The bonus of being a house owner

 and here I am, eager to share the abundance of lessons learnt from numerous house owners in my existence as a karmic tenant.

Being a house owner in a  country where the rules are more tilted in favour of power and money is a bonus, a privilege and a blessing. In short if you are not a house owner strive to be one. Your life will rock in many ways. 

To start off you will have an additional income without having to hustle too much. Once you establish a solid connection with a decent tenant you are all good to go. They will pay on time, ensure to keep the premises in a decent way (or should I say live as civilised human beings?) 

You can influence your lawyer to formulate the lease agreement that can bring in more benefits for you. This means when its time for renewal you can elevate the value of repairs and renovation done by the tenant and keep your side at a lower end indicating only major repairs and renovation. So in reality there is no likelihood that the premises are going to come crashing down any time soon, or be broken down all of which are on the likes of major repairs and renovation. which means the benefit is on you.

The minor ones would be break down of utility tools such as taps, hand bidays, loosening hinges over wear and tear which is what the tenant has to bear. All fine and dandy because if the tenant is living then of course its better to have things working than deal with leaks and broken tools. But just think, after the tenant pays for all of these and ensure everything is working, repaired and running, when its time to leave the premises they make it very easy for the next one who comes in. So how does the tenant benefit by repairing and renovating another person's house and then moving on to do the same thing in some other house ?

When its time to renew the lease agreement there is no standard rule which the owner abides by, for increase in rentals. It is increased in the percentages which suits the whims and fancy of them. In case the tenant has had some disagreements even in a subtle manner, it can mean two things, either an open door is shown or the increase in rental would be such that the tenant would naturally opt to find another place. Its best for the tenant to keep developing diplomatic skills to be able to handle shrewd house owners and learn to maneuver tricky situations. 

If the occupancy involves sharing of utility bills,  the tenants are likely to bear the bigger part of the cost as there would be enough baseless justification to prove that the consumption cost increased after the arrival of the tenants. How does the tenant challenge this while standing on the grounds of the owner's premises ? 

I say this through past experience where we ended up paying for the consumption of 2 adults and 1 kid. Its an obvious fact that the consumption is likely to be more if there is a kid or kids.  The prized lesson we learnt from this episode was never to settle for shared payment of utility consumption. The huge difference was startlingly visible when we did start to pay for our sole consumption.

House owners can come in all shades and movements. I say this because there could be that oddball who will take an interest in female tenants in the most unusual way. Most of the time as always the case in good old SL, they are old, fit to be your grandfather. 

The episode that I had to deal with was a drunkard, an old dude who was probably bored with his spouse and wanted to try something adventurous, He used to 'hit on' his maid but reversed his sleezy behaviour when she showed him the largest kitchen knife and threatened him. His attention then turned to me. He used to wait until I return home from work and voluntarily open the gate probably wanting to lean on me. He could not go very far when one day I opened the gate with extreme force that made him fall down to the ground.  It took a while for him to pick himself up all the while I watched in glee as he struggled to rise and go back to his house.

Then there is also the cribber who would make it a habit to say that the rentals outside are way higher and that the only reason the increase cannot happen with them is because they are more empathetic to the tenant. I wonder why they even crib in the first place if they think so.

Then there are some house owners who are pretty decent for the most part but their kids, siblings would not let them be that way. They would constantly be influencing the owner to think otherwise in terms of getting an increase or scare the daylights out of them claiming there is always a possibility the tenants could own the place forcibly. I wonder if that is possible at all in a land where the rules are tilted towards those with money and power ?

If I talk about the key money or the advance taken at the time of occupancy. Being an owner pays grandly. You could dump this entire stash of 3 months or 6 months or 1 year of rental in a high interest fund and keep building on the accrued value. At the time of the tenant's departure you will only need to give the initial x number of months rental back to the tenant. All the accrued interest is yours to keep. Nice eh ? build interest on tenant's money without any sweat. Now who said you got to hustle to keep going ?

