Beating the Heating - Adapting to India's Summer Swelter

Indojingai

he he ... so this becomes: beating the heating by ice-cream eating and then ****ing

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evilnyberg

entertaining read - thanx mckay.

nevertheless, the heat has its upsides...

like you said, anything below 40 (or hey, below anything below 42) feels surprisingly 'refreshing'. is there anything closer to heaven than a comparatively cool night after it's rained? (you know, when you actually want to use the sheet that normally lies twisted up in a heap at the foot of the bed?)

aside from that, i take pleasure in not having to pay royalties to bikram for doing yoga in the 45 degree heat.

a

mckay25

Ah, very good point! People do pay a lot of money back in Canada to exercise in heat just like this and all we have to do is turn off the fan.

Glad you liked the post.

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shashank.aggarwal

what !! and you mean to say people actually believe that..!!

well I am not a yoga expert but I am sure that Yoga came from Yogis and most of them prefered to live in Himalayas..and in himalayas I fear we do not have 45 C..

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mckay25

Yes, a chain of yoga studios called Bikram's promotes yoga in heated facilities of a minimum of 40 degrees. They cite a bunch of reasons for it. It is centred in the US, but is strong in Canada and expanded worldwide. I make no claims to its connection to hisotrical or modern yoga study here in India, but the answer is yes, people elsewhere pay a lot of money to practice/learn yoga in studios that are heated to temperatures we're getting. I'll leave you to decide if that is weird, weird-bad or just part of the continued evolution of yoga as new cultures continue to hone and adapt its ancient teachings.

safari vala

I love it in April in M.P. when the ceiling fan stops b/c of load shedding. Well I don't really love it but it is character building.

sannna

Seems this is a current topic again . We hit 40 today in Lucknow.. And this is only the beginning of it.

For me summer starts when I start liking chips (salted) again, when I start harassing the street fruit vendor whether he has some mangoes yet, and when I start enjoying getting up at 6 AM again.

wynwyn

I am baffled with what to expect in India!
Lots of advice from many that i should stay covered up (adhering to clothing norms)- but how is that even POSSIBLE in such humid/strong heat?!!
When its hot in Australia all one wants to do is take off your clothes! Will cotton really suffice with all the sweating and trying to stay cool?
I can imagine myself walking around with a huge backpack going "squish-squish" with sweat in my sandals and every few minutes shake like a wet puppy

capt_mahajan

When exactly is that?

Seriously, though, this is a East-West thing. Loose flowing cotton clothes vs minimum clothes in summer.

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sannna

Actually, with the strong sunrays it is sometimes nice to cover up. To protect you from the heat. Today I even went burqa style on my cycle, not just covering my head with a scarf to protect it from the sun, but my whole face too. And I have to say: it felt cooler somehow.

So yes, longsleeve cottons, they are a good idea to keep you somewhat cooler, I'd say.

Nick-H

I'd advise ditching the pack, and getting a case with wheels.

---preferably four wheels and an engine!

(or three, at least).

Otherwise, you're probably right. Get a good hat, with a high SPF fabric, and also carrying an umbrella can give you a little patch of shade.

The worst days of summer are the ones when you sit in a moving autorickshaw, and the wind in your face isn't refreshing, it's hot! Hmmm, probably from about next week on, here in Chennai

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wynwyn

[quote=Nick-H;478486]I'd advise ditching the pack, and getting a case with wheels.

---preferably four wheels and an engine!

Really?? I ended up purchasing a very expensive high gear backpack as a friend suggested its impossible to travel over 2 months with a trolley like case- imagine chasing and hopping on trains with them!

Will practise shaking off water like a dog with tongue out panting in the meantime

wynwyn

Quote: When exactly is that?

Seriously, though, this is a East-West thing. Loose flowing cotton clothes vs minimum clothes in summer.

LOL Yes, we westerners love every opportunity to get a good dose of sun tanning. I had a Swedish friend visit this summer, and i almost had a car accident coming home to see her mowing my lawn in her bikini wearing gumboots!

mckay25

Don't worry about being baffled, but there aren't any amazing answers! Yes, you have to cover up. Yes, you'll sweat, but you'll sweat no matter what, so it is kind of a constant. Yes, you'll probably be going "squish" in your sandals at some point. Can't do much about that I'm afraid. By light flip-flops when you get here.

Loose-fitting, breathable (choose hand-woven as it breathes far better) cotton and light head-scarves do in fact keep you cool from direct sun (and from sunburn).

If you're visit the humid south (like Chennai), all bets of keeping cool are off.

Backpacks will indeed sweat your back, but don't listen to the advice above: wheeled luggage is not a useful option for moving around, being mobile, travelling trains, buses, auto-rickshaws or moving more than 10 steps from a taxi to an 5-star hotel lobby. And it is 5x heavier whenever you do have to lift it. But ideally you can not lug your backpack around all the time. Switch to a side-bag or something light (and not always sticking the same body-part) sightseeing during the day and you should be fine. But the plus side of packing is that being summer, you can go super light with clothing and packing. Use the heat as an excuse to bring as little as you can!

And remember, everyone suffers in the summer, locals and foreigners alike! You'll deal, I'm sure! :-)

Cheers,
McKay

Nick-H

Wheeled luggage is fine on railway stations, trains, airports, and, it can do the trip from a guesthouse to car just as well as it can from a five-star (especially when its the driver moving it)! It's a pain on steps and uneven ground, you wouldn't want to be trucking it around all day, but would you want to be wearing a backpack all day?

Yes, there is a weight overhead, which I always resent when I weigh my stuff (I never travel light) for the airline, making it necessary to minimise this by buying the cheapest or most expensive. I buy the cheapest, of course. In the end, it transmits most of its weight to the ground, rather than your back and legs, and that is one huge advantage.

But then I guess back-packing is an exercise one gets accustomed to, and probably helps keep you fit . God, the idea of putting 23 kilos on my back! I'd be rolling around on the ground with my legs in the air, and you guys would be laughing!

It's on of those things , like riding a motorbike, that I have never been comfortable with, and never will be, but I guess it is the healthiest way of carrying weight.