City's suburbs give load shedding tips to the capital

'Get used to it!'
"Since I have born I have seen load shedding in our area (Ambernath). I don't know why people in Delhi are making such a fuss about this. I think they should get used to it. Join the bandwagon."

Tips:
> Get inverters installed
> Finish your daily chores early in the morning
> Give up luxuries like AC and the geyser
> Make sure you iron your clothes the night before or you will get late for work.
Divya Santosh (20), final year engineering student, resident of Ambernath

'Come, see how we live'
"I have been living in Badlapur for 25 years. Load shedding has been happening for the past five-six years. It occurs twice in a day, in the morning and afternoon, for a total of six hours. Earlier, we used to keep inverters in the cyber cafu00e9. Now we have added a generator for back-up. It's a huge investment but there is no option. I guess Delhi people need to come here and stay with us to understand how we live without power for hours."

Tips:
> If you're running a business, install inverters and generators to keep losses to a minimum. Or else have fixed timings to run the business.
Rahul Thorat (24), proprietor of Cyber Cafe Dream I-way, Badlapur

'Minimalism helps'
"I used to work from home, so electricity was a must for me. I have installed an inverter at home and use it carefully. We keep the lights on only in one room to minimise the use of electricity. As we began to get used to the load shedding schedule, the housework started to get done early."

Tips:
> Iron your cloths before the load shedding.
> Grind the masalas needed for meals a day before and preserve it in a refrigerator.
> Wash clothes in the washing machine before load shedding.
Smita Deodhar (42), housewife and freelancer, Thane