If you are planning to construct an apartment, house or compact unit to rent or lease, you really do not have to give priority in ensuring you use the best of construction material. You can always use thinner density slabs ad cheap fittings and material because the dwelling is not for yourself, its for another and you will charge enough to cover your costs and construction expenditure ensuring you will gain what you spent in a short time. What other business can bring in such short term rewards ? To top it all there are no clear policies or rules that govern proper acceptable standards of constructing a dwelling for rentals or lease. You are the boss and you can construct it the way it suits you to reap the richest rewards.

After leasing out your dwelling, if the tenants complaint of issues you only have to be sly and pretend to be surprised. You can also let the tenants go on complaining until some day they will decide to vacate the premises and you can once more dupe new tenants at a higher rental, doesn't matter if there are issues in the dwelling. A new coat of paint will cover up and make it look all nice and dandy.

Now try and do the mental mathematics for a house owner that has several such dwellings rented/leased out in the suburbs of the city ? Ah and then remember to also guide your tenants on how to handle invading Tax Officers should they any time turn up to dig about you as the house owner.

The karma of being a tenant

If you have even gone through a cycle of being a tenant in our lovely homeland, I am sure you can relate to a lot about what I am going to rant in this post.

The average working class Sri Lankan citizen is very likely to live in a rented dwelling in the suburbs of the city or perhaps even in any of the zonal areas of the city at some point in their lives. If they have not, I can assure that they have missed out an entire series of  lifetime lessons. I would suggest to such types, that they should, even for a short term chose to live on these terms and learn a few valuable lessons and skills. Well as for me, I have, in a number of places. 

If I take a count of how many times we have relocated the number would be 11 times during my life. Now as the reader you may wonder why there was no way to try and figure out a way to get a house of our own. I shall not go into the nitty gritty information of my personal background or where I come from. Yes I have countless times torn myself apart and tried to work things out.  According to local bank borrowing applicable terms for housing, if we are to go ahead, It would be a classic case of handing over the monthly pay cheque to the bank and then starve. After doing so, it would leave you with anything other than to borrow further to be able pay for your basic expenses. 

I say this not with an intention to pin down all the excuses as to why its impossible, but rather to highlight how frustrating and crazy it can be to work around the game of owning a house in this island of ours. This is even after having worked a 8-5 job for number of years. 

It may ease the burden somewhat if you have had wealthy ancestors who left you property which you could be used to make it work for you. Or if you married a wealthy spouse then there is less to sweat about. 

But if you are thread bare with zero ownership of any property and wanting to start from scratch, with your own effort, the ride is going to be one that is good as travelling to hell.

So what does being a tenant teach you ?  

Consider yourself very lucky if you have neighbours who takes an unusual interest to know about you (not in a good way). Often most people are curious for all the wrong reasons. These people will teach you lessons on the importance of valuing someone's privacy.

It begins with, trying to find out where you are employed, what kind of job you hold. Some are even so snoopy to shamelessly grin and ask you "honda padiyak labenawa athi nedha?" (You are probably well paid?) When people pose both the question and answer at you, they have only low down intention and that is to make you spit out the kind of juicy information they crave to know. This I guess helps to determine the approximate income and the social standing you are in. 

Then the move would be to find out how you are socially placed, ahem.... like the typical Sri Lankan style of questioning with a sly grin "Bandhaladha (are you married?)?"  if the answer is yes, the next obvious question would be "Lamayi innawadha? *You got kids ?" . 

The local perception is if there is a spouse and kids the picture is complete. In any case if your answer is no or you chose to be quiet  many, more differently worded and twisted questions or statements are likely to follow maybe wanting to know where you are destined to in life.

There are some who would rattle on about their private lives hoping that you would also respond in the same style.  They may also enjoy bragging about their accomplishments and how successful their kids holding top corporate jobs or professional positions. The typical statements would be on the lines of "My son in law is the Chief Engineer of .......or my daughter is the Deputy to the Chief at the ........"  These types teach you how to think what you should keep and let out or if you should let out anything at all.  

