Compelle Intrare: Bengaluru; smelly, dirty, crowded but still fun and yummy!

So Grace and I went shopping yesterday as we have taken up the responsibility to decorate my brother’s car for the wedding.

We ate lunch at KFC where we coincidentally bumped into my brother and D (“respectful” name form of Dinah as she is much older than me and my culture does not allow me to call her by name and Bhabhi or didi sounds too weird so we settled for D!) who were doing the last minute, or rather last weekend wedding shopping…

And then we delved into the back alleys of Commercial Street which is like shoppers’ paradise of Bangalore. You will find everything here, starting from poison to paint to gold. And ended up at Russell Market which is like a very extensive version of Ooty market and is very fascinating; just roll up your trousers, put a peg on your nose, watch for the bees and you’re ready for a truly Indian experience!! Its infuriating how people really don’t care about chucking their rubbish on the streets. I was holding a glass of Pepsi in my hand while I was walking and so I asked one of the shop keepers if he had a dust bin and he just sort of shrugged and motioned that I could just throw it on the road. ARGHH! Its that attitude that gives our country the reputation of being smelly and dirty!

Anyway I did the whole commercial-russell thing with my mum last week actually but yesterday I had my camera! HA HA!

Where does one walk?!?!?

Tis the season to be jolly, fa la la la la la la la la la… he he he, I love typing that out.
Me: Grace, have you been to Russell Market?
Grace: Yeah.
Me: Its really cool, we should go there.
Grace: We are at Russell Market!
Me: Really? Ah yes, I can smell it!
Dammit, no litchis.
Fruit Basket
Bootiful. I *heart* these flowers. They are very pleasing to the eye! Who says that!?
Look! Its like as big as me!! Ha ha ha, imagine me trying to put that thing around myself! I’d probably fall down!
Garlands Galore
Note to boys: ALL girls like getting flowers, even if they say they don’t.
I’ll have these ones, thanks! ;)
Grace: Okay so this is the car…
Me: Really? Looks like an auto to me!
Scowl
Grace? Where’d you go!?!
So we can get the ribbons to fly like this..

Us, after we found a comfortable spot at the market to sit amongst the boxes and the flowers!

Okay, so what exactly are you weirdo Hebronites doing!?!?!

After we spent some good time at the market we went to see this huge catholic church close by. Its HUGE! Its called the St. Mary’s Basilica. Mary’s been a sort of ongoing theme in my head recently, as the pastor spoke about Mary’s song at church last weekend, and then Meg mentioned attending Mass and I’ve been reading about the Catholic’s beliefs in this book so it was interesting visiting this church and just having a look around.
It was almost like going into a temple actually. I saw some starking similarities in manners of worship. Interesting, very interesting. Makes you think. In her song, Mary said, “the generations, will call me blessed.” Isn’t it reading a little too much into it by bowing down before her in adoration?

A really old building on commercial street! The man who was selling ghee and other oils there said that his grandfather’s father built it somewhere in the 1800’s!!

An interesting contrast: A Nativity set on the street and…

A Nativity set in a fancy shmancy shop complete with the blue-eyed infant Christ. Well, personally I think the other one depicts the humble stable beginning of the Christ much more realistically than this one does.