Nani, Joanna and I headed to Malleswaram to do some jewelry shopping. It's yet another neighborhood I'm entering for the first time. There is still so much of Bangalore we haven't had a chance to explore in 2 months and it makes me think maybe people like Dominique have a point. It'll take lifetimes to explore just one city in one country, so why go sojourning all over the grand old world? Still, I'm not turned off travel yet.
Nani wanted to buy jewellery for my mother and various other relatives, the objective of our outing. She told me she sought "one gram gold jewellery" and visions of ornate and expensive pieces swam before my eyes. I was very skeptical that this was a good idea.
We stepped out of the auto and Nani ducked into a store selling religious items to ask for directions. We were headed for Kushal's, a store we apparently frequent on our visits to Bengaluru, but which I don't remember. It was blazing hot, but the streets were full of determined shoppers. Stopping first at a jewellery store below ground (down a flight of steps), I realized my mistake. It turns out in India, one gram gold jewellery is used to refer to a particular type of high quality gold-plated jewellery- fake and affordable!
In a shop very much like a department store, we browsed the jewellery counter. Much of the selection looked cheap or tacky. I've never been one for matching my jewellery to the exact shade of my clothing, so I wasn't keen on finding the right blue earrings to match my blue outfit for the wedding.
We fended off overly helpful salespeople and Joanna found a nice watch that looked fantastic, especially given its great price. After leaving the store, we almost immediately found Kushal's, located conveniently right across from a watch repair store! So Joanna got her watch resized immediately, and then the three of us spent a happy hour browsing all of the adornment displays. We walked out with a treasure trove of earrings and necklaces for friends, family and ourselves.
Before heading home, Nani wanted to pick up a few vegetables. The vegetable market area was a narrow street packed with buyers and sellers. One woman was doing her shopping as a sort of 'drive-thru' on her scooter, just buzzing from stall to stall and loading up her bike with veggies before speeding off. Joanna and I decided we would do the same, if we had bikes of our own.
There was a man selling cheap drums, and he began to pester Joanna and I. I actually did want a little drum, so I haggled him down from 400 to 100 and bought one, as did Joanna. He wouldn't stop following us though, urging us to buy another one for more money, and he became quite aggressive so I actually walked away to stand elsewhere while Nani finished shopping.
We headed home with our goods, and then Joanna set off again. At the orphanage where she has been working, a theatre troupe is staging a play featuring all of the children. She headed over to their apartment to help them make costumes for the show. I stayed home, drank chai and hung out with Nani for a while.
When I went outside to grab an auto, I turned left and walked up to the cluster of three parked on the corner to find Peer Khan and Azathmullah reclining inside an auto, chatting with a third driver I didn't recognize. Azathmullah asked me why I hadn't been driving with him to work, and I was afraid he'd be upset but he was very gracious about it! Peer Khan told the third driver to take me, and he ended up being a very nice man who helped me find the apartment complex with great patience.
I had to cross the heavily trafficked street to get to the complex, and even after almost two months it is a trying, heart-wrenching ordeal. Relieved that I made it, I sat and waited on the front steps until Joanna came and got me. The actual apartment was back through a few dark twisty streets and I certainly would not have found it on my own!
Inside the apartment, I immediately settled down with Joanna against a wall to help sew gauzy strips onto fairy wings. While seated, I met some of the members of this group, although forgive me, I cannot remember many of their names! There was an Indian woman named Shubra, who said a quick hello and then dashed out of the apartment.
The troupe is staging Peter Pan, and apparently two of the boys slated to play main characters were going to have to miss the show for school. Shubra wanted to inform the children that the roles would be recast in person, so she left for the orphanage immediately. That's an impressive commitment!
Apparently the apartment belongs to Shubra's parents, and they've let the troupe stay there for the duration of their project. I can't tell how many people are staying there, but there are odd mattresses in random spots on the floor. One wall has pictures of all of the kids from the orphanage and their names.
I met Karl, the American in the troupe who Jo went to dinner with the other night. He's jovial and talkative and was very friendly. Actually, I really enjoyed sewing the strips onto the wings. It was busy work but just the sort my hands wanted, and I like sewing! I chatted with Gaz for a while, the Englishman responsible for costumes, about theatre and our respective families. It was really nice to meet people with a new, fresh and unique perspective on Bangalore and India.
They're having such a different trip than we are! Here for a purpose, they haven't travelled or seen much, but they've had a zillion tiny adventures scouting for costume props and negotiating with locals just in the neighborhood where they are staying. It reminds me that every second is an experience in India, and that even without attending a cultural event, the air is always alive and everything is memorable.
We spent the entire evening leisurely working, talking, and eating delicious pizza. The toppings (Domino's!) are so different than in the US and the veggie pizza tasted just decidedly Indian. I loved it.
Jo and I watched a short film one of the troupe members was making about their trip in India, at the moment just a hodgepodge of footage set to music but somehow still compelling. We lost track of time entirely and at 10:30, panicked and headed out to find an auto!
