The day the power went off in Delhi and northern India, I was at home in Bangalore, a city that fortunately escaped the blackout. It brought back memories of my student days in Kolkata, a city then (in the 1980s) notorious for its power cuts. Eight or 10 hours without electricity were de rigueur. The fan would stop working at night: at 38C and 90 per cent humidity, this meant no sleep until the power came back. We would gather outside, talking in groups, varying our routine by walking to the highway that ran alongside our campus, where dhabas served tea (and stronger stuff) all night.
德里及印度北部停电的那天，我正在班加罗尔的家里，这座城市幸运地未受波及。这让我想起了我在加尔各答上学的日子，当时（上世纪80年代）加尔各答以频频停电而臭名远扬。每天停电8至10小时是家常便饭。晚上电扇会停转，而气温高达38摄氏度，空气湿度达90%，这意味着，来电之前根本没法睡觉。我们就聚在室外，扎堆儿聊天，或向校园旁的高速公路走去，而不是像通常一样在原地干等来电。高速公路边的Dhaba（印度公路旁边的餐馆——译者注）通宵供应茶水（以及一些更带劲儿的饮品）。