Coconuts in India

We received an additional education while in India in the use of coconuts.  While having a sightseeing excursion to Mysore (famous for its silk fabric), we had a visit to the cathedral built in 1933 (Wikipedia says 1936) to honor Saint Philomena .  It was quite beautiful having the catacomb for St. Philomena located in the lower area with the alter on the ground floor above.  Outside are vendors selling religious relics, teak carvings, etc.  Professor Rao steered the group to a local vendor selling coconuts.  He purchased a round for the group.  The vendor took his machete and hacked off a portion and dropped a straw into the liquid inside.  Once you drank the liquid, the coconut was handed back to the vendor.  He carefully took his machete and hacked the coconut in half and then whacked off another piece of the hard outside to be used as a knife to cut through the soft inside of the coconut to eat.  We wandered off leaving the two shells of the coconut with the vendor.  Later we learned that the shells are burned for fuel.  Coconuts grow very well in India and could be seen in many of the areas we visited.