bangalore

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arrived in bangalore around midday today. the train journey was uneventful. sorry to disappoint, but it does seem like my blog is all about the trains sometimes!

so far we have just mooched aroud the area near the hotel, whch is just off MG Road (Mahatma Ghandi Road), the main famous area of bangalore. it's basically just full of shopping malls. we have been in marks and spencers, the body shop, pepe jeans (who monica used to work for), and shops with other names but that are exactly like boots, or debenhams, or waterstones.... on the streets it's just like all other indian cities we have been in, busy, polluted, hot etc but then you escape into the lovely airconditioned shopping paradises and feel just like you are at home! we walked past a 'herbalife' office and i thought i was back in uxbridge for a minute....!

mind you, in the space of just an hour or so inside a couple of shopping malls, there were three or four power cuts! i haven't mentioned before but everywhere we have been has a very hit n miss electricity supply. i think it is probably true all over india. at apk there was only power for about 6 hours in the day and never any at night, in other places it goes on and off to some schedule. but it's a bit odd in the middle of a busy modern shopping mall but everyone acts like it's perfectly normal.

i have just finished reading a book called "white tiger" about a poor indian man from a village very similar to apk, who comes to bangalore to become an "entrenpeneur". i highly recommend this book to anyone interested in india. but it really strikes home, as a very high percentage of bangalore residents would never be able to afford a single item in any of the fancy shopping malls. in the book he describes driving his employers to the malls, but knowing he would never be allowed inside himself. it is all a bit unreal. there are security guards and police everywhere, and especially at the entrance to fancy shops. i guess they are supposedly because of terrorism, but the metal detectors start beeping and no-one stops us. a very cursory look at my bag and we are let in, i can't help but feel there main job is to prevent anyone too poor or dirty from coming inside.

everyone speaks english, even indian people amongst themselves, all the adverts and signs and menus in the coffee shops are in english only.

in marks and spencers, the clothes were even more expensive in rupees than they would be to buy at home, and 90% of m&s stuff is made in india (trust me, check your labels!). i don't get it.

at the beauty counters, it's a bit upsetting how many products claim to increase 'fairness'. at home everyone wants anti-ageing, anti-wrinkle, anti-bags, here, everyone wants to be more white. we have spoken to many women and girls who envy my pale skin, yet who are so beautiful. mind you, i have also had several people ask me what is wrong with my skin, they think i have a disease as they have never seen freckles before!!!

well, we are only staying a couple of days in bangalore, so i won't have time to get a job in a call centre, but i hope we will see something more than shopping malls!

i will let you know!

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Comments

[Alistair]

White Tiger
I was just thinking about that book reading the first paragraph when you started talking about it. I really enjoyed it - the best book I read in 2009. I've just bought the follow up.