Today is Sunday and we have ventured out again. Chris was under the impression that Commercial Street was something to see and I feel bad that I didn't reiterate that it was just shops. Even I underestimated the level of 'shopping' that was Commercial Street! We felt like locals as we hailed an autorickshaw and headed into town. It costs 50 rupees and takes about 15 minutes. Being Sunday there was slightly less traffic and it was quite pleasant as it has been a bit cooler over the last few days. We arrived and threw ourselves into the furore. This is an area of the city where the 'locals' shop. At first we went into a few clothing shops and even bought Daisy a funky pair of trousers, we asked the price of lovely silk materials and checked out the bedspreads. All was quite pleasant apart from the lack of footpaths and the ever present smell of human waste and rotting something or other. We carried Daisy in her backpack which was lovely for us to have both hands available for balance and up on Chris's shoulders, kept her out of reach of most people wanting to pinch her cheeks. There were lots of ohhs and ahhs and the occasional face pinching but mostly she was out of harms way. We wandered the streets and headed deeper into local territory. The crowds started to increase and there were constant calls of 'you look my shop, no buying just looking'. If we stopped for too long we would find ourselves surrounded by beggars touching our arms to get our attention. It would take quite the striding out to keep up with Chris who would just leg it! There were brightly coloured saris and black bhurkas of the muslim women, cars beeping and us having to jump out of the way or else get run over! There were street urchins and dead rats! The road would have rivulets of some sort of fluid that we didn't want to contemplate the origin of too carefully. The smells would be smoke, dust, car fumes, the most sweet smelling flowers you have ever smelt, food smells, perspiration and the organic pungent aroma of rotting fruit. The shops were piled high on top of each other and I must say that by this time even a world shopper like myself no longer ventured into shops but just glanced over them as all our senses were being assaulted. We would often find a rickshaw driver would drive at us to get our attention which would force us onto the narrow labyrinth of roads and always into the path of some other on coming vehicle. There is transport of all types from brand new 4x4 to horse drawn carts to wooden trailers pulled along by there owners. Each vehicle is vieing for passage through the narrow streets. Everyone of the million or so people in the area are trying to survive. We saw palm readers and shoe menders, one man with some scales that you would pay to weigh yourself, beggars and men in immaculate suits of pure white. At the height of our sensory overload we found ourselves in the compound of a Catholic church, the Basillica of Mary. The area was laid out in true catholic style of gold plated everything and statues of saints behind glass available to be worshipped and adored. We found a lovely white statue of the Pia mater ( Mary with Jesus draped our her lap after being brought down from the cross) and it was covered in tuberrose and marigold flowers and it was an amazing fusion of Catholisim and India. We gathered our thoughts and headed back to a more western shopping district. On our way we found a chinese resturant and had a lovely lovely meal of fresh vegetables. It cost us 900 rupees which is nearly a months wage here but we ate our fill both physically and emotionally. Revived we wandered around for a little while and then another rickshaw home. We had a power blackout for most of the day and fed Daisy in the fading light. Luckily the gas stove still works so as all else seemed to fail we could still make a cup of tea!
Today is Sunday and we have ventured out again. Chris was under the impression that Commercial Street was something to see and I feel bad that I didn't reiterate that it was just shops. Even I underestimated the level of 'shopping' that was Commercial Street! We felt like locals as we hailed an autorickshaw and headed into town. It costs 50 rupees and takes about 15 minutes. Being Sunday there was slightly less traffic and it was quite pleasant as it has been a bit cooler over the last few days. We arrived and threw ourselves into the furore. This is an area of the city where the 'locals' shop. At first we went into a few clothing shops and even bought Daisy a funky pair of trousers, we asked the price of lovely silk materials and checked out the bedspreads. All was quite pleasant apart from the lack of footpaths and the ever present smell of human waste and rotting something or other. We carried Daisy in her backpack which was lovely for us to have both hands available for balance and up on Chris's shoulders, kept her out of reach of most people wanting to pinch her cheeks. There were lots of ohhs and ahhs and the occasional face pinching but mostly she was out of harms way. We wandered the streets and headed deeper into local territory. The crowds started to increase and there were constant calls of 'you look my shop, no buying just looking'. If we stopped for too long we would find ourselves surrounded by beggars touching our arms to get our attention. It would take quite the striding out to keep up with Chris who would just leg it! There were brightly coloured saris and black bhurkas of the muslim women, cars beeping and us having to jump out of the way or else get run over! There were street urchins and dead rats! The road would have rivulets of some sort of fluid that we didn't want to contemplate the origin of too carefully. The smells would be smoke, dust, car fumes, the most sweet smelling flowers you have ever smelt, food smells, perspiration and the organic pungent aroma of rotting fruit. The shops were piled high on top of each other and I must say that by this time even a world shopper like myself no longer ventured into shops but just glanced over them as all our senses were being assaulted. We would often find a rickshaw driver would drive at us to get our attention which would force us onto the narrow labyrinth of roads and always into the path of some other on coming vehicle. There is transport of all types from brand new 4x4 to horse drawn carts to wooden trailers pulled along by there owners. Each vehicle is vieing for passage through the narrow streets. Everyone of the million or so people in the area are trying to survive. We saw palm readers and shoe menders, one man with some scales that you would pay to weigh yourself, beggars and men in immaculate suits of pure white. At the height of our sensory overload we found ourselves in the compound of a Catholic church, the Basillica of Mary. The area was laid out in true catholic style of gold plated everything and statues of saints behind glass available to be worshipped and adored. We found a lovely white statue of the Pia mater ( Mary with Jesus draped our her lap after being brought down from the cross) and it was covered in tuberrose and marigold flowers and it was an amazing fusion of Catholisim and India. We gathered our thoughts and headed back to a more western shopping district. On our way we found a chinese resturant and had a lovely lovely meal of fresh vegetables. It cost us 900 rupees which is nearly a months wage here but we ate our fill both physically and emotionally. Revived we wandered around for a little while and then another rickshaw home. We had a power blackout for most of the day and fed Daisy in the fading light. Luckily the gas stove still works so as all else seemed to fail we could still make a cup of tea! 
1 comment:
What an adventure you had! Talk about taking Bangalore by the horns and leaping into the fray!! GREAT pic, too! Daisy looks so serene, riding up so high.
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