Bangalore by Foot

We have been seeing most of Bangalore from the back of our Ford Ikon. And while I like it because it's safe, cool (as in air-conditioned) and clean, it can take forever to go just a few blocks. So "ma'am and sir" were looking forward to getting out on foot. Chandan will only refer to me as "ma'am" and George as "sir" which we can't help but laugh about. If he is talking to me about George, he'll say, "ok, I will give this to sir," or to George: "will ma'am need me today?" We feel so far from being a "ma'am" and "sir."

But anyway, we set out about 10 am on Sunday and headed out of our complex. Not 500 feet into our walk we met our first cow. It's one thing to pass them in the car but on foot, your instinct is to want to tread very lightly and not act like you are scared. Animals can smell fear - or so I've heard. But she barely even moved, as if she knows she is sacred and an untouchable. The "sidewalk" we walked on is really just large slabs of rock put together over a ditch that I think would normally hold pipes but here, just seem to collect garbage and rain water. Every few steps one of the slabs of rock will be missing or broken and you can see right into the ditch. Some sections are better than others.

Our destination was the Forum Mall which proved to be closer than we thought. We passed a dead rat on the way and I tallied another dead in my head. It's two to one by my count (two dead, one living large at Sunny's restaurant). Once we got through the security check in front of the mall it was like we were stepping into any mall, in any town, in any country - complete with a McDonald's, a food court and a multiplex cinema. It was clean, air-conditioned and crowded - like Dec. 20th crowded. Next to the mall is a store called the "Big Bazaar" with everything from appliances to toys to food to clothes. It's cheap like Walmart, only not as nice. It was crowded and hot and dirty. There was a lively gentlemen who would make announcements about sales of the day (or the moment): "Ladies, attention ladies, right now, we are selling all women's western clothes at 50% off! Unbelievable but true. Buy any item in the western dress section and get 50% off! This offer won't last forever, act now."

I can't say that's exactly what the announcer said but he was busy the entire 15 minutes we were there talking about unbelievable deals. Most of the department stores have separate sections for traditional Indian clothes and Western clothes but smaller stores just seem to have one or the other. After the bizarre bazaar, we explored a little more of our neighborhood. We found the restaurant we went to on Friday and were happy to find it is walkable. After a few more blocks, I decided what the soft pretzel is to NYC streets, corn on the cob is to Bangalore. You can get an ear of corn on any street only it is beyond yellow and almost orange in color. We have not yet tested our systems on it but we'll let you know.

We made our way back to the mall and sat outside for a while to people watch. We started playing "count the grown men without mustaches" and started noticing that most of the younger generation of Indians are going without but, there is rarely a man over 35/40 without one. I tried to make the generalization that most of the younger Indian girls/teenagers wear Western clothes while the women all wear saris but then we saw some of the opposite so I need to do some more research on that. It is more rare to see men in traditional Indian clothes - usually only men in their 60s - and I am attributing it to the growth of Western jobs (at least in a city like Bangalore). But I think all this raises all sorts of questions about what is fashionable and how do you know? And who decides? I think the majority of women in their colorful saris look rather fashionable and elegant so why hasn't that look caught on in the West? I guess I sort of think of it like: why is it okay for women to wear pants but not for a man to wear a skirt (in most circles)?

But I digress. After a good people watching session, we headed back into the mall to see what movies were playing. Sadly, I don't either of us will really ever be huge fans of Bollywood. I really wish I liked it. I want so badly to appreciate it. But I don't. Not yet. Nothing of interest was playing but we did stumble across our first pub (yes, in the mall). It was dark and smelled of smoke just as a good pub should. The next thing we noticed was the music. Kool & the Gang welcomed us with a little "Get Down on It." Later songs included: "Ghostbusters," Madonna's "Holiday" with an early rap remix, and "The Power of Love" by Huey Lewis and the News. The decor seemed to match the playlist but they had a good bar menu and it is relatively close to our apartment. So, we may have found, as my father likes to say, "our local gin mill."

On our way home, we encountered our neighborhood cow again. This time it was crossing the road, we missed the actual crossing but here is a short clip of traffic passing it. There are also some more pictures from our walk in the links section.