An Imprint of Colonialism:
The historical buildings in Karnataka.
It is known as Silicon Valley of the country, the nerve centre of India’s software industries. Its other major industries include aircraft, electronics and tools machine. Despite being one of Asia’s fastest growing cities, Bangalore remains one of India’s most elegant metropolises. It is also known as a Garden City, with a well organized planning structure, several parks, gardens and lakes. Most of the people are educated and speak fluent English compared to other states.In another words, it is hardly to find those who are illiterate.
I was kindly warned. That was my only brush with Indian Immigration. I was told that I could have gotten into trouble, but the Indians’ high regard for Malaysia was actually saved my skin.
Sunflower field on the
way to Putty Patty
At the Vineyard: This grapevine is one of the memorable places that we visited at a brief stopover near Putty Patty. The owner of the grapevine is very cooperative when we asked him to pose.
The next day, we visited the fish market, Kerala’s tourist spots. I wanted to take lots of pictures, but I found that people here are quite conservative. I was told that many Indians do not like having their pictures taken because they believe that they are soul traps. Therefore, I asked for their permission first before clicking away.
We returned to a Bangalore city in the afternoon by train. I saw passengers sleeping with their shoes next to their head to prevent theft! The journey was long and tedious and we stopped at least 21 times.However the monotony was broken with railway workers carrying a huge container of coffee, banana fritters and other traditional cakes. The aroma of coffee certainly rejuvenated me! I certainly thought the idea was rather quaint and unique as I have never seen anything like that before. Such is the beauty of olden India, which remains till today!
We arrived at Bangalore in the wee hours of the morning and again witnessed the stunning dawn breaking over the city’s skyline. One thing that I can say about the sub-continent; it has such a lovely sunset and sunrise.
The beauty was quickly marred by a morbid sight...that of a figure covered with a piece of cloth being carted home in a bullock cart. It was a corpse and the people were the deceased’s family and relatives, I was told. It was so open and blatant that I felt sorry for the deceased.
The sight was soon forgotten when we took the Ambassador car to the hotel. A humongous car with a noisy engine, it demands respect whenever it goes. All vehicles automatically gave way to this old and bulky car for unknown reason.
The traffic in India is a potential heart stopper! It seems like anarchy where everyone believes he is right. All laws and regulations apparently are tossed out of the window when Indian drivers take over the wheel. Horns could be heard honking and blaring from every nook and corner. Needless to say, the drivers were endlessly cursing and swearing. It was a madhouse.
After checking into our hotel, we decided to tour the city ourselves. We rented a ‘tut-tut’, a 3 wheel motorcycle for a sightseeing and our first stop was the bazaars all around the MG Road (Mahatma Gandhi Road) and stop by at Mysore Silk Store which sells every variety of silk saris.
The prices are so reasonable that we could not believe our ears. The price is between 400- 5000 rupees depending on the quality of the fabrics and the motifs. We bought the table mat with sequins on it, mat cushions, decorative pots and several pairs of ‘kurtas’, men’s shirt that made from 100% cotton. Branded goods are sold at very competitive prices. My husband also bought a Samsonite bag for 3000 rupees. The quality is not so bad and worth buying especially for those who are always on the move.Shopping Haven: There is a lot of interesting stuff that one can buy when travelling along Commercial Road and some of them are really a good bargain.
On the following day we visited the Sai Baba Centre. I
heard so much about the man that I felt I must at least see the centre if not the man himself. It took two hours by road. We passed many vineyards along the way. Despites the weather, grapes grow well in Bangalore. Another place worth mentioning is the Sun Flower farm which we visited too. The entire valley was filled with sun-kissed blooms that gleamed like gold from afar.
The Sai Baba Centre is located at Putty Pathy and it is self-contained. It has its own airfield that can even accommodate Boeing 737-400 and a hospital which provides free services for the centre’s guest .I was told that cancer patients were known to have fully recovered when treated in the hospital all because of the healing powers of Sai Baba. The centre also boasts of a school and college bearing the name of the spiritual leader.
There seems to be some sort of spiritual unity or bonding at the centre. People of different nationals, status and creeds converge there. The guests are all clad in white robes. In fact, there is only one dress code and that is white robes. Entry is denied to those who dressed differently.
After buying and donning the required white robes, we went through stringent security checks and had to leave our personal belongings with the guards. As photo taking is not allowed in the centre, I had to rely on my memory to store the images.
We were brought to a massive open court that can easily accommodate six tennis courts. It was filled with devotees, sitting crossed legged in meditation. A few second later a priest came in a flashy luxury Limousine and started to pray. The devotees followed. The scene was awesome.
