Chapter 2: Plant response to elevated CO2 - DRUM - University of ...

ROOMATES
Three Indian girls decorate their home. One Indian girl decorates her
room with the essentials: a desk, a chair, a borrowed mattress, a Shahrukh Khan
poster. The other Indian girl decorates her room with a used bed frame and
handloom bedspreads, a worn out teddy and blocks of perfumed candles which
are never lit. I decorate mine with a bookshelf and an Ikea futon an Ikea desk and
chair, a dhurrie, and sandalwood flowers bought from a family trip to Bangalore.
When the January winds huff and puff and rattle the windows the three girls are
warm and cozy eating dinner in front of the TV.
Madhu is from Madduland — the land of Idli and sambar rice. Madhu
doesnʹt ever eat out, shops only during 50% off sales, doesnʹt buy a down jacket
— makes do with three layers of clothing, cuts coupons, remembers to post mailin‐rebates,
calls her parents only from calling cards, hurried how are yous and
take cares, the rest of the conversation carried online on yahoo chat with handsfree
voice conversation feature on. Madhu and her family have mastered the art
of voice conferencing: pausing, listening, speaking but in turn Madhu has to
raise her voice, so Iʹm sure even our neighbors upstairs can hear us but are nice
enough not to come knocking at our doors, are resigned to give us only tiny
smiles and quick nods when we meet them, ocassionally, near the mailboxes.
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