Are you going to Kansas, you must be crazy! We have seen software engineers from India going to New Jersey or Massachusetts on the East or California on the West coast, but Kansas, the most backward state in USA, it is ridiculous, blah blah...these were a few reactions of my friends I received when I landed in Kansas. I, for one, dismissed their hyper-rattle stating that it doesn't matter since I am here for only 4-5 weeks and I wanted to make the most of it.

Situated in the central region of America, Kansas is also called as the Heartland, where Agriculture is the primary occupation. Yes, it certainly gives credence to my friends' argument, but I had nothing to do with the decision of me arriving at Kansas since my Company had its client here.

Just as they (friends) said, I couldn't find a single Indian face in the entire place and all my colleagues were Americans. However, they were very gracious and accommodative, maybe because Kansas is a less-developed area, or so I thought.

In fact, my American colleagues were so warm and caring that they used to guide me as to where and how I should spend my weekends, the neighbouring places of interest etc etc.

On the first weekend, they advised me to visit a place where I was told that college students would drink, dance and make merry. But, me being 30 plus, somehow disliked the idea of being amidst young merrymakers, so instead I spent time visiting a shopping mall. Well, the next day I was a little embarrassed while giving some vague excuses to my colleagues for not visiting the spot I was guided to.

Predictably, my colleagues had another suggestion for my weekend. I was told of a tiny hamlet a few miles away from Kansas where a cattle race is held and this time I was almost warned that I shouldn't miss it. Since I didn't want to dishearten my enthusiastic colleagues, I visited the village and found hundreds of them—men, women, children, young and the old—all of them dressed in the best of their attires forming a colourful crowd.

The cattle that were primed for the race were confined in a temporary shed surrounded by hundreds of people along with their children. While some kids were excited on touching the cattle, others were busy taking pictures of the cattle of different breeds. The cattle on their part were bewildered at seeing the sea of humans surrounding them.

Exactly, at 11:00 hrs local time, the cattle shed were opened and they screamed Ready, Steady, GO. Alas, the cattle were so frightened that they didn't move an inch. However, after a few minutes, the cattle were chased out of the shed and they started walking on the road like a royal procession. I, who was actually looking for a race, asked a fellow onlooker whether the cattle will run, for which he said, It's inhumane to chase the cattle, later did I realise that he was an animal rights activist.

As the procession moved, loud cheers rented the air and the villagers were waving at the cattle, while a machine at the end of the procession cleaned the entire road. The procession ended and the cattle were loaded onto waiting lorries and taken away. As the crowd started dispersing I followed them to one of the innumerable eateries. After half-an-hour's waiting, I approached the seller for any food that is vegetarian.

I probably looked like a comedian when the shopkeeper laughingly said today we had a cattle race and you wouldn't get anything except beef. Excusing myself, I started walking back and when I turned around to have a glimpse of the crowd feasting, I wondered how many hundreds of cattle would be slaughtered, as I continued my hunt for some Vegetarian food that could sate my appetite.