Contrary to popular belief, hot water is readily available everywhere. However, due to the highly educated workforce of Bangalore, the shower has been made complex far behind what a recent college graduates can handle. It’s been more than a week, and I’ve finally gotten the hang of how things work.
Most countries I’ve been to are not as extravagant with hot water systems compared to where I live in the United States. In normal everyday apartments in Bangalore (I am not referring to the mansions and 5-star hotels), an individual heating element usually resides in every shower. This will probably change, or has already changed in newly built dwellings. But if you happen to run across the one I use every day, here is a short primer. Your results may vary.
This is the water that leads into the heating element. The heating element needs to be turned on (usually a switch on the wall). Some people leave it on all the time. That’s wasteful, and that’s me. Knobs Z and Y usually can be left on all the time. Knobs Z and Y are the main water supplies, with one going to the water heater, and the other going to the cold water regulator. Prior to taking a shower, turn on the heating element if not already on for at least 15 minutes to get the water hot.
Knob A controls the hot water from the water heater. Knob C is the regular water without temperature control. Lever B when pulled to the left causes the water to emit from the faucet, while if pulled to the right, causes the water to emit from the shower head.
The normal standards of operation is to turn the lever to the right and then to turn the how faucet as far as it can go. It will emit cold water for approx 20 seconds, progressivly becoming hotter and hotter until almost boiling. Resist the temptation to turn knob C at this time.
Wait abou 3-4 minutes while the bathroom becomes filled with heat. Brush your teeth. Take off your clothes, brush your teeth again, scratch your genitals, etc.
After about 5 minutes, turn knob C on half a rotation or whichever you wish to experiment with first. The shower has odds much much like the blackjack table at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas. The water will not get much colder at first. Just be patient, as operating the shower is a finess procedure.
Wait 1 minute. The water will become freezing cold. Suddenly. Ask me not how freezing cold water can come from a country known for its heat, but the water will be very cold.
Turn knob C about 1/2 back to the off position. The water will become luke warm or scalding, depending on how the Gods favor you today. Repeat pulling kbob C in whichever directions. This is when you will realize that the shower follows no rhyme or reason. Thankfully, this exercise will enlighten the soul and keep the brain sharp and get you really rinsed and ready to receive either hot or luke-warm water for the 5 or so minutes that the warmness will be consistant. When you hit upon this moment, realize that the window of opportunity is also random and subject to no rules.
This shower will never be understood by rational, delibritate analysis and is not be subject to normal laws of physics. To even jump in the shower requires a rather Kierkegaardian leap of faith. Thinking myself a clever man, I marked a spot on the knob with some tooth paste so I could hit the exact spot where it remains warm. And warm it was for a precious half a minute. Then without warning, a powerful eruption of burning enveloped my entire body, not unlike Tom Cruise enveloping Oprah, followed by an icy cold feeling on my genital area (I had scampered forward and turned around in a haphazard fashion to turn knob C).
May the fortunes smile happily upon you.
[...] post is more from the angle of an expat living in Bangalore. He also has a step-by-step guide on how to operate the geyser in his [...]