There are some who make it a ritual to pop up at your house without even checking if you have the time to spare for small talk. Then they are also some who do this and also make it an opportunity to borrow various types of things starting from Green Chillies, Onion, Garlic and even moving onto money, food etc., claiming they will replace your stock the next time they do their grocery rounds or get their pay cheque. These types will teach you lessons in managing, borrowing and the bitterness of never getting back what you lent. 

Then there are some who will brief you about the socio economic profile of all other residents (if you are living in apartment) and also the house owner. They are also likely to set the rules which seem like the complex rules but zooming in whatever it seemed like rules you will learn that all those are things they want you to do for their benefit. These types will teach you how much to take and how much to leave and why its always best to check how things work.

If you happen to live in a stand alone house consider yourself very lucky, but if you do live in a storied house or an apartment imagine having to put up with residents above your floor who are inconsiderate and noisy ? 

These types would begin doing their household chores at around 10pm and conclude by 12 midnight or even later. They would also have grand parties and social meet ups with baring set ups which usually end up at the wee hours of dawn.  On other days, some also chose to jog inside the house during these hours.

In case the slab in each floor of the apartment is of a thinner density,  noise pollution would be at its maximum.  This would even make a coin falling down heard in a crystal clear manner. 

Try to imagine what it feels like if the furniture is dragged on the floor above you while doing household chores or during parties and social meet ups ?  It would seem like a volcanic eruption or a thunderstorm for the residents below with the low density slab contributing to the key problem along with inconsiderate residents.

If you are the type of person who simply wants to do your own thing, not get roped into useless drama and live on your own terms, its best that you keep working out a way to own your house somewhere, someday (like me). 

I can tell you after moving 11 times in my life, I am DONE having to put up with the sheer absurdity of being a tenant.

In every story, there is also the other side and if its a case of tenants then on the other side is the house owner. We once referred to this person as a Landlord or Landlady. We now have this gender equality fiasco, hence I will refer to the person as the house owner. Well that's the other side of the story which I shall talk about in a fresh post later on. 

After all 11 house owners have also taught me equally great lessons !!!

PC Warrior in the '90s

When I entered the world of work, it was the loud clanking of manual typewriters and ringing of dial me telephones filling the office. Then came electronic typewriters. Suddenly the buzz of computers were in the air. Some panicked, Some were excited and others feared of losing their job. I was curious, excited and wanting very much to know how this machine could make life easier. So we've had that being-stuck in-our-own-comfort-zone-as-comfortable all along.

As soon as pc's came in they were given only for employees in the executive grade. I would say its a kind of class differentiation to suit the appalling local mentality. After some time the employees who were given pc's to use, seemed to walk a few feet above ground level, the noble privileged class of pc users. 

Their snootiness caved into me. I challenged myself that I would get down to learning everything about a pc. Since it was certain that I was never going to be given a pc where I was then working, I looked for jobs that gave a pc for the position I applied for.

The first time I used a pc was in a small office. The packaging of a brand new pc was opened before me and set up on my desk. I was excited as a father seeing the arrival of his first born. A brand spanking pc (clumsy looking in today's standards) sat on my desk. I was determined to learn everything about this thing occupying half of the table. This was '90s where technology began gradually crawling into our lives.

I vowed to learn everything about the technicalities, using and caring for it by myself. Every lunch break I used 5 minutes to have a quick snack and during the rest of the 55 minutes I used, to learn what this machine has to offer for someone who has been using a manual typewriter. 

That was my first encounter with self study I guess, It was super fun, sometimes I goofed up and learnt how to fix it myself. Other times I was as jubilant as Archimedes in discovering features that I would see only in good quality publications. I typed out brief newspaper articles and applied the MS office features to get a  hang of how it all fits nicely to produce faster and better quality work. I tinkered with different fonts, templates and layouts and put my creative nerves on a cardio workout. I was elated to discover the lightening speed responses a worksheet would generate when I gave in the formula. I was over the moon to learn how simple data could quickly be converted into a chart or a graph. I was thrilled to understand the filing system and how super easy it was label, create files and stack them neatly.

