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Unlike
anything else in India you'll see
Bangalore
is an impressive city. Unlike most of the other places in South
India we visited, Bangalore was a beautiful city with tree-lined
avenues, open green spaces, public gardens, well-kept public buildings,
bustling brightly-lit shopping streets, and a genuine feeling of
welcome and hospitality. I can easily understand why the city is
favored as a destination for so much foreign investment, centered
mainly on technology. Familiar names like HP, Microsoft, Sun, Cisco,
and 3Com were prominently displayed on buildings throughout the
city with whole areas named for their resident multinational.
There aren't many pictures in Bangalore and I wish I had taken more.
(Scanning and editing every picture on this site was a bit daunting
as well.) I must extend my gratitude to the Agarwal family (Ajay's
aunt and uncle) for the gracious hospitality and to their sons Nithin
and Abhishek for suffering my manic shopping habits.
Which brings me to something else I must mention about Bangalore.
This city has some great shopping. My favorite was the wall to wall
cramped antiquities store in the main shopping area. I found so
many beautiful and interesting pieces there (mostly with Urdu script
emblazed on them, surprising everyone around me). I cannot wait
to go back simply to shop there again. And remember, Craft India
will pack, wrap, and ship almost anything, but don't forget your
Visa card.
Picture Info
Before departing Ajay's aunt's house, I was sent off in a traditional
manner (a tilak on the forehead). The Karnataka State Assembly is
a gigantic three or more block-long building with a copy of the
national symbol (Ashoka pillar) standing in gold on top. The High
Court is a red sandstone building across from it.
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