BARBERS - As we turned into Sohna coming from our hotel to the farm, we noticed barbers on the side of the road. They had a simple wooden chair and a mirror hung from the fence. Here men were getting haircuts and shaves.
IRONING - We also noticed the very old fashioned heavy irons and wooden tables where men were ironing and folding shirts while customers waited. The shiny white shirts glistened in the late evening light. As the shirts were moved to new positions, you could easily see what a great job was being done.
THE DRIVING EXPERIENCE - You really need to experience driving in India. They drive on the left and there are really just three things you need to negotiate traffic - Good Horn, Good Brakes and Good Luck. The number of times we heard people at the front of the van shout "Whoa!!" cannot be counted. Vehicles pass one another with wreckless abandon - yet we never saw a single accident during our time in India. Vehicle coming slow down; vehicle passing speed up; motorcycles and bicycles are driven off the road. It is definitely someone everyone should experience. I suspect patience here at home will be much improved after seeing the way it is in India.
TRAFFIC JAM - After passing through Sohna and to get to the farm, we drive up a long winding road to the top of the hill overlooking Sohna. The population of this town is approximately 80,000 souls. Part way up, we encounter a huge traffice jam. A large truck was transporting steel beam and was really too wide to get down the hill easily. Folks were getting annoyed and traffic was one big huge snarl.
A little beyond the truck, two other transport trucks were broken down.
The army arrived and gradually moved vehicles out of the way to allow a reasonably slow flow of vehicles up and down.
7:50 pm - We arrived at the farm to much cheering from those of us on the bus. It took us 2 hours and 20 minutes to drive what was normally a 25 minute ride.
DANCE - Sanjiv had a new tent enclosure attached to his weekend home. Roses lined the edge of the patio and a pattern of flowers graced the centre.
His daughter, Pallivi, is a professional dance who has performed all over the world. She was in the USA for a fundraiser to help build new home for those affected by the sunnami. She performed three dances but explained each one before performing so we would understand the movements. She also noted how pleased she was to perform for Rotarians willing to come so far at their own expense to help - she encouraged us to keep up the good work.
Pallivi's dress was beautiful and adorned with items and flows that had significant meaning. It was most entertaining to see these beautiful Indian dances.
11:15 pm - We then had supper and boarded the buses for the ride back to the hotel. There was still a long line of vehicles on the hill from the earlier traffic jam. The drivers pulled into the passing lane and flew past hundred of lorries. We were blocked at one point but that did not last long.
12:00 - arrived at the hotel and right off to bed.
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