Mysore

Two days after Bannerghata, we went to Mysore with my friend Chetan. Early Saturday morning we head out of the crazy city into open country and clear, decent roads through hills and rice paddies and sugar cane fields, and bamboo forests. OK.. THAT'S more like it!  I knew this India was here somewhere! It's beautiful and peaceful and a nice 2 hour drive from the outskirts of Bangalore to Mysore. We stop for breakfast of filtered coffee and a kind of Idli I had not had yet, kind of flat like a pancake and I think called a Tatte Idli, and then off we went.

Chetan's plans included a stop at Janapada Loka, a place along the way with some cultural and folk art displays similar to Dakshinichitra in Chennai, but this one was not quite as developed. It was nice, it was hot, there were beautiful artifacts to be seen, but it just seemed a bit untended, although we did get a demonstration of pottery making from days way before there was electricity. Just some elbow grease to get the wheel going, and he created the whole pot to perfection before that wheel came to a stop. Next door was a great restaurant where we had lunch and then we stopped to shop for trinkets.  And boy did we find trinkets! We're bringing back a lot of what we found there, so no details on what the presents are. Just know that we had to stop back there on the return trip on Monday morning to pick up more of what we had found here and no where else!!  Then, on to Mysore, city of palaces and Mysore Silk! 

Beautiful city, organized, clean, no traffic jams ;) and there are HORSES running through the streets.  Loose horses! I said.. whaaa..?  I knew about the loose cows and buffalo everywhere,   (as seen to the right )
the loose goats were a surprise, but HORSES?  I guess that's the "thing" in Mysore.  The Maharajahs had horses, and the horses have remained, drawing carriages and carts, horse racing, and beautiful specimens of horse and pony just trotting through the streets.  I LOVED that!  Go driving down a street and 4-5 gorgeous horses go trotting by, all free and unfettered. Quite amazing! and beautiful! Others are teeny, tiny little horses or ponies, used for pulling small carts of tourists around. Very cute!

We checked into another, and probably our LAST $22.00 per night hotel.   It's good to know they exist, they are plentiful and can be had, but I'm done with the cheap hotels. This one was very similar to the one in Chennai and Chittoor- peeling paint on the walls, rock hard bed, no screen on the bathroom window so mosquitoes and other bugs just come strolling or flying on in, had to ask for a towel (FINALLY someone tells me that Indians bring their own towels!  doh!  never even occurred to me) and right on a busy street with traffic noise all night long. By traffic noise I don't mean New York City traffic noise, I mean Indian City traffic noise.  BIG difference.  Huge.  The array of car horn "music" for both honking and backing up is endless.  All night long is insomnia inducing.  And then there's the cockroach the size of a mouse that Lisa saw. In her room. That came later.

We checked in early afternoon, had a late lunch at a nearby hotel that looked awfully attractive in comparison to the one we were booked into with a great restaurant, beer garden, pool and on a quiet street... hmmm very attractive, and we went off to see the Palace.. er, I mean the Infosys Training campus in Mysore.

Built to resemble the Colosseum in Rome,it's amazing and beautiful and grand yet understated and a really nice place to stay while training to work for Infosys. 

For more of the photos of the campus, see here:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=154703&id=625456793&l=85d40cc387

After touring the campus, we drove to Brindavan Gardens to view the musical fountain. The gardens are created behind the Krishnaraja Sagar dam, which crosses the Cauvery river, one of the principal rivers of South India. It's a huge dam, and must be spectacular to watch when the water releases. Outside the garden we found a festival atmosphere with booths of foods and drinks, people selling all sorts of mostly crap for too much money, and the usual horde of people that is everywhere in India. Our white skin really glows at night or something, cuz I swear, they see us and it's like mosquitoes coming at us from all angles, wanting to sell  postcards, and pipes and drums and fake "antique" coins, and fake sandalwood stuff, and fake carved boxes, and jewelry. Oy. But, comes with the territory. We take a bridge over the lake and then go through the gardens, and then up and through some more gardens and they really are beautiful. 

