With dimsums and noodles,at home in Haryana

“Eventually,these 10-odd people decided to take a two-storied house in the village on rent. They brought a Chinese cook and started living there since it was also close to the plant. Gradually,many more of their teams arrived and today there are close to 50 Chinese living here. Now they are building their own quarters close to the plant,” says Satyender Duhan,Sub Divisional Magistrate of Jhajjar.

The 50-member team seems to have taken a liking for their new ‘home’. Thirty-year-old Pan Xuan,who is from Shandong in China,is General Manager,Administration,and one of the few of them who can speak English. “We may have to be here for about three years. We could have stayed in Delhi but we are glad we decided against it. Living here has been a great experience—that is,if you ignore the rodents and cobras,” he smiles. “We eat their food,especially the sweets,and they love our noodles and dimsums.”

The villagers too are happy with their guests,who barter their Chinese rice with fresh fruits and vegetables. They have also taught the local boys basketball and football. “After work,there isn’t much to do here so we built a basketball court and the villagers play with us. We also play football. The villagers are excellent athletes and sturdy fellows; they often get the better of us,” says Zhan Lei,an engineer working on the site.

The language barrier has been gradually overcome. “We don’t know their language and they don’t know ours. So in the last three to four months,we have developed our own sign language,” says Ashok Kumar,the sarpanch of Khanpur Khurd,which has around 500 families. Kumar says the plant has helped villagers get jobs as construction workers and technicians.

This synergy has helped the project. Recently,when a road had to be widened for the plant,the contractor wanted a banyan tree,which was revered by the villagers,removed. Eventually,the visitors used their technical know-how to uproot the tree in a manner that it could be successfully transplanted on the other side of the road.

But there are times when they get on each other’s nerves. “Indians dance and sing on slightest pretext. During weddings,the music blares full volume and we have a difficult time. The days leading up to Diwali were irksome. The local villagers would gather every night and organise some play and the loud speaker would go on till late at night. It went on for 10 days,” says Xuan,referring to Ram Lila.

But these are merely quibbles,says Zhang Lui,a woman working on the project. “I like it here. Lack of amenities isn’t a big problem. We anyway work from eight in the morning to 10 at night. We have televisions,computers and telephones to stay in touch back home. We occasionally go to Delhi or to nearby towns to replenish our supplies. So it is working out well. We tried living in Delhi—it is chaotic and filthy. It is polluted like many of the towns in China and we have never seen a star-lit sky while we were there.”

The local administration says it is trying its best to make sure the guests have a comfortable stay. Deepinder Hooda,Member Parliament from the region,says,“The fact that these people are living here,away from their families,shows their commitment. They are working to make this village a power hub. Right opposite this power project,is another one being developed by NTPC.”