Meet the Family!

After getting to know my driver Prakash for the last three weeks, he invites me to meet his family in the outskirts. He lived in a village near the Iskcon Temple in the NW part of Bangalore. I had just bought Kylie and thought it would be a nice gesture to meet his family. So after we got Kylie Prakash took me to his home. It took about 30 minutes to get there from central Bangalore. He lived in a very narrow street of about 30 homes where more than 60 families lived. There were dogs, goats, children, and adults, roaming the street. Each person we passed peeked into the car curiously. The street fit the car but another one would have caused issues.

We got to his house and he opened the door to a 12x12 room that contains a TV a small bed and a hindu altar - next to it was the bedroom and kitchen. His house was very small for the amount of people that lived there. His parents were sitting on the floor making paper incense holders for the Pooja (meaning prayer) and to sell to people. When they see us they quickly put their work away. Prakash proudly tells me that this is his mom's own business. The people will come to their place to make the purchase. She doesn't go door to door selling the items. The family didn't know that I was coming and Prakash was scolded for not calling them before. I meet his parents, his beautiful wife, two little girls, and Julie the Pomeranian, and two baby goats and the mommy goat. Sorry I cannot remember their names - I am seriously a tough time remembering names here...they are not the normal names I am accustomed to.

Since we just got Kylie, Prakash offers to give her a bath. So he asks his mom to bathe the puppy. Prakash leaves then comes back with shampoo....its not a bottle of shampoo but one of the sample sized ones. I say to myself "doh", how can I let them use that for a puppy? I made a mental note to replace that shampoo. So I watch Kylie getting her first bath...she is yelping at the top of her lungs. But when it is done Kylie is clean and beautiful.

I take a look around in the back yard, it is a good size. There is an Indian toilet outhouse and a clothes washing basin. The goat and her family also lives back here. Back inside, they offer me some food. I washed my hands properly and then was given a very huge plate of rice and dahl. The quantity of rice was enough to feed 3 more people...at least according to me. I became worried because I knew I could not finish it all. And all I kept thinking about was the scene in the Temple of Doom where Indiana Jones, the Kid, and Willie find themselves in India and they were being offered some food by the village women. Willie wouldn't take the food and Indiana says..."Eat it. This is more food than what some people eat in a week..."

So then I tried my best to eat up everything on the plate. They brought out more food, spicy, egg omellotte, and more dahl. My stomach was about to burst and then Prakash only finished half of his plate then he gave it to his wife. That was my chance to hand my plate to her also! After lunch, they served me some hot Chai tea, which was absolutely delicious. Chai is definitely my favorite tea here.

After lunch, the grandmother was smiling and staring at me. Then she started to say something in Kannada. Prakash said that his mother wanted me to try on a Saree and take pictures. She wanted a picture for herself. So I said I would love to try on a Saree. So the grandmother smiled happily and took me to the other room to change. The wife and mother then brought out their collection of Sarees. They were so colorful and elegant. I chose a dark red colored one. So they wrapped me up in the Saree, put a bindi and kum kum powder on my forehead and took pictures. Prakash told me that his mother said I looked like a doll and I am nice to look at. I thought that was funny. I am happy to be his grandmother's doll for the day. She also asked me if I can take one of her granddaughters back to the States.

Once the excitement was over they show me family and wedding pictures, then we watched TV for a little while. Cable television service here costs around Rs. 200/month, which is around $4/month. There wasn't much communication...they didn't understand any English and I of course couldn't speak Hindi or Kannada but I could tell that my presence for those few hours made it an interesting day for them. Prakash says that I was the first foreigner his mother has ever met. His whole family was very sweet...this was a memorable experience for me.