Home at last

I survived another overnight train ride from Bhuba back to Koraput.  I was a bit apprehensive as a family with 2 very young children were sharing our section of the train but the kids were as good as gold and had a great time using the bunks and ladders as climbing frames and swings this morning.  We did a bit of a swap with the berths to make sure the kids grandmother had a lower bunk and the family was safe and comfortable and I actually got a reasonable night's sleep.

I arrived home after an exhilarating lift back from the station on the back of a motorbike, rucksack on my back and 2 bags with some supplies from Bhuba balanced on either side of me.  I'm sure D is a great motorcyclist but he seems to go very fast given the bumps and potholes and all the other road users.  Or maybe I'm just a coward. 

Back home I found the place overrun with builders.  There are 4 women doing all the heavy work, mixing up cement by hand, carrying cement and sand up and down the steps and putting it down for a couple of men to level out. 

There is now a wall around the roof and the roof is being properly graded so that any water that accumulates there drains down towards the front and a drainpipe that's being fitted there instead if just pouring over the edge all round the house.  All I have to do now is work out where to hang out the washing that I had to do on my return from Delhi - my line was on the roof to catch the sun and wind but not at the moment.

I'm told that the leak under the door onto the balcony will be stopped and that the faulty drainage in the shower will also be sorted out which is great news.  The shower should drain into a corner where there is a drainage hole covered with a screen with holes in.  I managed to ram the cement that had been blocking some of the holes out of the way with a piece of metal and a hammer but the slope on the floor takes most of the water in the opposite direction so showers have to be finished off with 5-10 minutes using a floor scraper to try to steer the water towards the drain.  But it's going to be fixed!  Although probably not tomorrow, I have learned that about India.