On Sunday, Joanna and I woke up at a gloriously late hour. We scrounged for breakfast (Jo had cereal with fruit, I found tasty leftovers) and plotted the day. Joanna had found some museums in the area, so we headed out.
Looking out from the auto in one spot of particularly congested traffic, we noticed the two men on the motorbike next to us had a baby goat sandwiched between them! This goat was bleating incessantly, so loudly, and it sounded like a baby child. It was actually quite unpleasant sounding, and half funny half sad! The poor kid (literally.) must have been miserable in traffic, but it was so sweet cradled in the arms of the man on the bike! What a sight.
Our first stop was the Government Museum, housing artifacts from archeological excavations around India.
It was an interesting museum, with very uninformative plaques that said things like "swords" without offering any date of discovery or information about use or civilization. I guess we're used to learning more when we look around a museum, because it confused Jo and I. It is funny how it is so much less interesting to look at a pot when you have no idea if it's from a week ago or 5000 years!
But the museum was fun. There were several artifacts from Mohenjodaro, the ancient Indus-Valley city that existed roughly around 2600 to 1900 BCE. We saw pottery, armour, a variety of evil-looking weaponry and a collection of musical instruments that included a shriveled bagpipe.
A pathway from the very red and green Government Museum building led us to Venkatappa Art Gallery.
I actually loved this gallery, although it too could have done with more information. There was a lot of art from the Mughal civilizations, and much from even earlier. Most of the pieces had as their inspiration Hindu mythology, and they called back memories of my childhood stories. I loved the embossed sculpture of Drona teaching the Pandavas archery, remembering the story about focusing on the arrow and drowning out worldly distractions. Next to this was a painting of Shakuntala, my favourite story from childhood. She married King Dushyanta, and then suffered a curse from a rishi she didn't greet properly, causing her to lose her wedding ring and have her husband forget her. A fish swallows the ring, and a fisherman finds it in the fish's belly. Bringing the ring to the king causes the king to remember his wife, and he sets off in search of her. In the forest, he meets his own son who is playing with tigers and lions, and he is impressed by the child's bravery. When he discovers it is his son, he brings him to Shakuntala for a lovely reunion.
I couldn't tell you why I loved that story so much, but I still do...
After several more statues and paintings, we wandered away in search of the Technology Musuem. Behind the Art Gallery was a vast park, where many, many people were wandering in Sunday enjoyment. It would be a great place to have a picnic! We walked up a flight of stairs to check out the High Court of Karnataka behind a gate, then back down and out of the park. At KR Circle, we asked for directions and were pointed in the direction of the Technology Museum. While the Government Museum / Arty Gallery ticket was 4 Rs per adult, the Technology Museum's fare was 20, but it was much more of a museum.
The amount of engineering knowledge to be absorbed in that building was so cool. Displays explained everything from the purpose and evolution of screws, levers and inclined planes to how complex hydropower systems worked. Higher floors tackled biotechnology, space exploration (with a wall dedicated to commemorating Kalpana Chawla) and more. It seemed like the majority of people visiting did not want to, or could not, absorb the depth of information provided. Many were children, who dashed from display to display pushing buttons to watch things move. Most families just hustled along, interested in the interactive but not in the written lectures.
It's a great family place but so, so crowded although perhaps that was because it was Sunday. Anyways, for my purposes, to read the information, it was not a great time to go. Outside, we hailed an auto to go home.
One auto driver summoned Jo to his auto, so we sat inside. He turned around and gave us a business card advertising his art exhibition. He would take us there and then home for a flat fare of 50 rupees, a great deal, he promised, because he had some stake in the art exhibition. I kept telling him we didn't want to go at that moment, and he kept insisting until finally I realized he wasn't taking us home unless we agreed to go to the exhibition first.
So we got out and found another auto. But what a great business venture! I'm sure he gets a lot of willing clients and I wish him the best, that is some perseverence.
We searched online for another place to eat and found stellar reviews for Ganesh Darshan Dosa Camp, promising the best masala dosa and coffee in Bangalore. It is located in 3rd block Jayanagar, so Jo and I walked. It's a crowded place set up kind of like Adigas, with high tables to eat standing up and windows at the back to present receipts to the cooks.
The dosa menu is somewhat innovative, with tomato dosas, Banaras dosas (with bread crumbs in the batter) and even banana dosa. I opted for the masala dosa and a coffee, interested to see how great they were. Jo got the banana dosa and ordered a rice dish, but was mistakenly given a sweet...
I stood in line for the dosas, as at least 15 people shoved their receipts simultaneously at the cooks. On a long flat stove surface behind the counter, the cook poured out some 25 dosas, preparing all of them with speed and skill.
The filter coffee, which I drank while waiting for the dosa, was absolutely fantastic! I recommend it highly to anyone who wants coffee in Bangalore. The masala dosa was thick and filling and also amazing. I liked the scene very much!
On the walk home, I nearly bought some smile posters or a fishbowl from two very sweet kids selling on the roadside, but then an obnoxious man came up and started badgering me to buy things and I was put off. Further on, I bought a mehendi cone for fun.
At home, I had Jo experiment on me with the mehendi. It was a lot of fun and for the next two weeks I'm boasting a very attractive touch-me-not fern tattoo on my right arm (a Joanna Schneider original).
Looking out from the auto in one spot of particularly congested traffic, we noticed the two men on the motorbike next to us had a baby goat sandwiched between them! This goat was bleating incessantly, so loudly, and it sounded like a baby child. It was actually quite unpleasant sounding, and half funny half sad! The poor kid (literally.) must have been miserable in traffic, but it was so sweet cradled in the arms of the man on the bike! What a sight.
