December 31, 2011
We awoke i in the morning and headed into the city. The purpose of our you was to give us an alternative look at Bangalore. We rode a public bus into the hear of the city and then divided into two groups. My group plunged deep into the heart of the slums of Bangalore. We were asked to not photograph the slums, as many wealthy tourist have a habit of photographing slums, just to prove they were there.
As we walked through the streets, we were told to watch our step, as every few feet the road was smeared with shit. It was shocking to see the contrast between middle class home in the wealthy parts of Bangalore, compared to the houses we saw in the slums. Whole families were crammed into single room houses. Many of the houses did not have running water, and women filled water jars at a communal spigot. It seemed there was an intense need to cram as many shops as possible into one building. As we walked, children followed us calling us "Auntie" and "Uncle". They would greet us, showing off their English, and wish us a "Happy Christmas." Bangalore has large Christian population, and as we walked we would see various nativity scenes, as well as the Virgin Mary wearing a sari.
As we continued on our odyssey we met a man dressed in plain black clothes. We learned that he was planning to journey to Sabarimala, a pilgrim center in Kerala. As part of the pilgrimage he could not eat meet, drink alcohol, have sex, or shave for 40 days. While he was in the midst of this pilgrimage, everyone called him "Sami" which means "god," even though he was a Dalit
By the end of the "tour," I felt a little overwhelmed by what I saw. My senses had been bombarded by this mural of depravity. However, I could not help but notice that many of the families still owned a television. In India, more people own televisions than toilets.
We left the slums and continued into downtown Bangalore. It seemed that we had entered into a different plain of reality. The streets were lined with high end retail stores, selling Sony, Canon, Nikon, American Polo, Nike, etc. We were dropped off at a mall, and spent our time looking through the shops. Many of the stores carried items we could find in the US. I did enjoy browsing through the Bollywood DVD's. We also came across a special movie theatre, that had movies in 4D. In these theaters people are given scratch and sniff cards, to smell at key points in the movie.
The purpose of our visit was to illustrate that in order for shopping malls to exist, other people must pay the price. Many people who come to the slums are people who have been displaced by multinational corporations. These people have had their land taken from them, so that it could be harvested for the natural resources needed to make an iPod. With little alternative, these people flock to the city in order make a living.
After going to the mall, we returned back to Visthar and had a New Year's Eve party. In the distance we could hear the sound of fireworks going off all around the city.
January 1, 2012
Today was a free day, so we decided to all go into Bangalore. In two days I have come to the conclusion that if you can drive in Bangalore, you can drive everywhere. The first thing that struck me was the extremely liberal use of the air horn. At the heart of the city it forms a continuous background noise. It is true that in other parts of the world besides the United States, everyone is an aggressive driver. The worst are motorbikes. It is very amusing to see a family of five all try to fit onto a single motorbike. Pedestrians do not obey the laws and cross the street at whim. I realize that the blatant disregard for traffic in Iowa City does not hold a candle to insanity of pedestrians in Bangalore. In order to navigate the streets, it is necessary to attaché oneself to a large group and just go. The most recognizable part of the traffic in Bangalore is the the auto rickshaws. Like motorbikes, people are compelled to cram as many people as possible into an auto rickshaw.
We were dropped off at Gandhi road, which is one of the main thoroughfares in Bangalore. We first visited the store called Caudvery, which is a large artisan emporium designed to trap tourists. I visited several other stores nearby and in each store I was the "first customer" of the New Year. After torturing the salespeople in these stores I walked down towards Commercial street which had shops for everything. I purchased a Kurta for cheap. I then visited an antique store that was a room stuffed from floor to ceiling with artisan crafts, with only a little pathway in between. I purchased a mask for may dad after bargaining a little bit and continued on my way. I passed a couple of mosques on my way, and then purchased a coconut which I drank, and then ate the meat inside.
Around 5 we headed back to the campus. As a note, in Bangalore, as probably in most cities, there a scammers who will try to have you buy knock-offs. One of my fellow travelers, Anthony, purchased several knock off watches. He was then swarmed by a multitude of merchants, trying to have him purchase a watch. Unfortunately for Anthony these watches are much cheaper than he anticipated. This is obvious in the brand name. One watch was made by Galvin Klein, who must be Calvin's less successful cousin, and another watch was made by Poma, which can only be some sort of deformed Puma, left to die in the wilderness.
We awoke i in the morning and headed into the city. The purpose of our you was to give us an alternative look at Bangalore. We rode a public bus into the hear of the city and then divided into two groups. My group plunged deep into the heart of the slums of Bangalore. We were asked to not photograph the slums, as many wealthy tourist have a habit of photographing slums, just to prove they were there.
