Autowalla: "Haan"
Me: "Kitna loge?"
Autowalla: "150 rupees"
Me: "Meter plus ten doonga"
Autowalla: "Nahi..."
This would inevitably be the first piece of conversation that I would have every Monday to Friday during my first three weeks in Bengaluru. Not that I have had a better experience in Mumbai; but at least in Mumbai, the autowallas charge you by the meter after taking you for a ride. Though ofcourse, once you get used to Bengaluru, and the roads here, you can easily bargain with them to suit your needs.
Once you get used to the city, it can be a very pleasant, and somewhat lethargy-inducing, one. The weather, the relaxed life, and the entertainment choices available here do tend to make one a lazy slob. I guess that was one of the reasons why there was a delay between my last post and this one.
This might also be one of the reasons why I haven't been able to explore the surrounding areas of the city. The most that I have been able to see is the famous MG Road, and some other areas. The name MG Road really intrigues me. MG ofcourse stands for Mahatma Gandhi, the father of our nation. As is well documented, he was a strict ascetic who encouraged his followers to lead a life of extreme simplicity, giving up the pleasures of a comfortable life. He propounded the idea of giving up foreign garments in exchange for Indian ones so that the mill workers of India would get suitable compensation for their efforts. So it's interesting to see that a man who himself toured the entire country wearing a single piece of cloth, has a street named after him which houses outlets of Wrangler, Levi's, Adidas, and other foreign brands.
Bengaluru, as it turns out, is also a great place for foodies. I haven't explored any good food joints in Mumbai, mostly tucking in idli-dosas, vada pavs, dabelis, and so on in the road side tapris. But Bengaluru can be quite a treat for one's taste buds. Take MG Road for instance. Apart from the usual junk food palaces of McDonald's, KFC, Pizza Hut, Domino's et al, it's got other fares such as Donut Baker, a fantastic place to gorge on doughnuts. A five minute walk from MG Road brings us to the Garuda mall - supposed to be the biggest mall in Bengaluru. I don't know for sure whether it's the biggest mall in Bengaluru, but it's surely the biggest one that I have seen. Ofcourse, in other aspects it is similar to other malls. Outlets of West Side, Shopper's Stop, Adidas etc. adorn the various corners of the mall. But the two biggest attractions of the mall are the Pitstop, the food court and Kobe sizzlers (there are several more, but these are the only ones that I have visited so far). While Pitstop is a mouth-watering pot-pourri of north Indian, mughlai, and Chinese food - with Subway and Pizza Corner thrown in - Kobe is a place devoted to sizzlers. I had never had sizzlers before, so I cannot really judge how good, or bad, the place really is. But from what I saw, or rather ate, the food tasted delicious. The food court is good, with lots of sitting places where you can hang out if you are tired of pubs. As expected, the prices are on the higher side, but the quality of the food compensates for the prices. For those who start drooling at the sight of Italian food, there's Zoe's. This is small restaurant situated near Indiranagar. The food here is good, not great, but still it's a good place to have some light Italian food. Try out the cherry coke; really refreshing. The best restaurant that I have been to so far though is undoubtedly Desmond's. Situated on Lavelle Road, just off M G Road, this place has a great ambience, fantastic menu, and very nice service. The lasagna, though having an Indian flavor to it, was very good, so were the mashed potatoes, and the steak is excellent too. Desmond's is also famous for it's corporate buffet lunch on offer during the weekdays. The biggest attraction of visiting Desmond's though is the cheesecakes. Deliciously soft, with a thin crust, these beauties just seem to melt in your mouth. One thing I can say for sure is that once you have had these cheesecakes, you will lose all your interests in other pastries. Enough of it though...I am already getting hungry. I am still to visit some of the other famous eateries here. But am hoping that they will continue to uphold the standards that have been set by the previous ones.
Another exciting experience was going for the Champions League T20 inaugural match. Admittedly watching a game live in the stadium is not as comfortable as watching it sitting at home (especially if you are in the cheapest seats in the stadium), but it's definitely more exciting. It was a clash between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Cape Cobras (South Africa). Anyway, won't go into the details of the match, except for the fact that it was a humdinger. J P Duminy snatched victory from the jaws of defeat for the Cape Cobras - a feat which must have made Mumbai Indians wonder why he couldn't do the same for them in the last IPL. Also, it was great to see such a large amount of crowd for the match. Ofcourse though the crowds dried up as the tournament progressed.
The best thing in Bengaluru though is not the food or the cricket; it's Blossom. Located on Church Street, it's a heaven for book lovers; and Bengaluru is just that, a city of book lovers. You will find more book stalls here than movie theatres. Mumbai ofcourse has the Asiatic Society and the Flora Fountain famous for the variety of books that they have. But this variety is restricted to novels, non-fiction, and other kind of written material. As far as comics and other graphic novels are concerned, I am yet to find a decent place in Mumbai where I can find them. I am a big fan of comic books and graphic novels. I grew up reading the Indian graphic novels such as Chacha Chaudhary, Raman, Nagraj, and also other foreign publications such as Archies, Phantom, Mandrake, Disney comics etc. But I have never had a chance to read the more famous ones such as the DC and Marvel. Bengaluru provided me with that chance, and needless to say, I am loving it. Getting to know Superman, JLA, Wolverine and the rest of the X-men, and others has been quite a heady experience.
The best creation that I have come across though is the Batman. The Dark Knight or the Caped Crusader, whatever you may call him, has been the most famous of superheroes ever since his creation by Bob Kane and Bill Finger in 1939. I have always been a a big fan of Batman. However, I must admit that I had never read the comics yet. All that I had seen of him was in Batman: The animated series and the various movies that have been made starring theDark Knight. The movies ofcourse brought more acclaim for the actors who played the various villians rather than the men who played Batman. But the graphic novels really portray the true character of Batman/Bruce Wayne. Determined to fight injustice after witnessing his parents murder by a common thug, Bruce Wayne decided that the best way to fight criminals is to induce fear. He is the only superhero who does not have any super powers, but uses the latest technology, superb martial skills, and great detective skills - which have earned him the title of 'The Greatest Detective in the World' - to fight crime in the shadow of the night. Often aided by his faithful sidekick Robin, he has fought some of the most wicked criminals created by DC, including Joker, Scarecrow, and Two-face. The interesting thing is that, he is one of the few superheroes who has featured in the Elseworld series created up by DC. According to DC "In Elseworlds, heroes are taken from their usual settings and put into strange times and places — some that have existed, and others that can't, couldn't or shouldn't exist. The result is stories that make characters who are as familiar as yesterday seem as fresh as tomorrow." His elseworlds adventures have included a trip to the Victorian era, and a one-on-one battle with Count Dracula. Described by Superman as "the most dangerous man on Earth", Batman has done what very few supervillians, and I am guessing no superhero has been able to do: give Superman the ass-kicking of a lifetime. But the most fascinating aspect of Batman is his personality. While Superman is the perennial poster boy for the world, Batman is known as someone who holds himself above the law. That, however, seems ironical considering the fact that he has not killed any of his opponents even when he's had them at his mercy. Ofcourse he has broken the law a few times, but then that's the price of being a vigilante. All in all, if you see the basic character traits of Batman, you will notice that they are very similar to Sherlock Holmes, a character who is said to have influenced the creation of Batman the detective to a large extent. Anyway, that all is history now that the caped vigilante of Gotham has carved a place for himself in the Pantheon of all the great characters - both in novels and comics - who have enthralled us with their deeds for years now. Hail the Dark Knight!!!
