fun with words

My friend showed me this great website called www.wordle.com where you can paste in a bunch of text and it creates a representative graphic (the bigger the word the more often it appears in the text). I pasted in the text from this blog to see what would come up!

You can click on the image to view a bigger version!

And then just for fun...this is one of my favourite books.

tailors

India Calling is getting better and better. I talked about it at work today and my colleagues had a different opinion. Apparently the book doesn't market well to an audience of people who have lived in India for their entire lives, but as an Indian raised in America, so far it resonates with me.

Work is going well and I love it as usual, but there aren't any thrilling exploits to report from today so I'll skip to the end. I went back to the fruit stand nearby with three of my colleagues and this time opted for mango, a syrupy sweet juice (without ice or water!) that tasted delicious to me, but according to the others, was not Alphonso (the best mango).

Jo had blitzed me during the day about going to see The Lincoln Lawyer at Forum (a local mall). I was so excited to go see a movie in Bangalore, but when I got home Nani was wholeheartedly opposed to us going at night. Apparently it would be impossible to get an auto home after the movie. Shruthi verified this.

Jo, Nani and I headed out to the tailor in Gandhi Bazaar to get our clothes altered (finally!) and had so much trouble getting an auto to take us there that we were glad we had been talked out of the movie. We finally convinced a grouchy driver to take us there for twenty rupees each way.

The tailor is the same one I've been going to for years, operating his business in a little hole in the wall down a flight of stairs in a corner of Gandhi Bazaar. He took rapid measurements and made indecipherable marks on all of the clothing we gave him, the sort that gave you no confidence anything would turn out as you hoped. But my experience with these tailors assures me the work will be marvellous. And so cheap, to get your clothing fitted to you!!

The tailor himself did have some questionable fashion sense and I tried to get a picture without being obvious. You can't really see the remarkably tight and high fit of the pants,  but the picture turned out looking awkward enough to merit showing.

 On the schedule is (hopefully) a trip to Mysore soon, a definite trip to Goa (tickets booked!) and a little excursion to go see a play at the nearby theatre Ranga Shankara!

5 april-the trials of being youthful

The first day of Karnatak New Year warranted a holiday for several, including all of the cab drivers in the company I normally hire from. I opted for an auto and the cool breeze and lack of morning traffic inspired me to make it a regular decision! It ended up being almost as expensive as a cab, but I think the driver's meter was rigged because today, it cost me half as much.

In the afternoon, the founder of the NGO gave a special talk exclusively for the organization's youthful members. It was a talk about pursuing careers in the development sector, to address any concerns and answer any questions.

I found the questions and concerns raised by my colleagues provided remarkable insight into the way things are in India. There was a unanimous concern about financial security and more so, about parental pressure to pursue a job in a sector with more financial security. They spoke of a lack of understanding from their families and friends, and of the pity they faced, comments like "you must live on your husband's income, then".

There weren't easy solutions to these issues, and the response was generally to know that you do what you do because you love it and you choose it, and at the end of the day, it matters very little what others think of it. Of course, parents are important, but so is your passion.Coming from a family that has never pressed me in one direction or another, I couldn't understand the tremendous pressure my colleagues feel, where they fear they'll be cynical and burnt out by 40.

At the end of the meeting, my wildest dreams came through, and the founder pulled out a large black duffel to distribute great books from her personal library that she thought we might like to lend. I snagged a DVD on the Kabir project, and I'm not too sure what it's about yet so I'll let you know when I get a chance to take a look.

I also picked up a book called India Calling, and only a few chapters in, I am so happy I chose it. It's the personal story of a young man whose parents immigrated to the United States from India when he was young (or perhaps before he was born...I can't recall). Having graduated from college, he decides almost on a whim to return to India to live and work, a reverse migration. So he works as a journalist and travels the country meeting people and reporting on India as it is in its glory and its filth. And I want his life!

