Setting up home

Those of you who read Giridharmadras's blog are aware of his pinned post giving detailed information to newly arrived faculty at IISc.  Most of the instructions, especially the ones on this page, apply to most other institutes in India, the only difference being that if you are at a new institute, paper work is not as cumbersome.  Registrar's office, finance section, PRO's office etc are most likely located in the same building and the preparatory work gets done within a day or two.
In some ways, I had started the groundwork for my arrival long before I arrived.
During my interview visit, I requested to be shown the campus apartment that was likely to be alloted to me* in the event of my joining.  The PRO, a thorough gentleman, himself escorted me to my future apartment.  There were a few empty ones and I took my pick!
This, of course, is not possible always.  In most places, an arriving faculty member will be given temporary accommodation in the institute guest house  and will be moved to the first apartment that is available.  In fact, even at N1, which was going through a big hiring boom at that time, there weren't any available apartments by the time I joined in July**.
One often hears ex-NRIs complaining how difficult the first few days are and how one gets a rude culture shock upon returning to chaos and disorder.  I had almost started believing this cliched concept, when my very wise postdoc mentor (also from a developing country) asked me how one could possibly have more difficulty adjusting to a country where one grew up than to a country which was entirely new.
I found her point valid.  So, in the months between accepting the offer and landing there, I tried to just take things as they come and concentrate more on the positives.
As it turned out, my first few days were a breeze.  I arrived in N1 with a lot of enthusiasm and my super-excited father*** to replenish my enthusiasm levels in case they dipped.  On my first day, he accompanied me to the institute, and a lot of people assumed that I am a new student.  Lesson learnt! After that he stayed back at the guest house and supervised all the repair work of my apartment (a task that I was very happy to delegate to him), while I spent quality time at N1 doing what I wanted to do: meeting my new colleagues and figuring out how things work in my department.
For the next couple of days, we did all the shopping for setting up home.  The furniture stores in this part of the country are not exactly like Ikea - so my father's help was sought (and generously supplied) in talking and bargaining with carpenters.  It was almost two months before I got all my furniture- till then, the institute provided me the basic things like bed, table, chairs etc.
I did have a bit of trouble in getting a gas connection.  I submitted the application on my first day itself and to the credit of the gas agency, they were ready to supply me the cylinder within a week of the application.  Unfortunately, they also insisted that we buy a gas stove**** along with the cylinder, to which I objected, because I already had one.   There was a verbal duel and the person at the counter refused to release the cylinder ! Later, our PRO solved this problem through his own methods (though even he could not prevent them from selling me the extra gas stove).  My kitchen was ready to function on Day 10 of my arrival.
Around this time,  a lady approached me asking if I needed domestic help.  This was truly a luxury after a decade in North America.
She asked for a certain salary.  In contrast to prevailing policy, I offered her more than what she was asking and since then, we both have been very happy with each other.  Believe it or not, till date, she has only been absent for one day and that too after giving me advance notice!  I suspect that she is one of the main reasons why I am so happy at N1 :)
On Day 15, my father returned home.  After this, I got completely engrossed in institute activities.  I never really experienced the "culture shock" people talk about, except for some awkward but hilarious conversations with colleagues described in this post!
As I look back, the only troublesome experiences I had were all related to government agencies: the gas agency, the customs and port authorities described in my previous post and finally, the police, which has still not sent my police verification report to my institute!  But, what cannot be cured must be endured!!

My next post will be about meeting colleagues at N1 and forming new connections.




* In India, apartments are called quarters or flats. 
** These apartments have been renovated from older houses because we are still in our transit campus.  The real faculty quarters are under construction.  But, the first priority of the institute, of course, is to provide accommodation to its ever growing student community.
*** I make no apologies for the fact that since my return to India, I have changed from a rebellious youth into a  "daddy's little girl":)  The funny thing is that another female colleague, who joined soon after me also showed up with a relative.  Some colleagues later joked,"Hire one. Get one free"!
**** Gas cylinders are subsidized by the government.  So, the only way these agencies can make profit is by selling other accessories that come with it, including gas stoves, Ghee (clarified butter) to cook with and even hand wash!.  I was not aware that this is standard procedure!