Bangalore's Old and New (part 1)

Determined to heed the rules of the all-knowing travel advisors (who I'll continue to refer to as "they" throughout the trip...you'll know it when I say things like, "they say you shouldn't eat thin-skinned fruit."), we ignored our bodies requests to go straight to sleep. Instead, we took off to explore Bangalore's Old City. We got there on a rickshaw--one of my favorite means of transportation (second to its smaller filipino cousin, the tuktuk). It's basically a semi-enclosed tricycle with a bench behind the driver that can fit three narrow butts. Something about the enclosure makes you feel relatively safe despite the chaos (systematic chaos, if you will) that surrounds you. The thing you can't forget when you step foot outside of it (or anything really) is to watch out for a fastmoving something--be it on 4-, 3-, 2-wheels, or foot or hoof. This is especially true in the Old City where a network of narrow paths take mixed use to the extreme. It's still home to many of the trades that made it a commercial hub and there's not a tourist to be seen.

I should say now that my dad and I were very lucky. Not only does Champaka lead tours of the Old City in her free time, she also was part of the team that wrote Bangalore's Master Plan, so we had planner insight fit for kings (or planner geeks and history lovers), which you'll no doubt be hearing more about!

The densely packed streets are lined with narrow buildings (some no more than 5-feet wide) stretching up 4-5 stories. Literally every square inch of space is filled up with something functional--a shrine (on wheels, in one case), shops of all kinds, weaving factories, etc. We walked past lounging cows, ancient bikes overloaded with coconuts and manned by vendors bearing machetes (I think sickle is the appropriate term, but I like the image of machete), and portable vending tables selling everything from plastic gadgets to freshly roasted peanuts. Shrines decorated with brightly painted animal gods were tucked in amidst the shops. To my enjoyment, cow and monkey gods seemed to be featured most prominently.

Next we went to explore the old farmers market. Think crowded, packed, non-stop movement: a sensory overload. We crammed our way into the sea of shoppers and checked out all of the fresh fruits, veggies, and spices. Champaka led us through the main courtyard and into the old structure where the flower market occupies the entire first floor and the upper floor is home to all items you'd ever need to decorate your shrine or use in your kitchen. My favorite for-sale items were the conical mounds of brilliantly colored kumkum (the colored powder that many Hindu dot on their foreheads). Though we weren't really there to buy anything, the colors, smells, and activity were well worth the trip.

To really give us a sense of the contrast between old and new Bangalore, Champaka made our next stop as different as possible.

To be continued...