A Trip to the City

Day 3

Monday morning had us having a typical South Indian breakfast of dosa, idli and sambar  at the canteen.  While R and M happily enjoy long forgotten treats, S politely refuses to try anything ("No, 'sank you").

We decided today was a good day to go into Bangalore proper, and took the 11:30am shuttle to IISc.  From there we hired an auto to take us to MG Road.  I was more nervous than I ever remember being in an auto rickshaw, but maybe that was because I had S on my lap and felt like I had to hold on to him for dear life!  I insisted we use pedestrian crossings and wait until we had the right of way - my, how I have changed! Taking care of 3 in this crazy city is a whole new ball game.  The first thing I noticed was the new metro station "Mahatma Gandhi" that was just underway when we left in 2007.




We went to Blossoms on Church Street, our old used book store.  I could have spent hours in there.  I DID spend hours in there!  R and M got some Tinkles (a favourite Indian comic), some chapter books, while S got some picture books (Transformers, Clifford, and Charlie and Lola) and a Mickey Mouse numbers activity book (wanted to start it right away; he is already on page 4).  I got a vegetarian cookbook and some stories to read to the kids, and I think Gagan just browsed.  We were all starving, and some light rain had started, so we popped into next door to Kathi Zone for Indian wraps for a late lunch.  Then we hobbled along MG and Brigade looking for an electronic thing Gagan needs, unsuccessfully, and finished with some ice cream.  We had some trouble securing an auto back to IISc for the 5pm shuttle, but finally someone agreed to take us for Rs.35 more than what it should cost, and we had no time to bargain.  We got caught in the rain en route, and I whipped out those parkas I packed that Auntie Marilyn had given to me ages ago.  Thank you, Auntie M!  It was quite a monsoon downpour, but we managed to only get a little wet (Gagan a lot), but it did feel much colder than we were prepared for.

Sunday's Simple Pleasures

Day 2

Today we should have made it to mass, but we were too tired and discombobulated to figure out where/when/how to go.  We had our breakfast at the canteen, and then had the pleasure of trying out the new NCBS pool.  When we left 5 years ago, it was an idea in the making, but really in just the early stages of planning.  Now it is a beautiful 25 m in-ground pool, complete with professional built-in NCBS graphics in tile that shimmer through to the surface of the water.  Cool, at only 25 degrees, but fine as long as I kept moving.  The kids had begged and begged to go yesterday, and it was a bit of a rigmarole to get permission as "guests" to use the facilities, so it was great that we were all able to swim.  There is even a small wading pool perfect for S.  Kids loved it.

Then we met Geoff for lunch at the canteen.  He is doing well and keeping busy with his work at NCBS.  He is invited to many institutes all over India to give talks and workshops and work with scientists in improving science writing.  His steady stream of visitors has slowed, after each of his friends become sick while here, each worse than the last.  He is still in the same place in Sahakar Nagar, and plans to visit Australia every other year or so. We showed him our guesthouse and we chatted a bit more.  He has invited us to his house for dinner on Wednesday night with another couple he is friends with at NCBS.

Despite our best attempts at staying awake, they all fell asleep for a couple of hours in the afternoon, and S slept even longer. We were invited to Jitu and Aisha's for dinner, so we took a taxi (a fancy Toyota SUV) to be there for about 7:30pm.  They still have a lovely house and still can cook up a wonderful meal.  Their son, Ishaar, is the same age as R, both born in 2000, Ishaar 11 months earlier in January.  He is a really lovely young man, very sociable, polite, and mature, asking questions and engaged in all conversations with adults and kids alike.  We had about 3 hours of sharing stories, and then it was over too soon.  Everyone (except us!) had to get up early for the next morning for work and school.

Day 1: Is it Still Friday or is it Saturday? Must Be the Jet Lag!

We are having a hard time adjusting to the new time zone.

Even though we tried not to sleep, we couldn't help it, and fell asleep before dinner for a couple of hours.  S had the hardest time putting off sleep, and that was his second sleep today, having slept already a couple of hours before lunch.  He's been grumpy and has no appetite, but I expect that will get better with time.

We checked out the village a tiny bit - went to Namdhari's and S-Mart (which has really seen better days) and tried to get a SIM card.  I expected Shahakaranagar to look so different, but it was the same as always - busy, dirty, noisy!  We bought some water, biscuits and bread.  Couldn't find any Cheetos.  Kids were too tired to walk back, so we took an auto home.

We then went for lunch at the canteen, and saw a couple of people that we used to know.  It's hard to remember everyone's name!

We went home and watched some Olympics, then slept for a bit.  We went back to NCBS for a dinner in honour of the inaguration of another new building.  We saw Jitu and his wife Aisha, and some other faculty as well as 3 of the kids.  The same families with kids all still live in the apartments, believe it or not.  R is not remembering as much as I thought he would.  Everyone is still tired and not yet themselves.