Bangalore

We had gone to Bangalore this weekend. Took the night train, so we were able to sleep. V woke me up at 4.45 am as the train was supposed to reach Bangalore by 5.30 am. Soon everybody was up and shivering. V asked a few fellow passengers, who looked like Kannadigas, which station was coming up next but nobody seemed to know. It was as if everyone was travelling to B'lore for the first time in their lives.

The train soon came to a halt, we got out but there was no board announcing which station it was. So we got in again. A Tamilian passenger told us that it was Krishnarajapuram, an unscheduled stop. We alighted again as Vimal had told us that it was the nearest to his place. We waited at the station entrance, it looked like a station from the middle ages. There was no a tea shop in sight. The ticket counter was unmanned. A few men were dozing on the limited benches available. Three girls went out jabbering in Tamil and spreading a faint odour from their unwashed bodies. Apparently, 50% of Bangalore's population is Tamil. Inspite of the Cauvery issue, Kannadigas and Tamilians co-exist in this budding metropolis.
The road to Vimal's house was a mud road with potholes. As per govt records the roas has been tarred thrice. Corruption rules the roost in the city.

After a cup of tea and a short nap, we got ready for the day's function. The new flat was some 200 feet away. It is a good well-(sun) lit place and they have tastefully chosen the upholstery, electrical fittings and modular kitchen. They even have a tiny arakallu (stone for grinding that we use back home) in the balcony cum work-area. The woodwork is half done, so they wont be shifting until end of next month, I think.
The buffet lunch was passably good but the servings were too small and soon f-i-l, started serving us much to the waiters' irritation. Mil and her nephew Sal (who works in B'lore) kept us in splits. Sal lent us his car to go shopping in 'Commercial' - in the end we merely windowshopped. Fil has no patience for women shoppers, so V told me we will come later. Shopping in Madras works out cheaper. With the cosmopolitan IT crowd and money flow, Bangalore can afford to sell things at higher prices.
The roads were enough to put me off, so I resisted another shopping attempt the next day. Went out for lunch at Kerala's own Kalpaka as fil doesnt like Chinese and other foreign cuisine. By the time we finished lunch it was time to pack and head for the station. Vimal and Renee dropped us at the main station, which they call Majestic.
The Shatabdi coming from Mysore was late by half an hr. People vied with one another to get in first - like the crowd at our own KSRTC bus stands. There was no music or newspaper to greet us. But a bottle of mineral water and fruit juice came soon. This was followed by tea - cake, samosa, sandwich and coffee. Both of us dozed off and were woken up by the bearer serving bun and tomato soup. The scenery outside was fantastic - green fields against the background of rocky mountains - not a single piece of rock but boulders and boulders perched precariously until the next landslide.
Dinner came soon after - romali rotis, channa, pulav, chicken curry, curd and icecream. The bearers all spoke Hindi. A newly married N. Indian couple sat in the row opposite ours - the guy seemed to be regaling his bride with his exploits before marriage. Whereas we, facing the seven-year itch with stoicism, had little to talk. V vetoed the egg donation.
The train reached Chennai at 9.30 pm, right on dot. From the cool climes of Bangalore we were back to Chennai's sweltering heat. But otherwise the climate was all that I found good about B'lore- u dont even have to switch on the fan there.
Mil and co. drove back to Kerala yesterday evening.
Vimal's daughter Meghana, who is 3 months younger to Ash, is remarkably organised. She eats on her own, is toilet-trained and can talk to some extent.
Ash is way behind in all this. I wonder when he will behave sanely - or are most boys like this? Dad tells me he dumps his breakfast on his head or flings it across the room, refuses to sit on his potty and harms Mira at the slightest opportunity. The only food he takes willingly is milk in his feeding bottle.