Oh, Bangalore!

Way back in March we were in Bangalore for a few days, some work some play, and it was a bit like being in another country much of the time.  Part of the fun was visiting our former Iowa City chums P and R, and it reminded us that we used to have friends and there is great comfort is laughing over the same stuff, and sharing a cultural base.
They showed us the best of what Bangalore has to offer, and that is a pretty impressive set.  There is serious money in Bangalore, NRI and international, because of the technology park and subsequent high-end industries.  You notice it as soon as you step off the plane onto the pristine marble floor of the airport, and walk down a corridor lined with gorgeous plantings but no garbage.  We saw several trash cans in Bangalore, a rare sight in India, along with restaurants of every cuisine that rivaled major cities around the world.  And yes, we partook of as much as we could.  We visited R's very impressive lab that had state of the art equipment, management, and cleanliness, and P's progressive, gorgeous, well-equiped elementary school campus and we had a sense that we were not in the India we had come to know thus far.  It was a great respite, though, I'm not complaining.  It is curious, though, how much difference an infusion of money can make on a culture.  Sure there was lots of horn honking and crazy driving, and other Indian-markers, but there were also several experiences that seemed rather out of place.
We were hoping to go back in June, but the deal fell through for another workshop, so we'll have to settle for a great memory of time with friends and great food and hotel experiences.  Sigh…. Some pictures of our time, yes, they are of food, a salad and great dessert, to be specific… the burrata cheese in the salad was top quality, as were the micro greens and the tiramisu was fabulous. Keep up the good work, Bangalore!

Mother's Day Garden

For me, Mother's Day has very often been about gardening.  In Iowa it was a great time to set plants, both perennial and annual, and mess around in the dirt.  This year saw a return to the garden, this time of a tropical variety.  In addition to the mango festival next store, a couple of nurseries set up their wares, and for very few coins I was able to amass a lovely array of tropical exotic flora.  Enjoy the show.

MANGO FESTIVAL!

I've been on blog hiatus while I've been traveling, working like a fiend, and visiting America, but I'm back and have lots to catch up… First and foremost, there is a MANGO FESTIVAL across the street at the palace grounds!!!! There's always some cacophony and crowd there for some exhibition or other, so I don't usually pay much attention, but when I saw the giant mango at the entrance, all I could think was "Oh yeah, baby, that's what I'm talking about!" and I made a bee line for the ticket counter.

At first it reminded us a bit of a state fair atmosphere with the informational pavilions, but the mango hawkers' pavilion was pure India:  loud, messy, crowded, colorful, and delicious.  I thought I had more than my share before I happened on the sales pavilion, but I guess I was wrong, because about 30 mangoes later I emerged with full bags.  These are by far the most delicious mangoes I have ever eaten, and so far, the Alphonsa is still the queen of them all.  A couple of hawkers insisted yesterday that their "rare" variety was sweeter than the Alphonsa, so I bought a kilo, but I've yet to taste them, as they are still ripening.  I'll believe it when I eat it.  Last night we had mango lassis made from 8 Alphonsa mangoes and some yogurt, and I'm sure a sweeter drink has never passed my lips.  I did indeed swoon.

And, as if the mangoes weren't enough to get my heart going, there was a drum group at the bottom of the hill, but not just any drum corp.

 It's normal to hear drums around the city about every day, because they are employed to "drum up" business for any new opening of a store, exhibit, or just because.  But these drummers were on fire with the beat, and I capture some footage I'll try to upload for your enjoyment.  Not sure this bandwidth can handle it, though... They were incredible, really, as good as any drum group I've heard, and they had great stage presence.  One drummer would subtly announce a shift by bending forward over his drum, or something I couldn't ascertain, and then they were off.  Sometimes they would gather in a circle and try to outbeat each other, and sometimes they got so loud I had to back up.  Notice the curved drum sticks, by the way, and also the ages of some of the drummers.  I guess they are getting better with age like some of us!

All in all a great experience.  This is some of the best of what Kerala has to offer, and I was loving it!  I've been waiting all year for mango season in Kerala, and it has not disappointed.  I'll be "putting up" some mangoes in the freezer with some lemon juice and a very small dash of sugar, blended, to use as a sauce for yogurt or ice cream, or just to take a direct hit from.  I don't want to be caught without mango goodness during the monsoon season, in case the mangoes stop coming…  Enjoy the photos below, sorry, I know it will make you quite hungry for the mango nectar….

Alphonsas….Export Quality but I snagged them before they got out of the country!

Entrance to Exhibit

Exhibition Hall

Luscious mango ice crew

Humble beginning for the fruit

a few varieties: sugar babies in the middle!

bounty spilling over

"rare" Tamil Nadu variety I was overcharged for

Gets the "great shape" award

a mound of sugar baby goodness

Hawkers plying their trade

Hawker who asked me to take his photo

r

drummers in action

Tree in park at Sunset

Sun sets on the mango festival

Don’t forget the Popcorn!