The dam is to the right in the above picture, and this is just one small part of the gardens. There's back-lighting and colored lighting and just enough light to seem kind of magical and starlit. Just at 7pm, we are climbing to the top garden where the musical fountain is and the music starts up and "thar she blows"! Chetan and Lisa move up closer to the fountain to take pics and I hung back outside the crowd, and found myself mixed in with quite a few other westerners.  I heard German and English and other languages I could not identify. Then all around us are the locals who are hooting and hollering to the Kannada movie music that is playing and to which the lights and the fountain are synchronized. Fun, very nice way to pass the time amongst beauty and enthusiastic youth and listening to many languages and smelling flowers and greenery on a beautiful evening. Then, it's over and we stroll back over the long bridge and through the carnival atmosphere back to the car and head back to the Infosys campus for dinner. 

Dinner was a buffet served in a "floating" restaurant in the middle of the campus. We are surrounded and appear to be on top of a man-made pool filled with HUGE koi and other fish. Nice, very pleasant, and a beautiful night to sit outside on water and enjoy the peace and quiet of the campus. After a nice dinner we head back to the hotel. Lisa heads up to her room, I wait for Chetan, who has to park his little car in a littler parking spot. Once I get to my room which is next to Lisa's I see a flurry of activity.  Apparently there was a cockroach the size of a mouse in her room and the front desk guy was doing battle with a can of bug spray and was fumigating. (I think I still feel that in my lungs  ;) Lisa was a bit frazzled, and I don't blame her. But, it's late, we are tired, and things settle down and we go to sleep, with next day maybe finding a different hotel. That was confirmed the next morning when none of us had slept due to the traffic noise all night long.  Apparently we are on a well traveled road, and of course, every vehicle that passes has to honk at least once to let us know they are there. And all three of our rooms are on the street side. 

If there's one thing  I could change about India....  well, I'm not going there.  I know and decided way before coming here that acceptance is the answer, and since coming here that attitude has proved to be the best way to maintain sanity...and to make friends.  :)  but that honking of horns... well,  I'm  just sayin'.  

Sunday morning we woke up, and all of us knew we were changing hotels. We went back over to the one we were at yesterday, the Park Lane to have breakfast and check to see if they had availability.  They did. for rs 100 more than the one we stayed at...  about $2.00 more.  SOLD!! 

We packed up and checked into rooms that were quiet, very comfortable with good air conditioning, no open windows letting in smells and bugs, beds that were actually softer than a board and nice bedding and room service. Big exhale and ahhhhhhhh.  Nice change. Then we headed out to the Mysore Palace. The Palace is historic, lived in, full of beautiful commissioned artwork, hand carved and inlaid wood, silver and gold, a museum and an audio tour. It's very grand, very beautiful, and well worth seeing. Even if we (foreigners) get charged 20 times what the locals do for the tour! It was worth it.  On Sunday nights throughout the year and then for the entire Dusara Festival in October, the palace is lit by over 100,000 twinkling lights. We left in the afternoon to go shopping and napping, and came back to the palace for the lighting. We happened to drive up just as they flicked the switch from off to on, so saw the whole thing come ablaze as we arrived. Couldn't have been better timing! 

 

For the full set of photos, see here:   Mysore Palace Photos

The rest of the day we spent shopping and touring other parts of the city. We were taken by our tuk-tuk or auto-rickshaw driver to a very nice store chock full of Mysore Silk!. I am now the proud owner of a Mysore Silk Sari.  And, a few other pieces of silk.  And scarves. The sales guy did his best to help me decide which sari to buy:

Idn't he pretty?  :)  Which one did I buy?  Maybe you'll see later....  

