Time in India

Last night after getting my head shaved I ran into my friend staying at Om Karananda from Switerland. He also had his head shaved and similar experience from another barber and is taking Iyengar classes w/ me where we stay. We ordered some Indian sweets after using the internet at the Cyber Cafe, and were heading back. There is a 9:30pm curfew where we stay, so they lock the doors and you get locked out. Actually the man who runs it locks the door and goes to sleep, so you have to knock loud, wake him up as he says "Sir it is very late, you need to make curfew". There is no reason to be out late anyway here because Rishikesh shuts down at night unless you want to mingle and smoke hashish w/ the Babas. So we are walking toward the supsension bridge, but leisurelly. I look at my watch and it says 9:25, oh no we say and start running past the cows and beggars and shop keepers smiling and nodding their head side to side meaning yes, no, or maybe all the while. I ask my friend what time he has and he says 9:15. That is curious, so we ask an Indian walking with his son and he says is 9:10. It can't be, so we stop and ask someone else and he says it is 9pm. We both nearly fall down laughing at the craziness and take our time going back making the curfew barley as the night worker laughs as we walk in right at 9:30, such is time in Indian where patience is learned and the shop could open btwn 8 and 10am, or maybe 11am. The train could arrive early or two hours late, and you just have to sip a lassi or chai and go w/ the flow or go completly mad, just make sure to make curfew so you don't have to wake up the night worker.