Today was probably my last day in Bangalore. And it was by far my best day in Bangalore. I had to go in to pick up my new sari that was being stitched and pick up a few final gifts, so into town I went. In the interest of time, I decided to take an auto into the city…and I am so glad that I did, because not a single bus passed us on the way to town.
I walked down commercial street and I had to stop at the explorer store…just had to. This is an incredible store filled with antiques and gadgets that the owner’s “men” have collected from all over India. It’s like a time warp, and I could spend hours in the tiny hallway of a store. But today, I discovered the upstairs: rickety staircase, lots of dust, and soooooo many old knick-knacks that I could barely even move. I picked up a few old coins and went back downstairs, and the man asked me what I found. I showed him the coins, and he said, “I have older.” For the next hour, he proceeded to show me his coin collection [most of which he just keeps to show people, it isn’t even on sale] and the stories behind each: who was the ruler when these coins circulated, if he was loved or hated, how many British officers it took to kill him, etc. It was awesome.
Then….I walked to cornerhouse. And had ice cream. By myself. Is that healthy? I don’t know. But it was delicious, and it was fun to sit on the front porch and watch Bangalore go by while enjoying one of my last choco-mocca sundaes.
It was time to pick up my sari. It was supposed to be finished yesterday, so I was looking forward to just picking it up. “Sorry Madam, it is not finished. It will be finished tomorrow.” Excuse me? It was supposed to be finished yesterday. “Sorry madam, we had no current. I can be finished by 6:00.” Sir, I life 45 minutes outside of Bangalore. I cannot be here until 6:00, and I cannot come back tomorrow. “One or two hours?” he asked. I looked at my watch – 1:10. One hour, I told him. Can you be finished by 2:00? “Give or take 5-10 minutes?” He asked. Deal.
So….that gave me a good excuse to go to my new favorite textile shop. I browsed, I felt, they served me tea and I pointed to fabrics I wanted to see as I enjoyed my chai. I felt like a queen, and before I knew it the 500 rupee-per-yard silks and linens had accumulated quite a pile…to the extent that 500-rupees-per-meter wasn’t that big of a discount anymore.
After I made my purchases, I headed back down to pick up my Sari. The man pulled out a chair for me, and I watched him say something to the man at the sewing machine who pulled out my sari fabric and STARTED to make my blouse. Oh man I was mad. It was supposed to be done yesterday, I came to Bangalore for the sole purpose of picking up my blouse, I don’t know when I will be back. Definitely not before next Saturday, which is when I need it. So I sat, pissed, for awhile, trying to have body language that portrayed my anger so that they would be able to hurry.
After awhile, though, I chastised myself realizing that that wasn’t really a very gracious way to behave. And that here I was, stuck at a real Indian tailor’s…so I might as well tak the opportunity to watch them sew my blouse. So I leaned in and observed, and an hour later my blouse was complete. I didn’t have the gumption to ask for a discount, and even though I watched the process I was still a pretty uptight and angry American as I left.
At this point, I was exhausted and more than ready to go home. Thankful that I had planned to take an auto, I made my way to the auto line. I didn’t even have the energy to barter…I accepted the “Meter + 40” that the man offered me. On the way, we chatted a bit and I started to loosen up. He asked me if I like India and I started to cry [seriously, this is happening to me way too often]. At a stoplight, he turned around and asked, “Would you like to learn to drive an auto rickshaw?” Ha. I said heck yes! And so after we hit Ring Road, he invited me up to the front and I took the handlebars.
It was…strange. Different. Like driving a stick-shift, but the gears are in the handlebars. After a while I was doing so well that he offered me control of the foot brake as well, but I decided that for both of our safety he should probably keep his foot on it. Once, though, I even drove by myself. He got out of the auto to start it, and then walked beside until I stalled. Prettttty cool. The only downside is that I as the only one in the auto, so I have no photos or video to document my experience. I was a little nervous that we were on the main road, and got a little anxious as I found myself face-to-face with oncoming traffic in typical India fashion. But it was exhilarating, kind of like one of those racing video games when you don’t have to stay in the lanes and your goal is just to get to the finish line safe and sound.
And I did J
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