Achoooooo!

The last few days have been tough, tough, tough. I have a head cold that just wouldn't go away. So here I am sipping chai with ginger and black pepper and browsing make-me- happy websites and blogs. One of them is ecofabulous. Always ready with sexy, sustainable stuff, their beauty section is so earth-friendly and fabulous smelling( well at least sounding since I don't have smell-o-laptop) that its almost edible.

A few years ago, I happened to read Rona Berg's Beauty:The new Basics. I did not expect much from it except may be a quick cure for whatever my beauty peeve may have been at that point. But is turned things around for me- forever. The book goes over ingredient lists on common beauty products and decodes the mile long chemical names for the lay person. It is not your average dumbed down color-chic-page flipping- beauty book. This one takes you on a ride away from the superstore beauty aisle, down history lane and back into your backyard via your kitchen. I have not used a chemical based shampoo or creme since. And I realized that I have gone back to a lot of "old wisdom" and sometime unglamorous choices. Works fine for me because what chemicals go on us also go in us and we can all do with a little less chemicals in our already over exposed bodies.

In India, I find that I am often the fish swimming in the other direction from the rest of the school. My friend was incredulous when I picked up a un-glam "they still make this!?" kind of soap at a local grocery store. She also perhaps did not like my disapproval of her Labratoire Garniere shampoo. Oh well!

If you are going my way, here's what I have to say. Not all organic- natural things are made equal, so decoding labels and background research on the company is a good start. Then again, companies can change policies and ingredients. When a reputed natural products company like Burt's Bees gets bought over by Clorox, you can only hold your breath and hope you will not smell something bleachy in your next jar of creme!

As for me, I can't wait to find some Eucalyptus leaves to simmer and pour in my bath!

Credit Roll

There was this book called whatsitsname that iforgethername wrote using her credit card statements from past several years as a guide to chronicle her life. There is this belief that one can tell a lot about people from just looking at their possessions (see my last blog about refrigerators). Take a cell phone for instance- who is on speed dial/last called/calls received list should presumably be a checklist of the phone owner's lovers, near and dear ones and friends. NO, not in my case. If you were you pick up my phone this very minute,in the last called/calls received list you would meet an assorted group of characters from this REAL reality show called " My home renovation- if tomorrow comes!"

Bharat Traders: Rajesh at Bharat Traders had just the tiles I wanted for the bathroom. He did not have enough number of boxes in stock. He ordered some for me from the factory, only 95% arrived. I call him everyday for the remaining boxes. Backstory I found out over many interactions: He is sick of the tiles business and wants to get into timber, so he keeps a low inventory and even lower level of enthusiasm.

Bijliwallah (The Electrician): A random electrician came by but I never hired him after he tried to hard sell stuff to me that I did not need. I had saved his number as "Bijliwallah" because he insisted I save his number for "any future electrical emergency". Is that a threat?

Chauhan Tilewallah: Another specimen of pure macho confidence. He talked nineteen to a dozen, asked for 1.5 times more than the current market rate for tiling. Since I am yet to read that book called "How to say no when you want to say hell no", I still get calls from him asking me when he should begin work.

ChottelyLal1: Chottey lal is the plumber I heart. He is cheerful, efficient and logical in his approach. He enthusiastically tries and happily executes any innovative ideas that I may have.

ChotteyLal2: This is Chotteylal's other cell phone number. Don't know why he carries two.

Gupta Alu: Short for Gupta Aluminum, i.e the guy who will make our Aluminum sliding windows for what I somewhat euphemistically call my "sun-room". It took us a reallllly long time to find a Al guy who seems to know a bit about Al. He is a new entrant to my pageant of construction crew. Watch this space to see if he put his Alu where his mouth is.

Haleem Contractor: Is the good for nothing contractor I F I R E D! It was the turning point in home renovation because after that turn, the renovation actually started. Haleem nor his crew ever showed up before noon and left for lunch promptly after that. When he did arrive,with talcum powder on neck,carefully creased trousers and tobacco in mouth- He was unsure of what his crew was to do, had done the previous day or planned to do that day. Good riddance, except I have to settle some payment with him for the little , v e r y little work his guys did.

