Bangalore
This week I traveled to Bangalore to visit my friend Manu, who I met through Sarada Aunty. The bus ride was long, but the sights were amazing. Bus and train rides never seem long here because of the beautiful views. Bangalore is outside the state of Kerala in the state of Karnataka. The language that
most people speak there is known as Kannada which I think is cool because it sounds like Canada J Bangalore is a growing metropolitan city which has a lot of high tech industries that draw people from all over the world to live. There was a holiday going on while I visited which is known as Diwali or Deepavali. The term Diwali is used in mostly in northern India while Deepavali is used in southern and eastern India. Diwali or Deepavali is popularly known as the “festival of lights” but also as “the new year of luck and wealth”. It is generally celebrated with festive fireworks, sharing of sweets, candles and li
ghts, flowers, and worship. There were plenty of fireworks going on late into the night to celebrate and many candles lit outside of houses. During the Diwali celebrations, Manu and I went to Sri Sri Ravishankar’s ashrum which was outside the city. Sri Sri Ravishankar is another guru, who is widely known for his Art of Living programs all over the world. There was a pooja (prayer and worship) at the brightly lit temple, sharing of sweets, and fireworks after the pooja to celebrate Diwali.
This week I traveled to Bangalore to visit my friend Manu, who I met through Sarada Aunty. The bus ride was long, but the sights were amazing. Bus and train rides never seem long here because of the beautiful views. Bangalore is outside the state of Kerala in the state of Karnataka. The language that
most people speak there is known as Kannada which I think is cool because it sounds like Canada J Bangalore is a growing metropolitan city which has a lot of high tech industries that draw people from all over the world to live. There was a holiday going on while I visited which is known as Diwali or Deepavali. The term Diwali is used in mostly in northern India while Deepavali is used in southern and eastern India. Diwali or Deepavali is popularly known as the “festival of lights” but also as “the new year of luck and wealth”. It is generally celebrated with festive fireworks, sharing of sweets, candles and li
ghts, flowers, and worship. There were plenty of fireworks going on late into the night to celebrate and many candles lit outside of houses. During the Diwali celebrations, Manu and I went to Sri Sri Ravishankar’s ashrum which was outside the city. Sri Sri Ravishankar is another guru, who is widely known for his Art of Living programs all over the world. There was a pooja (prayer and worship) at the brightly lit temple, sharing of sweets, and fireworks after the pooja to celebrate Diwali. Indian Pizza
In the U.S., I used to fantasize about eating Indian pizza… I didn’t know that it actually existed! Manu and I went to a place called Pizza Corner, which is similar to a Pizza Hut or Dominos. We were actually trying to find Dominos but couldn’t so we settled on this restaurant instead. The restaurant looked like a typical pizza hangout place in the U.S. I ordered punjabi chicken tikka pizza and Manu had jugabandi pizza (it had paneer in it, which is a type of cheese). Something that was different to me was the sizes. The sizes consisted of small, medium, and large. Manu convinced me t
hat I should order the small sized pizza, which I thought would be too much for me. She also ordered the small, and I realized that the small sized pizza is actually Pizza Hut’s personal pan sized pizza in the U.S.! I used to order that in the U.S. and usually people would tease me because it was so small, saying that only kids eat that size. It wasn’t enough so we also ordered the paneer footizza (the name explains it). I liked the pizza, although I don’t think the quality was up to par. I’m sure if I had higher quality Indian Pizza, I would’ve liked it more. However, the pizza in the U.S. still tasted better to me (taco pizza yum!). Atmosphere
There were m
any differences between Bangalore and Cochin. Bangalore’s climate was much different. It was surprisingly cool during the day with no humidity and downright cold at night! The way people dressed was also different. In Cochin, most people wear churidars and saris, while in Bangalore, people wore everything! I enjoyed the more casual and relaxed environment in Bangalore, no one seemed to care what you wore or what you were doing. I thought it was interesting that in Cochin, even though women dress more conservatively, there seems to be more sexual harassment. In Bangalore, even though women dress less conservatively, there didn’t seem to be any sexual harassment. Manu told me that in Rajasthan (a northern state in India) women wear short tops with no backs, and there are actually fewer rape cases there. I thought that was particularly interesting, especially the psychological factors.
While there were big malls and expensive designer stores there, I enjoyed going to shops along the street the most. I relished the bright multitudes of color displayed through flowers, vegetables, powders, and spices. I was suddenly struck with a feeling that I hadn’t felt before. For
the first time I felt that this was my country, my home, my culture, and my people. This life, and this simplicity….I loved it all at once and thought is it more than this? Or is this all it is? I felt sadness because I wasn’t fully immersed in this culture, but happiness because I had this realization. It’s kind of like finding the last pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. It’s the first time since stepping off the airplane that I felt like I was in my home, a place where my roots began. Honestly, day to day living is a grind. But it’s those little moments of realization that make me love life for what it is.
There were m
any differences between Bangalore and Cochin. Bangalore’s climate was much different. It was surprisingly cool during the day with no humidity and downright cold at night! The way people dressed was also different. In Cochin, most people wear churidars and saris, while in Bangalore, people wore everything! I enjoyed the more casual and relaxed environment in Bangalore, no one seemed to care what you wore or what you were doing. I thought it was interesting that in Cochin, even though women dress more conservatively, there seems to be more sexual harassment. In Bangalore, even though women dress less conservatively, there didn’t seem to be any sexual harassment. Manu told me that in Rajasthan (a northern state in India) women wear short tops with no backs, and there are actually fewer rape cases there. I thought that was particularly interesting, especially the psychological factors.While there were big malls and expensive designer stores there, I enjoyed going to shops along the street the most. I relished the bright multitudes of color displayed through flowers, vegetables, powders, and spices. I was suddenly struck with a feeling that I hadn’t felt before. For
the first time I felt that this was my country, my home, my culture, and my people. This life, and this simplicity….I loved it all at once and thought is it more than this? Or is this all it is? I felt sadness because I wasn’t fully immersed in this culture, but happiness because I had this realization. It’s kind of like finding the last pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. It’s the first time since stepping off the airplane that I felt like I was in my home, a place where my roots began. Honestly, day to day living is a grind. But it’s those little moments of realization that make me love life for what it is.
