Sunday around Bangalore

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Today we went to the Oberoi for brunch. Once a month other expats from the company meet at a nice hotel for brunch. The food was amazing as was the atmosphere. Brunch cost 1300 RS which is less than 30 dollars. It was all you could eat and drink. We were there for about an hour and a half. I will not need to eat again for awhile.

After the brunch Nadine and I went to for manicures and pedicures. The spa was not as nice as I expected it would be but it cost with tip about $13.

After an hour at the spa Nadine and I met up with Bill, Brian, and David as well as our driver Ravi. We decided to go siteseeing the rest of the day. First Ravi took us to the Karnataka state legislature and high court, two impressive buildings facing each other.

The supreme court building is called Attara Kacheri which literally means eighteen offices or departments. It is made of stone and brick in the Greco-Roman style. The building is very large and the gates in front of the building are locked so we cannot get very close to it. Nadine took a picture of Brian and me in front of the gates. In the meantime a small crowd of Indian men were gathering around the gates. A man asked me if he could have his picture taken with him. I obliged without a second thought, I had been warned that Indian tourists sometimes want their pictures taken with foreigners. Then some of the men asked Nadine to have their picture taken with her, then they wanted both of us in the picture. After about 5 minutes of this a policeman approached the men and told them to go away.

We crossed the street so that we could get a look at the state legislature building, called Vidhana Soudha. This building is made from granite and is in the Dravidian style. When we approached the gate to have our pictures taken we turned around and a swarm of Indian men had gathered right behind us. They were following us like we are celebrities. Brian asked them if they wanted him in a picture. Brian is about 6 ft 4 inches and he is blonde. So he definitely sticks out in a crowd of Indian men. Take a look at the picture - it was a hilarious moment. Then the men asked Nadine and me to get in the picture. They started to invade our personal space because they were all struggling to get next to us. Many of them were trying to touch us, but not in an obscene way. Then different men in the crowd asked Bill for his picture. No matter how many pictures we posed for they kept asking us for more. The only thing that I can compare this situation to is how we treat celebrities. Celebrities are mobbed in public places and people want to touch them and get pictures with them just to say they met someone famous.

The crowd was getting a little bit to close for comfort. Luckily Ravi pulled up right in time and we all piled into the car. An old woman cutting cucumbers by the side of the road started yelling at all the men. I have no idea what she was saying but I am sure that she was scolding them for their behavior. Once we shut the car door the men crowded next to the car and watched us pull away. This was another amazing experience as a foreigner in a strange land. It was flattering but a little bit scary at the same time. I am glad that Nadine and I have 4 men to protect us!

From there we headed to the ISKCON temple (http://www.iskconbangalore.org/). ISKCON stands for International Society for Krishna Consciousness. The temple is a beautiful site - it is constructed of white marble, blue glass, and gold metal, it resides on the hill and is as long as three football fields at least! Construction completed on the temple in 1997. Cameras are not allowed inside the temple and security is very high. We were lead to the VIP entrance where other Westerners were entering the temple. I was grateful that we were getting the VIP treatment because the line to get inside the temple was very long. We had to remove our shoes and the security guard searched my bag. We walked through 2 or 3 smaller rooms that had a deity statue in an enclosed glass area. The deities are very ornate and are adorned with gold and jewels. Us VIPs are allowed to enter at the front of the room so that we can get a good look at the statues. The regular people are crammed into the back of the room and they are praying to the deities.

We eventually end up in a grand room that is much larger than the previous temples. There are a lot of people in this area. In the center there is an area where people are sitting and staring at deities. Us VIPs are taken over to the side where we receive a blessing and a small flower. We then are escorted to view 3 alcoves that store deity statues. Each alcove contains two deities - Sri Krishna and Radha - dressed and decorated in different styles. People were pushing together to get a good view of the deities and to get closer to the priest that was blessing the crowd. The non-VIPs were sitting behind us and I felt guilty because I must have been blocking their view but there was no way for me to sit. More and more people continued to enter the area where we were standing. I had to put my arms around some of my expats so that we could all fit - I would rather be touching them than strangers. It is a good thing that I am not claustrophobic. The area was full of the aroma on incense and scented oil. The priest was issuing a blessing and in the background I could hear people chanting - Hare Krishna Hare Krishna (yes this is the same chant that the Hare Krishnas chat on the Univ of FL campus / stadium).

