Bangalore & Mysore

The following message was added in early 2008: I have been meditating on whether to remove old postings. My perspective in some entries is that of "other" in the countries I was visiting. My orientation and voice have shifted a great deal. For the time being I have decided to leave all postings in the blog. Some of the postings in question have received praise over time, and some, although humbling now, do show what was real to me then. Please forgive any cultural insensitivities and United States Americanisms you may find. I am open to your feedback on this: send to lizabehrendt at yahoo dotcom. Thank you.


I went to Bangalore for a day. I got my computer fixed, walked around Lalbaugh Botanical Gardens with my new friend Janis, and enjoyed a bit of shopping in this mind bogglingly busy and speedily modernizing place. I am sure I inhaled the exhaust of hundreds of thousands of cars and motorbikes. They say that there are 700 new vehicles on the roads in Bangalore every day.

The gardens were my favorite. They transport you to somewhere, I don't know where, somewhere else. There are trees of many species from around the world there. I wore my churida for the first time all day yesterday, today too. I stayed overnight in an old folks home's guest room, set up by Janis because she's on their board of directors. A small, older, lively man with excellent English took care of me there, intermittently disappearing to watch a tennis match on TV, and I suspect imbibe a wee bit, in his room. I only met a couple of the residents, and they seemed happy there.

There was a great book store where I got a few mysteries, including a contemporary Indian writer's The Everest Hotel.

Now I'm in Mysore taking in a few sights, such as a Raj era palace, before heading back to Sathy. Photos are forthcoming.