Before we went to the lighting of the palace, we were at the Kauvery emporium, one of the official places where real sandalwood and rosewood items are sold.  While Lisa was having her purchase wrapped for shipping, I stepped outside the door to get some air. One of the men there is telling me I'm looking at an old convent where the Sisters still live and teach, and it's beautiful and peaceful. Then, all of a sudden the peace is broken by sounds coming at me from both the left and the right, and it's amazing, and loud, and stunning.  The man that was standing out their with me can see questioning face, and tells me that there are mosques on both sides of me, and I'm hearing the call to prayer.  I'm listening in stereo to the Muslim call to prayer while I'm looking at a classic, Catholic convent and church, while I'm talking to a Hindu.  I love this. 

For dinner that night we went out to a very nice hotel for a buffet, but there was no buffet. What there was, was tables setup with linen in a courtyard inside a 5 star hotel, underneath a gigantic mango tree strung with twinkling lights and candles. It was lovely, peaceful and the food was wonderful. Only thing wrong was that they were out of french fries for Lisa. We could deal with that.  And have I mentioned how absolutely beautiful the evenings are here in South India?  After the awful, hard, blasting heat of the day, the evenings are soft, and cool, and amazing. Everyone comes out of their homes and offices and hits the streets and the shops and the sidewalk vegetable stands getting ready for dinner or buying their dinner from the stalls.  I ride home from work in an air-conditioned car, but I ask for the air to be turned off and roll down the windows.  The evenings are so beautiful, they make the days almost bearable.  ;) 

 At 6:30 the next morning, I awoke to a noise outside my hotel window, and got out of bed to find out what it was.  I opened the window and heard the early morning call to prayer from a mosque while I watched the horizon turn pink. I was very fortunate to hear this call done by someone with a beautiful, calm, and clear voice, and it gave me goosebumps to stand their and listen and watch.  Awesome way to start the day.  

And then we headed back to Bangalore and work.  But had a great weekend and I love Mysore!

Catching up!

Seems that when we go on a road trip for a weekend and then work 50+ hours the weeks before and after that, it takes a bit to recover and wake up my "muse" who seems to need more sleep than I do  ;)  Plus, I think I reached a point where I needed to stop, what with the work, and the travel, and the hospital stay, and the high BP, and meeting so many people, and going to so many places, and the work, and the hard bed, and my roommate whom I've been just a little too close to for 6 weeks now, and the power outages, and the work.. get my drift?  ;) Plus, I was up to HERE with technical issues with my laptop and it's a good thing I can fix them myself, but geez, add that to the list of things to do, and I needed a day off. Just so happened, when I was at the peak of my frustration my friend Maneesh from MN calls me, and he's here in Bangalore with the family and would like to get together with me for a day, so would I like to go to the zoo?  Sure, why not!!So I take a PTO day, and a well-deserved one, at that!

We, meaning Maneesh, his wife, 4-yr old son and his mother headed out to lunch, then to the park. I didn't know this until I got back and really read about the place, but we went to Banerghatta National Park which is a wildlife reserve in a beautiful, hilly, forest area just 22km outside of Bangalore. It specializes in rescuing circus animals and then providing a place where the lions and tigers and bears (oh my!) can live out their lives in peace. We did see lions and both white and orange tigers, and black bears that have white snouts here in India, unlike the full black bears in N. America.  These guys are lots smaller, too. I have excellent pictures!

 