Kajaria: Phone number for Kajaria Tiles Company's head office in Delhi. Will they ever pick up the phone and NOT put me on eternal hold???? All I want to know is if they have three measly boxes of fresca Orange in 8X12 (my back up should Bharat Traders fail me!)

Laldhar: THE electrician. He is quiet, he is intense, he rides a cool black motorcycle and speaks only when spoken to. He knows his shit and he takes no shit...He's THE ELECTRICIAN!

Nikhil Modul: Nikhil the modular shelf guy. He is making huge glass covered bookshelves for us. He is a total sales guy with little design and aesthetic sense. I am hoping he can take instructions well. Why did I hire him? His parents are our family friends and I have seen him grow up. Got to give the kid a chance ( I am foolishly sentimental that way). Will let you know if they remain family friends after the bookshelves arrive.

Roop Chand- The guy who tiles and smiles. This is our tiling guy who is also a general contractor of sorts and is helping us find a carpenter, a marble "ghisai" guy , a painter etc. Before starting work every morning, he changes from pants and collared shirt into a T shirt and hawaiian shorts. Hey, we should all be allowed to do that in our places of work...just see how that affects productivity!

Virender Plumb: Virender was the plumber we had originally hired ( before Chottey Lal of two phones fame came on-board). He seems more like a guy that happened to stumble into plumbing. He knows little and admits it with a shy smile. He is the building's general plumbing go to guy, so I will stay in touch with him for small stuff.

So these are the guys that have taken center stage in my cell phone and my life. I hope most of them will be brief and passing acquaintances.

There is a voyeur inside...

There are voyeurs and then there are voyeurs! Getting addicted to home design websites with lots and lots of pictures of other people's houses is one thing. Looking at what others are buying at the cash register in a supermarket... ok ,well thats fine too. But it is a tad disturbing (and extreme) to want to look into other people's fridge to see what they are eating ( or not eating). You will find that its a regular pastime for many at www.fridgewatcher.com. They have pics of fridges from Argentina to Vietnam. Yes, I checked for India and thought I might see one choc-a-block with veggies and stainless steel "doodh ka bhagonas" but they don't have a pic from India. If you stop and think fridges are not as ubiquitous in our country ( or in Africa-totally under-represented at www.fridgewatcher.com).
Reminded me of a conversation I had with a newly wed 20 year old girl from a western UP village. She had recently moved to Delhi with her husband and among other things that excited her about being in the city, one was that she could finally send for her belongings from her husband's village. One of her dear possessions was a fridge her parents gave as part of the dowry. The thing is her village-in-law gets electricity only for a few hours every day and a fridge not being of much use in such circumstances had been taken over by her sister-in-law to store her husband's clothes and shoes! Now that's a picture I would like to send www.fridgewatcher.com!

Matters at hand

How long can one avoid dealing with the matter at hand. Tiling times are here again!
We have two projects at hand. The first and more involved is tiling the bathroom floor and walls. This will take considerably longer than originally planned because the "mistri" will first have to level the floor and walls to create a "base". In a new construction this is relatively easier. In our case we had removed existing floor and wall tiles. We thought that would be all but once we dug more problems came tumbling down.We found out that we will have to change all inside plumbing from galvanized iron (rusts every few years-ours had rusted) to plastic pipes (supposed to last longer), then we had to get the electrical connections rewired (mirror mirror on the wall, which bathroom has the best lighting of all!!) and then we had the drain re-configured (yeah, whats a few more dig abouts while we are at it!). If we had dug anymore we would have hit oil, I swear!
All this poking and prodding has made the walls and floor surfaces pretty...eh...lunar.
The base will be done today( fingers and toes crossed) using cement, sand and concrete.