I went a step further in my attempts to learn. I clocked in early, had a quick breakfast and tinkled around the pc before I began work. Later I went browsing for a book in the local store that would simply not be a manual to instruct, but would let me know the logic of using a pc. I figured this would let me think beyond and produce even better work. 

By the time I left the job in that small office, I was a pc warrior eager and anxious to use all my skills in the next role I was offered. I The world outside was spilling in many new technological inventions and I was even curious to learn and understand the developments. I wanted to take myself from a warrior to a pilot. 

The office which first gave me a chance to learn using a pc closed shop within a few months. But I was glad that the challenge I gave myself was DONE. I had acquired a skill most wanted and could confidently pin it down in my CV.

I'd like to tell all those who snorted and miffed at manual typewriters that Dickens, Austin,  Hemingway, Bronte, Twain and many other greatest literary genius masters produced the greatest masterpieces with simple machines. 

To think also, that it's the same QWERTY layout that has come to stay on pc, laptop, tab and smart phone keyboards.

Darwin's theory of evolution is one that can never be pushed aside eh ?

Roast Chicken and my Dad - an inseparable pair :)

 Reading my dad's journal, I have been amused and curious to find 'Roast Chicken' mentioned a countless times. His journal had covered the first few years of the '70s. On every special day that called for a celebration, Roast Chicken was the guest of honour it seemed. This meant no birthday, no small celebration nor a once in a while meal out was complete without his favourite dish. 

He writes of a famous restaurant in the city from where it seemed he's had the most servings of his beloved dish. Since it was obvious that this was his favourite dining house, from which he seemed to have a serving of his prized dish, I had to check it out myself. 

I chose to visit the restaurant on his birthday through sheer curiosity. I may have passed this famous restaurant countless times, without giving much thought to the bond it had created with my dad. But i had never dined here. The place had lost some of its 70's charm compared to the 70's although it was still a decent place to have a sit down meal. 

They only had their prized biriyani with 2 types of chicken offered. One was curry and the other roasted. I had to see how it all looked after assembling the portions. I ordered a complete portion which came in the form of an upturned bowl full of rice, a boiled egg sitting right on top and a generous slab of roast chicken placed on the side. The accompaniments included spicy chicken curry gravy and mint sambol. 

The portion was way too large for me. I served a tablespoon of the savoury rice on half plate and sampled it. It was good considering today's ridiculously prized food standards and their ability to still serve such a dish. I got the rest of the food - rice, chicken, egg and all of the spicy gravy packed as a take away and thought I would let a deserving person relish the complete biriyani. Maybe I will find someone on the way ?

I stepped out holding the packed biriyani carefully rolling my eyes to spot that deserving someone. It should not be too difficult to figure out who should get it, in these times I thought to myself. Sure enough, there was a homeless woman with 2 kids housed in a run down overhead bridge. I was glad, there are kids in this short term happy picture as well. I went over to them and slowly placed the pack on her mat and wished for them to enjoy the meal together. 

I know having a fancy meal for just one day and then go hungry the next day is not the answer to solve hunger. But making someone's day special with stuff they usually cannot afford to have is adding a little magic in someone's life. At least this is the way I see it. 

Dad I can't seem to find your reviews for roast chicken in your journal. I am curious to know which is your best choice, the one mom makes for you (best bet) or the one you got at the restaurant ?

Enjoy your birthday up in your world Dad

Until I see you in the world beyond !

How much more should we give up?

 A lot has happened since I last wrote a post on how we get by in our bankrupt homeland. I am wading through a maze of immense disorderliness hanging in the air, to pen down a striking aspect in this whole crisis. That is, how the average person is giving up some things, to be able to manage better with less. This is how the average person is adjusting to a lifestyle designed purely on ‘cost factor’.