I’ve been on the road for a while now, and I try to load up on newly released movies if I have a long commute or travel day, which I usually do.   Thus, I’ve seen a lot of movies lately, so I thought I’d provide a lightning-round review of some of what I’ve seen.

1.     Saving Mr. Banks:  Thumbs Up!  We actually found a theatre in Chennai showing this on its screen, so part of our enjoyment came from the experience of a real live movie theatre, but I thought it was well acted and interesting.  And, I am in the huge camp of people who believe Mary Poppins is “practically perfect in every way”, so seeing her again was a sweet reunion.

2.     A Year in Burgundy:  Another documentary about 3 or 4 vintners in Burgundy, and how their year revolves around the grapes.  Beautiful scenery, of course, and once again we see why the French can be a little haughty…their life looks very sweet through the lens.  And, be prepared to be very thirsty for a drink of Burgundy’s finest product.  Oh that we could find it here…

3.     20 Feet from Stardom:  Documentary about back-up singers that is full of great singing.  The story gets repetitive but the singing is worth the wait.

4.     All is Lost: This is the Indie movie starring Robert Redford as a guy who encounters some serious troubles on the seas in his sailboat.  He’s the only actor, but he’s got what it takes to keep you interested.  It’s well done.

5.     The French Minister:  A new French dark comedy about politics, French style.  I thought with all the hoopla in the Indian press about their upcoming elections, it might be good fun to see someone else’s campaign follies. The movie is sometimes a little too French to get whether it’s a joke or not, but I found myself laughing out loud sometimes, so it tickled me.

6.     FROZEN:  As soon as someone told me Idini Menzel sings in this, I was in.  I was also excited to see Jonathan Groff (another Broadway star who I saw in Spring Awakening) had a role, but he did NOT do enough singing.  Only a very short silly song.  That man has a gorgeous voice, so that was sad.  Also, Idina should have sang more.  It was interesting and well done, above average for Disney, and I remember all the years reading The Snow Queen to one daughter who was obsessed with it, so I’m sure the knee-high population was spell bound.

Inside Lleywn Davis, the CONCERT:  Not to be confused with a movie/documentary by the Coen Brothers, which I did NOT see, because I heard it was messed up.  This concert was wonderful, full of great folk song talent, new and old, so I got some great ideas for new songs.  Don't miss it.  Also, I was watching and humming along when I noticed a face I recognized.  Indeed, it was a former preschool-high school classmates of Daughter #2, playing her bass and singing her own song.  Well done, B.K.!

7.     12 Years a Slave:  Disappointing to both S and I.  Of course slavery was/is awful, dehumanizing, etc, but I kept looking for something fresh or original in this story and didn’t get it.  Must have missed something.

8.     Dallas Buyer’s Club:  Didn’t expect much from Kevin Mc, but I was pleasantly surprised.  Also, the rock star/actor who played the transgendered person was pretty fabulous.  Also, I felt the movie gives a small taste of how horrific and isolating it must have been during those years if you were HIV+.

  

And, DRUM ROLL PLEASE, the SLEEPER of them all,  ABOUT TIME.   I doubt this quiet, charming, well-acted movie made much noise in the American theatres, but I found it delightful and thoughtful.  First there is Rachel McAdams, and she’s so pretty you just want her to dress up and come out for oogling.  Second, Bill Nighy has a starring role, and I am a little in love with his style.  He is, in turns, zany, sarcastic, and openly sentimental, and he makes the movie worth the goofy premise. I loved him in Bridget Jones and Marigold Hotel.   And you get to see some wonderful English countryside.  Oh for a garden to snip and dig in!

Also, in case anyone missed it the first time around, like me, on HBO I saw the movie SHANGHAI KNIGHTS, starring Owen Wilson and Jackie Chan.  They both keep you entertained in their unique ways, Owen with that cute innocence/ignorance thing he has going on, Jackie with his incredible moves, and together they make a pretty good caper movie, with the requisite puns, running gags, and action.  Check it out when you need some yuks. 

Oh, and if anyone is looking for an interesting biography to read, Ved Metha’s Face to Face, a book chronicling growing up blind in pre-partition India, was quite well done.  I saw him in person at the Jaipur Lit Festival, and I could tell a great mind was inside those words.  He wrote for the New Yorker for decades and is still writing more stuff I want to read, when I get a breath. His volume of work makes us all look like slackers. I don't think he sleeps.

On the Road Again...

The first order of business if you want to take a train ride in India is to purchase a ticket.  The government (who owns the railways) has a convenient website for making your choices and purchasing your ticket.  Convenient if you are a holder of an Indian credit card, because otherwise, forget it.  Our friends in Bangalore kindly offered to help us book our tickets, which was wonderful both because it saved us a hot mess at the train station, and because it helped us walk through the alphabet soup of choices of where you can sit and whether or not you can lie down, travel in AC, etc.  There is CC AC (Chair car air conditioning), etc, etc.  They have a nifty SMS system of notification and paperless ticketing, so I was getting pretty upscale vibe about the operation. 