Our other project is supposed to be more straight forward. We want to get vitrified tiles laid on balcony floors which have the traditional marble chip floors as of now. Unlike bathroom tiles, these don't require a traditional cement base. These will be stuck on the existing floor using a "special chemical cement". Until a few years ago this "special chemical cement" had to be mixed with a "special chemical liquid" to make a paste that would then be used to stick the tiles .
We will be using a new variety that can be mixed with regular tap water. What exactly is this chemical? I'll let you know as soon as I find out. Until then I am as gung ho as the "special chemical cement" people and endorse their proud claim on the packing.

Inspiration

All this hanging out with sulking plumbers and impudent rude "karigars" has made me sluggish and unhappy. So my gut reaction is to turn to things simple and beautiful. Time to reset the balances by looking at a beautiful photograph or reading a poem or making something simple and fresh to eat. To take a pause, catch my breath.
Browsing some of my favorite websites brings happiness. I chanced upon Mark Poulin's website. He is an Oakland, California based artiste whose work I have long admired. Anyone who knows me knows that I am not much into jewelery and dressing up. Yet chancing upon Mark's work at the SFMOMA had me do a double take some years ago. I was a struggling student and unfortunately wise enough to know I couldn't afford the week's grocery AND the jewelery. When I did leave the US, I bought a pendant as a gift to self. Small wishes fulfilled make me happy!
Check out Mark's website, his links to his jewelery and also his beautiful sketchbook.
"Simple line drawings pared down to the essence of sophisticated design."
Yep, that for me is beauty.

(Images borrowed from Mark Poulin's Etsy Shop)

Going going...greeeeen!

A friend just sent me Morgan Stanley's green book

Although I am somewhat weary of the corporate type "doing their bit" by bringing out colorful publicity materials,there is something to be said about the power of reiteration. A lot of the information may sound very US specific at first. Junk Mail for instance is a huge problem in the US but we are slowly getting there here in India. Laying down a carpet may not be a feasible choice for Indians and our walls can not be insulated BUT there are several great reminders on how to become more energy efficient (and save money!). Putting a lid on your food while cooking, not putting your computer on "sleep mode", eating fresh-not excessively packaged food, printing on both sides of the paper etc are not only simple to do, they are reminiscent of the "traditional" advise from our parents and grandparents. Check it out and if you have a kid- do your bit, carry on the good word.

Tiles on my mind

While we are at it (and while I am still obsessed with it) I thought I would deviate from tiling nightmares into tile dreams.
The absolutely fantastic Spanish Tiles with moorish influences and Mediterranean colors are an unbeatable kaleidoscope of colors and designs. The aquamarines and yellows are great in bathrooms, kitchen and my favorite, steps.

You can find a more detailed history of Spanish ceramics here.
Closer home similar Arabesque tiles are found in many mughal monuments. Chini Ka Rauza is the tomb of Allama Afzal Khan, Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan's prime minister and gets its name from the colorful tiles (chini) that cover the walls of the tomb. Blue, green and yellow glazed tiles embellish this medieval mausoleum in Agra.
Not too far from Agra, one can find the traditional Jaipur tiles ( I am told one can find them around Delhi's Janpath too). I don't see a whole wall of these , but maybe a few accents here and there.
And then again, there are those southern beauties-Attangudi Tiles
To quote an article in The Hindu

"Long before even mosaic tiles became fashionable, the people of a little village called Attangudi in Tamil Nadu had perfected the art of making decorative cement floor tiles. These tiles needed no special machines and not even baking, as the ingredient used was not clay, but sand and cement. Just bare hands, a clean glass, and a mould were enough. Certain designs didn't even need the mould."

(Read the complete article here.)


The Hindu article mentions that Attangudi tiles come at a rate of approx. Rs 25/square foot, which is a lot lower than the Rs. 35/square foot that I am paying for the run of the mill Kajaria variety!!
Then again the unfortunate truth is that the traditional though prettier, cheaper and more eco friendly is less accessible than the mass produced more expensive variety.

Does anyone know where can one source Attangudi Tiles from?