What’s Hot In India…
What’s not in India? The weather, first of all. 120 degrees today! But otherwise, here are some of the interesting news items I found through scanning the hotels paper of choice, The Hindustan Times:
In The News
Government accepts new figure for poor: 372M Wow.
These roadside hovels area everywhere in India, very sad.
Just slightly more poor people than the entire population of the United States! Luckily, things are looking up in India since the internet pipes across the ocean opened up the country to international commerce. It’s exciting to see how much business there is here now, and the improvements in education. It will take a long time, but India is on the upswing.
Lost chance of redemption. There are 11 days, every 12 years, in which faithful Hindu’s believe that bathing in the Ganga river washes away their sins, or even guarantees them a place in heaven. Seeing that there’s 850,00,000 Hindu’s in India, and the perfect bathing spot is only 100M long, it can be a tough spot to take a dip in. Unfortunately, today is the 18th of April and the best day was the 14th. I arrived in India 4 days too late to take advantage. 12 years from now, I guess I better plan my trip better 
Heat Wave Strikes India! The hottest April in 52 years. Average temperature so far: 45.6 degrees celsius. Normally April averages about 43.7. If you don’t understand celsius, the correct translation to fahrenheit is simple: 45.6 degrees is way over 100, off the chart some where in the “freakin hot” category.
This last one isn’t exactly newspaper news, but it was news to me. In reference to the last point, I decided it would be wise to get some sunscreen. Earth to Dave- “sunscreen” doesn’t seem to have a Hindi translation. And if the clerk at the Chemist does happen to speak a little English, it’s difficult to explain the concept. There’s plenty of creams that promise to lighten skin, promising even one or two shades lighter with a single bottle. But if you happen to be a pasty white tourist, forget it.
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