Decision making has never been this bizarre. The choice to buy, refill and use happens after weighing on the gains and losses. When the average citizen do their shopping rounds for food, household utilities, healthcare supplies and other, scanning the shelves, checking and comparing prices have become the norm.  If one has been using branded upmarket products, this is the time to ditch them and settle for equally good locally made products. This is especially apt for personal care products. That’s one way of giving up on simple pleasures.

Yes, I am one of the average citizen too, prioritizing only on vital stuff. When it comes to bare essentials such as food and healthcare supplies, I look at the long term benefit in terms of health /value for cost and settle for the best options. There have been many lifestyle adjustments I have made along the way to be able to continue living sensibly in these truly crazy times. But it is increasingly becoming nerve wrecking, why? It’s easier to give up on the ‘wants’ but with ‘needs’ it’s a different game. Because prices of ‘needs’ keep shooting upwards and every week it is a case of re-budgeting, re-planning and re-managing. It is constantly a case of scrutinizing when it comes to managing within means.

At the local stores and supermarkets I see some, in deep thought staring at a product. To me their thoughts read as “should I get this or go for something priced lower?” If the product is put back on the shelf and the person totally walks away from that section, it probably should mean “I can be done with this, this is no longer essential”.

Food remains the biggest cost component that eats into an average income. There is no cutting corners on the key ingredient that fuels our survival, even though some are down to one meal a day. Food is something that cannot be compromised over cost, because of nutritional and health reasons. Doing so would mean we should be prepared to bust tons of time and money under professional healthcare.  Making good food choices and filling up our engines stand grounded as smart options, even though it comes at a heavy price.

So how much are people shaving off their food intake?

Well, let me start with the simplest of things. If families have been having a cup of tea with milk, the adults would chose to have plain tea and let the milk be for the kids. This means the pack of milk powder could be used for a longer time. Single office employees housed in rented dwellings in urban areas usually have their cup of tea when they get to work.

If the average meal comprised of 2 vegetable curries, 1 local green, with a choice of fish, meat or eggs, the composition now would be 1 vegetable curry, 1 green for adults and the kids would get the serving of fish, meat or eggs, if one of these were still affordable. For some it is 1 vegetable curry with rice. The local media reports of many pathetic tales of how some survive on jackfruit, or rice and local green and some even only boiled murunga leaves.

If food is being bought from budget level cafes and kiosks many are buying less and opting to settle only for the spicy gravy minus the meat or fish. Some buy the cheapest choice of accompaniment such as onion or chillie sambol etc., Even dhal curry is becoming unaffordable for some.

For some, breakfast is either a cup of plain tea or a herbal porridge which is taken mid-way between typical breakfast and lunch timings. This is done to space out the hunger pangs and make the system adopt to 2 meals. If you are the observant type, in some workplaces, some will chose to go later for meals or not go at all. Watch out also for the types who come crashing in the morning, just to have a cup of tea.

Dinner for many have turned out to be nothing except going to bed hungry, For some it’s a cup of plain tea.  For those who still could afford the portions may have grown smaller. It is a similar trend with lunch and breakfast.

Socializing and dining with family and friends are increasingly being considered luxury for many. Although some still do it within a tight budget opting for cheaper choices. I guess although many changes have been made in crisis era lifestyles, not everything can be given up so easily. People also need to take the time to let off steam and chuckle at the absurdity and make that a coping mechanism.

Medication although prescribed to be taken in a certain way, (eg. 2 tablets a day etc.,) many are taking half of that quantity, taking less or given up totally because of the high cost. It’s very likely that such people will not have their medical issues sorted because the remedy is not falling in the right proportions.

Every news alert on a price increase of an essential item, drives me to do mental mathematics. My brain becomes a ticking workshop of what that increase would mean, how much more needs to be snipped off, what better adjustments could be made.

