Ranchi - 2

We had a wonderful welcome at our branches in Patna and Ranchi. Both were inaugurated a year ago, and reason visiting them was the great business they did and the anniversary celebrations.
Some pictures of our visit to the branch in Ranchi:

Ivone addressing the branch's staff

Professional cake cutters

Welcome and get empowered!

Home again, the "diva" had difficulties in saying goodbye ...

Ranchi

From Patna we traveled to Ranchi, capital of Jharkhand. This state is "famous" for being at the center of the Naxalite-Maoist insurgency. A reason for which trips out of town were not recommended. Ranchi itself is a lively city that surprised us. We enjoyed walking around. The picture below is not very clear, but we met a group of women carrying lamps on their head to bring "enlightenment" to a marriage party.

Seeking enlightenment

Last days we have been traveling a lot. Thursday we flew from Mumbai to Patna, a city in the east of India, the capital of Bihar, and close to Nepal. This part of India is very poor (and famous for its lawlessness), but the countryside is also very beautiful and colorful. We drove to Bodhgaya, around 135 km from Patna. In Bodhgaya Prince Siddhartha Gautama 26 centuries ago attained enlightenment beneath a bodhi tree and so became Budha. The Mahabodhi Temple Complex (World Heritage) is truly beautiful and very peaceful. And in this time of the year full of Buddhist pilgrims from all around the world, coloring Bodhgaya with their maroon robes. Even visiting at night, it is a special experience.

Mumbai Marathon 2011

Today was the Mumbai Marathon. Up at 4:30 am, running for a taxi around 5:00 am (the one I ordered didn't arrive ...). It all went off at 6:15 am. In the picture below this hellish event is clearly depicted; it took me a shameful almost 5 hours and many, many cramps (as you can see). Start with a nice temperature, and even not feeling fit it went off nicely fast. At 22 km I got my first cramp and the fun was over: walking, running, I passed the finish line. Very frustrating: at the end my running speed was still not bad at all (and I was not exhausted, that you can also see in the picture which is taken 3 km to the finish, just mad). I am not really dreaming of a next time right now ... But I finished. Even better, Ivone was at the finish line and we went to one of our favorite Parsi restaurants for fuel.

Tomorrow is the day