India (Frommer's, 4th Edition) - Keith Bain [310]
If you’re an early riser, the one sight that is an absolute must, is a visit to the bustling City Market —an absolute riot of colors, sights, smells, and sounds, with mounds of flowers (Bengaluru contributes to 70% of India’s floral export) and fresh vegetables. The best time to visit is between 6 and 8am. Next off, set off for Bugle Hill, site of the Bull Temple (sanctum timings daily 7:30–11:30am and 4:30–8:30pm). Built by the city’s original architect, Kempe Gowda, this 16th-century black-granite statue of Nandi (Shiva’s sacred bull) literally dwarfs his “master,” and is kept glistening by regular applications of coconut oil. Nearby is a Ganesha temple (Sri Dodda Ganapathi), which houses an enormous statue of the elephant-headed deity made of 100 kilos (220 lbs.) of rank-smelling butter. Apparently this idol is remade every 4 years, and the butter distributed to devotees as prasad (blessed food).
Walk the Talk
When Arun Pai, an IIM/IIT graduate decided to drop out and take to the streets, he breathed new life into a city. Hundreds of years of history, several cultures, astounding foresight—Arun saw that Bengaluru has so much more to offer than just shopping and IT driven agendas. And so the team was born and the stage set: Be it software engineer Savita, who takes you to a cluster of unassuming rocks in the midst of a modern neighborhood from where a young man looked beyond and was inspired to make a city, or engineer-turned journalist Roopa as she takes you down the lifeline of Bengaluru, pointing in all directions to the handprints left by the British, or finally, environmentalist Vijay, a walking, talking encyclopedia, who will surely make you revere trees by the time you emerge from the 250-year-old Lalbagh gardens—the Bangalore WALKS are a must! Conducted over the weekend, each of the 3-hour-long walks includes breakfast in places that are themselves institutions. The walks are well designed, articulate, interesting, amusing, and intriguing; from Bengaluru to Bangalore—walk on ( 098806-71192;www.bangalorewalks.com).
Learn the “Art of Living” with India’s Hot New Age Guru
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, once a disciple of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (renowned spiritual guide of the Beatles), is the subcontinent’s hottest New Age guru—many consider “The Art of Living,” his nonsectarian philosophy of enjoying life for the moment, the perfect spiritual currency for our material times. His main ashram lies on 24 hectares (60 acres) of lush green hillside in south Bengaluru, where every evening thousands of the city’s well heeled gather for the evening lecture and satsang (devotional singing). The articulate Sri Sri’s appeal lies in the fact that he does not emphasize incarnation or abstinence, but encourages his disciples to enjoy the present without guilt while also encouraging them to contribute towards humanitarian and environmental concerns. His adherents—predominantly from India’s growing urban elite (including Kingfisher’s Vijay Mallya, the “Branson of Bangalore”), but also hugely popular on foreign shores (apparently San Franciscans have a real penchant for his teachings)—can go about their hectic lives and remain relatively apolitical yet feel good about not discarding all sense of religion and tradition.
A philosophy of convenience, some say, but even his fiercest detractors admit the value of sudarshan kriya, an ancient breathing technique taught when you attend the “Art of Living” course. The 30-minute-a-day practice is said to encourage the flow of oxygen to the whole body, ostensibly discouraging the storage of toxins and thus helping release anxiety, frustration, depression, and anger, leaving you with a genuine sense of calm and well-being.
To attend an evening session (at times with the guru himself) or an Art of Living course spread over several days, call ahead (21st Km, Kanakapura Main Rd., Udayapura, Bengaluru 560 082; 080/2843-2273 or -2274; www.artofliving.org).
WHERE TO STAY
Bengaluru’s popularity