But about these pictures.  When we arrived for the "safari" where they take us through the preserves in a bus, the bus was quite full. Maneesh told them we'd wait for the next bus, but no, they said they'd fit us in. We piled in and I was given the very front seat next to the driver, right in front of the window. The windows were covered with grates, but there were cutouts that offered great picture taking windows. The assistant to the driver sat on the hump between the driver and me and let me know very clearly that they don't ALLOW people to sit in the seat I was in, that this was a big favor to me to allow me that seat. Message heard.  Could it have anything at all to do with the fact that I'm the only one with white skin on this bus?  Naahhh..  And we start moving along, and he's making small talk with me, and animals come into view. He wordlessly asks to take my camera and take pics, and I let him. He took many great photos, 60+ very close up, very clear, he's practiced at that and I knew I'd be tipping him well. We see all the animals, he answers my questions about ant hills that are 3-4 feet tall and other hills that were left by elephants that weren't quite that tall ;) and after about an hour in that hot, close, full of humanity bus, we near the end and he asks me for a tip. Right there.. he lost a point.  I gave him what I thought was more than a nice tip of 150 rs and he wants more, cuz he shares with the driver.  Lost more points, but I gave him another 100 rs.  Still he's not satisfied, and wants 500.   Uh, no.  Not gonna happen. I'm torn here, cuz I know he took some great pics for me and gave me lots of undivided attention, but I didn't ask him to, nor did we agree on any price.  and a "tip" is to be freely given, not coerced.  So, sorry, buddy but no way.  Oh.. he's not happy.  His pretty eyes that were so accomodating before now have daggers coming out of them. Oh screw you, Mr. and I stood my ground.  And paid no attention to the catty remark he made to the driver.
As we are disembarking from the bus, he is courteously helping all the passengers down. As I leave, he glares and does not offer me his hand. At that point, I'm ready to demand my money back.. but, that would have caused a row and I and the people I am with don't need the hassle.  But, ...asshole.  Very bad blight on that part of that trip for me.  I find out from Maneesh that the tickets for all 5 of us and the fee for the camera were less than 500 rs, and the 250 I gave him was way more than enough.  jerk.
Anyhoo, we head on back to Maneesh's home where dinner is being prepared, and I get to meet his brother and sister-in-law, and his father and just hang out in a nice apartment and hang out in the kitchen with the women a little, and look at photo albums and just spend a nice rest of the day.
And, I did end up with some great photos  ;)  Bannerghatta Photos

And... since someone has been giving me grief about needing to post some photos, just some day to day ones, here ya go.

This is just some of the signs we see on the way to work, pointing to the various IT industries in IT-ville, actually ITPL or ITPB as it's now known, which stands for International Tech Park, Bangalore. I'd post some of the actual building, but security won't allow.  We pass through a gate with armed and unarmed guards which no one gets through without displaying the correct credentials, and then all vehicles go through a bomb/explosives check, and then into the building where we then have to swipe the badge to get in the door to the floor we work on. Security is like that getting into hotels, and some shopping malls, too. At first it unnerved me, now it seems like just a thing. With all the terror warnings and bomb threats that occur all over the world, this just seems like a logical precaution and a worthwhile inconvenience.

This is the Sri Sathya Sai General Hospital, opened in 1977 which provides complex surgeries, food and medicines free of cos to the poor. The hospital has treated over 2 million patients.  And it's incredibly beautiful.

Flowering trees on the way to work, out the car window.  It's reaching peak flowering season and they are EVERYwhere!  I love this!

More later!

One month in Bangalore

I think we finally had a "normal" week.  Normal in the sense that no trips to anywhere, planned or otherwise, just working and hanging out at home and sleeping. Working should be in capital letters.. I think I put in 50 hours by end of day Thurs, which was apparent on Friday, as I don't think I was too productive! We've been going into office around 11 or 12, working until somewhere between meetings around 7pm-9pm and then on conference calls from the minute I walk in the door until anywhere between 10 and midnight. Sleep fast, then do it again the next day. I had my dinner while on a call and in a meeting more than once last week. I'm also not waking up at 6am any more  ;)
In my spare time :) I am trying to finish my book that I brought along a month ago.  I'm not getting very far very fast. When I do read, it's about a page or 2 and my eyes are already closing.
It's good work, though and I love it. I haven't made it through a day yet without laughing well, more than once. My team has expanded to about double, so I've been playing catch up with the new additons' processes and procedures and practices (the 3 P's?), and looking for and finding opportunities for efficiencies so we're off to a running start. The old, familiar part of the team is also busier than heck with preparing for a couple tidal waves I see coming at us, so no wonder we're working so hard and long.
Yet, we did find time to go to lunch all together on Friday. Harish and RaeDean back in Mpls. had sent some money along so that I could take the SES team out to lunch or dinner, and to include Pallabi with whom Harish has been working on another project. All 12 of us went to lunch at the Savannah Hotel (here we pronounce SAH- vannah, not my midwestern Sa-VAN-ah, which I realized when I saw the spelling ;) and had a grand Friday buffet of great Indian food.

