I may have triumphed o'er jetlag on Friday night, but given my sleeplessness from 3-6 AM last night, I have yet to win the war. Key takeaway – I need more physical activity than a day in the car shuttling around Bangalore involves. Alas, given the degree of traffic in this city, that might be difficult.
Saturday started with another amazing homemade breakfast by A's mother, and a birthday party for his adorable two year old nephew. We then trundled off to our hotel, the Royal Orchid, The hotel must make all its money from holding wedding receptions, given the 3 a day, and the low tariffs and happy hour. S., my redoubtable college twin who is now living in Mumbai, met us there and took charge, ordering a cab and shepherding us off. We quickly thought better of a brief stop at an authentic Indian restaurant, and we instead went to the Taj for a nice, safe lunch (although Starbucks could learn something from their pricing – 250 rupees for tea).
After lunch, we decided to go to the ISHKON temple, the modern edifice built by the International Krishna Consciousness Society, or the Hare Krishnas. Having lived 4 doors down from their Boston outpost, I was interested to see the mothership (culturally insensitive much?). Arriving, we were all forced to pull a Britney Spears, surrendering our shoes and proceeding barefoot to the VIP gate that our small donation got us access to. We then proceeded to dash through the small shrines devoted to various avatars of Krishna on our way to the main event, a large cathedral-like building painted with frescos of the youthful blue Krishna and his gopis.
As we stared up at the ceiling, I recalled snatches of long-forgotten college classes (sorry Professors Haynes and Thapar). Mahabarta, Bhagavad Gita, butter thieves, charioteers – various parts of the legends came back to me moments before I started retelling them in a halting fashion. My recitation was interrupted by the monks doing pujas, who wouldn't let us sneak away from the altar rituals. We got scolded and recalled multiple times. Finally, jasmine blossoms in hand, we withdrew from the great chamber down a set of winding stairs that kept leading us from bookstore to gift shop to kitchen to gift shop until finally, barefoot and panting, we retrieved our cameras, hopped back in the cab, and started feverishly purelling our feet.
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