Our first stop was the Government Museum, housing artifacts from archeological excavations around India.
 |
| http://www.cvltvre.com/mod/cvltvre_events/thumbnail.php?id=43841 |
It was an interesting museum, with very uninformative plaques that said things like "swords" without offering any date of discovery or information about use or civilization. I guess we're used to learning more when we look around a museum, because it confused Jo and I. It is funny how it is so much less interesting to look at a pot when you have no idea if it's from a week ago or 5000 years!
But the museum was fun. There were several artifacts from Mohenjodaro, the ancient Indus-Valley city that existed roughly around 2600 to 1900 BCE. We saw pottery, armour, a variety of evil-looking weaponry and a collection of musical instruments that included a shriveled bagpipe.
A pathway from the very red and green Government Museum building led us to Venkatappa Art Gallery.
I actually loved this gallery, although it too could have done with more information. There was a lot of art from the Mughal civilizations, and much from even earlier. Most of the pieces had as their inspiration Hindu mythology, and they called back memories of my childhood stories. I loved the embossed sculpture of Drona teaching the Pandavas archery, remembering the story about focusing on the arrow and drowning out worldly distractions. Next to this was a painting of Shakuntala, my favourite story from childhood. She married King Dushyanta, and then suffered a curse from a rishi she didn't greet properly, causing her to lose her wedding ring and have her husband forget her. A fish swallows the ring, and a fisherman finds it in the fish's belly. Bringing the ring to the king causes the king to remember his wife, and he sets off in search of her. In the forest, he meets his own son who is playing with tigers and lions, and he is impressed by the child's bravery. When he discovers it is his son, he brings him to Shakuntala for a lovely reunion.
I couldn't tell you why I loved that story so much, but I still do...
After several more statues and paintings, we wandered away in search of the Technology Musuem. Behind the Art Gallery was a vast park, where many, many people were wandering in Sunday enjoyment. It would be a great place to have a picnic! We walked up a flight of stairs to check out the High Court of Karnataka behind a gate, then back down and out of the park. At KR Circle, we asked for directions and were pointed in the direction of the Technology Museum. While the Government Museum / Arty Gallery ticket was 4 Rs per adult, the Technology Museum's fare was 20, but it was much more of a museum.
The amount of engineering knowledge to be absorbed in that building was so cool. Displays explained everything from the purpose and evolution of screws, levers and inclined planes to how complex hydropower systems worked. Higher floors tackled biotechnology, space exploration (with a wall dedicated to commemorating Kalpana Chawla) and more. It seemed like the majority of people visiting did not want to, or could not, absorb the depth of information provided. Many were children, who dashed from display to display pushing buttons to watch things move. Most families just hustled along, interested in the interactive but not in the written lectures.
It's a great family place but so, so crowded although perhaps that was because it was Sunday. Anyways, for my purposes, to read the information, it was not a great time to go. Outside, we hailed an auto to go home.
One auto driver summoned Jo to his auto, so we sat inside. He turned around and gave us a business card advertising his art exhibition. He would take us there and then home for a flat fare of 50 rupees, a great deal, he promised, because he had some stake in the art exhibition. I kept telling him we didn't want to go at that moment, and he kept insisting until finally I realized he wasn't taking us home unless we agreed to go to the exhibition first.
So we got out and found another auto. But what a great business venture! I'm sure he gets a lot of willing clients and I wish him the best, that is some perseverence.
We searched online for another place to eat and found stellar reviews for Ganesh Darshan Dosa Camp, promising the best masala dosa and coffee in Bangalore. It is located in 3rd block Jayanagar, so Jo and I walked. It's a crowded place set up kind of like Adigas, with high tables to eat standing up and windows at the back to present receipts to the cooks.
The dosa menu is somewhat innovative, with tomato dosas, Banaras dosas (with bread crumbs in the batter) and even banana dosa. I opted for the masala dosa and a coffee, interested to see how great they were. Jo got the banana dosa and ordered a rice dish, but was mistakenly given a sweet...
I stood in line for the dosas, as at least 15 people shoved their receipts simultaneously at the cooks. On a long flat stove surface behind the counter, the cook poured out some 25 dosas, preparing all of them with speed and skill.
The filter coffee, which I drank while waiting for the dosa, was absolutely fantastic! I recommend it highly to anyone who wants coffee in Bangalore. The masala dosa was thick and filling and also amazing. I liked the scene very much!
On the walk home, I nearly bought some smile posters or a fishbowl from two very sweet kids selling on the roadside, but then an obnoxious man came up and started badgering me to buy things and I was put off. Further on, I bought a mehendi cone for fun.
At home, I had Jo experiment on me with the mehendi. It was a lot of fun and for the next two weeks I'm boasting a very attractive touch-me-not fern tattoo on my right arm (a Joanna Schneider original).
OH NO POOR BABY GOAT!
ReplyDeletehaha thats funny about there not being any information! i wonder if they have all the information in some huge leather bound manuscript in the back somewhere but just never bothered to put up any of the information...
that is a really good story! i remember those times that you would retell all those stories you grew up with to me! i loved hearing the different stories. you must also remember all the interesting folk stories from around the world you collected at that time like all the African ones?
yes! engineering is cool!! i wanna tell you about all my classes next semester. I GOT MY VERY FIRST ELECTIVE like a class i get to choose to take !! its a product engineering class for junior seniors and grad students... so maybe im biting off more then i can chew but when you read the description its exactly what i want to do! so i went ahead anyway and signed up for it.
yeah good advertizing campaign that guy has :)
your descriptions are so vivid you are such a good writer Dimpy its like i was there in the restaurant with you. anyway i have stopped being jealous of all your food eating because i have realized you are only scouting out the best places to take me when i come to India.
i love mehendi! missed getting it at the international festival this year... can we watch hindi movies and do mehendi when you come back?