A little bit of backstory first: The hot water cylinder in our bathroom stopped working while we were in Australia, and Rod got it repaired in time for our return. For Rod is a good husband, and knows how important a bath is to me all of the time, and even more so when I've just got off a plane. Fast forward six weeks, and the hot water cylinder stops producing hot water again. Now as far as I'm concerned, this makes it not a very good hot water cylinder. So we went to the same repair shop in the local market and asked for a repairman to come and fix it again. It was late in the afternoon and the owner was not in, so the man behind the counter said he would come tomorrow morning.
The following afternoon, the shop owner and his repair guy came to our house. Unfortunately they had chosen to come while there was a colony wide power cut, so they could not test the electrics on our hot water cylinder. Why did they come when they knew the power was out? They want us to call them when the power is back on. When power was restored we called the number they had given us. The man said he would come in half an hour. At six o'clock, three and a half hours after the half hour, I get Raju to call to find out when the repair guy will arrive. I don't want anyone saying I don't understand... Raju calls, and tells me it is Tuesday and they are not working today. Now I knew it was Tuesday, and I know many shops shut here on a Tuesday, but it was Tuesday four hours earlier when they stood in my house in the dark because the power was out. But it's not Raju's fault, so I just have to accept that they will do as they say, which is come to my house to fix my hot water cylinder the following day at 10.30-11.
Wednesday morning comes, and while I have hopes that the hot water will work today, I have no expectation that someone will be in my house at 10.30 fixing it. But I need to go out around lunchtime, so I'm going to need the repair guy to have an un-Indian approach to time-keeping. At 10.45 I explain this to Raju, who goes around the corner to the shop to make sure they understand I need them working in my house in the morning. The shop isn’t open yet. So Raju calls the mobile number he has been given, and is told we are the repair guy’s first job of the day.
Repair guy and his toolbag carrying sidekick arrive at D59 at 11.45, and repair guy sets about checking the cylinder. He decides to disconnect the water supply to the cylinder. At least I think that’s what he does, for copious quantities of water pour out the side of the cylinder and all over my bathroom. Sidekick stands in the bathroom holding a screwdriver. Raju stands in my bathroom holding a bucket. Repair guy takes out the scorch marked heating element, and two rods, one of which has a melted hole in the side I’m sure the manufacturers hadn’t intended.
I may make this sound like a quick job, but in fact this takes 45 minutes. During the 45 minutes, water continues to drip out the side of the cylinder. Maybe repair guy hasn’t been as diligent in turning off the water to the cylinder as he should have been. But he leaves with the three broken pieces and a 1000 rupee advance, saying he will be back to fit new parts later that afternoon. With more forethought than the repair guy, I balance the bucket on the loo seat to attempt to catch some of the drips. Why bother at this stage you may think, considering how much water has already gone on the floor? But it feels like the right thing to do, and when I returned home after my errands I found the 22 litre bucket close to overflowing.
Repair guy returns at 4.30. He empties the now again half full bucket and attempts to fit new replacement parts. He’s finding this a little tricky, because there’s a stream of water coming from the hole he’s trying to plug with one of the rods. He can use a cloth to plug up the hole. That stops the water, but he can’t get the rod in with the cloth in the way. He can take the cloth away, but then the water stream comes back. Hmmm.
Eventually he manages to get the hole plugged with the rod and he can close up the side of the hot water cylinder. He tells me it works, and asks that I test it that evening, and he will be back tomorrow to check all is well. I tell him I will check it that evening, because I’ve been looking forward to having a bath where I haven’t had to carry the hot water in from the kitchen in my 22 litre bucket. Unfortunately, that evening I was not able to have a bath, as there was no water coming out of my bathroom taps at 8pm as the roof tanks had run dry. This is not uncommon, and it often does not last for long. It might not even have been connected to the water feature that was my bathroom earlier that day. But I checked again at 9pm, and then at 10 and 11 and midnight. When the water came back I do not know. But I’d lost the urge to bathe by then!
Repair guy returns at 4.30. He empties the now again half full bucket and attempts to fit new replacement parts. He’s finding this a little tricky, because there’s a stream of water coming from the hole he’s trying to plug with one of the rods. He can use a cloth to plug up the hole. That stops the water, but he can’t get the rod in with the cloth in the way. He can take the cloth away, but then the water stream comes back. Hmmm.
Eventually he manages to get the hole plugged with the rod and he can close up the side of the hot water cylinder. He tells me it works, and asks that I test it that evening, and he will be back tomorrow to check all is well. I tell him I will check it that evening, because I’ve been looking forward to having a bath where I haven’t had to carry the hot water in from the kitchen in my 22 litre bucket. Unfortunately, that evening I was not able to have a bath, as there was no water coming out of my bathroom taps at 8pm as the roof tanks had run dry. This is not uncommon, and it often does not last for long. It might not even have been connected to the water feature that was my bathroom earlier that day. But I checked again at 9pm, and then at 10 and 11 and midnight. When the water came back I do not know. But I’d lost the urge to bathe by then!
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