In the evening, Joanna and I discovered that due to a somewhat frequent use of skype, we ran out of internet three weeks earlier than anticipated...so I'm at work early (the next day) to capitalize on the free wifi, and we're now going to have to lay low on skype! The amount of internet allotted did not take into account the degree of usage by young people. The trials of being youthful!

4 april-lalbagh at long last

Happy Ugadi! This festival falls on a different day every year and marks the start of the New Year for people in the Deccan region of India (following the South Indian lunisolar calendar). It is celebrated with large family gatherings and lots of food, much like many other Indian festivals.

My extended family doesn't reside in Bangalore, so our Ugadi was quieter than most. Joanna and I decided it would be a good day to visit Lalbagh. A 240 acre botanical garden near the centre of Bengaluru, Lalbagh's construction was commissioned by Hyder Ali, ruler of Mysore, in 1760, and completed by his son Tipu Sultan. The park is an oasis from the hustle bustle of the city, and although today was decidedly on the 'hot' side of things, we thoroughly enjoyed walking around, people-watching and reading in the shade.

I have endless fond memories of Lalbagh, and it is my favourite place to be in Bangalore every time I visit. I remember feeding monkeys with my grandfather when I was younger, and I remember going to watch the deer in the deer park. All of those animals have since fled the premises (chased away by dogs and hyenas...) but the park still boasts an incredible display of horticulture. There is a topiary garden, with leafy bushes cut into meaningful shapes. I couldn't decide what most of them were supposed to be, but there was definitely some purpose behind their appearance.

We walked to the glass house, where flower shows are held twice yearly. During this time of the year it is just a bare lot under a glass covering, but still thought of as a Lalbagh monument.

Finally, we found a cool spot under a banyan tree, the national tree of India. Banyans are huge trees with long, dramatic root systems and thick veiny trunks.

They provide shade to tired travellers and soul-searching poets (according to the official description, not just my own cheesiness). We read, leaning against the roots for a while...

but things around us grew steadily noiser. Lounging against the next banyan tree was a group of boys playing tinny music from their cell phones. In front of us were two men who alternated between making kissing noises and snoring noises. A group of children in some sort of summer camp shrieked to our right. Needless to say, we were more than ready to get up and walk when Atul came to hang out.

We strolled around Lalbagh with Atul, and as usual, a Bangalore resident's perspective was interesting. Joanna and I had been commenting on how sweet all of the couples roaming Lalbagh were, all of the men and women with arms around each other, strolling down sunny boulevards. Atul offered a different explanation. He informed us that the people who hung out in Lalbagh were 'cheap village types', young kids who entered the park only to find a dark and quiet spot to engage in inappropriate physical intimacies. Cool modern kids hung out at hookah bars and coffee shops. Sad to say, I don't think Jowalla and I would be cool in Bengaluru. We loved the topiary garden, the glass house, rose garden (picture below) and even the out-of-season dried up lotus pond.

We found a row of mango trees and jackfruit trees (pictured below), and Atul tried unsuccessfully to pick some fruit. The lower branches had already been stripped of their fruit, and the remaining ones were out of reach.

Fruit is so good! We're barreling head-on into mango season and I can't wait.Speaking of fruit, trying to pick some made me crave fruit juice and Lalbagh was blisteringly hot by this time, so we exited the grounds to walk to the nearest Caffe Coffee Day (with Atul still in tow). Joanna and I got shakes, Atul took his leave for his aunt's house, and after cooling ourselves in the welcome air conditioning, we hailed a passing auto to head to JP Nagar.

The doctors Joanna works with had introduced her to their 19 year old daughter, who offered to take us to a handicrafts exhibition that day. She had suggested we meet her in JP Nagar (thus hailing the auto). We got out at the traffic signal by 15th cross, our designated meeting spot, but she was nowhere to be seen. To avoid the heat, we sat in the shade under the awning of the nearest Kwality Wall's (a sweet shop...not that you would know from the name).

