Wednesday 8 December 2010

The Paint Job

The walls have been painted. Now we are working on the iron frames or grille. The can of aquamarine color got over very quickly 2 liters of it. When I sent the man to fetch some more from the paint shop, he returned with paint from another company. We are using Nerolac and he got Asian Paint. The can also looked old and rusted. He tried to convince me otherwise but I did not listen to him.
He returned empty handed saying they would get the paint the day after tomorrow. Whew, this guy is a major dealer and he doesn' t have enough stock!

Anyway I asked Pradeep ( the head painter who was the only man to show up today) to paint the kitchen and bathroom doors with the chocolate brown color we had. He did that and my kitchen cupboards too.

Tomorrow he will do the Ivory doors and windows.
After 28 years of pale colors , its taking some time getting used to the dark color. In the dark it appears as if the door is open, specially the kitchen back door.





This is Pradeep. He is a nice guy. His mother lives with his family (wife and 3 daughters).
He is concerned about his mother and treats her very well. I told him him to send all his 3 daughters to school an d educate them at least till Class 10 - Junior High. He agreed with me. Literacy is very important to survive in the the modern world, we have to spread this message specially girl child.



Its sad to see these men painting and beautifying other people' s homes while they live in very humble and ramshackle abodes. But at least they have a good means of livelihood. I gave away lots of old clothes to these men.
A Facebook friend from Kerala told me that the wages for daily labourers is very high in that South Indian state.The 100 per cent literacy, affluence and Communist government has contributed to it. If I was living in Kerala I wouldn 't be able to afford house painting at all. I would have to do it myself LOL.


Pradeep brought us these bottle gourds from his neighbour' s garden.The neighbour has an abundance and he gives them away free. We were so blessed we gave away lots of gourd pieces and I made veg soup with gourd, spinach, carrots with onion and garlic and a little seasoning. I also made dal (lentils ) with gourd and today a gourd stir fry (sabzi) I like it , its low cal. You can make a yogurt salad (raita) with it.

Sheeba likes to sun herself on the porch.
Today the neighbour' s wandering dog Naughty attacked her and pulled out a tuft of fur from her neck. . thank goodness I saved her in time. He is jealous of her. Poor gentle Sheeba she was so shocked she did not want to go out of the house for some time.
On Dec 2nd World Disabled Day was observed all over the world and in India. The plight of 70 million disabled people in India is pathetic. 2 % are educated and only 1% find employment. The government and social groups are slowly trying to empower physically challenged people but its just a drop in the ocean. Here are some statistics of which I am also a part.
NUMBER CRUNCH
70 million disabled people in India
95% of the disabled have no access to education, health care and employment
150,000 are disabled due to injury to the spinal cord
10,000 spinal injury cases are reported every year due to road accidents. 82% are men between the ages of 18 -30 years.

19 Fertilize my soul:

Carol E Wyer said...

Poor Sheba. I'm glad you saved her in time.
The house will be wonderful when it is finished. Your men are all such hard workers.
Thank you for all the wonderful comments you have left me on my blog. My head is now so large it will not fit through the doorway!
I hope your house will soon be restored to calm and you can enjoy it.
Warmest wishes
Carol

Nadwrażliwiec said...

Oh, I'm sure You had little chaos in home. You are right, literacy is very important today. My grandmother remember times after II World War - when to school of her friends were coming iliterate parents. For us, European in the 21st century being iliterate is abstraction. But on the other hand Poland has big problem with "repeated iliteracy" - when people are educated in school, but they don't understand text.
Poor Sheeba... I'm hope nothing bad will happend with her neck. She had a lot of happiness that You were near.
I thought that World Disabled Day was on 3rd December - I read about it on blog my blogfriend Iva (address: www.piekne-chwile.blogspot.com).

monsoon dreams said...

Sheeba is so cute!
True,the daily wages in kerala is high compared to other states.we have people all over india coming to kerala for work!

Anonymous said...

Your home is going to feel so fresh and clean..its a wonder what a coat of paint can do.....I am amazed at how laborers are paid as here they get paid very good wages, and benefits...could it be the unions? Painters, carpenters, plumbers, electricians, wow, they make large salaries for the most part...we as locksmiths make about $100 an hour at times...
hope Sheba will be ok...she is such a wonderful companion.

