3rd Main Kalasipalaya
Benglur Street Fashion.
Showing posts with label kalasipalaya. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kalasipalaya. Show all posts
August 19, 2009
August 17, 2009
1st Main, Kalasipalaya
It's been raining all night and a day can't get duller than what it's today. But the vegetable mandi at Kalasipalaya is bustling as usual. No Monday morning blues here.
July 3, 2009
1st Main, Kalasipalaya
Apply glue
Crumple
Paste
Sandalwood Friday Release Series: Sticky Fingers
Finally caught up with the guy who does one of the most important tasks ahead of a Sandalwood Friday release. For the full (and ongoing) series of life around Sandalwood, click here.
May 21, 2009
Kalasipalaya Bus Stand
Surviving Trades Of Benglur - The metal cutters.
Meet Muthu. For 30 years he has been working in a small workshop that's next to the Kalasipalaya Bus Stand. Out of school after basic education, he started off as an assistant and cleaner, then worked his way up to operate machines he was only allowed to clean. Starting withe the cutting (hacksaw) machines, the lathe and finally the milling machine. Today, he is the partner in the workshop.
In the age of CNC (Computer Numeric Controlled) Lathe and Milling Machines, this workshop that solely relies on the skills of people is a throw back to the 70s and 80s. That was the age when mechanical engineering ruled. And with establishments like HMT (Hindustan Machine Tools) and BFW based in the city, Bangalore not just produced the machines and tools required for a cash-strapped socialist India, it also produced the best people to operate the machines.
Today, the land where HMT factory stood has been cut and parcelled out to real estate developers. Most large industries have acquired modern machines but to this day, hundreds of little workshops like this one dot Bangalore. From Peenya to Jigani; Magadi Road to Hoskote. And in Kalasipalaya.
But what is the secret of their survival?
Computerised machines 'work-out' only if there are large batches of machined parts. There are many industries in Bangalore that require small quantities and often they might require highly intricate parts that require complex jigs and fixtures and most importantly, highly skilled craftsmen. Also, larger firms out source work to little shops across the city.
Here. there are many like Muthu who can convert any complex drawing you give them into high precision parts. They often require creative solutions and what is called Indian ingenuity that allows them to make complex things for a fraction of the the actual cost.
If you walk into a workshop in Peenya, you will be surprised as the kind of clients they have. How do you think India manages to launch satellites to the moon for a fraction of the cost than in the west?
The Which Main? What Cross? The Exhibition - Is on until May 31st.
F&B Restaurant, Papanna Street, St Marks Road (on the right, soon after SBI).
Ph: 080 - 40 333 888
Ph: 080 - 40 333 888
May 12, 2009
B Street, Fort
They are the moving steel canvasses of India. And the private buses that connect Benglur with neighbouring towns and villages are no less colourful than their counterparts across the country. The Bus Art of Benglur - See the full series here.
The Which Main? What Cross? The Exhibition - Is on until May 31st.
F&B Restaurant, Papanna Street, St Marks Road (on the right, soon after SBI).
Ph: 080 - 40 333 888
May 4, 2009
2nd Cross Kalasipalaya (Truck Terminus)
Ganga Kinare Mora Gaon (My village lies by the River Ganges)
Chai Stop inside Kalasipalaya Truck Terminus.
Cheap cigarettes, 1 Rupee phone call, garma-garam chai and prayers before or after they set off on a cross-country trip home to the fertile plains next to the Ganges.
30 select photographs from this blog are on display until May 31st '09. If you happen to be in that part of town, please do walk in to look at their 'Art Wall'.
Cheap cigarettes, 1 Rupee phone call, garma-garam chai and prayers before or after they set off on a cross-country trip home to the fertile plains next to the Ganges.
The Which Main? What Cross? Exhibition
F&B Restaurant, Papanna Street, St Marks Road (on the right, soon after SBI). Ph: 080 - 40 333 888
F&B Restaurant, Papanna Street, St Marks Road (on the right, soon after SBI). Ph: 080 - 40 333 888
30 select photographs from this blog are on display until May 31st '09. If you happen to be in that part of town, please do walk in to look at their 'Art Wall'.
April 19, 2009
Nawab Hyder Ali Khan Saab Road
Benglur Special: Gardener Barber.
Is it because their job involves chopping, trimming, cutting and shaving that almost all barbers across the city grow this signature plant, usually in old battery boxes, outside their shops?
March 16, 2009
Hayath Road. Off NR Rd.
Welcome to Hotel Hayath Road.
