Hi guys,
I have recently returned from a trip to Bangalore with my project group. It was perfectly smooth except for one evening that we spent on sight-seeing (we were very close to actually doing that). It all started with the fundamental question " Where shall we go now? ". Our project work for that day was over and it was just around 5.30 in the evening. We thought we would look around Bangalore and see if there is something interesting. Then, one of us gave an idea. It was a girl from our group who had popped up and said, " I had looked up the map of Bangalore. There is a musical fountain in Cubbon Park near Nehru Planetarium. We should go there." We ofcourse agreed because she was the only person who had any idea of what we can do. We should have thought twice.
Nevertheless, we went ahead with the plan, four of us. The first problem - No one there knew where Cubbon Park was. But, we had a daily bus pass and ofcourse there must be a bus to a famous tourist spot. Going by this assumption, we inquired about it at the bus stop. There was good news and a bad news. Lets take the good one first - There WAS a bus route to Cubbon Park. The bad one was that we had to switch buses at an intermediate stop (you will come to know why it was so bad, in some time). So we took the bus to some stop in front of an Air Force dental school or something like that. And, we started waiting for the next bus. Ohh yes! we STARTED waiting. We confirmed that the bus we were waiting for comes to that stop. A sigh of relief? Not really. Each and every bus that came to that stop for the next 45 minutes was overloaded. People were just hanging on to the bus somehow. Since there were two girls with us, we really couldn't think of getting into those buses. So, we waited. And waited. One of the girls was really irritated and wanted to ditch the idea of going to the musical fountain. And, it was the other who had given the idea of going to the fountain. So, there were small catfights between them. I really cant complain because that was the only entertainment we had then.
Finally, after an hour or so, the peak hours were over and we got an empty bus. The journey was pleasant except for the fact that we had to bear with a Kannada movie and its AWESOME dance sequence on the TV inside the bus and we had to stand for the whole of the journey (around half an hour). We got down at the desired stop, or so we thought. We were getting closer to our destination. But, we still dint know where exactly to go. So we asked a lady who seemed to be a localite. First of all, she dint know that there was something like a musical fountain in Bangalore. Secondly, she told us Cubbon Park will take 20 minutes by a rickshaw. May the IITian spirit live for long, we decided to WALK. We were on one side of a huge circle and we had to cross the road to go to the other side. There was sufficient traffic on the road for us to be cautious but not everybody shared the same opinion, I guess. Ms. X (one of the girls) walked straight across the road. When in the middle, she realized there was a car approaching her. And, she froze right in the middle of the road. She was really lucky to stay alive until she gained back her senses and crossed the road completely. But I just couldn't help shouting at her for being so careless.
We walked some distance on our route to Cubbon Park. Or did we? After walking for some time and seeing no signs of a park like structure, we consulted someone at a petrol pump. Well, we were told that we had walked the wrong way and we had to go back to that circle and take the next lane. Of course, we did that. We entered a gate which did look like an entrance to a park. And wow!! it was the entrance to the Cubbon Park. Now, we only had to find a fountain inside a park and we were there!! well.. not really. This park did defy our notions of a park. It was big.. huge.. and it was a bit dark in there. It was already 8 'o clock by then. We met a person near the entrance who told us that the fountain closes at 8.30 and it is quite far. But again, we thought we would at least get a glimpse of it. So, we walked. And kept walking. It was like a march, which dint seem to end. But, it did. Not with the fountain but with a building. An enormous structure of bricks and mortar across the main road. Frankly, the building was intimidating but really awesome. We soon realized that it was the Vidhan Soudha. So, we had actually done some sight-seeing. We took a few snaps of that area.
But, we had had enough and we all reached a consensus of ditching the idea of the musical fountain. We all wanted to go back to the hostel. It was dinner time so we thought we would eat somewhere and then go back. We asked a policeman the nearest place to eat. He pointed in a direction and sadly, we dint question further. We took a bus in that direction and got down at a place where we saw a restaurant. But, we dint look closely enough. It was a meat market. None of us really wanted to eat there. We walked under the flyover to see if we could find a better place to eat. And suddenly, I had to pull Ms. X off the road or she would have been knocked off by a bus. She complained that she was walking almost on the footpath and it wasn't her fault. Well.. we walked ahead. This time, something stranger happened. A bus came from the road towards the so-called footpath and Jhonny saw the headlight beam into his face before he was dragged to safety by Ms. X. Ah! he was frightened, but fortunately alive. This time he was walking ON the footpath. It really wasn't his fault.
And again, we were desperate to leave that place and go to a more recognizable place. We got a rickshaw to M.G. Road and finally felt safe. We ate at the food court of Garuda mall and did a bit of random chitchatting about things which will not be disclosed here as it is not the topic of this blog. So, we ended our roller-coaster ride on a more hearty note (read as.. good food) and we went back to our hostel. Another hour or so was spent discussing the day's adventure. Although we never made it to the musical fountain, we had a memorable journey.
Mehul
P.S - Ms. X is not hypothetical like chemical X. The name has been kept secret on request. However, you are free to PM me to know the name.
