Morning Walk

My hotel is on Residency Road very near its intersection with Brigade Road (how British is that?).  To get a feel for the location go to Google maps and enter Bangalore, India.  When that comes up, enter "Taj Gateway".  That is my hotel.  There you will see the intersection I am talking about.  You will also see the short stretch of Brigade Road that runs up to MG Road (MG is short for Mahatma Ghandi).  After about noon that piece of Brigade Road is jam packed.  But early in the morning around 9:00 AM it is as deserted as any Bangalore street ever gets.  Municipal workers, sleeping security guards, street people, the dogs, and a few early birds are going about their business.
A morning walk got started over laundry.  When I was here in January I had some laundry done here at the hotel.  I thought it was a medium batch.  When the bill came back it was $100. No more hotel laundry, even if the company pays. This time I found a laundry almost at the intersection of Brigade Road and MG road.  It's a short walk from the hotel and they dryclean a pair of trousers for $0.75.  Actually, I discovered three dry cleaners on the walk up Brigade Road.  The one I am using opens at 8:30 and I like the walk.

My usual companion for the first part of this walk is a street person, an auto rick driver named Syeduman, shown here on the left.  He offers a 10 Rs rick ride to do sight seeing and visit shops.  I have found these folks to be polite.  Persistent but polite and usually very friendly.  Syeduman has a little edge of despiration about him suggesting he may be trying to support a large family.  I have decided, with some caution, to be laid back with these folks when they approach me.  Caution about being taken advantage of but also open to some conversation and maybe a little understanding of the view they see.  I am finding Indians in general to be friendly in the streets. Not only is there panhandling going on but there are folks who want to connect on a little higher level.  I should note that people quite often stare at me.  Today in traffic (and understand that "in traffic" often suggests very close quarters)  I was being stared at.  I smiled.  The young man in the car next to me smiled back.  His companion smiled and they both waved.  I waved and he rolled his window down and handed me his business card.  Connection.  G7 InfoTech.  http://www.g7infotech.in/.  I looked up the site.  It's a software company.

Syeduman usually breaks off after some pleasant conversation and my polite refusals to go anywhere with him.  Futher up Brigade at the MG intersection I encountered these guys.  On the right is Mani.  Ravi is on the left and Kumar is in the center.  These guys are also rick drivers. Mani told me that he has worked this corner for ten years.  Kumar made the same claim.  These guys were more laid back than Syeduman.  I gave them each 10 Rs (a quarter each) to take this picture.  They smiled and told me I didn't need to pay them just to take their picture.  They were very friendly, especially Mani.  Again, however, I am guarded and I have been warned by Satish Kumar, the Writer Corp rep who is helping me with housing, that the modus operandi is to be friendly and then violate your trust.  These guys are street people.  That is what they do.  But unlike street people I have encountered in the states they seem a lot smoother.  They hide most of their despiration and will carry on a conversation with you and tell you things about themselves.  By the way just before I took this picture there was some excitement.  The streets of Bangalore are full of dogs.  At this intersection there were about 8 or 9 milling around and a huge dog fight broke out.  It was brief, it was intense, it was noisy.  It was brief because Mani jumped in the middle and kicked dog ass.
On my way back I stopped at an ATM at the intersection with Residency Road.  Syeduman came over and tried again.  Yesterday I had asked him if I could take his picture and he said no.  This morning he volunteered.  Then he told me he could take me where I could photograph some really poor people; poor and terribly deformed.  OMG was my reaction.  I can only imagine what I would encounter.  I asked him if they would mind having their pictures taken.  No, no he says.  Right Syeduman.  I'm sure they would be delighted to pose for my camera.  They probablly have agents.  He is persistent.  Anything for a rupee.

Just outside the hotel gate was this guy, shown below.  His name is Raphi.  I know him from previous trips.  He is a little more organized than Syeduman, Mani and the others.  He has a business card listing his services along with his cell number.  Last time I was here he took me around a few places until I realized he wasn't licensed.  I quit riding with him when I noticed that and told him why.  This morning he showed me his license.  I may use him.

Here are some morning scenes along this short stretch of Brigade road as it wakes up.

I love the colorful saris Indian women wear.

The shoes lined up along the curb.  Don't ask.  I have no idea.

These guys art sorting trash by hand, literally emptying the plastic trash bags they pick up and putting recyclables in those blue bins and white bags.  Discoverie's dirty jobs star should come here and do a show with these guys.  This is a dirty job.

I just thought this was an interesting building.

A fruit stand.  How can this not be worth a picture?

Finally, Taco Bell.  Yeah babe, Mexico!  And for that price, why not?