Visiting southern India - observations of a novice traveler (last of a series)

Elsewhere I've described the day-by-day of our India visit (22 May - 5 June).  Here I want to jot down some more general impressions and recollections.  Cautiously, as we have so little experience with India (or with international travel in general).  Accurate or no, there's a reason I'm writing so much down:  I do not want to forget this entirely amazing trip.  The planners did a superb job!

[Photos relating to the below notes are included in the prior posts but I'm adding a few extras here.  Per usual, click any to enlarge all.]

lovely example of a home shrine

visiting family 

--of course:  leave shoes outdoor (next time:  bring slip-ons)

-- front room as sitting/entertaining area (generally also for eating); often including a lovely bench-like piece of furniture among the seating options

--every home with a shrine
--the courteous/emphatic, almost insistent, little gesture for guests to sit down in a favored seat immediately upon arrival

--lively, warm conversation everywhere we go - incredibly welcoming

elephants always look great!  The fellow on the left was purchased from a vendor
at the Nandi temple at Chamundi Hills; (Sreedhar graciously leading the 
negotiations on behalf of PJ); at right, a gift from Mysore relatives.

--always a gift or gifts for PJ - bindi mark (I'll call it) - coconut or piece of fruit; often a gift for both of us

--at one place PJ admires hostess's bangles, all of a sudden she receives two
--recognition of C&D's wedding for PJ&me as groom's parents in multiple places (shawls/beads for PJ; shawls/beads/hat for me; etc.) - nice!

--photo albums are shared (D showing pictures from C&D wedding; hosts' own wedding albums are high quality)

--English proficiency varied but remarkable effort, impressive command of multiple languages; we get better at listening and speaking

yum . . .

 food at the family visits

--always serving the guests first; generally we eat pretty much by ourselves

--we are always at table; typically they did not set up additional tables for the family members in attendance so they often just ate on floor (somewhat formal for us, informal/"homey" overall feel)

--served on banana leaf several times - nice, we learn it's traditional

--many complex dishes at the relatives' homes - lots of work went into this!

--typically including meat (mostly chicken or lamb) dishes, which we think was tailored for us (we think day-to-day would be more veg); perhaps dialed down the spices though not sure

meal at the village was perfect

--we get along so well with the Indian food - no digestion issues; loved the flavors, complex/fresh spices, gravies (sauces) are quite marvelous; occasionally thrown a bit because less picky than U.S. in their prep process with removing small bones

--we get better at eating with fingers

--very few towels or napkins; almost no paper napkins; small towel on your chair; nearby sink when finished

--white rice often served toward the very end of the meal - great for absorbing last tastes of gravy 

--desserts - vermicelli dish; jamun

--constant replenishing of servings!  CPG does a great job, me adequate, PJ called out by Mysore auntie "you're a very poor eater"

--rasam after meal (allegedly a digestive aid, we're pretty sure it worked!)

the wonderful Sunday party in Bangalore ("bench" furniture with lovely fabric at far R)

--always coffee/tea; never alcohol

--always milk/sugar in coffee/tea

--mukhwas after meal a few times

--betel leaf chaw at two places
--we just felt so well taken care of

scenery on Bangalore streets

via GIPHY

--chaos of Bangalore traffic:  trucks (on larger roads), cars, auto rickshaws, two-wheelers, pedestrians, virtually never a bicycle, occasional horse or bullock cart, stray dogs, cows, very few traffic signals, no one cares about lane markings (typically nonexistent anyway)

--the efficiency gains as auto rickshaws and 2-wheelers squirt through the tiniest openings

--overloaded auto rickshaws and 2-wheelers

eventually we became used to seeing four (or more) riders on the two-wheelers

--2-wheelers:  multiple passengers (commonly four, sometimes all adults but often children); freight; using cell phones while navigating

--many female passengers on two-wheelers somehow hanging on side-saddle (attire or modesty required this feat)

--burka wearers on two-wheelers (initially seems like pre-modern juxtaposed with modern but after a bit that doesn't seem accurate)

--auto rickshaws just look funny or emblematic - adapted for passengers or freight or any combination

we loved the look of the auto rickshaws, how they dart around in traffic

--vehicles pull out in front of you, turn in front of you, cut in front of you constantly making moves no one would consider in US (admittedly at lower speeds than often available to US traffic but still)

--the "continuing conversation" of horn honking - not aggressive - just a way of communicating one's presence and/or upcoming moves; all the fancy jostling and turning wouldn't work without it

via GIPHY

--not easy to be a pedestrian - sidewalks not available or dicey; street-level pollution

--shops - so many, generally so small

--food stands; live chickens in cages; lamb carcasses strung up

--stalls/fruits or vegetable arrays - great visuals

--construction scenes - workers more than machines

Bangalore - street work in this area largely powered by these ladies it appears

--wandering dogs

--the wandering cows, often with painted/decorated horns - all over the place - not an exaggeration

--beggars - really only on Commercial Street (is that the correct name)?