If getting on a tuk-tuk after grocery shopping has been the usual practice, today many are choosing to take the bus or walking for cost related reasons. Some may proudly proclaim that it’s healthier to walk. I would say a resounding yes to that but only if we are doing that on our fitness routines. It isn’t so for the ageing citizens riddled with aches, young mothers with kids walking a couple of kilometres laden with mega grocery bags in 32 degree humid weather.  So this means the average citizen has also given up on basic comfort and time, because a tuk-tuk ride is now too costly.

My observations and impressions are of the majority. They are either the daily wage earners, or those positioned in the middle class social ladder. These are the types who are struggling to keep their heads above rising crisis riddled tidal waves. Flipping back to the pre-pandemic era, I never saw as many as entrepreneurs as there are now. Every single house down the lane I walk on, has displayed some essential food items or cooked food for sale. There is an obvious fact evident in here. That is extra income is most welcome. This is merely to keep up with the rising cost of goods and trim the ‘give up’ syndrome.

I used to read and watch quite a lot about economic recessions and bankruptcy happening in other countries. I always tried to fathom what failure truly meant. I looked at the TV screen that showed people carrying wads of currency notes just to buy a load of bread in Zimbabwe. I looked in disbelief at the TV screen that splattered images of unending fuel queues in Venezuela. I saw blown up frustration, anger and dejection in all the eyes of citizens protesting in a few countries where similar trends were forming.

I tried to understand how a person’s emergency fund would work in this degree of uncertainty. I could never fully grasp the depth of it, until it happened in the homeland I live in. The images that appeared on the TV screens of winding fuel queues, rising prices, the same over blown frustration, anger and dejection were reflected in countless protesting citizens.

The lessons this crisis has taught us are priceless. We continue to learn the real cost of failure, ignorance and mismanagement by both leaders and citizens. Each day has become a lesson on managing more with less along with holding or giving up.

a handful of rice

This island has been my home for most of my life.

Never have I seen anyone standing on the sidewalk of a busy street asking for a handful of rice. The only chants have always come from street side vendors to buy their goods, The pleas that came from beggars were always for money, never being specific for food.

But here was a living being weeping clutching on to the only few notes and a few coins in one palm, while the other hand is moving to wipe the flowing tears from a pair of very tired eyes.

An expression of utter misery, frustration at the inability to no longer be able to fend for his family was written across his face, He struggled to find the strength to express the fact that he cannot afford to buy a handful of rice and other food to take home to his kids. They called him to tell him they are very hungry because they have not had any food since the previous night.

I chose not to capture this individual from my camera lens through respect and also saw no purpose in marketing poverty or crisis ridden desperation,  when we too hte hopeless 20 million + civillians have all been struck with the same misery in different shades and shapes.

He was a very old frail looking man. His luminous coloured garb let me know that he was a street sweeper. As I passed him on the street, the only words through sobs were “madam please help me to buy some rice for my kids”. I went a few steps ahead but walked back wanting to take a look at the face from which the voice came from.

It is a rare sight to see a man weep continuously. I studied this living being closely. A  sun dried  stick thin old man with calloused limbs peeping out of his garb stood before me.

I am never the one to be carried away with these kind of frill and fancy tales, because we islanders know better how any crisis can market poverty with great rainbow tales. The golden rule is to always dig deeper for any red flags.

Digging deeper I found that this guy lived in Moronthuduwa (45.5 km from Colombo) and he worked as a street sweeper on the 120 route. He commutes by train daily as he cannot afford the bus fare of LKR 200 each way. Every day after he is done with work, he buys some food and gets home to his family. His pay wasn’t the best but it kept all of them going until the greatest economic disaster struck our beloved island.

The rise in essentials experienced in the ongoing crisis has makes it impossible for him to buy even the bare necessities to keep his family fed.  He acknowledges that it is extremely tough for everyone but said “I stand by the street hoping I will be able to collect some money to at least be able to buy a handful of rice, we could have it with a sliced onion”.

Is it ignorance, callous, short sighted full blown stupidity that dragged the “granary of the east” to this total collapse?

How does one fix this ?  where and when does it begin?

