Roadside Service—Rotary Style

We have now moved to our second host city, Amravarta, and have been warmly welcomed by our new host families despite arriving almost three hours late. The lateness of our arrival was not simply the normal product of “India Stretchable Time” (a play on words with the “India Standard Time” which is their equivalent of “Mountain Standard Time” in District 5520). Instead, we found ourselves an hour out of Todoba National Park (another post on that amazing experience is bound to come from Cristina) and 30 minutes away from the city of Wardha with a defective roof rack that carried all of our luggage.

Sanjay Arora, GSE Chair for District 3030, who put aside a lot of work obligations and accompanied us to ensure a smooth transition, knew one Rotarian in Wardha. He called him to ask for advice. That person was out of town but within seconds Sanjay was speaking to a Rotarian he didn’t know and was put into contact with another Rotarian who knew the mechanics in town.

After some creative repacking that brought all of our luggage INSIDE the vehicle, we were back on the road again—all of us in a cheerful mood despite the cramped space (because we knew we were being taken care of, and because we were relieved that our bags had not tumbled off the roof rack and on to a busy highway!). Twenty minutes later we were on the outskirts of Wardhi and a Rotarian pulled up on his scooter to meet Sanjay—and us—for the first time. Our driver followed them on his scooter though town to a small (small) mechanic shop and the workers set about fixing the problem.

Once that was completed, the quickly assembled officers of the Wardhi Rotary Club met us at a “fast food” restaurant for tasty snacks of vegetable burgers and sandwiches. One hour earlier, they were not even aware that we were coming through town. They dropped everything to help us out of a sticky situation. But, as a result, we learned about the annual tradeshow they have organized since the mind-1990s that attracts 80,000 people over four days—and the night school for very poor slum dwellers (“ragpickers”) they fund with the proceeds.

Full of food and fellowship, and with an enhanced appreciation for how Rotary works in India, we continued our drive to Amravati. (Photos to follow)