Finding coping mechanisms in a new and unfamiliar environment is always an interesting process. I remember fondly an old cassette tape of ‘I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue’ which was guaranteed to raise my mood on the way home however stressful the working day. I was reminded of the need for good transitions a few days ago when Mrs Reiver collapsed through the door declaring herself to be a Zombie, but at least a Zombie with positive mental attitude. There is probably a lurid 1950s film titled ‘I was a Zombie Love Slave’, but I don’t recall signing up for a role in the I decided that the only response to such a situation was to start spending more time out and about and compensate by picking op women. The ‘women’ in question were nutritious energy bars with additional calcium on sale at our local supermarket. These were judiciously deployed to maintain Mrs Reivers blood sugar on the car ride home.
She needs to stay particularly alert on the trip home as they have chosen to turn the road outside our current accommodation into an assault course with mounds of sand, gravel and rubble – the chaos of this being counterpointed by the quiet diligence of the construction work force (mostly women) who balance loads of cement on their head with apparently effortless grace. How these women cope with their unfamiliar environment (as most are from outside the local state of Karnataka) is a whole different level of challenge which even the comfort afforded by melifluous tones of the late great Humphrey Lyttleton would be insufficient to cover. Happily many NGOs are doing good work to address the issue (www.sampark.org) , at a somewhat more practical level than developing an Indian version of
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