4th of July, Indian style

While it wasn't a traditional Independence Day celebration, it was still a great day nonetheless.  Originally our plan was to go to the store, try and find whatever "American" type food we could and make a 4th of July feast while sitting out on the terrace.  However, when we came downstairs in the morning Subrat and Mrs. Singhdeo surprised us with a trip to Puri, which is a beautiful sea-side city right on the Bay of Bengal and roughly 50 km. from Bhubaneswar.

After Katrina, Ben and I went to this huge department store called Big Bazaar to get clothes for the wedding we are supposed to attend today and had some lunch at a Chinese restaurant (very American I know...), we departed for Puri.  The road from Bhubaneswar to Puri has to have some of the most beautiful greenery in all of Orissa.  The sides of this road are decorated with rice paddies, palm and banyan trees, cows, farms, and even little watering holes where villagers bathe and wash their clothes.  

 On the way to Puri

 One of the watering holes/ponds

Evidently it is tradition for Subrat whenever he makes this trip stop at one of the roadside coconut vendors for a water break.  These men on the side of the road climb up the trees and bring down hundreds of coconuts which they sell.  First they cut off just the top with a machete and give you straw to drink the water.  After you finish they cut the coconut in two and dig out the meat of the plant to eat, a refreshing treat on such a hot day.  People also collect the fibers of some of the coconuts to stuff in mattresses or make brooms out of.

Katrina, Ben and I with the coconut vendor.

Bushels of coconuts

It was such a nice break from the city once we reached Puri.  The beach was packed with people and we found a really nice spot on the beach  and Subrat and Mrs. Singhdeo got us some peanuts, coffee and this really good mixture or puffed rice, peanuts, corn and masala from these guys that just walk up and down the beach.

 People swimming on the beach, notice what the women are wearing

Children riding the camels, you can also get rides on horses.

We watched the sun set and then the Singhdeos took us to the Puri Club where Subrat is a life member.  I would equate to something like a country club, there were tennis courts and a beautiful club house.  People in India tend to eat dinner around 10 at night so when we arrived at 7:15 we were literally the only people there besides the security guard and attendants.  We had a wonderful meal of pakora, American sauteed corn, a chicken roll, and of course a beer to toast the 4th.  It was the perfect end to a great day.

 Mrs. Singhdeo at the club

There is something really interesting going on throughout India as well.  The party in power opted to take away the petrol subsidy so there is a nation-wide strike led by the opposition party and people are not even supposed to drive their cars.  Last night some government workers decided to work through the night so that they would not miss any work and as a result when they were leaving the office they had clashes with mobs and several people were taken to the hospital.  As such the strike today does not seem that bad but typically strikers barricade the road with tires and trees and sometimes will even throw rocks at the cars.  On our way to work today we had to stick to the back roads and the front gates of the office are locked shut as well as the front door.  We are supposed to go to the wedding feast tonight but will not be able to leave until 5:30 once the strike is officially over.