This is a country where a majority lives for about a dollar or two a day. A dollar is worth about 50 Indian Rupees. And if you are a farmer or petty trader on a business trip to Benglur and you miss the last bus home, where would you sleep?
Hotel Footpath? No. I suggest the Taj (Minus the mustachioed doorman), on Hayath Road, just off the main City Market Square.
In India, life overflows on the streets. And on Hayath Road, a hotel has spilled out on to the street. Hotel Hayath Road is a narrow street dotted with little businesses who have come together to provide all the services one can expect at the hotel, for very little.
1. Common bed (with lockers) at Hotel Taj Or Hamidiya: Rs. 30 a night.
2. Bath: Rs.10. Crap: Rs. 2. Shag?
3. Food:
Lunch or Dinner: Beef Biryani for Rs. 22/- Chicken Biryani for Rs. 25/-
4. Laundry:
Same day service.
Same day service.
5. Beverages:
No Minibar here. You can stand and drink at any of the Liqour stores.
No Minibar here. You can stand and drink at any of the Liqour stores.
6. Connectivity:
Take buses to any part of Benglur or South India from the bus stand which is 2 minutes away.
Take buses to any part of Benglur or South India from the bus stand which is 2 minutes away.
March 15, 2009
Kalasipalaya Bus Stand
The city dwellers among us overestimate the importance of time. We take pride in complaining that there are only 24 hours in a day. And envy the relaxed life of our rural friends. However, a trip to Kalasipalayam Bus Stand, the gateway to Benglur for the masses from the villages and small towns within the 200kms radius of the city, is enough to help see time in a new light. Most of the products brought into Benglure are perishable and if they do not reach us in time, we Bengloreans never complain. We simply refuse to buy it and for good reason. The fact is that villagers value time as much as we do. It's just that they don't complain as much as us city dwellers.
After a day of business in Benglur. Kalasipalayam Bus Stand is alive with people hoping to get back home before it's too late. It's packed with outgoing buses including a bus rushing out to a place called Shimsha, that had the message, "Speed up time", in English painted on the windshield. The merchants and farmers heading back are making last minute purchases and if you look around you can count at least 30 to 40 roadside stalls selling and repairing watches around the bus stand. And they are all doing brisk business. From imitation Rolex to toy watches (they work too) that cost Rs. 20 (< $ 0.50c) each. A perfect gift for the child, who is probably complaining that time moves slowly while waiting with eyes wide open for his father or mother coming back with a little gift from them from Benglur City.
After a day of business in Benglur. Kalasipalayam Bus Stand is alive with people hoping to get back home before it's too late. It's packed with outgoing buses including a bus rushing out to a place called Shimsha, that had the message, "Speed up time", in English painted on the windshield. The merchants and farmers heading back are making last minute purchases and if you look around you can count at least 30 to 40 roadside stalls selling and repairing watches around the bus stand. And they are all doing brisk business. From imitation Rolex to toy watches (they work too) that cost Rs. 20 (< $ 0.50c) each. A perfect gift for the child, who is probably complaining that time moves slowly while waiting with eyes wide open for his father or mother coming back with a little gift from them from Benglur City.
March 5, 2009
Nawab Hyder Ali Khan Road
It's not just our own skins that we subcontinentwallas love pale white. That's the skin colour we prefer with our horses too. At a wedding, the groom is best seen on a white horse. And in Benglur, you can rent a smart white horse for about Rs 1,500 a day. Out of the Rs 1,500 Kumar and Fairoz, who own the smartest white horses in the City Market area charge, about Rs 250 is spent on feed and maintenance of the horses. But then, weddings do not happen everyday and on those days, the White Beauties are made to pull carts.
February 12, 2009
January 23, 2009
MMR Lane, Kalasipalaya ಕಲಾಸಿಪಾಳಯ
For the best deals in steel furniture, head for the this galli in Kalasipalayam filled with sheet metal workshops. Ask for Mariswamy Mutt., this lane is next to it, a short hop from the long distance bus stand.
December 3, 2008
November 17, 2008
November 3, 2008
Mariswamy Mutt Rd.
'What garden? What city?'
Any Bangaloreans here who remember that bumper sticker message from the 80s?
October 30, 2008
October 29, 2008
Off 1st main, Kalasipayala
Resting in pieces. Yezdi bikes.
Here's a song dedicated to the bikes that were made in Mysore
Mysore Se Aayi by Raghu Dixit.
September 19, 2008
August 10, 2008
July 15, 2008
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