Bangalore Local Customs

Despite having seen it a thousand times, it still draws my attention. college aged young man, holding hands or each other in a distance we accord to physical intimacy in public. it is a show of affection, but for us, we are used to women showing other women affection but frown upon men holding their friends hands.. ah well, a little cultural construction in context

While travelling through the villagers around Bangalore's outskirts, we saw this scene many times over.

Pumping water from a bore well, that a few villages share, and then carrying the water back to one's respective homes -- this is a daily affair in India's rural settings (this means anything from 20 min out of town to 2 hrs out).

Children and women are seen carrying water --- geez, what are the men doing?

[Aside: in confidence, I'll share that through many village centres, as we passed through, we saw men sitting around, standing at coffee shops, near the fruit selllers -- doing err, like hanging around and talking. It was an observation made by many travellers.]

Going to the movies is a good introduction of the current cultural scene in Bangalore.. it is the bazaar to show off your newly acquired westerness.. what a great irony.. europeans dress like indians and the indians dress like the europeans..
but at the movie theatre shown here which is fairly expensive by local standards, you can see the up and coming elite of the city, and their pseudo american accents and put on frivolities.
more than once it becomes nauseating, but once it is good.
the movies dont matter, they are usually rubbish..

When we visited, there was an annual groundnut fair taking place. All along the road were stalls selling nuts, spices and other snakc, as well as small gifts and nick nacks. We stopped and tasted various delicacies without having the faintest idea of what we were eating. Mostly it was good. We caused quite a stir in the market, and had a small group of children following us after a while. We were the only westerners there, which was probably the reason.

I'm not sure why (if anyone knows, please tell me) but if you accidentally touch your foot against another person's foot, they put their hand to their mouth (in a fist shape) and cross their mouth. They also mumble something under their breath. I've also had this happen when a friend and I were talking, and a Bangalorean friend interrupted our conversation, he said "Sorry" and crossed his mouth and mumbled something.

Because of its agreeable climate and hilly terrain, Bangalore has a nascent wine industry, grapes from France has been planted around Nandi Hills. Already some whites and a couple reds are available at supermarkets. I found this white to be quite drinktable. The reds were not that good. Also of interest to note that supermarkets are begining to sell wines from South Africa and Chile. The price is around twice the local variety and I urge to support the local industry.

250-350 rupees for a local bottle of wine
500-1000 rupees for a bottle of south african or chilean wine

The Indian Hindu greeting is to fold the hands and tilt the head forward to namaste. Indian women prefer not to shake hands. All visitors are asked to remove footwear when entering places of religious worship. The majority of Indians remove their footwear when entering their houses. Because of strict religious and social customs, visitors must show particular respect when visiting someone's home. Many Hindus are vegetarian and many, especially women, do not drink alcohol. Sikhs and Parsees do not smoke. Small gifts are acceptable as tokens of gratitude for hospitality. Women are expected to dress modestly. Short skirts and tight or revealing clothing should not be worn, even on beaches. Businesspeople are not expected to dress formally except for meetings and social functions. English-speaking guides are available at fixed charges at all important tourist centres. Guides speaking French, Italian, Spanish, German, Russian or Japanese are available in some cities. Consult the nearest Government of India Tourist Office. Unapproved guides are not permitted to enter protected monuments. Tourists are advised to ask for guides with certificates from the Ministry of Tourism or the Government of India Tourist Office (see address section). Photography: Formalities mainly concern protected monuments and the wildlife sanctuaries. Special permission of the Archaeological Survey of India, New Delhi, is necessary for the use of tripod and artificial light to photograph monuments. Photographs of the wildlife sanctuaries are allowed on payment of a prescribed fee which varies. Contact the nearest Government of India Tourist Office. Tipping: Taxis and restaurants do not expect to be tipped however hotel and airport porters should be tipped around 20 rupees, and guides and drivers 100 rupees per day where service is not included.

Accessibility to drinking water is often an issue of walking distance in indian villages.

This village of Doda Aramakanalli (west of Bangalore, near the Kolar gold fields) had an array of colourfully-sari-clad women balancing, among other things, water on their heads.

Sometimes they end up wlaking about an hour to and from the water source. More wells are being dug to allow for tapped water to be made accessible to these village areas around Bangalore.