Gerry said...

What an informative entry. I was very interested to know how the disabled are treated in India. I think some get treated well here and some fall entirely through the cracks to the streets. Your house is sure to look very refreshed and interesting with a new paint job. I have thought of making dal but that is as far as it went. I did make a wonderful lentil salad once and I could never find the recipe again. I like to make 4 bean salad, too. I am glad you were able to rescue Sheeba before great harm was done.

NAK and The Residents of The Khottage Now With KhattleDog! said...

Khyra says HI SHEBA!

Anonymous said...

I love a newly painted house- the look of it, not necessarily the smell though... but I love it how it all looks so bright and clean and new...

Reminds me of my parents house in a strange way...

Nakamuras on Saipan said...

Interesting post! Loved the pictures...I'm sure your home will look fresh and new! I'm glad the men got to work for you...the encouraging words to them must have been a blessing...

Ash said...

Love a freshly painted house, the energy and vibrations are so awesome.

Sheba is so cute!

Amrita said...

Dear ladie s thank you all for your sweet comments. Yes th e hous e looks nice and fresh.

Bu t th e smell of enamel paint is pretty strong. Well it will disappear after a while.

David Edward said...

thank you foe the pictures, it is looking so very nice. God bless you and your mother.

Country Mouse said...

Nice to drop in on your world via blog hopping! Sorry about your dog - we had a dog called Sheba once. How a country treats its poor and ill citizens is indicative - I think Europe does so much better than America where I live now. India has a long way to go I guess. So sad.

Olde Dame Penniwig said...

Aw, that Naughty. I wish he could be adopted by some family far, far away. Poor lil' Sheeba! She is a precious girl and doesn't deserve all these bitings and worries.

The disabled here have rough lives, but at least they have somewhat of a chance at getting educated. But even that is very "iffy" - I hope India is able to institute some better rules and plans, because the world will be looking to your beautiful country soon - India is posed for greatness again --

Nikki (Sarah) said...

I'm glad you told these men to educate their dgt.'s. Education is so important. Very interesting stats.

Connie said...

Oh Amrita I love reading about your life. I am so glad Sheeba is ok. We had a dog named Sheeba. She was sweet and gentle also.

JI said...

Nice photos Amrita.

You wrote on my blog about Vishal Mangalwadi. I didn't know he's an elder in your church. It's a small world! I have heard about him. He's quite an intellectual and I respect him. I recently bought his book "Missionary Conspiracy", which contains the letters he wrote to BJP politician Arun Shourie in response to Shourie's attack on missionaries. Doesn't he spend more time in US nowadays?

Best wishes,
JI.

Amrita said...

David thank you for visiting. See how differents things are here .

JI I was a member of Vishal bhaiya 's church in mussoorie where he was an elder. I taught his daughter in Woodstock school. Ruth his wife was very close to me an d I used to spend lots of time in their home.One he asked asked me to proof read some of his manuscripts for his book on the New Age, I was so thrilled.Now they live in CA. He travels all over the world.

Vishal grew up in Alld. my city they were Methodist like we were (not now) and we knew them very well here also. His father was the Secretary of the Bible Society.

Amrita said...

Dear Country Mouse, welcome to my blog, I am honored to have a writer visit.I am sure your Sheeba gave you as much joy an d companionship as mine.' India has a myriad of problems we are making slow progress in some direction. Its th e poor who are suffering the most.

Hi Holly, my Sheebas so tame. I scold her saying if robbers came into th e house she will take them on a guided tour of the house..

Hi Sarah, its important to spread the message.

Arts&Disability said...

Hi Amrita,

We just did a post on Global Disability Awareness & referenced your blogspot - as well as quoted the stats on disability that you mentioned to us. We also posted a reference to Paresh's Accessibility blogspot & his wonderful personal article on Employability.

Thank you for all --- it is important to stay connected and try to suggest real things that could help!
Love in our Lord,
Sonshine (& Merry Lynn)
Here is the post link:
http://artsanddisability.blogspot.com/2010/12/disability-awareness-around-globe-our.html