On my ride that afternoon, I was sort of flagged down by two young men. I could have kept going, but something told me that i should stop. One of them had very good english, and introduced himself as john. I pulled Rocinante over by a small shed, and John led me down some steps to a place with beautiful waterfalls and a footbridge, where people swim from time to time to escape the heat of the day.
The water was clear and cool, and direct from the mountains, and had it been anywhere else, I would have thought it full of trout . As it was there were only small fish, and John explained that they caught them with a net and ate them, though they were only perhaps 4 inches long at best.
As the sun inched closer to going behind the mountain, John took me to the shed I had parked close to. Inside was an older man and woman, with a cow. John's uncle milked the cow with the practiced hand of a man who has been doing this sort of thing his whole life. There is a recording of the sound, and, incidentally many other sounds of India on my website, which is in the "links" section on my travelpod welcome page. The link is also:

http://www.joshbloomer.altpro.net/bandsite/pageSelect.do;jsessionid=251C2B6916D7342358A77CFC5FE5B30B?page=music

You may cut and paste and share this link freely. Now back to our regularly scheduled program. . . .

After the milking, I was invited to come up to John's house, where I met his brothers, his mother and grandmother, who, in the fine indian tradition served me chai (of course giving me the nicest cup, the one with no dents in it) and also a sweet white bread, similar to what one might find in the west at a bakery, but with a slightly sweeter and different flavor . .
John also gave me a small copy of the gideon bible as a gift. I tried to refuse, saying that this gift was too big, too important, so he insisted. What the heck, I have never fully read the bible, and there is wisdom in many things, so I might as well. . When in rome, do as the roman catholics do, I guess.

As I grew too dark, I excused myself and rode into town, John saying he would come and find me in the morning and show me some waterfalls and plantations. . I told him I was my own guide, but as I knew that he was an actual friend, not some tout trying to "guide" me for cash, I already knew that I would "gift" him something in return at the end of the day.
His family is a poor one, they have but two small rooms, and many mouths to feed. See the picture. They were good and hospitable to me, and I like to be a gracious guest wherever possible.

Back to the Asha, another couple of songs for the owners, then up in the morning for coffee. John met me about 10 am.