My trip to India - Part 13

Sunday morning my hotel room rings around 9::am.  And I immediately recognize the voice.  It's Vinay (aka: Vinnie Barbarino, aka: Vin Diesel).  It's something familiar.  I'm not alone in this country!

Side note: I've given people nick names of sorts for a long time at  work.  I originally called Vinay "Vin Diesel" because Vinay is an awesome engineer.  He later became Vinnie after "Welcome back Kotter"'s Vinnie Barbarino (played by John Travolta).  To me he is just one good person.

Vinay indicates he hasn't been feeling well lately.  But his wife, cousin and he would be picking me up around 10:30am.  We chat a bit more and I tell him since he is ill, it is okay if we don't meet.  I ask him if he is  sure he wants to go through with this.  He says no problem.  No problem at all.

...

At 10:30 or there abouts, I get another call on the hotel phone and it's Vinay and company down stairs.  My India adventure is about to
begin.

...

Two familiar faces and one that will soon become familiar are waiting for me in the lobby.  Vinay introduces me to his wife's cousin Kashyap Ramadyani.  The lucky soul to be enlisted as my guide for the day.

So I can tour the city, Vinay has hired a driver for the day.  We pile in the car and head for his parent's home.  The home is an
incorporated area of Bangalore.  We talk about many things on the way:

• Highlights of my trip thus far
• The pace of improvements to the India - (slow for some, not fast enough for others)
• The numerous political groups in Bangalore
• The Bangalore government my be ousted soon
• The weather - rainy season, the heat during the summer
• Points of interest that we pass by:
• Parade grounds
• Agricultural school
• Military grounds
• Astronomy/Planetarium buildings 
• Colorfull heavy trucks driven by the Punjabi people of India

It's a good ride to his parents home.  My eyes and mind are overwhelmed.
...

My initial reactions to this place is one of some familiarity.  It reminds me of trips as a child with my family to Tijuana and Ensenada Mexico.  At that time in Mexico, the country was in it's early development stages.  There were wide ranges of wealth and poverty.  It can be overwhelming for some.  But my initial impression is one of this country is one of familiarity.

...

We travel through a small village, the road appears to be primarily packed dirt.  A few months ago, I read stories of the tremendous rains that came down on this part of the world.  The people in the outskirts must get real bogged down when it rains.

There is a dairy cow snacking on the side of the road.  With the tremendous growth to the city, the people who have cows to supplement their livelihoods allow them to roam freely.  It's not like there are hundreds roaming freely.  They are scattered throughout various areas of the area.  The cows are herded up in the evening.  Some cattle (with painted horns) are pulling carts.