KALIM REPAIRS JEWELLERY in Jewellers Street in the Commercial Street district of Bangalore (Bengaluru). He sits on the pavement on the shaded east side of the street in the morning and in the afternoon, he moves to the west side to keep out of the sun. He can mend almost every kind of jewellery. When restringing necklaces, he uses both his hands and his feet, to keep the thread taut.
Kalim at work
Kalim is one of many people we visit in the Commercial Street area to get repairs done. These craftsmen include tailors, a bag repairer, dyers, darners, watch repairers, locksmiths, and jewellers. We have known all of them for years.
The great thing about these skilled workers is that they will skilfully repair almost anything. On the UK, people like this are few and far between.
You can read about these wonderful people in and around Commercial Street in my book “88 DAYS IN INDIA: A JOURNEY OF MEMORY AND DISCOVERY”.
GEORGE GLAESER MUNNIK was a Boer during the first Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902). He was captured by the British and imprisoned in the south of India. During his time in India, he was taken to Bangalore briefly and was put up in the West End Hotel.
In his autobiography, Munnik recalled:
“We arrived in Bangalore early in the morning and went to the West End Hotel. This hostelry stands in extensive grounds and consists of about half-a-dozen bungalows, each a hundred yards apart and holding six visitors; each has its own cook, butler, etc…“
The hotel still exists and is one of the finest in Bangalore. Although enlarged since Munnik stayed there, it stands in beautifully maintained grounds.
Here is a brief excerpt from my book “88 DAYS IN INDIA: A JOURNEY OF MEMORY AND DISCOVERY”, In this sample, I am writing about pigeons in Jaipur (Rajasthan) and elsewhere:
“While we were being driven around the city, we passed areas where food and water were being distributed to some of the city’s many pigeons. The provision of food for pigeons (as well as street dogs and other animals) is commonly found in many other cities and villages we have visited in India. In Jaipur, we saw vendors selling passersby seeds for the birds. Earlier in 2024, when we were in Istanbul, we saw similar vendors at an area (near the Spice Bazaar) where pigeons were plentiful. As a child during the early 1960s, my parents used to buy me cones full of corn for feeding the pigeons in the Piazza Signoria in Florence (Italy). Long ago, I remember pigeon feed being sold in London’s Trafalgar Square. However, now Londoners regard pigeons as pests, which should not be fed. One of London’s former Mayors, Ken Livingstone, who ended selling of pigeon food in the square in 2001, called pigeons: “rats with wings”.
Although feeding pigeons has caused India’s population of these creatures to increase to alarmingly high levels, Shreemoyee Chakraborty (quoted in an article published by theprint.in in November 2024) noted: “In India feeding pigeons is not just a habit; it has a religious and cultural significance as well.”
In an online article about Vastu Shastra (published on vastulabh.com), it was pointed out that: “Pigeons have long been associated with Goddess Lakshmi, the deity of wealth and prosperity. According to Vastu Shastra, pigeons are believed to bring positive energy and good fortune into the home. However, there are differing opinions and specific guidelines on how to interpret their presence.”
So, it is likely that feeding these winged creatures in India has a good chance of continuing despite the occasional attempts of some municipal authorities, including in Jaipur, to reduce their population.“
If you wish to purchase a copy of this book, hasten to Amazon’s website:
Between late 2024 and early 2025, we spent 88 days travelling 4000 miles through India. I have published an account of this fascinating odyssey in my book, “88 DAYS IN INDIA: A JOURNEY OF MEMORY AND DISCOVERY”, which is available from Amazon (https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FKTFBFM2). Here is a very brief excerpt from the book. It describes what happened when we were sitting in a cathedral in the formerly French colony of Pondicherry.
HERE IS THE EXCERPT:
“We sat inside the spacious cathedral’s cool interior within reach of the draught coming from a fan attached to one of the pillars supporting the long nave’s high, barrel-vaulted ceiling. As we were relaxing in the cooling breeze, a small group of Indians entered, and went to the front pews, where they knelt and prayed in front of the high altar. Amongst them was a young couple dressed in their finest. Each of them had lavish flower garlands (malas) around their necks. As they walked away from the front of the church towards where we were seated, we asked them if they had just married. They told us that that was the case. They had been married in another church and wanted to pray in the cathedral. These friendly people invited us to join them in the church’s sunlit entrance while photographs were being taken of them, of us, and of us with them. They asked us for our blessing.
Opposite the cathedral on a corner plot, we entered a large bookstore. Tables covered the floor. They were laden with books, mostly new, but not arranged in any obvious order. Along one side of this vast hall, there were ...“
END OF EXCERPT
Read my book, and enjoy discovering the wonders of India without leaving home!
