Mahatma Gandhi Mission

Sorry for no photos this post, but forgot to bring my camera cord to hook into the computer. Just had a reprise motorcycle ride to get to this cafe from Nandakishore's office. Reprise, because the last time I rode sidesaddle on the back of a motorcycle was in this very area 33 years ago, and the results were less than spectacular. We were leaving the village of Maliwada, just gaining speed from the dirt road onto the blacktop, when the back tire blew out and the cycle started to tilt. I tried to jump off just before getting wiped off the back end of the thing and was wearing leather "chappalls" or typical Indian style sandals and did not succeed in staying on my feet. I fell, and the momentum I had from being on the motorcycle doing 25-30 miles an hour carried me rolling across the road and into the dirt at the edge. I skinned up my leg and tore my dress (yes, I was wearing a dress at the time). This lovely feat was witnessed by quite a few villagers who knew me and came running to see if I was hurt. Thankfully, only a little, and I went back to the village to lick my wounds. But that was then, this is another story, thank the gods and goddesses in such abundance here in India. This motorcycle (a honda hero) was also very old, but in good condition, and the driver very careful. We arrived without incident. Earlier today I delivered a very successful Hospice presentation at the Mahtma Gandhi Mission which has a hospital, schools of agriculture, engineering, nursing, among many others. It's lovingly referred to locally as MGM, not to be confused with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Hollywood. For my presentation, I received my very own small bust statue of Sri Gandhi himself and a beautiful white cotton shawl, as well as a 500 rupee honorarium which was referred to as a "love gift". That's a lot of money here. They were extremely appreciative. They want me to come back and do a more involved presentation over several days. They provided a projector so that I could show my powerpoint slides that I developed in Miraj at Fletcher Hall. A bunch of students asked for my autograph at the end. It was very touching. Pics to follow.