After a few minutes the blessing is over and we are able to move away from the front of the deities. We then are herded through another area of the large room where religious books are being sold in a variety of languages - most of them are only spoken in India. We then wind down the stairs where we are taken into a shop that is selling higher-priced items. We are all very amused at the items that are for sale. The most amusing one is a small replica of a deity that has blinking lights and plays a Hare Krishna chat. It cost about $100 US. We leave the shop and walk through a maze of vendors for about 10 - 15 minutes. They are selling everything from incense to snack food. At the end of the maze there is free food given away. I am not brave enough to try it. We then walk outside and exit out of the VIP entrance. We gather our shoes and notice an audience of locals watching us. As we get into the car Brian has his picture taken with some of them. I think that he made their day.

Ravi then drove us across town to the Bull Temple. This was about an hour - long drive but I was able to see different parts of Bangalore. On the way to the Bull Temple we passed a family of 4 on a scooter. When we took their picture they were pleased and asked us where we are from. We also passed a goat in an auto rickshaw! We arrive at the Bull Temple after nightfall and we enter through the side path to avoid the beggars. There is a nice park leading up to the Bull Temple where many children are playing. We pass an open amphitheater area where many people were sitting. We also passed an interesting statue of Gandhi. The Bull Temple is small and not nearly as impressive as the ISKCON temple but it is much older. It was built in the 16th century by Kempe Gowda in the Dravidian style. The temple houses a statue of a giant bull - Nandhi, Shiva’s mount. The statue is made of a single piece of granite that is 5m x 6m. Originally the granite was gray but it is now black due to years of coconut oil applied by devotes.

Because it is night the top of the temple is lit with multi-colored lights. We stop in front of the temple and ask someone to take a group photo. We then enter the front of the temple and pass by two priests. Nandhi is adorned with flower garland. At the rear of there is a statue of Ganesh and burning incense The Hindus in front of us are saying a prayer. We approach the front of Nandhi and the priest says a blessing and taps his finger in-between our eyes leaving a red dot. I then put a donation in the brass plate that the other priest is holding. We then exit the park and head home after a long but interesting day.

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Photos

The Bull Temple
Me, Brian, Nadine, Bill, and David standing outside of the Bull Temple.

Banyan Tree at the Oberoi
This banyan tree is at the Oberoi. You can see how big it is by looking at how small Brian and Bill look underneath it.

Brian with his fans
Brian with curious onlookers / fans outside of the high court and state legislature.

Nadine and Me and our fans
Nadine and mewith curious onlookers outside of the high court and state legislature

Outside ISKCON Temple
Brian poses with curious onlookers outside of the ISKCON temple

Nandhi the Bull
Nandhi, Shiva's mount. A 20ft+ granite statue of Nandhi the bull.

Comments

[Brad Mills]

Love the blog
Great comments once again and thanks for sharing your daily experiences with all of us. Sounds like you are doing great and experiencing the culture as much as possible. Again - the pictures are great and I love the descriptions. My favorite are: “chicken parts - it looked like knuckles and grilse. I think I even saw a couple of feathers mixed into the sauce. I think that I will stick with the veg meals from now on” With that comment I think I'll pursue the veggie route should I end up in India. “someone in a dirty clown suit greeting people as they entered the store. Creepy!” Clowns can be creepy in general - dirty clowns especially so. Cooper and Bella aren't afraid of clowns and I hope it stays that way - I'll just need to keep them away from the dirty ones...