Powerless

As the cauliflower absorbed the deadly rays of the microwave, I heard that all-too-familiar whine of electrical appliances dying.  So what else to do?  I ate my cauliflower in the dark.  It still had a touch of a chill to it, but hey - think of all the starving children across the street.  So I ate, and waited for the power to come back.  After all, this is Banjara Hills, home to government ministers and Tollywood stars.  The power doesn't stay out for long around here.  Fifteen minutes later, I was starting to get impatient.  Then I noticed something curious: the neighbors' lights were on.  It was then that I realized that I had no idea where the fuse box was, and no working flashlight to search for one.  So I found one of the drivers downstairs who had a flashlight, found the fuse box, opened it, and lo! the power returned, with nary a touch to the fuses.  I have no idea what I did, and probably I did nothing.  But the lights were back, and that's all that matters.  

But a word about those starving kids.  Honestly, from what I've heard, people don't really starve to death around here.  Some eat better than others, and some have to live on very poor diets.  But actual death by hunger is rare.  So that's something.  Then there's the matter of the full-time nanny with three kids who we pay 7,000 rupees (about $140) per month for full time work.  Not great money, but it's certainly enough to get by on around here.  The moral issue with her is this: her 15 year old daughter is no longer in school.  Why?  Because her (the nanny's) one year old son needs child care.  So by employing the mother, we're effectively depriving the daughter of an education.  There are a few caveats.  First, the mother can't even read, so the daughter's eighth grade education is a big step up in the family.  Second, it's not like we're forcing her to take the job.  But those are excuses.  Really the whole situation just stinks.  So we'll see how much energy we're really able to devote to the issue, but we've had two ideas.  First, we could teach the nanny to read.  It's getting to be time for William to learn, so they could pick it up together.  Second, we could pay for a tutor for the fifteen year old.  Honestly, I think the former is more likely than the latter.  But we'll see.  She's been working for Western families for more than five years, and I'm sure we're not the first to have this idea.