Kothagudem to Warangal

On Friday, we drove from Kothagudem to Warangal, the site of the Rotary District Conference. 

My morning shower: a bucket bath.

The housing complex where my host lives.

The day started with tea at my host family’s house followed by a quick bucket bath and then a mad dash of packing.  The initial plan was for the team to gather at the house of Dr. Rao IPDG (Immediate Past District Governor) at 8:30am for breakfast. 

Of course, that’s 8:30 IST (Indian Standard Time, also known as Indian Stretch Time), and we didn’t arrive until 9:30.  For a schedule-obsessed American who consults his planner constantly, IST was initially a bit challenging, but I am gradually starting to adapt.  [Note to Mom and Dad: if you think I'm late to family events now, just wait until I return from India!]

Finishing breakfast. L to R: Dr. Rao (IPDG), Abraham, Noemi

Breakfast included idly (a spongy disc made of rice), vada (an orange-ish donut made of ground pulses), and sambar (soup-like broth with veggies).  All very traditional, and all so tasty!  It will be difficult to resume my morning routine of corn flakes and orange juice when I return to the States.

After saying our good-byes, we all piled into a Land Rover-like vehicle with Abraham, our guide.  There were three in the front seat (the driver, Jim, and Becky), three in the middle seat (Abraham, Noemi, and me), and poor Angela got tossed in the back with the luggage.  

Abraham's college.

Less than ten kilometers into our journey, we stopped to see Abraham’s college (he’s a history instructor).  We did our typical dash-shoot-depart routine where we’d poke our heads into a classroom, shake hands, say a few words, smile for the camera, and then depart. 

Next stop: the school where Abraham’s wife teaches.  This is for younger students (up to 10th standard), and there were lots of small children.  We were treated like rock stars by the kids.  More smiling, more pictures, more good-byes.

Children at the school where Abraham's wife teaches.

Continuing on our journey, we forked off of the main highway onto a narrow bumpy dirt road.  After a couple of bone-jarring kilometers, we arrived at a small village where Rotary is distributing plates and cups to school children.  In India, the government pays for lunch at public schools, but it doesn’t provide the dishes.  So Rotary is filling the gap.  The welcome we received was amazing.  School kids lined our path, clapping and screaming, and all of them were so eager to shake our hands.

Hearty welcome at a rural village.

Becky distributing plates and cups to school children.

Jim at a large water purification plant sponsored by Rotary.

The next stop was a water purification plant, another Rotary service project.  Every Indian tourist guidebook warns travelers to be careful about the water, and we’re certainly buying lots of bottled water on this trip.  That’s not an option for most Indians, however, and obtaining safe drinking water is a challenge here.  So water projects are big for Rotary.  We were given a brief tour of the plant and posed for more pictures before boarding our vehicle.

Sitting with students in a classroom.

Then we drove to the nearby Montessori High School.  Upon arrival, we were ushered into the office for a chat with the director, a local Rotarian.  When we walked outside we were amazed to find the entire school body (1400 students) assembled, eagerly waiting for us to climb onto the stage.  Noemi, as the educator in our group, was the special guest.  They asked her to give a speech to the students, and then they quizzed her with questions.

Finally we stopped at a reception hall for lunch.  But first there was a Greenwoods-Yellandu Rotary Club meeting complete with introductions, gifting, and a flag exchange.   

After eating, we boarded our vehicle and headed to a nearby coal mine.  The senior manager is a Rotarian, and he gave us a tour.  This particular mine produces roughly one million metric tons (MT) annually.  For some perspective, total production in India is 450 MT.  From our vantage point, the 15 MT dump trucks looked like toys.  The scale is amazing.

Open-cast (surface) coal mine.

At this point we were running out of daylight, and it was time to drive, drive, drive.  Traffic in India during the day is a little unsettling for Westerners like us, but it is downright nerve-racking at night.  We had a close call with a bus that swerved in front of us and tilted precariously, but the real scare came when a large truck missed us by inches.  Oy vey. 

Thankfully we arrived in Warangal at about 7:30pm.  We were greeted by the District Governor, Dr. Sarat Babu.  We checked into the hotel, unpacked, changed clothes, and then headed over to the opening reception.  The event lasted a few hours, and we schmoozed with lots of Rotary big-wigs.  The day ended about midnight.

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