We were dropped off at the station by the taxi, and therein lie our first challenge, because usually our driver takes us, and he knows we are ignorant in the ways of Indian travel, and so hustles us to the place to see which platform we are leaving from, then navigates the crowd and carries a bag or two up and down some steep stairs,  (I usually need one bag just for teaching materials, heavy materials) then searches for our exact car (another set of letters hidden in the secret code on your ticket) and deposits us directly in front of the car.  Added to that is trying to step gingerly over and around the scores of people who are in various stages of repose at the entrance of the train station. Whew!

We were on our own this time, and tried to imitate our driver and look confident as well.  We got as far as the correct platform (sweaty after heaving the bags up and down the stairs) then we deciphered the car we were looking for.  We realized we had no idea which direction to walk, so one of us held the bags and the other served as a scout, first going all the way to the end of the train looking for the correct letter combination, then after no success retreating and walking almost all the way to the other end.  We’re not sure if there is a system to the order of the letters, but we couldn’t see a pattern.  Fortunately we had enough time for the inefficient system of trying both directions, because these trains are long.

Once we found our seats, we prayed the AC would be turned on soon, because all the windows were closed, the electricity was not yet on, and I was leaving a small pool of sweat anywhere I touched the vinyl seat.  It wasn’t long before we were on our way, and S had no trouble utilizing the sleep accommodations.  I usually can get lots of work done because there is a live electrical outlet in each of the cabins.  It’  That happened again, and what was supposed to be a 5-hour ride turned into a 9-hour marathon quite quickly. 

s one of the best things about train trav
el, for me. We were rolling along when suddenly we stopped, where we sat for over an hour.

However, we survived, got off the train, and once more schlep the bags up and down platforms before we have escaped with our possessions.  The next challenge involved finding our hotel’s car, and then understanding what in the world he was saying to us, as we tried to connect with him for the better part of another hour.  He kept saying he was in the parking, but when he finally appeared he was driving in the front entrance, so I’m not sure whose parking he was utilizing, but it definitely wasn’t the train station’s. Our Bangalore friends assured us that train ride was quit  It makes the mode even more inviting. Last night we took another voyage via train and we almost missed our stop, because someone was sleeping (not me) and I was too engrossed in my work (watching Glee reruns) to notice the time.  Good fortune smiled on us because an employee dashed into our cabin to make up the beds for the evening riders and he told us we had 2 minutes until Bangalore.  At first I thought it was an Indian two minutes, but in fact we were stopping.  We were thankful he stopped by, but there isn’t usually any announcement of where the train is stopping.  The train ride in India is meant for those who can learn the system and navigate it on their own.  Check out the numbers and languages on the side of our car to see what I mean.  Our ticket read:  C and S Greenleaf (we knew that part), then PNR 4714613528, Trn: 16592 Frm MYS to SBC  Cls-1A, P1-HA1,5 P2-HA1,6.  See if you can find the clues on the side of the car.  Oh, they also post a hard copy of the reservations on the side of the car where you belong, so they aren’t totally heartless.  However, you have to find the car first, which proved a challenge for us first-time-on-our-own passengers.

e atypical, but that trip made flying look attractive, and that is saying a lot. Oh, I forgot to mention the biggest perk of taking the train in India…the ticket is dirt cheap.

Namdroling Monastery

This Tibetan monastery is of the Nyngma Sect.  These are the people who enjoy lots of statutes, ornate paintings, and deities galore.  Aka, the Catholics of the Buddhist world. For some unknown reason, there is a large settlement of this community about 1.5 hours outside of Mysore.  One monk answered this query by saying, some like it cold so they can go to Dharmasala, and those who like it hot can come to Mysore.  Whatever!
It was almost sensory overload, because there was gorgeous architecture and painting everywhere you looked.  But then the monks began their chanting, accompanied by horns, cymbals, conches, and a huge drum, and then things really started cooking.  We saw a couple of groups of monks doing the rounds of the various buildings in the compound, singing on their way, then chanting a little, then prostrating themselves in unison while chanting, then dusting off, and on to the next venue.  The grounds were beautifully landscaped and very peaceful, and each building was a little jewel box to be opened and explored.  Enjoy the pictures here:  http://flic.kr/s/aHsjV7MwMK

Mysore Palace

This palace was quite impressive, but I am getting a bit jaded by the abundance of such palaces, durbars, temples, and general fancified buildings in India.
Originally this was the digs of the Wodeyar Kings, rulers of the current state of Karnnatika.  They liked to show people just how much money they had.  This palace was rebuilt in the late 19th century after a fire destroyed the original.  The architect was British, and the style is a combination of Indian, Hindu, Mughal and European late Victorian style.  There is a huge parade/show grounds, and the usual DURBAR in the center of the building, where the king would receive lucky people.
See how many styles you can find in the pictures here:  http://flic.kr/s/aHsjV6bf2f