The doctor's daughter drove up with her dad, who dropped us off at a playground that was filled with rows of shaded stalls. There were merchants from different parts of India selling cloths, shoes, jewelry and trinkets.

We browsed and browsed, but I was hesitant to buy. Finally, I stopped at a shoe stall where a Rajasthani vendor was selling handmade Jaipuri shoes.

So I bought a few pairs after haggling the price down (three pairs of handmade shoes for 15 dollars!). Joanna and I then took our leave to hail an auto home. I'd promised Nani that I would be home by 5 to book tickets for our trip to Goa.

Hailing an auto took a long long time but Joanna eventually chased one down for us! At home, making travel plans proved extremely stressful. Flights from Bangalore to Goa were expensive, and when I called a travel agent, the difficulties just multiplied. First, I asked to speak to someone in English or Hindi. To which he responded yes. For the rest of the conversation, I would speak in one of these two languages and he would insistently respond in Kannada. Which I don't speak. Another travel agent informed me of at least 10 additional charges on top of the 'base fare' including a share of the fuel cost of the plane, and a customer service charge. Ridiculous!

And now it's Tuesday morning and I'm about to start work, so good morning from India!

3 april- a mocha afternoon

Sunday morning, I didn't set an alarm and woke up at 9:30, very late by my Bangalore standards! Jo had risen earlier and gone to the gym, and when I finally got out of bed, Nani was preparing poori halwa.

She taught me how to make it - it is a sweet made for Karnataka New Year, made of flour, sugar, cashews, almonds, butter and raisins. If anyone is interested, the recipe is here.

After making halwa, Jowalla *as Peer Khan calls her* and I retreated to the room to devour the sweet and read chapters and chapters of Opal Mehta, a terribly cheesy and predictable book that was banned in the US for plagiarism (but is readily available on the streets of India!). We read for going on 4 hours (it's that good, I promise!) and then met Shruthi to go hang out at Mocha.

Since hookah is now banned in Bengaluru, Mocha is only staying open for a few more days, so it's lucky we went when we did. We chatted with Shruthi and Atul, played card games and bananagrams, took more pictures and had a delicious chocolate fondue. The other three had some dish called 'cream cheese noodles', a noodley chickeny concoction that was apparently 'heavenly comma divine' in Jowalla's words.

Like most other things we've had in Bangalore, the sides for dipping in fondue did not taste like their descriptions. Eclairs were crunchy and lacked any filling whatsover. Pound cake was weighty and the seasonal fruits consisted of a sliced apple circling a mound of whipped cream.

It is so sad that Mocha is closing, but Shruthi and Atul seem to think the ban won't last long as youngsters will protest. Apparently hookah establishments are the only place 'cool' young people hang out in Bangalore. The BBMP once exacted a ban on cigarettes, which fell through because of the business lost as young people stopped hanging out in places they had previously gone only to enjoy a smoke. Mocha, for instance, makes the majority of its revenue from hookah, so people won't go if hookah is banned. That's unfortunate because it is an amazing place to just sit and talk and eat. 


After Mocha we came home and pretty much read Opal Mehta all night. A quality Sunday, and Monday was a holiday too!

2 april-a bazaar series of events

Saturday morning! After breakfast, Jo and I played card games and talked until the rest of the city properly woke up around 10:30. Nani, Joanna and I then headed to Gandhi Bazaar, a large open-air market in Bangalore, to get our kurtas and churidars tailored.

The bazaar is one of my favourite places in Bangalore, although it is crowded.

Flower and fruit stalls, women standing behind mounds of brightly coloured vegetables in baskets, lots of energy...and also quite hot!

The tailor was closed for the 'holiday' (India playing in the finals of the Cricket World Cup) so we bought fruit and wandered before heading home. Just in time, as it started to rain quite heavily.

Saturday's events weren't actually bizarre but the titular pun was too good to miss out on...