Standing on the street corner by a swelling flood of traffic, I was nervous about finding an auto willing to take us back late for a decent fare. There was a sketchy man who went to stand near Jo when I crossed the street to try the other side, but luckily she found an auto just then and we made it safely home! An adventurous last Sunday night...
Nani wanted to buy jewellery for my mother and various other relatives, the objective of our outing. She told me she sought "one gram gold jewellery" and visions of ornate and expensive pieces swam before my eyes. I was very skeptical that this was a good idea.
We stepped out of the auto and Nani ducked into a store selling religious items to ask for directions. We were headed for Kushal's, a store we apparently frequent on our visits to Bengaluru, but which I don't remember. It was blazing hot, but the streets were full of determined shoppers. Stopping first at a jewellery store below ground (down a flight of steps), I realized my mistake. It turns out in India, one gram gold jewellery is used to refer to a particular type of high quality gold-plated jewellery- fake and affordable!
In a shop very much like a department store, we browsed the jewellery counter. Much of the selection looked cheap or tacky. I've never been one for matching my jewellery to the exact shade of my clothing, so I wasn't keen on finding the right blue earrings to match my blue outfit for the wedding.
We fended off overly helpful salespeople and Joanna found a nice watch that looked fantastic, especially given its great price. After leaving the store, we almost immediately found Kushal's, located conveniently right across from a watch repair store! So Joanna got her watch resized immediately, and then the three of us spent a happy hour browsing all of the adornment displays. We walked out with a treasure trove of earrings and necklaces for friends, family and ourselves.
Before heading home, Nani wanted to pick up a few vegetables. The vegetable market area was a narrow street packed with buyers and sellers. One woman was doing her shopping as a sort of 'drive-thru' on her scooter, just buzzing from stall to stall and loading up her bike with veggies before speeding off. Joanna and I decided we would do the same, if we had bikes of our own.
There was a man selling cheap drums, and he began to pester Joanna and I. I actually did want a little drum, so I haggled him down from 400 to 100 and bought one, as did Joanna. He wouldn't stop following us though, urging us to buy another one for more money, and he became quite aggressive so I actually walked away to stand elsewhere while Nani finished shopping.
We headed home with our goods, and then Joanna set off again. At the orphanage where she has been working, a theatre troupe is staging a play featuring all of the children. She headed over to their apartment to help them make costumes for the show. I stayed home, drank chai and hung out with Nani for a while.
When I went outside to grab an auto, I turned left and walked up to the cluster of three parked on the corner to find Peer Khan and Azathmullah reclining inside an auto, chatting with a third driver I didn't recognize. Azathmullah asked me why I hadn't been driving with him to work, and I was afraid he'd be upset but he was very gracious about it! Peer Khan told the third driver to take me, and he ended up being a very nice man who helped me find the apartment complex with great patience.
I had to cross the heavily trafficked street to get to the complex, and even after almost two months it is a trying, heart-wrenching ordeal. Relieved that I made it, I sat and waited on the front steps until Joanna came and got me. The actual apartment was back through a few dark twisty streets and I certainly would not have found it on my own!
Inside the apartment, I immediately settled down with Joanna against a wall to help sew gauzy strips onto fairy wings. While seated, I met some of the members of this group, although forgive me, I cannot remember many of their names! There was an Indian woman named Shubra, who said a quick hello and then dashed out of the apartment.
The troupe is staging Peter Pan, and apparently two of the boys slated to play main characters were going to have to miss the show for school. Shubra wanted to inform the children that the roles would be recast in person, so she left for the orphanage immediately. That's an impressive commitment!
Apparently the apartment belongs to Shubra's parents, and they've let the troupe stay there for the duration of their project. I can't tell how many people are staying there, but there are odd mattresses in random spots on the floor. One wall has pictures of all of the kids from the orphanage and their names.
I met Karl, the American in the troupe who Jo went to dinner with the other night. He's jovial and talkative and was very friendly. Actually, I really enjoyed sewing the strips onto the wings. It was busy work but just the sort my hands wanted, and I like sewing! I chatted with Gaz for a while, the Englishman responsible for costumes, about theatre and our respective families. It was really nice to meet people with a new, fresh and unique perspective on Bangalore and India.
They're having such a different trip than we are! Here for a purpose, they haven't travelled or seen much, but they've had a zillion tiny adventures scouting for costume props and negotiating with locals just in the neighborhood where they are staying. It reminds me that every second is an experience in India, and that even without attending a cultural event, the air is always alive and everything is memorable.
We spent the entire evening leisurely working, talking, and eating delicious pizza. The toppings (Domino's!) are so different than in the US and the veggie pizza tasted just decidedly Indian. I loved it.
Jo and I watched a short film one of the troupe members was making about their trip in India, at the moment just a hodgepodge of footage set to music but somehow still compelling. We lost track of time entirely and at 10:30, panicked and headed out to find an auto!
Standing on the street corner by a swelling flood of traffic, I was nervous about finding an auto willing to take us back late for a decent fare. There was a sketchy man who went to stand near Jo when I crossed the street to try the other side, but luckily she found an auto just then and we made it safely home! An adventurous last Sunday night...
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