait. The real purpose of my visit is an internship at Narayana Hrudayalaya.

If you are having trouble sounding out Narayana Hrudayalaya, you are not alone. Can I pronounce the hospital's name? Absolutely not. Just ask Akshay, my brilliant manager and cultural guru.  The daily giggle or a grimace signals that I need to try try again. Today, I am testing "na - RINE - na  (pause) Hrooo-de-YA'll-EH-ya." If you speak Kannada please post the correct pronunciation.

Narayana Hrudayalaya (let’s just call it “NH”) is a growing hospital network that provides high quality care at low cost. Lean operations, immense volumes, and sheer determination by its founder, Dr Devi Shetty, enable the hospital group to treat patients across all socio-economic classes.  I am working with the IT department to pilot the hospital's first electronic medical record system and to follow up on a business idea related to the big data sets the hospital already collects. Fortunately, NH explodes with brilliant details that I look forward to writing about.  That being said, in order to stay true to the "cardamom seeds" theme this blog will not cover how the hospital works, my job, my team, etc.

Thanks again to those of you who sent questions. I appreciate the feedback and request for more context. For those of you who would like more information about NH, please refer to:

NH’s website

Fast Company article

Lord of the Bucket - Continued with video

Less than an hour after posting "Lord of the Bucket," I ventured out to the closest supermarket to buy house and food supplies.  On my quest for paper towel, soap, fat free milk and non-oil based snacks, I stumbled upon the motherload of buckets. If you thought I was exaggerating in my original post, feast your eyes on this video.  SPAR has an ENTIRE isle of different shaped and sized buckets. To put this in perspective, the store's isle for bucket is the same size as the isle for oil and rice.  Definitely not a joke. Buckets...get one while they last.

Lord of the Bucket

The plastic bucket is the new duct tape. Duct tape was always the functional fashionista's "little black dress." Appropriate for all occasions.  However, Anna Wintour, take note...Duct tape is out. Plastic buckets are in.

In San Francisco, I do not own a bucket. Not one. A month ago, I came to this realization when Alfredo asked me for a plastic bucket to clean his kitesurfing equipment. The fact that I didn't own one never fazed me. A hose or a large cooking pot works just fine.

In India, that answer would not stand. My lack of buckets is an admission of barbaric behavior. A bucketless room, let alone a bucketless house, connotes a unfathomable lifestyle, unquestionably involving filthy bizarr activities.  An Indian version of Alfredo might easily conclude that I don't shower, don't wipe after going to the bathroom, don't clean my house, don't cook regular food, don't support my house cleaning staff...the list of offenses goes on.

Colorful plastic buckets are a linch-pin to daily life here. Without them, you are gross and backwards. Fortunately, my hotel room at the Online Suites in the Bommasandra Industrial Area (I'll provide pictures when I find my camera adapter) and my new serviced apartment under the Ruby Corporate Group provide savage Westerners like me plenty of buckets.

Let me introduce you to my current plastic bucket collection. There is shower basin bucket, washcloth bucket (ie. the bucket is my washcloth..see image below), tv-stand bucket, breakfast bowl bucket, measuring cup buckets and washer/dryer bucket. There might be more, but I haven't had a chance to look through all the cabinets yet.

Here is a picture of my shower basin bucket and "washcloth" bucket.

Note the attractive blue and clear combo - like a summer afternoon sky. The benefit of a clear washcloth bucket is that I can see whether the water is brown, yellow or clear before throwing it on myself to wipe off soap suds. Genius. In light of my new appreciation for water color varietals, my previous hotel's choice of only opaque buckets seems intentionally obfuscating.

Beyond cleaning, I've also witnessed buckets used as furniture (chairs at a cafe, tv-stands in an apartment), transportation (an infant's car/motorcycle seat), clothing (purse, briefcase) and kitchens (large rice dispensers, mortars for spices). Large and small, bright and bland buckets are here to stay.  Please share your own bucket images.

As a final note, I would really benefit from tips on how to use my bucket collection more effectively. For example, when showering do you fill the bucket with clean or soapy water? Do you stand or crouch when rinsing with the washcloth bucket? Do you wash your hair in the bucket or under the spigot? Sounds trivial but there has got to be a trick to bucket empowered bathing. Until I learn the tips and tricks I'll continue giving my entire bathroom, including the toilet, an unintentional rinse each morning.

Catching cardamom seeds in a paneer cheese cloth

Seven days into my month long adventure in Bangalore, I am making a big mistake. Like many other travelers, I jot down events and memories along the way so I can remember them years after. Or I share a bit about the day's events with my friends and families during a 20 minute Skype conversation. These descriptions are woefully inadequate.  Most conversations cover my day to day life. However, the part of the trip I cherish most is the details.

India overflows with small moments, smells and images that embody my growing understanding of this complex nation. Without being too hokey, the devil is not in the details here...the gems are in the details. 

Tragically, these details make boring conversation topics. Who wants to talk about buckets, bindi styles or drywall?  I do. But I need to change how I'm communicating these moments. Perhaps my first blog will draw you into the Indian details that I adore as well as my evolving view of the country.  

In exchange...write back. Help me stay at the right scale (ants not elephants) and ask questions incase I have not provided enough context. Posts might digress from time to time (forgive me in advance). Together, we will hunt for cardamom seeds within a paneer cheese cloth.