Hare krishna hare rama

  Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Saturday, April 18, 2009

I've laid off the travel blog a bit this week as we've been variously ill in interesting ways, chilling out or generally just getting to grips with India. It's funny how you really go through good and bad moods with this place. Sometimes just leaving the house seems like the most complicated, off-putting thing in the world, but mostly you embrace the noise and the hustle and just throw yourself out there.

Mikeji

We are now used to the daily routine of the people walking past in the street shouting about the wares they have for sale. The almost constant horn blaring has faded into the background so as to be generally inaudible. We have spent lots of time exploring the shops and restaurants the local area has to offer and it feels nice to have a little bit of Bangalore that we can call home.

We've made it over to the fabled MG Road area, looking down the vastly overcrowded streets - Commercial Street, Brigade Road and my favourite, Church Street.

Loadsa Money!

There were even pubs! One visit was with Amatchi, a Nigerian living in Australia who is over here to support his brother through an operation. The Chief was eager for dancing and we found it hilarious to be told that dancing has been banned in Bangalore! We have subsequently discovered this is hardly a universal truth, but it holds up to enough scrutiny to still be funny. Our favourite pub so far was probably either Le Rock cafe (a sort of hard rock rip off with a decentish atmosphere) or 20 Foot High, next to Amoeba, a chilled little place where we saw a whole 3 other tables seating Westerners! Weird. It's funny now that we stare just as much as the locals when we see white skin, it is an interesting novelty! Our trip to 20 Foot High bar or whatever it was called was part of a night on the tiles with Shuaib. This was certainly one of the most fun times we've had in Bangalore in a fun rather than cultural sense. We went down Commercial Street and Mike finally got the trainers he's been hankering after. I got my wall hanging - I just need to decorate the bedroom to match it when I get home now! We tried Badam milk (although my interesting India poos have discouraged me from too much spice or dairy for the time being!!!), a South Indian samosa (like the ones at home but 3D!) and sampled some entertainment delights - racing car games and bowling. Bowling was ace fun, with Jamaica (Laura) leading for most of the way until a late two strikes in the last frame by India (Shuaib) and England (Mike) taking a respectable bronze.

Walking round the streets and taking more buses and autos means we really have a feel for the place now. It's funny the stuff that noone mentions. For example, everyone knows about the cows, and there they are, wandering around the city centre eating rubbish. And of course, from there it's no great leap to discover variously goats and even families of pigs just hanging around. However, I must confess, the street camels were something of a surprise and something I am not yet entirely used to. Farm animals hanging about like errant youths is one thing, circus animals quite another. Camels are much bigger than I remember from trips to Knowsley Safari Park.

Yesterday we took a jaunt over to ISKCON (the Krishna Consciousness chappies). This involved a couple of buses across town which was relatively easily negotiated. ISKCON is quite clearly big business. We were there on their 12th anniversary so I think it was quite busy for a Friday. We were welcomed in by smiling security guards (very weird for India) and taken to a desk where we were sold a fast track ticket for 150 rps for the two of us - I was amazed we weren't requested to buy one each! This ticket gave us the gold treatment - front row and priority entrance to the Darshans (which were beautiful) and our own priority walk way which saved us, oh, maybe 4 hours of queuing and associated sunburn! The temple itself is stunning, the usual white marble peaks are surrounded by Krishna laughing and dancing with occasional turrets of gold winking in the sunlight. Despite the hundreds, if not thousands of people who were there altogether, this was the first place where I got a real sense of the Indian spirituality I've heard so much about. It seemed that here was truely a place where people were devoted to their faith foremost and commercialism ranked much lower down the list. True, there are a number of shops but mainly these are to sell the books and other religious trappings that are so important in ISKCON. Everything was very reasonably priced too. Mike finally got his tiny beads and I acquired a rosewood bookstand. Very cool. We also got a book on Vegetarian cooking (with our 50rs off voucher from the entry ticket) and were gifted a poster of the Mother and Krishna which is so beautiful I am almost sad India is our first stop - there's no way it'll get back pristine, but hopefully it will still be frameable. We also got some postcards (no cameras allowed, I had to check mine in when we checked in the shoes, hence no photos here!) and some of the thickest incense known to man.

All in all we agreed, as we sat sampling some veggie food (including gorgeous fried rolls called Paneer Tikka) that visiting ISKCON was a damn fine experience. The return bus was not quite the same however, as once we got to Majestic, rush hour hit and the very specific versions of the 2 and 25 buses decided they weren't going to third phase. So in the end we treated ourselves to an A/C bus (which I ended up too cold on - damn sniffles!) which promptly sat at the bus stand for about half an hour. It was a very slow crawl across town to Jayanagar 4th Block so we decided to walk from there. Upon reaching the row of shops at the top we stopped for a refreshing Thums Up (Taste the Thunder! [Life is a Flash!]) when it started to rain. We stood under the shop front and watched the rain. And the rain got heavier. And heavier. We started back when a scooter crashed, slipping on the wet, slick roads right in front of us. Having stood to gawp with so many others until we were sure the driver was OK, we continued. And so did the rain. It got heavier and heavier until small rivers were running down the road. Then there was an almighty crash and all the power went down -the transformer had blown as they are all outside in India - cunning!

So the end of the walk was done in pitch blackness. Totally un-hilarious given the gaping voids in the pavements here! But the rainsoaked us through and refreshed us and as ever it was quite an experience India had given us. We just felt lucky that the power hadn't gone off for any reason before as it's quite common here.

Crazy Eyes

We arrived back loving the emergency power at the hostel and dried ourselves down, watching a couple of films with a beer and enjoying some Chinese food before retiring.

It almost feels like this would be a good place to attempt to sum up our thoughts on India with only a few days to go here. It has been a great time to come - the cricket is starting today and the elections (1 Billion Votes!) have been a common theme throughout. We've also had the opportunity to find out the opinions of many Indians about their country, its problems and also its beauty. We've seen slums next to temples of great art. We've sat up talking late into the night about our reaction to India. And we've made what appears to strike many as a surprising decision not to bounce around India, spending two thirds of our time travelling and one third being tired and not appreciating what we see. We are close to Bangalore now though as we've given it enough time, it needs a fair go. But I will be writing for hours more to sum up this complex country and the many conflicting emotions it makes us feel. Suffice to say, mainly, we find it damn funny.