As we walked through the streets, we were told to watch our step, as every few feet the road was smeared with shit. It was shocking to see the contrast between middle class home in the wealthy parts of Bangalore, compared to the houses we saw in the slums. Whole families were crammed into single room houses. Many of the houses did not have running water, and women filled water jars at a communal spigot. It seemed there was an intense need to cram as many shops as possible into one building. As we walked, children followed us calling us "Auntie" and "Uncle". They would greet us, showing off their English, and wish us a "Happy Christmas." Bangalore has large Christian population, and as we walked we would see various nativity scenes, as well as the Virgin Mary wearing a sari.
As we continued on our odyssey we met a man dressed in plain black clothes. We learned that he was planning to journey to Sabarimala, a pilgrim center in Kerala. As part of the pilgrimage he could not eat meet, drink alcohol, have sex, or shave for 40 days. While he was in the midst of this pilgrimage, everyone called him "Sami" which means "god," even though he was a Dalit
By the end of the "tour," I felt a little overwhelmed by what I saw. My senses had been bombarded by this mural of depravity. However, I could not help but notice that many of the families still owned a television. In India, more people own televisions than toilets.
We left the slums and continued into downtown Bangalore. It seemed that we had entered into a different plain of reality. The streets were lined with high end retail stores, selling Sony, Canon, Nikon, American Polo, Nike, etc. We were dropped off at a mall, and spent our time looking through the shops. Many of the stores carried items we could find in the US. I did enjoy browsing through the Bollywood DVD's. We also came across a special movie theatre, that had movies in 4D. In these theaters people are given scratch and sniff cards, to smell at key points in the movie.
The purpose of our visit was to illustrate that in order for shopping malls to exist, other people must pay the price. Many people who come to the slums are people who have been displaced by multinational corporations. These people have had their land taken from them, so that it could be harvested for the natural resources needed to make an iPod. With little alternative, these people flock to the city in order make a living.
After going to the mall, we returned back to Visthar and had a New Year's Eve party. In the distance we could hear the sound of fireworks going off all around the city.
January 1, 2012
Today was a free day, so we decided to all go into Bangalore. In two days I have come to the conclusion that if you can drive in Bangalore, you can drive everywhere. The first thing that struck me was the extremely liberal use of the air horn. At the heart of the city it forms a continuous background noise. It is true that in other parts of the world besides the United States, everyone is an aggressive driver. The worst are motorbikes. It is very amusing to see a family of five all try to fit onto a single motorbike. Pedestrians do not obey the laws and cross the street at whim. I realize that the blatant disregard for traffic in Iowa City does not hold a candle to insanity of pedestrians in Bangalore. In order to navigate the streets, it is necessary to attaché oneself to a large group and just go. The most recognizable part of the traffic in Bangalore is the the auto rickshaws. Like motorbikes, people are compelled to cram as many people as possible into an auto rickshaw.
We were dropped off at Gandhi road, which is one of the main thoroughfares in Bangalore. We first visited the store called Caudvery, which is a large artisan emporium designed to trap tourists. I visited several other stores nearby and in each store I was the "first customer" of the New Year. After torturing the salespeople in these stores I walked down towards Commercial street which had shops for everything. I purchased a Kurta for cheap. I then visited an antique store that was a room stuffed from floor to ceiling with artisan crafts, with only a little pathway in between. I purchased a mask for may dad after bargaining a little bit and continued on my way. I passed a couple of mosques on my way, and then purchased a coconut which I drank, and then ate the meat inside.
Around 5 we headed back to the campus. As a note, in Bangalore, as probably in most cities, there a scammers who will try to have you buy knock-offs. One of my fellow travelers, Anthony, purchased several knock off watches. He was then swarmed by a multitude of merchants, trying to have him purchase a watch. Unfortunately for Anthony these watches are much cheaper than he anticipated. This is obvious in the brand name. One watch was made by Galvin Klein, who must be Calvin's less successful cousin, and another watch was made by Poma, which can only be some sort of deformed Puma, left to die in the wilderness.
Ah yes. The air horn. I have now come to associate angry people honking at me as a friendly "hello, kind stranger" ever since my time in India. This has not made me any friends in America.
ReplyDeleteIncidentally, the knock-off were not an "unfortunately" for me. They were a "hell yes". ;)
ReplyDeleteI walked into the Denver Airport with my "Uggs" and "Rolex" showing proud. I think you should purchase some knock-offs and sell them to people you don't like.
I would like to get a Poma.
ReplyDelete