Moi, Naveen, Chandra, Pallabi, Padma, Naseem

Savitha, Meenakshi, Harish, Parna, Mythili, Satheesh

One other side job I have taken on is teaching 1 billion people the meaning and purpose of doing a pinky swear. I think I'm at 3 down, a billion minus 3 to go.   What percentage is that?  :D

Saturday morning, we got up early to go view the highlights of Bangalore. We began with the ISKCON temple. Beautiful place, peaceful, open, breezy, calm.  But it didn't take long till I had a flash-back right to the 1970's. Chetan caught me smiling as I had wandered back to a different place that had the same decorations of brass lanterns and incense and the sounds of mantras of Hare Krishna. And another smoky type of smell that was missing at the ISKCON  ;)  It also has a restaurant, as noted in below pic. 

But God doesn't serve breakfast, and we didn't want to wait 1.5 hours, although i was sure tempted!

We also visited the Bangalore Palace, which was beautiful, but deeply in need of restoration which is going on, but needs a kick in the pants or something. Unbelievably, beautiful woodwork inside a smaller replica of Windsor Castle. 

And there are flowering trees everywhere.  This one is my favorite, common name is Copper Pod due to copper/red seed cases, but it's bright yellow and just lovely.  I LOVE yellow flowering trees!  Hell, I love flowering trees of any color.  Here, the flowers tend to last for more than 2 weeks though, unlike my Minnesota lilacs and flowering crabs. 

I love this pic.  The dogs all sleeping in the shade on the grounds of the Bangalore Palace.  So, just imagine how hot it must be for all of those dogs to be sleeping there in the shade in the middle of the day. Just imagine.  It was freakin' HOT!!!

We also went to the Cauvery, where one can buy much beautiful sandalwood carving.  I think I spent an hour in there just looking at all the art.  Too expensive for my blood, but I did buy a few things including a copper vessel, and a little something for that kid of mine back home.

We had lunch at a place called Three Quarter Chinese.. I think the other 1/4 was Indian.  Whatever, it was really good. Drove around a bit more, as much as we could in that damn traffic which was mostly in jams, saw the government buildings, the high court, the library, museums, but it was just too hot to get out and wander, and too difficult with that traffic, so we didn't. We were quite spent by this time and decided we'd view more later. So, we then headed home to a nap.

Rest of the weekend was peaceful, hanging out getting to know Madhav the caretaker some more, viewing pic of his wife, of Anand's little daughter. These guys are here, have been for years, but their wives and in Anand's case child are back home with the family. They see their families maybe once a year, and I know this kind of thing has been going on for decades with the many separated and traveling families of Indians looking for better life, but not so sure I could do it, or agree to it!
Even on Sunday, I needed hair cut so made appointment at a salon close by. While there I had a pedicure that lasted nearly an hour and a half and it was OMG divine! The haircut was equivalent to $13.00 and the OMG wonderful pedicure and massage and reflexology and polishing and.. OMG.. was about $9.00. I'm going back, and brought the list of services back to Lisa.   But, I digress.. the owner of that salon is a young woman with 2 young children, and her husband was in IT and is now opening a store in the U.K. for a large retail chain there. He'll be there for 3 years. And she'll be here with the children and her very thriving business. More power to them, but that's got to be tough, not seeing your partner for long periods of time.

Anyways.. I'm off to bed and to begin another week.  Next weekend, we're heading to Mysore.

Final word... please, please someone tell me that this says "wash me".   :D  It just has to!!

So, how's the weather?

Look at Wednesday.   And Bangalore (Bengaluru) is where people escape to from the heat of the plains!!