Quiet day at the office

I keep waiting to hear the thud of stones being thrown or at least a shout from the street, but there is nothing. Instead, I'm sitting in the office with just two other Karuna Trust employees who live on site.
I'm also very hungry, but unable to purchase anything. Why? Bharat Bandh, a nationwide strike - impressive, really. As rising gasoline prices have begun to effect nearly every sector of the economy, a protest against the government policy regarding gasoline has been declared until 6PM today. Word surrounding the event has been mixed as to whether the situation will remain calm, and I was even advised to close the front door in case stones came flying our way. Luckily, things have remained civil. My coworker, who wishes to have his name omitted, has even taken to a quiet protest of his own showing up at the office in a buniyan (traditional casual dress). As I discussed with him the reasons for the protest, I was shocked to realize that gasoline prices here top those in the US. To frame this, I am able to purchase a filling fast-food restaurant dinner here for ~$.80. The fact that gasoline amounts to >$3/gallon really is outrageous. Even with bikes that top 60 mpg, this pricing surely puts a significant stress on the economy.
While the time today has passed somewhat slowly, I did have the opportunity to watch part of Taare Zameen Par, a Hindi film which was very well done (the acting and production anyway, I can't say much for the scripting). I will continue to wait until about 9PM tonight with hopes of dinner shops re-opening. The impact of this strike will be interesting to observe.