After a morning meeting with Saugata Bhattacharya, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist at Axis Bank (India's third largest private sector bank) that covered everything from current account deficits to land reform, we boarded Zubin's Royal Fleet, this time bound for Kasar Malai, a remote village outside of Mumbai. It was our first experience with roadways outside the city center. Unfortunately, we cannot report that the pavement gets any smoother or the traffic any less insane upon leaving downtown Mumbai.
The cityscape slowly gave way to steadily more rural towns and villages as we drove further. We paused for lunch at the Indian equivalent of a rest stop (it turns out that dosas — a sort of fermented crepe and Indian staple containing rice batter and black lentils — are quite filling!) before continuing what had become a one lane "highway." The bus whizzed down this road with nearly reckless abandon. Unlike in America, there are no sections of the road on which passing slow-moving cars is illegal, and even if there were, we doubt Indian drivers would pay any heed. Narrowly missing both enormous potholes and other vehicles, we wound our way into the small, lush mountains that line the subcontinent's southwestern coast.
Upon reaching the Swades' regional office, we were briefed on the foundation's work in fostering sustainable agricultural practices, managing water supplies and promoting preventative healthcare in this seemingly forgotten corner of India. The managers in charge of each of these projects were more than eager to share the principles and progress related to each operation. We then re-boarded the bus and proceeded another 25 km to Kasar Malai itself.
In the village, the entire community gathered to welcome us at our arrival. Taking care to remove our shoes, we entered their community hall, where we were greeted with much pomp and circumstance and presented with flowers. The villagers were incredibly genuine and friendly — the household that had agreed to host us had a full and traditional Indian dinner consisting of rice, dhal, chapati and aloo gobi. We had no idea what to expect in terms of sleeping arrangements but were pleasantly surprised to find that we would not only be sleeping on mattresses, but would also be in a room with a tiled floor and a working ceiling fan! Tuckered out from a long bus ride and apprehension about our village stay, we were all in bed by 9:30pm.
The cityscape slowly gave way to steadily more rural towns and villages as we drove further. We paused for lunch at the Indian equivalent of a rest stop (it turns out that dosas — a sort of fermented crepe and Indian staple containing rice batter and black lentils — are quite filling!) before continuing what had become a one lane "highway." The bus whizzed down this road with nearly reckless abandon. Unlike in America, there are no sections of the road on which passing slow-moving cars is illegal, and even if there were, we doubt Indian drivers would pay any heed. Narrowly missing both enormous potholes and other vehicles, we wound our way into the small, lush mountains that line the subcontinent's southwestern coast.
Upon reaching the Swades' regional office, we were briefed on the foundation's work in fostering sustainable agricultural practices, managing water supplies and promoting preventative healthcare in this seemingly forgotten corner of India. The managers in charge of each of these projects were more than eager to share the principles and progress related to each operation. We then re-boarded the bus and proceeded another 25 km to Kasar Malai itself.
In the village, the entire community gathered to welcome us at our arrival. Taking care to remove our shoes, we entered their community hall, where we were greeted with much pomp and circumstance and presented with flowers. The villagers were incredibly genuine and friendly — the household that had agreed to host us had a full and traditional Indian dinner consisting of rice, dhal, chapati and aloo gobi. We had no idea what to expect in terms of sleeping arrangements but were pleasantly surprised to find that we would not only be sleeping on mattresses, but would also be in a room with a tiled floor and a working ceiling fan! Tuckered out from a long bus ride and apprehension about our village stay, we were all in bed by 9:30pm.
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