A Day in the Life

 I stopped by the local Tiffin shop to get some Sambar and rice. The man was so sweet as he started listing off all the different foods and counting them on his fingers one by one.  Tiffin bars are just tiny shops where all the locals eat. It seems to usually be men that eat there when I pass by. I usually just sit for a few minutes and watch the food that comes out and then decide what I am going to eat. These places are not always the cleanest so you have to be careful, but this place looked just fine for me and anyone who is so nice to me I just want to give business to..  

I took a photo of the Indians’ sambar dish and showed him. He looked so proud that I wanted to eat his sambar. He gave me a double portion of everything and it costs 40 rupees- .50cents.  

Normally, I do not eat the fried food because oil may not be clean, but whatever these orange fried jalapenos were delicious and he made sure that I got the hot ones.  

Next I went to the dentist to get my consultation for my teeth. Dr. Manasa was wonderful- so incredibly knowledgeable and thorough. She set me up with another appointment to meet the Oral Surgeon the very next day. The dentists in India are probably better than any country I know and no one said that the US has the best healthcare system by any means. I feel confident that this will go well or at least I must hope and pray.  

Next I went off to Malleshawaram- the home for shopping anything from jewelry to shoes to traditional Indian clothing or even Western clothing. There was everything you needed right here at your fingertips. The woman told me where to get off on the bus and was so sweet. The bus conductors can either be nice or a bit tough, but I always try to be nice with them and they usually warm up to me.  

What a beautiful array of colors, vendors selling flowers, coconuts, fruits, and just everything Indian under the sun. All the vendors were watching the Indian cricket finals on their phone. A local guy was selling and he gave me his phone so I could watch some of the game-he was so proud of India. He said “India will definitely win.”  

I stopped at the local temple and listened to the chant of the women’s group. The swami was placing his flowers on the idles and doing his rituals. He kindly blessed me and gave me some crystals and a yellow flower. I love that everytime I have gone to the temples I get a nice blessing-again makes me feel good.  

I stopped by this amazing book store. Book stores in India, especially in the religious temples and cities are fantastic. You can find books on Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity and biographies from all sorts of religious figures. I just got lost in all these stacks of books surrounding me. I told him I would come back because I was so hungry. He referred me to the local dosa place down the street, which was supposedly famous. The young guy says to me right away, “You visited here before right?” I said, “I don’t think so.” He said, “Well I think you need to try some dosa.”  

I went when there was a big group of men there and they were all eating Idly and I heard the one guy say, “Wow this is some great Idly.” After that comment, I decided to get the same plate. I spoke the older gentlemen who looked pretty well to do and they said they were part of Modi’s political party and they just came from the state office. We spoke a bit about politics and then my favorite guy with the kindest smile says, “I think you should try the dosa, it is famous.” I had no more room but I watched them eat a second round of food eating aloo filled dosa. I am definitely going back to that book store and that dosa shop. We parted ways and they sat and enjoyed their food together just casually standing on their street. Standing and eating with your hands is pretty impressive in my opinion😊 

I then took the 276 bus back to my place. I love the bus because that is how you get familiar with the locations. I realized that it just takes on simple bus to get back home. It was 6pm and the bus was super crowded. The conductor had    saying what was translated to me from the girl as very bad things.  She did not really specify the details, but the passenger’s expressions said it all. The one girl looked totally horrified when the conductor yelled at the Nepali guy to get off the bus multiple times. For some reason, the conductor then just calmed down and let him sit and yell from the back.  

At one point, the conductor sat down in the passenger seat next to me. He kept looking at me because I was shaking my head. It went from fear to a bunch of us just sitting and laughing. The conductor pulled out his phone to record him. It was so cute because it took him a couple minutes to find his camera on the settings. I decided to do the same thing- not as if I was going to post this somewhere, but I did it just to follow the conductor and make him feel supported.  

Also, to just make the guy stop yelling because he was deeply upsetting an elderly man and other passengers. After we did some filming, he quieted down and the conductor and I went to the front and he said to the driver in Kannada “we recorded and him and he became quiet.”  Always some form of entertainment everyday. Went to Khali sweets treated myself to 2 ghee ladoos, which were delicious and freshly made-the only way I like things fresh or no thank you! 

Uman and I stayed up listening to music and talking about everything. He is such an introverted person and I tried to encourage him to come to some local events with me. It would be good for him to branch out and meet some new friends. He seems to enjoy his time alone, like myself, but it is always good to have a great group of friends to count on. He goes out dancing every Saturday. He has his spot right in front of the DJ and he dances for 3 hours straight.  

The last time I was in Bangalore we went out to a place to dance and listen to music. He was never really a dancer and did not like being around crowds, but after that time we went out he started to go out dancing and now he dances every Saturday…can I put a million happy hearts next to that.. That makes me so happy that he can feel joy through dance and enjoy himself-joy to my ears and love to my heart….. 

He is the cleanest person on the planet and he loves order and cleanliness just like me. He is truly a great person and a great friend to me. I count him as family and that is the case for many of my friends…. They know who I am as a person and they know the goodness in my heart.  I tell him that I have to treat him to dinner and a Bollywood movie soon. He doesn’t like Hindi movies much, but he has to go with his friend who loves the Hindi films😊

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