Tire Repair and Wedding "Tata"

The final blog about the Medical Screening Health Camp from last weekend……Note that this group conducts these screening health camps (in addition to day jobs, careers, etc) at various times, all over India, on a very frequent basis, so while this was my first camp, this team conducts these frequently. With India being the 2^nd most populated country in the world, this volunteering is simply a requirement and again, just one small slice of what is happening in rural villages every day.

Above are some final elephant safari pictures as well.

So…..Our group was in 3 or so different vehicles, and on the last morning, as I climbed into the front seat of our ambulance, I saw a spare tire being rolled into the back. I thought…”Oh, did we have a flat?”. It turned out that another vehicle did, and we would be taking this punctured tire to get it patched. I did not remember seeing a “Michelin store” along this isolated road (see pictures above of basic surroundings), so wondered what exactly was going to happen. On the way to the Camp that day, we simply stopped at a small shack where “guys patch tires”. As I have ridden through India since then, I have noticed so many more tire/or tire repair stores, that are obviously needed with all of the vehicles on the road. In India, a tire puncture is truly the least of your worries. Besides people, tires are one of the most common things you will find here, so there is a focus, and hence money-making venture in keeping tires in working condition!

On the way back to Bangalore Sunday night, our group planned to stop to eat at a restaurant. As we were riding, we kept noticing a great deal of wedding venues. Apparently this is “wedding season” in India, and Sundays are popular days for weddings. The group in the van began talking about how good wedding food is, and by the time we got to the 5^th wedding venue, we decided to just invite ourselves. Mind you, I HAD been invited to a friend’s wedding in North India, but it was the week I was in Goa, and so I could not attend, so I decided in my mind, this wedding was a justified alternative. It was actually the reception, and not the actual wedding, and so our timing was perfect. There was a HUGE number of people in attendance, (around 500) so we blended in…except me…blonde hair and so very non-Indian. However everyone was very friendly. After we ate, we made our way through the reception line, where I gave a generous gift of cash to the bride to justify our presence (and wish them well!). They took our pictures, so I will be forever memorialized in an Indian wedding in a pic beside the lovely bride! The “father”, referred to as the “Tata”, took a great interest in me and our group, and we were able to get personal pictures with him. A fun end to the weekend!