First a couple of points regarding the last email. The Hyundai car model I mentioned in a Santro - ls, not a Santrol. On the way to work this morning there was a good example of how tightly the traffic gets packed together when waiting for a light or anything. There was a bus in front of the auto rikshaw I was in and a man behind us who wanted to get on the bus. In order to get by the man had to squeeze between my auto rikshaw and the next one over, and when he did, the light weight auto rikshaw I was in tipped ever so slightly as he squeezed through.
Now to last evening ...
Last evening was one of the nicest I've had since arriving in Bangalore. I left work about 8:00 p.m., planning to go back to the hotel and have grilled chicken in the Potluck Cafe there. After eating in the Chung Wah Chinese restaurant Monday and Tuesday nights, and then having an Indian Domino's pizza Wednesday night, I was ready for something a little more edible, if somewhat boring.
It happened that Maneesh, who had spend 8 months in Dallas in my Factory Planner group but lives in Bangalore, had stayed late and happened to be leaving at the same time as I was and we rode down in the elevator together. He asked what I was doing for dinner, and I mentioned the hotel restaurant and all. He asked if I'd like to come home with him and have dinner. Of course I didn't hesitate at such an invitation.
Maneesh rides a motorcycle to work. We went down to the garage level of the building where his motorcycle was parked. The air was just thick with exhaust. You could see it in the air as well as smell it. We got on the motorcycle and rode maybe 15 minutes to his apartment, which was not too long ago housing for the India National Games, when Bangalore hosted them. The games are sort of like the Olympics but different parts of India compete.
Maneesh has a nice apartment in a very nice quiet part of Bangalore. I met his wife, whose name is not complicated, but he said I could call her Jo, so I did. Maneesh said that most evenings he gets home first and gets dinner started, but this evening he was late and Jo did the cooking while Maneesh and I talked.
It wasn't long before dinner was ready. There was the traditional flat, somewhat tortilla-like bread. There was a soup, and there were other dishes and I don't now what they were. Maneesh had asked Jo to go lightly on the spices, and she did. Nothing was even close to the level of spice that causes pain. It was one of the best, if not the best, meal I've had since I came. Jo is a good cook, without doubt. Maneesh said they usually eat the rice at the end of the meal, and at the end I had a little rice because I didn't want to miss anything, but by that point I was really full so I didn't eat too much. Then we had some chocolate for dessert. All I can say is yum. It was good.
Then we sat and talked for a while. It was a very enjoyable evening. Then I noticed that it was 11:00 already! That's really late for me. So Maneesh and Jo walked me to a main road where I could catch an auto rikshaw. Maneesh talked to the driver, making sure he knew where I wanted to go and discussing the fare. Many of the auto rikshaw drivers either don't speak too much English or they just have a bad time with my accent. Anyway, the destination and the charge, 1.5 times the meter because of the late hour, were all settled and off I went. It was a long ride, or it seemed so since it was unfamiliar territory. But the streets were nearly empty and before long I was at the hotel, and not long after that I was asleep.
It was such a nice evening, I just thought I'd share it with y'all. (Hmmm, maybe that's my problem. I've been living in Texas too long to be understood in India.)
Garr