We woke up around 5:00 with a plan to leave by 6:30. By 6:00 the care takers of the Ashram were awake and ready. They gave us tea. The driver came by 6:45. We loaded the bags into the car and started walking. We were walking through Ali Buzurg town. One lady walked out of her house and offered us tea. We said yes, as it is a custom not to refuse anything that is offered. We were told many times in Omkareshwar that we should not refuse anything that was offer, because if we do we may not get anything else till night. While the tea was getting ready they offered some water. The gentleman who came out of the house was a doctor having clinic in two villages near by. We had tea and continued on our walk. We reached Toksar village 4kms. away. There again we stopped for tea. One kilometer away was Gowmukh ashram. We stopped there for lunch. Lunch was Rice Daal and chapati. Unlimited. With a little sweet. After lunch we rested for an hour and started walking again. We went through Peetnagar village. Walking paths are unpaved dirt roads passing through farmlands. Winding there way westward. The crops in this area are Cotton, Bananas, Sugar Cane, Corn, Wheat.
We reached a villages called Ka[n]karia. Baiju has been asking for ice cold Limca. As we turned the corner into Kankaria we came to a Kirana Store (Small general store). We asked for Limca. He said no Limca but have Sprite. We both had the ice cold drink. Felt really refreshing. As we finished the sprite, the young store owner, Yashvant Patel, asked about my sun glasses. He asked where I got it, how much was it. Can I send him one when I get back to Bangalore. Baiju and I felt I can give him the glasses now rather than wait few months for us to return. He offered us the customary tea. Only I said yes. I finished the tea and we got ready to leave. As we were leaving after paying for the Sprite and some cold water I gave him the sunglasses. He was so happy. He wanted to pay for them. We said no we cannot take any money. Yashvant started walking with and asked us to stay for the day and have dinner in his house. We insisted that we will go to the Narmada Mandir nearby good night for the night. He took his motorbike to give tea to his mother and wife in the field where they were picking Cotton. This was on our path. He parked on path and asked us again to stay for dinner. Then he walked with us to the ashram where he told the Maharaj that these three will eat in our place. Finally we settled our bags etc in the ashram. Finished our bath washed clothes and waited for dinner. Promptly Yashvant came at 7:00 to take us to his house. We followed him in our taxi. Baatis were being made. We sat in the main hall in the house and waited till 8:00. We had a wonderful conversation. They are cotton farmers. Of course one side of the hall was filled with freshly picked cotton that had taken Yashvant’s wife Manisha and his mother one month of daily picking for two hours. We sat on the ground and were served in steel plates. The plate was slightly tilted so that the Daal (which they call Sabjji ) will mix with Baati only when you want to mix it. The Baati was delicious. This was the second time Sowmya had Baati and loved it. This was similar to what my dad used to make and what I make. The only difference was that this Baati was made on live Kanda fire (dried cow dung patty). Sounds gross but the fire creates in such was burns clean and food is very tasty. We finished our dinner and drove back to the Narmada Mandir Ashram for the night. Today we walked 19 kms.