Jo and I finally unpacked! We had a ton of fun setting up the room and it looks all homey and great now. Finally, I joined Nani to watch the match. It was so exciting, but literally went on from 3 to about 11 pm so I mentally checked out for a while. But India won!! And the fireworks outside sounded like machine gun fire. People are still going crazy at 10:30 AM the next day and I have a feeling it will be like this all weekend.

I woke up to banging instruments, lots of singing and cheering as people paraded down the street in joy. I'm excited for the day to begin !

fruit juice and a sad goodbye

Today began a lot less eventfully and I hopped joyfully into an on-time cab, arriving at work at 8:30. A joy!
I finished the spreadsheet today! My boss and another girl on my team gave me books to read on rural development, microfinance and water so of course I'm happy as a cat with cream (expression?). After lunch, I met with my boss to discuss.

I was so thrilled that I had the chance to meet with her one on one. She is so intelligent, charismatic, young and funny. I totally admire her. After a long meeting, she suggested she treat me to some fruit juice, and especially given the sweltering heat of today, I was more than ready to accept.

As we walked through the neighborhood towards the juice shop, I had a chance to appreciate the beauty of Indiranagar. Streets are shady and tree-lined and peaceful. We passed a woman repairing her house! Everything is so labour-intensive here; she had a pile of bricks, and something that looked like sand, and other materials. Wearing a wrapped cloth around her head to balance baskets on if she needed to carry something, she worked deftly with her hands on a project no one would dream of attempting in America without cranes and skilled architects.

The fruit shop was hidden behind a crowd of men and boys, likely taking a break from work just as we were. It is a stand and drink type of place- they serve cool juice in tall glasses with straws and you stand around, sipping and chatting, finally placing the glass back on the counter and paying around 20 rupees (a little less than 50 cents). I wanted mango or pomegranate juice, but they didn't have either so I took apple and my boss took chikoo (a fruit that looks like a potato with flesh the texture of a pear and that is astonishingly sweet to top it all off). We stood and sipped and talked about community pride.

She was explaining to me how deep the hostilities between different states in India can run- where Tamilians were sometimes brutally beaten by North Indians and perhaps vice versa. She assured me that it is a lot better in Bangalore, but in Tamil Nadu, the government is so sensitive about it's language, that it has forbidden the instruction of any other (save English, I assume). Tamil Nadu apparently wanted to secede once- reminds me of Texas!

On the way back from work I gave a homeless man who came begging at the car my biscuits and fruit from lunch, and I was happy that I had had something to give him. (Don't worry- I ate well at lunch myself...).

I came home and was so hot I had to take a shower immediately. I wonder if the weather is going to stay like this! It rained in the evening though, properly rained! I hope that happens again. Except that I wonder how hard the rain makes it for people living without solid roofs over their head in Bangalore. The news is going on and on about cricket- the final of the World Cup is tomorrow, India vs Sri Lanka and it will literally be the most important day for all in India, entirely overshadowing Karnatak New Year on Monday (holiday from work!).

This weekend, Joanna and I can hopefully get our clothes fitted at a local tailor. I can't wait to wear them. This whole hookah ban thing turned out to be super serious! The BBMP raided all of the hookah bars and shisha spots in Bengaluru, removing all devices. And I was hoping to go back to Java City and Mocha to take pictures. Mocha was truly a paradise, all the floaty Arabian cloths and the rooftop and private couches. It seems like a very extreme measure on the part of the BBMP.

The saddest part about today was saying goodbye to Kumar Mama!

He left to return home and I have no idea how we'll fare without him- he's been such an integral part of this trip. He just left, and now I'm sitting on the settee with some terrible Indian serial on television, and Jo to my left writing her own blogpost...a comfy night at home and I'm excited for the weekend!

I have pictures to upload and some of Jo's to show...only a few though, and I'll do that tomorrow.
Goodnight from Bengaluru!