Yelahanka New Town

I can't say that I've much downtime since I arrived. Between falling asleep pretty early in the evenings and waking up way before the sun rises, I'm just now getting to a normal schedule. Given the 9.5-12.5 hour time difference between Bangalore and the East or West Coast I'm always trying to warp my head around when and were you all are. For instance, I'm writing this on Sunday morning and your are probably just headed to bed Saturday night.

I was totally unprepared for life here, and it's going to take a lot of adjustment. It reminds me somewhat of our trip to Suriname a few years ago, but the scale of the city here is incredible. The little things are more challenging: showering, brushing your teeth, finding food, and finding time and space to recollect thoughts and stamina. Noise is ubiquitous. Between the traffic honks and rumblings, the calls to prayer at 5 am, the crows that sound like a baby screaming bloody murder, and some other very strange bird that I have yet to identify, nighttime alone is packed. Smells are a whole other mixture ranging from burning trash, sandalwood, cow dung, curries, and the ever-present exhaust fumes. It rains a steady drizzle in the late afternoons, and at night big downpours wash away the previous day. It's very pleasant temperature-wise. Often there is a breeze and it usually hits the mid-70s/low-80s with moderate humidity.

So I am an artist-in-residence at Srishti School of Art, Design, and Technology which is located in Yelahanka New Town on the northern edge of Bangalore. Zack and I are living in the central city right now, but we'll soon move closer to the new Center for Experimental Media Arts facilities so that it's easier to get work done once we get up and running. While there is a lot more happening closer in, I think I'm looking forward to the slightly less dense experience of Yelahanka.

After crashing for 13 hours a couple of nights ago, Zack and I sought out whatever we could find in the form of an all-night diner at 5:30 am. We finally found a hotel restaurant near MG Road that was just getting going at 6:30 so we stopped in and had some delicious omelettes and coffee. Coffee's not as easy to come by as I would like. Most drink chai in the morning (which is great too) and there is a Cafe Coffee Day on just about every corner, but they don't open until 9:30 am; it's more a place for being seen that for satisfying the early morning coffee urges of people like me. That night we finally had a chance to grab some beers, fish, and chips, and cricket at the Windsor Pub.

Classes here run Monday through Saturday so Zack wrapped up his week-long class yesterday with final critiques. The student work is pretty good and they work hard. It was a long day as my jet-lag had finally settled in. Nonetheless, after ordering pizzas Saturday night when we got home, we set out for the next adventure.

Apparently the director of the school had asked a few of the faculty to chaperone a party for the new freshers (freshmen). She was worried about alcohol poisoning (same story, different country). Zack and I decided to tag along with Yashas and the other faculty. I had no idea what we were getting into. This little party "around the corner" turned into a gigantic journey. Zack and I snagged an auto (high speed chicken, night version) to meet Yashas and the rest of the faculty. We piled into Geethu's SUV and started out, only to be waylayed when Allen decided to come- which was great. So It's me, Zack, Geethu, Ramesh, A.V., Matt, Yashas and Allen. It was a crew. Now you have to understand that very few of the streets in Bangalore have signs. We did have directions, sort of. We finally set out on our two-hour drive to the countryside of Bangalore. The party, in turned out, was on a farm. We drove for awhile and I even got to catch up on a few Zs which I needed. It was cool though to be able to hang out in the car with everyone I had recently met.

When we finally got close enough to need the directions again, things got hectic. They weren't very good so we were having trouble finding where we were supposed to turn. We probably got lost at least 10 time while we passed strange circles and landmarks, drove through tiny villages with water buffalo to finally come to who-knows-where in the middle of the countryside. All of the sudden we arrived at a temple in the middle of the jungle. Mind you it's about midnight by this time and everything is dark and I still have visions of the snake borrows I had seen for the first time that morning. We visited the temple briefly before heading over to the farmhouse where the party was.

Driving through these back roads was a lot like driving in the American southwest, only much wetter and muddier. When we arrived, it was lke pulling up to a house party in the states. There were cars lined up along the road and dance music blasting from the back. Walking up was great. There were probably 100 students getting down in front of a fire and inside the "house", barefoot, in sandals, and mud everywhere. We hung out and danced for awhile while making sure everyone was okay. It was a good scene. Though I was tired I kept going till we decided to head back and hour or so later. It's a little difficult to picture, so I'll have to post images soon. soon.