– ODO- 10388 – 10534km
– Location- Vindali, India
– Weather- 14-32 degrees, strong headwind all day
It’s midday and I’m sitting in a small roadside restaurant. I love these places. I’ve found that I can get one of my favourites – dal fry – a mix of lentils, chilli and bright yellow from the turmeric. I eat it with my hands using roti or chapatti fresh from the flame. Behind the mesh kitchen grill, the cook shapes the dough on a flat stone ready for the next batch. It’s simple food for India but the depth of the spices and heat changes from city to city, state to state.
These spaces are also great for people watching. There are of course the long haul truck drivers with which I share a share the road. These guys, usually in pairs or threes sit or lay out on the mesh beds watching someone on their phones. Strings of Hindi coming from the speaker.
A pair of businessmen, sales reps for a national brand of white goods, stand out in their clean white and blue shirts tight around their bellies. They arrive in the Suzuki. Far and away the most common car on the roads.
As I write three young guys approach me from the local village. They are on the regional cricket team and today is their down day from training.
A slice of India on the road.