There is rowing in Bangalore. I suspect this rowing takes place in the lake I could see from my hotel room window. When I drove to the office I passed this sign inviting people to become rowers. I think that lake is Lake Ulsoor as I saw some kayakers, canoers, and sailboats on it one morning earlier this week.
The man on the billboard is PT Paulose of Kerala who sculled for India in Athens, the first Indian sculler to qualify for the Olympics.
I need to get more focused on sculling my way around the world. I used to carry around a letter of introduction from my club, The Union Boat Club of Boston, and have been able to borrow boats in a few cities, including Zurich and Newport Beach. It’s not easy persuading a club to let a stranger borrow a $10,000 shell, but then again, it takes about two seconds to figure out whether or not the person is qualified as the typical novice capsizes the instant they push off from the dock. Flipping a new racing shell is not recommended.