I DERIVE GREAT enjoyment from writing. I enjoy researching the background material that will form the basis of what I will write. Then, I find it satisfying attempting to put my ideas into words because it helps me understand my subject matter and it is challenging to find ways of expressing my thoughts in ways that others will understand what I am ‘getting at’.
Azimganj, West Bengal, India
When my text is ready, I find it both challenging and interesting formatting the it and any illustrative material so that they ready for printing in book form. Designing the covers for the book and eBook is yet another pleasurable activity. The resulting production might not always be as satisfactory as what is sometimes produced by commercial publishers, but at least it is what I have conceived in my own mind: all my own work!
In the unlikely event of any of my books becoming ‘best sellers’, I would be both flattered and very happy. However, I write and publish for pleasure, not for profit. What matters most to me, and pleases me most, is knowing that at least a few people will read my books, and I hope gain something from them, be it information, enjoyment, or enlightenment.
And, just in case you are interested, my latest book, “88 Days in India: A Journey of Memory and Discovery”, is available in paperback (and Kindle) from Amazon:https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FKTFBFM2
MY LATEST BOOK invites you to join me on a fascinating 4000-mile, 88 day journey through parts of India including Karnataka, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Telengana, Tamil Nadu, and Pondicherry. My travelogue relates aspects of each place’s past and present; describes interesting encounters with diverse people – from autorickshaw drivers to artists and academics; and savours local foods. Immerse yourself in the pages of my illustrated account of a modern day Indian odyssey, and discover India without leaving home!
My book, “88 DAYS IN INDIA: A JOURNEY OF MEMORY AND DISCOVER” is available from Amazon websites, such as:
TODAY is the 15th of August, the anniversary of India becoming independent of British rule. What better day to announce the ‘launch’ of my latest book?
My new book invites you to join me on a fascinating 4000-mile, 88-day journey through parts of India including Karnataka, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Pondicherry. My travelogue relates aspects of each place’s past and present; describes interesting encounters with diverse people – from autorickshaw drivers to artists and academics; and savours local foods. Immerse yourself in the pages of my illustrated account of a modern-day Indian odyssey, and discover the wonders of India without leaving home!
My book, “88 DAYS IN INDIA: A JOURNEY OF MEMORY AND DISCOVERY” is available from Amazon websites, such as:
WHILE SORTING SOME old papers, we came across a permit issued to us in Kolkata (Calcutta) in November 2019. It is a document that allowed us to visit Sikkim for five days.
Sikkim, which is a mountainous territory is near to China, in northeast India was an independent kingdom until April 1975 when the king was deposed and its people chose by referendum to become part of India. It is now one of the states of India. Foreigners can visit Sikkim but only after they have obtained a permit. We acquired ours without difficulty in central Kolkata. The wording on the permit lists the places which its foreign holder(s) can visit. The rest of Sikkim is out of bounds.
What I only noticed after finding this permit recently (in August 2025) is that it bears some words of advice:
“Trekker(s) beyond the age of 65 should be discouraged”
THERE IS A SUPERB collection of modern art from south Asia, which is being exhibited at Phillips auction house in London’s Berkely Square until 31 July 2025. Amongst the artworks on display are several paintings by the late Maqbool Fida Husain. As you can read in the following excerpt from my book about the first journey I made to Gujarat in western India in 2018, the Husain was keen on the area. We were in Ahmedabad when we stumbled across a restaurant called Lucky.
Now read on …
“We ate lunch at Lucky, an unusual restaurant near our hotel. This vegetarian eatery is divided into two sections: one serving sandwiches and Punjabi-style dishes, the other serving mainly south Indian dishes. In one of them, we noticed a framed painting by the famous Indian painter MF Husain (1915-2011), who was born in a Bohri Muslim family in Maharastra. He often travelled to Gujarat to paint. The picture in Lucky, and the place is truly lucky to have it, is a gift which the artist presented in 2004. This was the second original work by Hussain that we had seen in a restaurant. Earlier, we had seen a sketch by him in Bombay’s Noor Mohammadi Hotel, which serves Bohri dishes. When Hussain’s art works began to offend the extremist nationalist sentiments of some Hindus in India and they threatened his life, he felt forced to exile himself. He lived the last few years of his life in the Gulf States and the UK.
The curious thing about Lucky is not the MF Hussain painting, but its location in a disused Muslim cemetery. Its chairs and tables are placed between unmarked Muslim gravestones, painted green and surrounded by low metal railings painted white. The manager thought that these graves were over 300 years old. In addition to the graves, the thick trunk of a tree grows through the middle of the restaurant. The food and service are both good in this busy but peculiar place.”
yamey 