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.

5. Beverages:
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.

  

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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.

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2nd Main, Gandhinagar

Canon PowerShot A530  0.002 sec. (1/500) ISO 100

His name is Heera Panna. A rather colourful name for a Kannadiga from Benglur. However, nobody except his close friends call him by the name his parents gave him. To the world, he is known as Dasappa. Because that's his profession. 

Heera Panna is a Dasappa who goes from home to home, doing pooja and distributing blessings in the name of Lord Venkateshwara of Thirumala Thirupati. A profession that is practised only for two days in a week. Friday and Saturday. 

On a Friday, it makes senses for Dasappa to walk up and down the mains and crosses of Gandhinagar.  Because that's the day for movie openings. He's likely to have film producers and distributors asking Dasappa to convey their prayers to the Lord of Seven Hills in Thirumala, AP, for a small fee. 

See the full series: Friday Movie Release.

And here's a beautiful song sung by Bharat Ratna Pt. Bhimsen Joshi for a Gandhinagar produced film called Sandhya Raaga. The song features Dr Rajkumar. You can see a poster with Dr Raj next to Dasappa. 

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Meenakshi Koil Street

Tooth Fairy?

In Benglur, when children lose their milk teeth, they throw the teeth on the roof of the house. A couple of decades back, the tooth would have been embedded in a tiny ball made from cow dung and thrown. 

See the full series called Walls of Benglur. 

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Narayana Pillai Street

The Lure of Benglur Series continues. 

Name: Jeevan

Occupation: Security Guard

Originally from: Guwahati, Assam. (In Benglur for the last 6 months.)

See the full series here: Lure of Benglur
 

Jeevan says, "Bangalore achcha hain!"

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Thulsi Thotta Road

The size of the economy that thrives without a roof in Benglur is any body's guess. But if you happen to go the narrow streets around Chicklalbag, you will find the footpaths and the local playground filled with yellow sieves being dried in the sun. You will also find the people who make them (mostly women). These sieves are woven, coated with a turmeric paste to cover the gaps, dried in the sun and then dispatched to the markets. They are also sold to people who travel the city streets selling door-to-door. Who needs a roof?   

A link from Dhaka, Bangladesh: Lost Professions of Old Dhaka.

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Avenue Road + MSR Nagar + Yeshwantpur Market + Mysore Road

How to sport a beard.

How to wear a moustache.

How to hold a glass of By 2 Tea (Benglurean for cutting chai).





Forget phataa jeans. Here's how to rip your baseball cap.









And how to wear a uniform.

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Magadi Road / ಮಾಗಡಿ ರಸ್ತೆ

Fearless Karnataka. Nirbhaya Karnataka.

Eve-teasers in Benglur have a new excuse - Rama Sene. An organisation that does not have much presence or support in Benglur. But their name provides the latest excuse for goons to harass women here. Luckily, the women of Benglur aren't taking this sitting down. They have started a campaign called Nirbhaya Karnataka Fearless Karnataka to counter the terror women of Benglur and Karnataka have to face every day. Starting with the march to the Police DG's Office, on Saturday, March 7th, between 3:30 and 5:30pm. Details here, here and here. And all the activities related to this movement is being tracked here... online. In Benglur, it has to be online!

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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.   

More pictures of Horses and Jatka Gaadis of Benglur. 

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Bada Makaan Cross, Off H Siddiah Road

Indians believe in rebirth. Especially when it comes to automobiles. Here on H.Siddiah Road and the many cross roads branching from it, you can get all the parts required to resurrect any maal gaadi from scrap.  Seen above is a broken fuel tank being given a life extending weld.

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Kalasipalaya Bus Stand, B Street, Fort

Not in the picture: The number to dial if you see an abandoned baby - 1098.

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M G Road + H Siddiah Road

No hands-free comfort for them. Like Hindu Gods and Godesses, angry young and not so young film stars need to hold something in their hands to symbolise their power. Usually it's oversized swords, chains and other tools of rowdyism (pictures here). But the ultimate weapon to hold is the gun. Seen above is the poster boy of gun culture in India - Sanjay Dutt staring from behind an autorikshaw.  And here's a devotee of guns from Sandalwood (Kannada Film Industry) showing off his weapon.  





These are clips from the 1995 French movie called La Haine. It's a story of 3 young men from a Paris ghetto. It's about how their lives change when they happen to lay their hands on a gun during a riot.

  

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Chandni Chowk Road

If you need to rent a turban for a wedding, head for Chandni Chowk Road. Here, you will surely find a few shops renting elaborate turbans. From the famous Mysore Peta to exotic Pathan ones, you can borrow them for about Rs 150 a day. A worthy expense if you ask me. After all, a majestic turban will help you rise a few inches above any gathering.

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Chandni Chowk Road

Hindu, Muslim, Isai. That's Chandni Chowk Road for you. Even though Chandni Chowk and Shivajinagar is considered a Muslim ghetto by many Bangaloreans, it's actually a very cosmopolitan locality. Yes, the proportion of Muslims and Christians are higher. But compared to cities like Mumbai or Delhi, the fact remains that we Benglureans are lucky to live in a city that still have homes that rub shoulders with each other without causing too many sparks.  

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Chandni Chowk Road

It's not Delhi-6. This is Bangalore-51. It's not just a Chowk. This is the Chandni Chowk Road.

Only in Benglur would a Chowk's name be followed by Road. And our own Chandni Chowk Road is as interesting as the name. For example, the Russel Market end of Chandni Chowk Road is part of the Gujli. As the graveyard of old vehicles, electrical goods, lathe machines and anything recyclable and its second-hand market is called in the city. 

The Gujli is not as large as the one in City Market (New Bamboo Bazaar) but then Benglureans believe that there's nothing you cannot find at the Shivajinagar Gujli. Like the little shop shown above that sells all kinds of gears, nuts, bolts and fixtures for automobiles, lathe, milling and grinding machines.  And if you want your automobile fixed, you can seek the services of a roadside mechanic. Here's a humble establishment under the spotlight.

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Mysore Road

What do bands (not rock bands), mutton shops and local gyms have in common? 

The names. They are usually called Jai Karnataka, New India, New Maharashtra or like the band the man above belongs to - The Jai Hind Band. They perform at weddings, funerals, political rallies, etc. around town and operate out of a little shop under the Mysore Road flyover. The Jai Hind Band's biggest rival is their neighbour - The New Nehru Band. This is the first time I'm seeing something named after India's first Prime Minister that is not a Government tax money siphoning scam or a white elephant project. 

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