India Impressions #3

The boy who runs the cafe two doors up is Mohammad Quinni, Quinni is what he is called. Quinni visits us after work to play cards and practice his English. He has very little English words and we are all amazed at how much we can communicate anyhow, even though it can be a little frustrating at times. He has taught us how to play a very intricate version of Gin Rummy with hardly any language. Cards and whiskey are both national pass times in India in their own right. So as we sit  and struggle with the language and cards, Pat and I indulge in the latter as Quinni sips on water, he doesn't drink. But judging from his manner and his eye's,  I feel he may indulge in other pleasures.
On Sunday a little boy drowned in the surf at 6 in the evening on Cherai Beach just across from our pad. It doesn't surprise me. The water was crowded with many (mainly men) of which who didn't look completely confident. Many people visit here from the North and it is, in most cases the first time they have even seen a beach. The atmosphere was very festive with children flying kites (another popular pass time). There were men pushing trolleys selling chai wandering up and down the beach. Honeymoon couples shyly walked hand in hand,  taking photos of each other with the setting sun in the background. Families romped in the surf, the women furnished in their full saris. A sad ending to the day, knowing that a little life drifted off in amongst all those joyful faces, unnoticed.

Rajasthan
While the dogs rule the streets of Delhi, many other stray animals appear as we travel deeper into Rajasthan. Cow and pigs also now dominate the surrounds of the villages and towns. The cows love hanging around on the road. Sometimes on herds of five to ten. They give you that stupid cow look when the horn is blasted at them to move on. The cows were made Gods thousands of years ago, apparently to avoid them becoming extinct. Now they behave like Gods. I wonder if they know how much they are loved and revered by the people? I think so. In Pushkar we came across a sick cow. It had decided to plonk itself in front of the gate of a house. The woman was beside herself. Nobody could move it and it couldn't get up. She lit a fire to keep it warm and gave it food and sat there patting it and praying for hours. Finally the stray cow rescue team came. They couldn't do anything with it as it's horns were painted which meant it wasn't a stray but was owned by someone. Pat told them he thought she might be having a calf. They considered this and thought he might be right. Anyway the cow was gone in the morning so they must have decided to take her anyway.
More on the strays later.