The A B C's apt for a crisis

No more it's gonna be  A for Apple cause apples are pricey with the recent import ban and increased taxes,  nor B for Bananas as recently the elephants in the wild have had a feast due to over supply and no consumers, C for carrots will not be seen anytime soon as our Credit rating has dipped to ground zero.

Have been hearing these words ever since the vibrations of a failing economy kept pounding us, could this be the book of A, B, C's we would need to have ?

A    Ammendment, Aragalaya, Antharay

B    Bus fare, Bread

C    Currency, Crisis, Collapse, Credit rating

D    Diesel, Dollars, Debt

E    Electricity, Economy, Eggs

F    Fertilizer, Food scarcity

G   Gas

H   Hartal, Healthcare

I    Imports, Inflation

J    Judiciary

K   Kerosene oil, Kaputa

L    Limit, Loans

M   Milk Powder, Maina, Mismanagement

N   No Deal Gama

O   Organic, Overspending

P    Petrol,  Power cuts, Printing, Protest

Q   Queue

R   Rice, Restructure, Reform, Riot

S   Sugar, Shortages, System, Sangamey

T   Tax, Tear gas, Trade Union, Turmeric

U   Uprising,

V   Violent

W  Wheat flour, Water cannons

X   Xenacious, X factor

Y   Youth

Z    Zero

Life in a bankrupt country

 Yes we finally collapsed, sank and now struggling to rise ! this is not going to be easy peasy. I mean wading through this tangled mess. every aspect of our lives have taken a heavy toll. We are emotionally drained just trying to figure things out and keep adopting to changing styles. Although being the resilient islanders we usually are, in this new battle, survival has become the sixer. This time its a "thoosra" and it has knocked us off in style. But we go on and that's us, as we have always done whenever a "googly" is sent our way.

No more can we focus on dreams, goals and aim for better days ahead,  We tossed all of it in the bin. We are busy racking our head, trying to figure out how we can top our motor cycles, tuks and cars with fuel, Going to the fuel station to top up fuel is a trip by itself, we would need to pack a snack, bottle of water and think of ways to kill a good 3-5  hours in a queue that simply grows in length. Sometimes move ahead after waiting all those hours, only to be told there is no more. Other times end up spending the entire night and leave the next day sometimes lucky and other times not. If then, we end up repeating the same cycle of going to the fuel station all over again.

Its the same with cooking gas, the queues keep extending in length. The blue cylinder and the brown islanders looks a long blur of blue and brown from a distant. We never know when the supplies will come by but we wait hoping that it will turn up any moment. 

With all of these we also go to work and get back home. No more can we sit back and unwind because we would have to make sure we have enough supplies. If we do not, after work, the queue for fuel waits for our arrival. Others go to a bar to chill and unwind after work. We go to the fuel queue to hope, wait and get our supplies. Supply of fuel that will take us to work, or maybe get us work and keep our families fed.

By now we are also quite used to living in the dark because of the daily 3-5 hour power cuts. Just like us, the power turbines do not have enough fuel to work, This means power cannot be generated and we can have power for only some hours of the day. During this time, we have to remember to do tasks and chores that require power. 

Our trips to do our grocery shopping is truly a nightmare. Prices of essential staples keep rising like flood waters every week. Its tough to budget and buy. At times goods like milk powder, some medication and other food items are not available or in short supply. At times some shelves remain bare making us wonder where did all the goods disappear ? :)

After juggling all this drama when we commute back home from work, there is always a protest or demonstration by college students which usually ends up in a massive clash between the police and the students after a teargas and water explosion. Roads are closed, barricaded and us wanting to get back home are stranded not being able to board a bus on the usual commuting roads. We then end up looking for other options to commute even if it means walking to the other end to reach the rail station or to the next town to simply be able to hop on a bus and head home. Such days we end up reaching home later than usual and such days are becoming very common. 

this is just the icing on the cake !!! 

Can you imagine what the cake tastes like ?