The India Surprise
Though I've spent a bit of time these last 2 years exploring various aspects of Indian thought and culture, the semi-immersion in no way prepared me for what was South India. I say South India, because I did not venture any further north than Bangalore and they say that North and South India might as well be two separate countries. So my thoughts encompass the temperate and more fertile areas of four of India's southern states: Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh (A.P.) and Tamil Nadu. Not to say that South India was overwhelming, but that, for all the years spent throughout my life with close Indian-American friends and, more recently, at the Krishna and Shiva temples in Oahu, I had only seen a fraction of one percent of the whole picture of what is India...such a rich, diverse, and multifaceted place as I have never seen...
Up until I set foot on her ground, India, in my mind, was a dreamland. It was a place of mystery located far off on some impossible point on the earth, perhaps a fantastic country created from a collective imagination. The reality is that Bangalore, one of India's more internationally known cities, is a mere 4-hour flight from Bangkok. India does exist. I can even say that it exists on a higher plane of energy than most places on this planet. There is magic there and yet, it is still a country, a member of the international community with over 1 billion citizens. You can imagine the logistics behind supporting this sheer number of people; the bus stations, the trains, the construction, the one-lane roads clogged with at least five different modes of transportation spread across five millenia: bull carts, autorickshaws, bicycles, cars and trucks all moving side-by-side.
I arrived into Bangalore at midnight and therefore had the benefit of seeing the city nearly empty. The city had beautiful and large buildings of the British colonial style here and there, mature trees, and a even large lake. Either this was the remnants of British colonial rule or, the Indian sensibilities regarding urban planning and style had been influenced greatly by the British. Having seen Taipei and other Asian cities untouched by western influence, I was ready to see yet another Asian city devoid of Nature's presence and wholly unaware of the concept of aesthetics. In Bangalore, this was not entirely the case, and I felt pleased.
The Servant Class
Srinath, along with some of his friends, had fetched me from the airport and brought me to a service apartment called the Naga Apartments.
My room was immaculately clean and 
included marble floors and a veranda overlooking the eastern part of the city, as well as something extra which I did not expect whatsoever, servants. Two of them lived in the centralized living space just outside the four rooms which made up the floor, including mine. They slept on mats at night and rose early in the morning to fulfill their duties, which included cleaning, cooking, doing laundry, and doing whatever I so desired. It was the very first time I was referred to as "the madame" or "madame". How did I suddenly go from being a grad student in an entirely democratic country to being "the madame" who should suddenly have some kind of position to tell these people what to do and how they should do it? Waiters and waitresses at restaurants in the US function to serve, but they still have their identities, their dignity, and their right to be treated just as well as the next person once they've gone off duty; this was entirely different. These people seemed solidly ensconced in the world created for them. I was not to cross the line and I'm not so sure that they would have wanted me to either.
included marble floors and a veranda overlooking the eastern part of the city, as well as something extra which I did not expect whatsoever, servants. Two of them lived in the centralized living space just outside the four rooms which made up the floor, including mine. They slept on mats at night and rose early in the morning to fulfill their duties, which included cleaning, cooking, doing laundry, and doing whatever I so desired. It was the very first time I was referred to as "the madame" or "madame". How did I suddenly go from being a grad student in an entirely democratic country to being "the madame" who should suddenly have some kind of position to tell these people what to do and how they should do it? Waiters and waitresses at restaurants in the US function to serve, but they still have their identities, their dignity, and their right to be treated just as well as the next person once they've gone off duty; this was entirely different. These people seemed solidly ensconced in the world created for them. I was not to cross the line and I'm not so sure that they would have wanted me to either.
South Indian Food: an introduction
My first dawn in Bangalore/India, I listened to the whirly-whooping of a bird I had never heard before. I sat in my apartment hesistant to ask my cook, Bikram, for food, mostly because I had no idea what I could order. What do people in South India usually eat for breakfast? I was pretty sure there would not be cereal or oatmeal on the list of available foods. Fortunately Srinath arrived early enough to fetch me to his house and I was treated to a small meal by his mother which turned my mouth into a flaming inferno. South Indian breakfast foods, I later learned, consist mostly of the following (in order of what I felt to be most popular):
idly: a flat orb of fluffy cooked rice flour eaten with chutney or sambar.
dosai ("doh-sah") a thin, slightly crispy bread rolled up like a pipe and over a foot long served with sambar and chutney.
pongal: (pictured left) a mild, slightly sweet rice mush eaten with sambar and chutney.
uthappam: most resembling a pancake and eaten with sambar and chutney.
Though, I believe they are not solely relegated to the breakfast category. I think these are foods which can be eaten at anytime of day and there are no broad restrictions (such as ordering a steak or pizza for breakfast). One thing which I couldn't understand was why, when it's sweltering hot out is the food that is served so very hot (both spicy and temperature-wise) and very heavy? Is it just a matter of hygiene and prevention of bacterial infection? For the Japanese readers, it is like eating "Japanese curry rice" in 38 C weather and "zaru soba" not even existing. Or for American readers, something like eating Shepards Pie in 90 F degree weather.
