Just before leaving Bangalore (for Bombay), my friend Mansoor Ali took me to see the BLR Design Centre. It is located on the top floors of a building on the corner of Church Street and Museum Road, and is a fine example of good modern design.
According to the centre’s website, the institution is: “A collaborative workspace focussed on transforming urban living environments through architectural partnerships, cultural dialogue and design-driven solutions.”
The views from the centre’s roof terrace are wonderful. What particularly intrigued me were the reflections of buildings that can be seen on the glasswork of the Sobha Mall, which is across the street from the BLR Design Centre.
WHEN OUR DAUGHTER was about two years old and able to walk unassisted, she often wore overalls (jump suits), rather than girlish frocks. One day we were walking in London’s Kensington Gardens when we passed a couple of elderly ladies. One of them looked at our child, and said to us: “What a cute little boy you have”
We replied:
“Actuually, she is our daughter.”
To which one of the ladies said to her friend: “it’s so difficult to tell one from the other these days.”
The former Men’s Bar at the Bangalore Club
Some months later, we were in India at the Bangalore Club (in Bangalore). In those days, the late 1990s, the club had a Men’s Bar, to which only men were admitted. Its wood panelled walls bear hunting trophies and archaic weapons.
One day, I was having a drink in that bar with my father-in-law, when our daughter arrived in the adjoining room with my wife. Excited to see us, our daughter, dressed in her overalls, dashed into the Men’s Bar. An elderly gentleman, seeing a child in the bar, said to our daughter:
“You are too young to come in, young man. When you are 21, you will be welcome here.”
To which, my wife standing close to the entrance, said: “She’s our daughter.”
The gentleman then responded: “In that case, you will never be able to enter our bar”.
How wrong he was.
Sometime during the early twenty-first century, the rules changed: now both men and women can use what had been the Men’s Bar. Now, this bar has been renamed: it is simply The Bar.
Today, almost 28 years later, nobody would have any difficulty identifying our daughter as a young lady.
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:
yamey 