It was 7 am on a chilly Friday morning and I hadn’t seen Meenal all week. As her taxi pulled into the apartment complex, I was loading my bag into another cab to catch my flight to Kolkata.
In the 1 minute that we had to meet and greet before parting again, I uttered these romantic words in her ears:
I left the geyser on for you baby.
Geyser: Water heater for taking hot showers in India. If you forget to turn it on a couple of hours in advance, ouch.
My first project at Deloitte India started a few weeks after moving to Gurgaon. The team is working with an international donor organization and the Government of India to assess public hospitals across 4 impoverished Indian states. Our job is to understand the current state of affairs and implement targeted improvements over 2 years.
Last week, I headed to a local metal shop to construct a grill from scratch – armed with metal bowls called ‘Tasla’ (otherwise used by construction labor to carry cement), metal beams (otherwise used to make bookshelves) and a lot of enthusiasm. My last try at barbecuing with a gas tandoor didn’t make my heart sing but this time it was going to be different.
3 hours of welding and 2 cups of sweat later, I had 4 spanking new barbecue grills – ghetto style!
Continue reading: Barbecuing successfully after returning to India (2nd try)
