Bangalore: after the morning

It was indeed a case of speaking to soon. MG road where we have nestled ourselves in is definitely a bubble in the midst of chaos. Once we left this major road, conditions worsened at the rate of ten to the power of ten - road conditions are atrocious, sewage overflowing, piles of rubbish on the street, and all seem to point to a failed municipality. We however got used to this within hours realising that to mourn would be pointless and taking it as part of our learning about the state of other societies different to ours.

So it began our first day in India: a trip to the old city of Bangalore where it felt like a different country to MG Road. I was eager to see "Ancient India" so I was actively selling the vision of a glorious old civilisation to my friends. Bangalore as we found out isn't as well endowed with such grandeur as Delhi or Mumbai.

When we arrived at the Tipu Sultan palace, we were slightly underwhelmed (one often has inconsiderately immodest expectations from monuments in India). We decided to move on to its city market, a kilometre or so away. Along the way was our first immediate encounter with shocking scenes of urban disrepair - to become a common feature of our trip. We stopped by at a small pocket of green park with a surviving parcel of the old fort (fenced up to prevent so called "undesirables" I suppose, as with parks in our cities).

Still fresh off the boat, we were impressed by anything stone-faced and ancient whatever. Of course, greater things await us in our journey. (Being a bit unfair on Bangalore now!)

The city market however exceeded our expectations. It's mind-blowingly big and a city in its own right. An area of several districts, each with its own specialisation in commodity or craft. The intensity of the activity is on a scale that one should expect of a billion-strong country. Again this is to become a common feature of our observation in India. In one of the evenings we decided to check out another bazaar called the Commercial Street where there are predominantly textile and clothes shops. We bought nothing but we truly enjoyed the festive atmosphere (eid shopping). I must say Jalan TAR on Eid eve is far more impressive, but Commercial Street is several times bigger than Jalan TAR.

By this time I'm a warrior caste when it comes to haggling or negotiating. Past travel experiences in scam-ridden routes across the Middle East and Indonesia have sharpened my tongue and hardened my commitment to outwit touts and taxi drivers. Notwithstanding the refinement of my kiasuness in world's foremost centre for kiasu culture, Universiti Malaya had gave me a certain ruthlessness to destroy touts and scammers.

Caught a glimpse of everyday life in the City Market and was deeply taken by the sheer scale of urban life in India. Breathtaking.

I like the urban form in the older cities of India. Lack of basic infra aside, I think there's much to learn here for KL about allowing building to grow organically and making streets alive.

When I wrote this we are already far ahead in our journey across India and we kept on looking back to Bangalore and say how much we liked it there. It was hassle-free, easy going, and most comfortable city we've been to in India. We miss its mild climate and the gentleness of the city dwellers (the agressiveness of other parts of India is hard to overcome). Despite its lack of majestic architecture of cityscape, to us Bangalore is the kindest city in India and a great way to start our long journey to the north.

This rather delightful small restaurant (Pleasure Tiffin Rooms, if I'm not mistaken) serves South Indian food at its perfection. The unpretentious signboards and authentic everyday India decor is an added bonus for Real-India-seeking naive foreigners like me (This was still quite early on the trip and haven't shrugged off my romanticisms).

Very soon people will say it's Bangalore-style streetscape. (Tokyo? Is that the name of a saree brand?)