Gazing at Bangalore

Gosh, am on a blogging spree these days.

My new activity to pass time has been to gaze at the road map of Bangalore. During the years I lived in Bangalore, I never did that- even when I knew I was going to get hopelessly lost. It was almost as if looking at the map of a city one considered one's hometown was admitting to being a wuss- much better to get lost or overpay the auto rickshaw driver. Perhaps other people can live in a city for a while and figure out how to get from place to place without looking at a map, but such skills are beyond me. I was the laughing stock of my cousins, especially my cousin sisters Madhu and Mridl, but hey, at least I could hold my head up high because I wasn't one to resort to a map.

But now, gazing at the old Bendakaluru (I thought that meant "city of boiled beans". Apparently not. It means "city of burnt rice"... kalu means beans, no? Anna means rice... so at the most it can be "city of burnt beans"- surely my Kannada isn't that totally off?), I suddenly realize, hey! Many of these places aren't all that far away from my house as I thought they were.

Here, let me show you:




The red circle is where I live: Rajajinagar.
Things in black and green are places that have a special meaning for me.
The orange lines are even more special.
Let me tell you about these places:

Shivajinagar: supposedly, it's the closest place to Rjrngr. But I swear, it takes a good hour to get to the place! I thought it had to be MUCH further away than it actually is. It seems like a single road connects the two, doesn't it? Hah. If only that were true.

Why is Shivajinagar so special? Because you take the bus there and walk about 15 minutes (less, if you don't get lost) and you find yourself at Commercial Street- my favorite street for shopping EVER. The women of my family have gone to that place for our clothes shopping from even before I was born. I think, personally, that it became such a 'staple' only because my cousin Madhu used to love going there. Madhu is an indefatigable shopper. If I had to explain why she got into the habit of going there, I would say that she probably discovered this place when she was in college, and then began dragging her mother and aunts there for everything. They would have put up with her because she would know all the places to get inexpensive, but good quality clothes and would know whom to haggle with. And of course, by the time Mridl and I were born and were old enough to take shopping, she was the unrestrained and unchallenged Queen of the Shops. My memories of Commercial Street, and really of Bangalore, are firmly linked with shopping (oh, and how could I forget eating? Madhu, in addition to knowing the best clothes shops, also knows the best eating joints) trips with Madhu.

Anyway, if you have never been to Bangalore, go to Shivajinagar without fail. You will find EVERYthing that you will ever need there. Really.

Next stop on the tour: Jayanagar. Where Madhu lives (really, this post is becoming more about her than anything else!). Jayanagar is SUCH a beautiful place. It's got old trees lining the streets, it's got gardens and parks and it's got true character. See where that red ballon with an A is on the map? Somewhere there is the big bus stand called "Majestic" (no, I lie. It's called Kempegowda Station now), where you take bus number 2 to get to Jayanagar. When you get down at the Jayanagar bus stand, there's a Nandini milk outpost, where you buy flavored milk to cool yourself down before trying to figure out how to get to her place.

I was going to do this by distance, but let's do South Bangalore first, and then move up north. See where it says Ramagondanahalli? Don't know what 'gondana' means, but 'halli' means 'village'... so it's supposed to be a village somehow connected to Rama.
Anyway, that's where my youngest aunt lives (except "village" and "rusticity" are the farthest things from your mind when you see where she lives). Her place is very nice, of course, but the halli isn't too bad either. There's a shop selling coconuts right outside the compound and the bus stop isn't too far off. So you can get yourself a coconut water drink and wait for the bus (which can tend to get a bit crowded, but hey, you're moving, so it's not too hot). Honestly though, I have probably taken the bus ONCE in my whole life from her place to mine. So, my impressions of the halli are a bit vague. I mention this place because I have a big huge soft spot for it- it is THE most serene place in all of Bangalore and I have the happiest memories there... errr.. I'm talking about her house, not the halli.

Much further south is marked "Sarjapur", where another of my aunts lives. Actually, I have NO clue where she lives, but I know you have to take the Sarjapur road and then ride off into the wilderness. Her house is built on what used to be a farm, far far away from the city. I love it, not because I have actually been there too often, but because in my head, it's like an escape- from the city, from tension and stress and everything else.

Now wheeee... let's zoom up north to the orange arrow on National Highway 4. Guess where that leads? To Kolar! That's where the man is from... well, technically, he's from Bangalore too, but he lives in Kolar. And really, NH4 is THE closest road to their house and runs behind it. I like their house- it reminds me of my own.

Further up (man, this is getting tiring. But I will finish) in green: Jakkur Layout and the vicinity. Why is this important? Because of NCBS! National Center for Biological Sciences is where I did my undergrad projects for 2 years and JNCASR in Jakkur paid me to do that research! To get to either NCBS or JNCASR (they are two different places), you would have to take a shuttle from that almighty temple of science, IISc. What a place! And what a place NCBS is! It's where I had my first taste of independence and I loved it!

Okay, maybe I should actually go do some work now, instead of constantly writing on my blog.