Monday, January 21, 2013

Reporting from India ... by gimleteye

Bangalore is a city on fire. Unlike Miami, where growth is rooted in speculation, in Bangalore construction is racing to keep up with economic growth. Bangalore is the capital of Karnataka; the largest city in a state of more than 60 million people. The language spoken here is completely different from the one spoken in the nation's capital, New Delhi, inviting comparisons with Miami. But those comparisons would be wrong: there are more than 20 distinct languages spoken in various regions of India.


On a fine Sunday, Indian tourists poured in to view the flower show at the Lalbargh Gardens in Bangalore. The big draw was a flower facsimile of the Eiffel Tower erected within a facsmile of the Crystal Palace; a London landmark built in the 1850's. Before high tech and international call centers transformed Bangalore, the city was well known for its silk weaving. According to a guide, the relative prosperity of this southwestern city of India was due to the full employment offered to poor farmers collecting silk worms, feeding them mulberry leaves, and extracting the silk threads from cocoons thrust into boiling water.


Not far from the Eiffel Tower made of flowers, a faded figurine of Dopey dared me to comment. I'm holding my fire.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Great Trip. Will you be posting on the water quality and environmental conditions?

M