Some serious shit

 We are undertaking some house construction work. Because of it the entire year was on standby for us since the builders were not committing on a date. Finally it started on the last week of October.

There was much glee in our family when they put the scaffoldings up and started work. We noticed the day's progress with the curiosity of kids. I went to pick the girls up from school in the evening wondering how they would respond to the changes. We parked near our house and I saw some muddy water coming down our driveway. I though the builders had cleaned something with cement and left the water on. We carefully came in and then once we were near the back yard of our house, we saw the manhole was bursting open. We immediately called the builders. They said it was nothing to do with the work they had done during the day but anyways came to inspect. 

We learnt a lot about the way the sewerage system works that day! It so happens that all the toilets across the street join up and flush down through common pipes. Our house happens to be on the top of a hill. There seemed to be some sort of blockage which was causing the water to hold up. And somehow it had chosen our manhole to burst open. So all the fecal matter that was pent up on the drainage was bursting out from the manhole in our backyard. Also any time anyone flushed, the drains were being impacted and and there was an  outburst of poo and everything people were flushing. It was going through like rivers around the house and flowing onto the street forming poo ponds where ever it could find the crevices. 

The stench was horrible especially once we realised that it was poo. We needed to call the central company that deals with such issues. We were constantly on their customer service. Our case was registered but we were informed that it could take upto 3 days for it to get sorted. K and I were quite nervous about the whole scenario. We initially refrained from using the toilets etc. But then we were advised that it would be OK. We somehow manage to go through the river of poo and drop the kids at school the next day. We had a lot of options thank God like going to my sisters house or taking a room in a hotel. But we decided it would be OK to just live it out. 

K and I wore some water proof boots and plastic bags in our hands and approached the manhole. Since the lid of the manhole was being pushed open everytime anyone was flushing the sewerage was coming out every single time. We decided to brave it, make it to the middle of the pool of poo, close the lid and put something heavy on it. First we had to clean the area the best we could so that we could put our four feet. The sludge of shit was dangerous to stand on. After that we dragged the lid and closed the manhole. Last year in one of the storms a portion of our wall had broken. We had kept all the heavy slabs from the broken wall. We dragged 2 of them and put it on top of the lid of the manhole. That prevented any further flushes from pushing the lid open.

The next day was a super rainy one and we did not have much hope of the issue getting sorted. We rang up customer service again to highlight the severity of the issue. Thankfully we had some people come over around 9:28. I know the exact precise time because that is how keenly I was following the events 😅 They had the expression on the face of shit having actually hit the fan. They started investigating from the house  next to ours. There were people staring at what was happening. It was a proper scene! Then they came to our back yard and started their clean up..gawd the stench. They then went over to the manholes in the street and cleaned up and found a big mass of clog. People had been flushing wet wipes down the toilets which had caused such a massacre. 

K was supremely humbled the entire experience. He went and got boxes of biscuits for all of them. We had to get some new hose pipes and the weekend there was a round of super deep cleaning. 

Some Day!

Well.. Today I just had to write this post. Morning I was feeling so strongly about this issue that I decided no matter how much the work load, no matter what the deadline, no matter what is my state of mind, I will write this post.

First of all, commuting was problem number 1 for me. Work arounds were galore. But for me, travelling comfortably is of vital importance. No matter what, I should travel in utmost comfort, at any cost. And I am shelling out some Rs 200 per day for commuting. If we consider 20 working days per month this comes to Rs 4000 only. And per year ahem ahem a wooping 48K. People might find the numbers eye popping. But I have decided to turn a deaf ear to what others have to say. For me, I dont want to reach office drenched in sweat neither to I want to reach home pissed off because of travel. So better invest this money for peace of mind.

Anyways the mathematics of my travel cost has motivated me to lay 2009 July as the milestone date for owning a car. Amen.

Now for problem number 2.

One problem that peeves me to no end in life is Water Problem. And see my destiny - Chennai has no dearth of it. On all my prior stays at Chennai, I have been blessed with a really smooth existence. I some how loved being in this city. But now I feel, they were all baits by God to lure me :S

I had heard Chennai has water problems. Hmm there is a difference between hearing things and living them! :(

Every day I literally come prepared that some new water related problem will be there.

In our house, we have lines from which saline water comes. And there is a separate tap for fresh water in which the water comes for some 10-15 mins from 0730 hours. This water is stored in drums etc for cooking and bathing purposes.

2 days before I landed here, in our apartment provisions were made for 24 hrs supply of saline as well as fresh water. My joy knew no bounds. I some how dont get that fresh feeling if i take bath in stored water. So I was very happy with the arrangements.

But 2 weeks down the line, we got a circular from the apartment management, that the supply has not been able to meet the demands and some other lame excuses, so the old sys of 24hrs saline water supply and 10 mins fresh water will be the norm. I was like Ok fine.

It would have been all rosy dandy, if this had been the state of affairs. I was slowly getting acclimatised to using water sparingly (how I hated it initially ) . It was K who complained about my using a lot of water. I asked, You expect me to use less water. He said A lot LESS. That day onwards I mended my ways to suit Chennai :)

Ever since I became a good girl, water started throwing tantrums. Some day, the fresh water would not come for the adequate duration ending in all the drums not getting filled up. I would be pissed off that day. Some day salt water wont come for some time rendering the flushes and basin taps useless. I would be pissed off that day too. And now we have a new problem - no salt water but fresh water for 24hrs - means no use of any tap/flush in the house except for the one tap. I have forgotten the joy of opening a tap and water running down, small simple things I used to take for granted.

I remember when I was in school, and we were staying in dads government quarters for some years. There water used to come from 7-10 in the morning and 5-7 in the evening. That was BIG WATER PROBLEM for us. Apart from that, I have never faced any water woes, no matter in which part of India I have resided. Here when I told the same, my sister in law said," If fresh water comes daily for 10 minutes, people in Chennai say there is no water problem." I was shell shocked.

And today, when I came back from the gym, my mother in law was standing just like that(usually shes scurrying around the house) When asked she said, no fresh water also. So many emotions ran through me like :O :S :( :(( :'(

K had to push off first. So he took crows bath and left. And I was left waiting. The last thing I want to hear when I come back all sweaty from the gym is "There is no water" But that was the first thing I got to hear today.

The watchman said at length that water would be coming in some time. We waited and waited, all we got from the tap was a hiss. Since I was getting late, I asked my mother in law, if I could borrow a bucket of water from the ground floor residents in case they were getting it. She consented and accompanied me. But see my luck, we hardly filled half a bucket, water stopped running. Mom in law told me to wash face and leave for office. I geared myself for it. But when I stepped into the bathroom and saw the precariously less quantity of water, I balked. I decided, I will go late to office, but I wont go unclean.

I read and re - read the morning newspaper as I waited for water to come. Finally at 0930 hours there was water!! I felt like a villager in the movie Swades, just like they rejoiced for Bijli I was doing a hurray when water came!! I was smiling at the sight of water for a good 5 minutes!!