Bangalore lazy days

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I touched down in Bangalore just before midnight on Monday, and was greeted at arrivals by Veena and her friend, Indu. We took the hour's drive back to V's place and after a short catch-up on the balcony, my tiredness got the better of me and I turned in. For some reason, I'd stayed wide awake for the full four and a half hour flight, which is very unlike me. I usually can't sit still for five minutes without drifting off. I somehow managed to zonk out whilst riding in a Cambodian tuk-tuk for goodness' sake! And those of you that have ridden in Cambodian tuk-tuks will understand how difficult a task that should be.

The next day, we just chilled before heading out late afternoon. We went to Frazer Town and had a coffee at French Loaf, where I was eaten alive by mosquitos and - for the first (and hopefully last) time during my travels - was attacked by a spider. Now, most people know about my paralysing fear of creatures of the arachnid variety, and those who don't, usually experience a mix of amusement and utter shock at my reaction to seeing one. Anyway, I was just sitting there, minding my own business, when something dropped on my arm. I mindlessly flicked it away, and in doing so, noticed that it was a spider. Unfortunately, my flick had not been strong enough for the eight-legged terrorist, and so strong was its conviction in terrifying the life out of me, that it landed on my leg. I closed my eyes, flapped my hands in the air and incoherently whimpered at Veena, begging her to help me. Bless her cotton socks - she jumped out of her chair and in seconds, had removed the assailant from my person. Once I had calmed my breathing, and recovered from my traumatic experience, she began gently teasing me about how small the spider was. I was in no position to argue with the woman that just saved my life, so I graciously accepted the mockery.

Still reeling from the recent dramatic event, we went in search of food, stopping at a small street stall serving panipuri, which is a common snack in the north of India. It's basically a crispy, hollow pastry ball with a large hole in it, which is then filled with potato, onion, chilli and some seasonings, followed by 'pani' (Hindi for water). This is then served on a banana leaf 'saucer'. Anyway, the idea is to just shove the whole thing in your mouth, lest you dribble the liquid down your chin. No prizes for guessing who made a mess of herself.

Next, we popped across to a sweet shop, selling an array traditional Indian sweets, such as gulab jamoon (small sausage-looking deep-fried dough rolls soaked in sugar water) and raspuri (small, yellow balls, of Bengali origin). I got a little too excited, and proceeded to order half the shop, not even deterred by the power-cut half-way through.

My first observation of Indian roads was that drivers use their horns more than any other function on their cars/autos/mopeds. During peak hours, it's hard to hear yourself think over the constant honking and bibbing, and the sheer number of vehicles on the roads sends my mind into utter confusion. I didn't know which way to look, let alone where to cross. It has to be said, however, that drivers are quite skilled when it comes to dodging crossing pedestrians and Sunday-strolling cattle.

And that brings me to observation number two: cows. Throughout the day, I saw numerous cows just wandering the streets, some down the middle of the roads (causing vehicles to divert around them), some taking the civilised pavement route, and some just chilling by the road-side. The bizarre thing is, they are just as oblivious to the honking horns and bustling traffic as the drivers are to the sight of cattle strolling in their paths. One cow was even chewing away on a crash helmet that had been left on a moped outside a shop! You see, cows are seen as sacred in Hindu society, and one of the reasons for this is that the god of revenge, Shiva, rode one through Heaven. Likewise, monkeys are not killed due to their association with the god Hanuman.

In the evening, Veena's housemate Vidya and their friend Ashish picked us up and we briefly swung by a poetry reading at Urban Solace, before satisfying our hungers at Queen's - a Punjabi restaurant on Church Street. We ordered a variety of dishes, including palak paneer (spinach and cottage cheese), mushroom masala (self-explanatory) and malai kofta (veggie balls). Wow! The meal was amazing, so much so that the lack of meat didn't even register in my mind. With food like that, I could easily be vegetarian.

At some point during our walk to Frazer Town, Veena asked me how I feel about the attention I get in public. No, not the sort of looks that Julia Roberts got when she donned the red dress and strutted through the hotel lobby in Pretty Woman; the "oh look, a foreigner!" look. Until she mentioned it, I hadn't even realised I was drawing attention, to be honest. I grew so accustomed to being stared at in Korea, I'm oblivious to it now. Perhaps this can be considered in a positive light, in that I feel no form of self-consciousness, but in terms of 'keeping my wits about me'? Not so much.

Wednesday and today were basically chill days, interspersed by periods of eating and my own private showing of the movie Veena directed, 'Reminiscence of Ether'. I was blown away. Such a lovely story line. I listened in awe as Veena told me 'behind the scenes' anecdotes and the production build-up. I'm also proud to say that I have met everyone involved in the making of this movie. Keep your eyes peeled for these guys, people.

And for the food update: Wednesday's lunch consisted of puri, sagu, dhosa and coconut chutney, and dinner was biryani, egg chilli, masala papad and a couple of brandy and cokes at a restaurant called Rewind.

Today, I finally pulled my finger out of my arse and ventured out alone - following very precise instructions from Veena. The aim was to pick up an SD card reader for my iPad from the Apple shop on MG (Mahatma Ghandi) Road since the non-Apple one I bought in Singapore only served to slow down the device's performance. Well, the Apple store doesn't stock them, so I proceeded to Hard Rock Cafe on St Mark's Road, had a couple of iced lattes, then hopped back in an auto to Veena's place in Benson Town.

Veena and I have just been discussing Hindu gods and the stories behind them. I didn't provide such entertaining responsive banter as Pete did back in Cadiz, but i found it just as interesting. Did you know that the Hindu god Ganesh had an elephant head because his father, Shiva, chopped off his original one, not knowing that the man he was decapitating was his own son? Upon discovery of this fact, Shiva duly replaced said head with that of an elephant.

And on that note, I'll bid you goodnight.

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Photos

Random monkeys
They looked at me rather aggressively, so I ran like the wind after taking this photo!