27 March: More Public Transport!

Today, armed with Jeena’s bus list (I hesitate to call it a bus timetable, since it lists no times, only which buses go where), I set off for the Lalbagh botanical gardens. It was quite exciting, because none of the buses listed in my bus list actually turned up, so finding the right bus required some agile leaping on and off vehicles, employing the trial-and-error method (that is, frantically asking every bus driver, “Lalbagh? Lalbagh?” until one nodded). I ended up in one of those old buses that I suspect were built pre-Independence. (To those of you who, like me, lazily estimate Indian independence to have taken place “sometime in the sixties”, it was in 1947, as every schoolchild knows. Manjula courteously corrected me on that one!) Like old bikes, old buses don’t look trendy, but they’re built to last! They’re pretty crowded, but luckily Indian women are partial to wearing flowers in their hair, so it’s a fragrant experience.

When I got to the botanical gardens, I discovered that I have become a tourist attraction – people kept asking to take pictures of me with their children! Bizarre! But I guess it’s preferable to people hiding their children from you, and muttering curses as you walk by. The gardens are well stocked with trees, sheltering you from the sun, so I had a pleasant time, ambling round and being photographed by strangers. (Maybe people think I’m famous? Maybe the fame of the Dolly Parton cover band has already spread, before it’s even started?) Eventually I caught a bus back home, acrobatically leaping on and narrowly avoiding being flattened by other buses and auto-rickshaws. This bus was pretty spacey. Not as spacey as the Volvo buses, which are without a doubt the coolest, spaciest buses in town, but spacey enough to have a display showing you which the next stop is, and an announcement, in two languages!

I returned to the clinic sweaty and covered in dust, as per usual. Oh, and I got some pretty fabulous pictures from the public toilets, which are going on the blog! (For those of you not familiar with the toilet blog you may, if you wish, get acquainted here: http://theprivycounsel.blogspot.com/. Darren, you might like the latest post!)

Lalbagh Botanical Gardens

After reading innumerable books on yoga, meditation and stress management, it suddenly struck me that there’s a word for people who are tranquil, calm and joyful, and that word is annoying!!! According to the Dalai Lama, all negative thoughts are harmful, but I would argue that it is equally harmful to suffer the company of people with inordinately large nostrils, for instance, or listen to certain pretentious gits droning on about Derrida. Do I have to give up thinking hateful thoughts about people who bore me rigid by talking at length about Freud in order to find inner peace? Philosophising on this naturally made me think of Bridget Jones, who is constantly failing to achieve inner poise. I can’t give you a quote on the subject, though, because I am temporarily Bridget-less – I have lent Bridget Jones to Manjula! I was a bit worried that she’d find Bridget bizarre (Mark Darcy did), but apparently she was reading it the other evening and giggled so much that her flatmate asked her what she was laughing at.

Moving away from inner poise, there is some exciting news: a new treadmill has been installed! It has an elevation function so you can run uphill, and programmes varying the speed so you don’t have to do it yourself. Also, importantly, it’s not child-sized, like the old one, so there’s less risk of falling off and getting your face caught in it. I’m working my way through the programmes and sweating profusely, even absurdly – it’s been incredibly hot! There is also a lovely pink exercise bike, which I use thoughtfully- apparently the Dalai Lama has an exercise bike, too!

It’s been so hot! To the point where you open the window in the morning, and instead of being cool and fresh outside, it’s as hot as the previous afternoon. Apparently this heat is freakish for Bangalore, where the temperature usually doesn’t go above 30 degrees. According to Jeena’s Bangalore guidebook, old people complain that the city has become hotter since industrialisation, and especially since the IT boom increased traffic a few years ago. It used to be a lot cooler; apparently the British moved their troops here in 1809 because of the cool climate, and actually 19^th-century bungalows in Bangalore all have fireplaces. On a side note, Winston Churchill was a member of the Bangalore Club and owed it 13 rupees when he left in 1901. The sum was never paid, says the guidebook – what a rascal!

There was a brief respite from the heat when it rained on Friday night, and again on Saturday evening – it smelled lovely! It was cloudy Saturday morning, but Manjula had a sudden impulse to do yoga on the roof terrace, and the sun came out just as we were doing our Surya Namaskar, sun salutations! Cooool! It’s pretty cool on the roof terrace; you can see further than from the cafeteria, and you can see lots of birds! And I think I have figured out what the “eagles” are – kites ("glada" in Swedish)! At least the birds on the signs at the botanical gardens, which looked exactly the same, were labelled as kites. Aren’t you glad that’s cleared up?

The doctor reiterates that my trigger points are gone, but he wants me to stay an extra week so I can be strenghtened by Jeshma, stretched by Manjula and beaten black and blue by Ajeesh. So I'll be home round about Easter.

Dhanyavad, come again!