I have recently returned from a trip to Bangalore with my project group. It was perfectly smooth except for one evening that we spent on sight-seeing (we were very close to actually doing that). It all started with the fundamental question " Where shall we go now? ". Our project work for that day was over and it was just around 5.30 in the evening. We thought we would look around Bangalore and see if there is something interesting. Then, one of us gave an idea. It was a girl from our group who had popped up and said, " I had looked up the map of Bangalore. There is a musical fountain in Cubbon Park near Nehru Planetarium. We should go there." We ofcourse agreed because she was the only person who had any idea of what we can do. We should have thought twice.
Nevertheless, we went ahead with the plan, four of us. The first problem - No one there knew where Cubbon Park was. But, we had a daily bus pass and ofcourse there must be a bus to a famous tourist spot. Going by this assumption, we inquired about it at the bus stop. There was good news and a bad news. Lets take the good one first - There WAS a bus route to Cubbon Park. The bad one was that we had to switch buses at an intermediate stop (you will come to know why it was so bad, in some time). So we took the bus to some stop in front of an Air Force dental school or something like that. And, we started waiting for the next bus. Ohh yes! we STARTED waiting. We confirmed that the bus we were waiting for comes to that stop. A sigh of relief? Not really. Each and every bus that came to that stop for the next 45 minutes was overloaded. People were just hanging on to the bus somehow. Since there were two girls with us, we really couldn't think of getting into those buses. So, we waited. And waited. One of the girls was really irritated and wanted to ditch the idea of going to the musical fountain. And, it was the other who had given the idea of going to the fountain. So, there were small catfights between them. I really cant complain because that was the only entertainment we had then.
Finally, after an hour or so, the peak hours were over and we got an empty bus. The journey was pleasant except for the fact that we had to bear with a Kannada movie and its AWESOME dance sequence on the TV inside the bus and we had to stand for the whole of the journey (around half an hour). We got down at the desired stop, or so we thought. We were getting closer to our destination. But, we still dint know where exactly to go. So we asked a lady who seemed to be a localite. First of all, she dint know that there was something like a musical fountain in Bangalore. Secondly, she told us Cubbon Park will take 20 minutes by a rickshaw. May the IITian spirit live for long, we decided to WALK. We were on one side of a huge circle and we had to cross the road to go to the other side. There was sufficient traffic on the road for us to be cautious but not everybody shared the same opinion, I guess. Ms. X (one of the girls) walked straight across the road. When in the middle, she realized there was a car approaching her. And, she froze right in the middle of the road. She was really lucky to stay alive until she gained back her senses and crossed the road completely. But I just couldn't help shouting at her for being so careless.
We walked some distance on our route to Cubbon Park. Or did we? After walking for some time and seeing no signs of a park like structure, we consulted someone at a petrol pump. Well, we were told that we had walked the wrong way and we had to go back to that circle and take the next lane. Of course, we did that. We entered a gate which did look like an entrance to a park. And wow!! it was the entrance to the Cubbon Park. Now, we only had to find a fountain inside a park and we were there!! well.. not really. This park did defy our notions of a park. It was big.. huge.. and it was a bit dark in there. It was already 8 'o clock by then. We met a person near the entrance who told us that the fountain closes at 8.30 and it is quite far. But again, we thought we would at least get a glimpse of it. So, we walked. And kept walking. It was like a march, which dint seem to end. But, it did. Not with the fountain but with a building. An enormous structure of bricks and mortar across the main road. Frankly, the building was intimidating but really awesome. We soon realized that it was the Vidhan Soudha. So, we had actually done some sight-seeing. We took a few snaps of that area.
But, we had had enough and we all reached a consensus of ditching the idea of the musical fountain. We all wanted to go back to the hostel. It was dinner time so we thought we would eat somewhere and then go back. We asked a policeman the nearest place to eat. He pointed in a direction and sadly, we dint question further. We took a bus in that direction and got down at a place where we saw a restaurant. But, we dint look closely enough. It was a meat market. None of us really wanted to eat there. We walked under the flyover to see if we could find a better place to eat. And suddenly, I had to pull Ms. X off the road or she would have been knocked off by a bus. She complained that she was walking almost on the footpath and it wasn't her fault. Well.. we walked ahead. This time, something stranger happened. A bus came from the road towards the so-called footpath and Jhonny saw the headlight beam into his face before he was dragged to safety by Ms. X. Ah! he was frightened, but fortunately alive. This time he was walking ON the footpath. It really wasn't his fault.
And again, we were desperate to leave that place and go to a more recognizable place. We got a rickshaw to M.G. Road and finally felt safe. We ate at the food court of Garuda mall and did a bit of random chitchatting about things which will not be disclosed here as it is not the topic of this blog. So, we ended our roller-coaster ride on a more hearty note (read as.. good food) and we went back to our hostel. Another hour or so was spent discussing the day's adventure. Although we never made it to the musical fountain, we had a memorable journey.
Mehul
P.S - Ms. X is not hypothetical like chemical X. The name has been kept secret on request. However, you are free to PM me to know the name.
