Commercial Street and the Parade Ground
The other day I was working the late shift (4.30-1.30) so I had most of the day free to explore more of
Bangalore. This time I went to Commercial Street, the main shopping district. This area has been largely untouched by western shops and remains chock full of traditional Indian shops and wares. It is just amazing to wander around, I have by no means finished exploring the area. Round every corner there is another tiny street crammed with shops, and where there isn’t a shop front there’s a stall placed in front of the wall. A few brave motorbikes and autos try and make their way through but they usually have a hard time, the streets are just crammed with people.
After wandering around for a while I decided to get some fresh(er) air so I headed to the nearby parade ground, basically just a vast oblong of sand where (presumably) parades happen from time to time. It turns out there’s more to it than this. First of all the site is surrounded by the most ornate grandstands you’ve ever seen. Colourful drapery surrounds every stand, on the walls, ceiling and even on the floor in a couple. I started to circumnavigate the parade ground taking photos when I noticed a school taking place inside one of the stands. Too late, they had already spotted me and I was mobbed!
It’s hard to imagine in the multi-cultural UK what it’s like to have never seen someone with different skin before, but it was likely I was the first white person these children had ever met. As a result I was the guest of honour for the afternoon. Hardly any of the children spoke English, but the few who did asked me many questions, and several proposed (although it took me a while to work out what they were saying, proposal is gestured by the putting on of a necklace). The children told me their school was a KGBV, or part of the Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya scheme, which enables the very poorest children to be schooled. Priority is given to girls from the lower castes, and who live below the poverty line. After the children had boarded their school buses and left I headed back to Commercial Street for a few more photos. While big events like this seem to define the ‘Indian Experience’, in the end it’s more about the little things that happen every day. It’s every unique auto ride, the fascinating shops, and their owners, having a coconut hacked open for you so you can drink the milk inside. While I’d say I’m settled a bit more now, there are still things which happen every day that are new and breathtaking.