--the "fly over" - essentially an overpass speeding traffic over what otherwise would be congested neighborhoods - relatively quick once traffic merged onto it, great views

this bullock cart - ON THE MAIN HIGHWAY enroute to Mysore - makes for one of my favorite photos of the entire trip

scenery on/from roads (to/from Mysore and temples) (overlap with Bangalore scenes, plus these)

--bullock carts

--cows - like in Bangalore

--wandering dogs

--people walking esp. cattle along the roadway (some goats)

some of these auto rickshaws were adapted for transport and seemed a bit overloaded

--things we didn't see:  pigs, cats; no idea why

--glimpses of farming from the road

----- what looked like one-piece tillage equipment behind a bullock - could imagine middle ages (or US even into the 20th century!)

-----rice paddies

-----in one place we saw sugar cane harvest by hand (if we were interpreting correctly what was going on), here one could imagine a place like Barbados in say 1700

-----various ag activities whether weeding or whatever
-----lots of laborers in the fields (compare Iowa where sightings of humans in the fields has become very rare)

sari-wearer riding side-saddle

--speed bumps to control speed - even on the main roads

--constant difficult passing, many two-wheelers, auto rickshaws nearer the towns

--drive through small towns - vendors set up

flower vendors; auto rickshaw used for coconut transport

miscellany

--hawkers - every temple; KRS Dam (postcards)(toys) (irrepressible!)

--beer market under-developed - CPG and I (occasionally joined by Sreedhar) pretty much stick to the Kingfisher; Bangalore Brew Works making a good effort; Bira 91 working in the direction of US styles

--between OJ Plex and the relatively modern quality of the houses - and timing to some extent - we didn't run into what I'll call traditional India bathroom situations (traditional giving way to modern anyway, per what we read)

Bangalore streets

Indians and pretty much no one else

--in the areas where we spent time (though we didn't visit areas of Bangalore with foreigner workers):  more selfies with Indians than seeing non-Indians

--the places we saw seemed thoroughly "Indian" - some Western-type stores and malls definitely moving in, but apparently no great need to cater to Western tastes

--from our perspective - this made the trip more compelling if not a bit exotic

--the street scenes were just amazing to us - no doubt plenty of similar markets around the world but it all was new to us (other than movies)

--women in saris etc but men more likely to be in what often was similar to Western dress; still, plenty of men in what I'd consider traditional Indian

the colorful outfits!  (roast corn was popular)

broad impressions - risky to make these but:  

--depth of courtesy to guests/family - clearly a highest priority

--seem to know how to be happy, less stressed - perhaps less perfectionist than US/Europe?  hotel pool, street maintenance, traffic mayhem, etc.; a little "off" by US standards but so what

--can-do/make-do approach - auto rickshaws on their side; fix rather than replace

--but high stress in education system perhaps?  posters of "toppers"; a sense that one's opportunities are highly dependent on school performance (including getting that government job)?  not sure, that part does seem pressure-filled

--and plenty politicized - "breaking news" on the cable channels seem at least as sensational as US version - recent elections - photos of candidate groups everywhere - don't know

--and stress as country modernizes; also like everywhere a divide between left/right

--anyway none of that interfered with hospitality!

--perhaps imagined, but seem to feel the history - 1000s of years perhaps - longstanding traditions of courtesy, worship; sense the depth

--Hindu religion very evident; though some areas with quite a few Islamic

--fertile/fecund - "everything grows" - at least in this part of southern India

--caveats - we are visiting successful/intact families, not in areas where foreigners work; local family smooths the way for us in every respect/zero stress; so no idea of how "representative" - but isn't that the case on relatively short trips to anywhere?

we much enjoyed watching the vendors chase business