Flower Power: A normal scene at Commercial Road in Bangalore where flowers are sold in open market everywhere. Most of the time, it is for religious offerings in a temple.
It was in the morning when we hit the city and we were lucky to catch the spectacular sunrise. The temperature was lovely, about 22 degrees Celsius. We had the whole day in the city as our train to Cochin via Ernakulum Express left later in the day. Transportation is cheap in India and all it cost us was 1100 rupees to rent a taxi service for the whole day. The rate varies with the condition of the vehicles.
Licensed moneychangers are all over the place. The moneychanger in the airport opens 24 hours allowing arriving and departing travellers to change their currency as it is forbidden to take any Indian rupees out of the country. Most of the rupees are marked but are just as valid. However, the traveller has the choice to reject the money and request for the unmarked notes.
As we embarked on the train to Cochin at the Bangalore railway station, we found the station was filled with porters. Like the touts at the airport, these porters are equally just as persistent and eager to carry your bags. If you are not careful, they will go with your bags and leave you alone. To avoid this, travellers should carry a bag pack with no luggage.The train we took was very comfortable and hygienic; a stark contrast with the rumours I have heard about Indian train. The only drawback would be the missing toilet rolls even in the first class cabin’s toilet. As we travel extensively, I found out that toilet rolls are a strange phenomenon in the sub-continent. Food is not served in the train, as there is no canteen. However, arrangement can be made for meals when traveller pays upfront to the station master at the beginning of the journey. Comfortably equipped with fresh sheets and blanket, each cabin has hard solid bunks for resting.
However, the safety of our belongings remained our top priority especially after hearing many horrifying tales of theft committed during train journeys, so we took extra care with our luggage. We attached bicycle locks onto our bags.
From Ernakulum city, we travelled to Cochin which only took us about 30 minutes. It was there that we had our first taste of Keralalite cuisine.
Capital of Kerala state, the coastal town of Cochin is located next to the state of Tamil Nadu. It is steeped in history as it is the first town the famous Portuguese traveller, Vasco Da Gama, first set his feet on when he arrived in the sub-continent. It is also the hub of Indian spices, namely coriander and jarriccum chillies.Rather picturesque in a rustic way, it has this easy and idyllic atmosphere that seems to dominate the lifestyle if its residents.
I liken enjoying Southern Indian cuisine to a hot passionate affair! Very spicy and aromatic. The food is a far cry from those so called ‘authentic’ Indian food served back home. One of my favourite is the ‘Kerala Masala’, Indian version of roast chicken and shrimp salad. Fruits in Kerala are similar to those back home but a word of caution; don’t ever try out the mangoes no matter how tempting the platter is. They are disappointment. By that I mean they are very, very sour! However, one bad apple doesn’t mean whole tree is bad and our disappointment was soon sweetly compensated by the ‘Swagan Ladu’, which is deliciously sweet without being overpowering.
After the hearty meals, we headed to Port Cochin by taxi. The port is the European 1600 century architecture masterpiece.
I found out that India, in particular the state of Kerala is very conservative by Malaysian standard. It is advisable for ladies to be clad very decently as even a harmless sleeveless top clad female will get wolf-whistled!
The bazaar is located at the other end of the port, which is only a couple of minutes’ walk. A shopper’s heaven, it has almost anything and everything under one roof. From stainless steel cooking ware to silk fabrics, the selection is simply astounding, not to mention the price. It is even possible to find a solid bronze ware in the bazaar. I had my first glimpse of the world’s famous sex manual ‘Kamasutra’. Some may be ‘disturbed’ by the graphics in the book, but to me, it is a beautiful form of art, which is lost in this modern age and time. It is ‘art in its truest sense’ as the seller explained to me adding it has been an Indian tradition for more than 1000 years.Indian massages are world- renowned and since I was in the country I would not pass the chance of having one. That evening I went for a tradional Ayurveda massage which has three variations- physical, spiritual and mental. I opted for the last as it promised of de- stress. Using a mixture of ghee and spice, two professional masseurs kneaded, rolled and worked my tired and knotted muscles producing a feeling of warm glow that spread through the entire body. The whole massage was a tremendous experience which I highly recommend to any traveller to the sub-continent.
We still had time to spare before our flight back to Malaysia, so we went back to the shops and use up all our remaining rupees on souvenirs for friends and relatives.
Finally, it was time for us to leave the country that had enthralled and captivated us for a week. Strange! I felt sad and happy all at once. The trip had been a memorable one, but I was looking forward for my home again.
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