From Mysore to Bangalore...sounds catchy!

I left you eating and given the delicacies of the recent two nights in Bangalore it seems the place to start. The odds were again in my favor as we deliberated restaurant choices in Bangalore. Four "pure" vegetarians and one carnivore considered the options and the carnivore in need of a "chicken fix" won. But the restaurant of choice was so good we opted to repeat the experience the second night. This place was a vibrant North Indian delight. Punjabi music with a beat played in the background and the energy was palpable. The crowd was young at our table and throughout the restaurant. The starters included a spicy, grilled panneer with a fabulous mint chutney sauce. The garlic and butter naan were to die for. Plus a myriad of entrees including aloo (potato), dhal (curried lentil dish), gobi (cauliflower), mattar (peas), and many other sabzi (vegetables) .... everything spicy, everything vegetarian! What more could one want... I will tell you what! Indian ice cream on a bed of chopped carrots that have been treated with sugar and curdled milk or beetle leaves stuffed with a sweet and wrapped in silver butter paper that looks like aluminum foil but melts in your mouth. Incredible! Lest you think that all I am doing is eating I will tell of the sights of Mysore and Bangalore.

One highlight from Mysore that still falls in the category of food fetishes are the Mysore Masala Dosas. I was on a mission and had the driver searching at lunchtime for a Dosa though typically served for breakfast or a snack. Success at last... we found a very "strictly Indian"place that served up 3 mouth watering Masala Dosas famous in Mysore with chutney for a total of 60 rupees or $1.20. Oh my...am I going to gain weight this trip or what!

Though there are temples and palaces that deserve a blog entry and will receive their due in a future summary of the temple/palace section it is the experience of the markets that continue to linger in my memory. The colors, smells and sounds were captivating!! Fresh vegetables, fruits, flowers and incense were everywhere. Meat of any kind was noticeably absent since so many markets I have seen throughout the world boasted slabs of beef hanging in the heat. Also noticeably absent were tourists. Either it is the off season or these markets truly draw only Indians. The people were excited by our presence and welcomed pictures with no request for baksheesh (tip,donation). Truly the wish was just to be photographed and see themselves on the screen. By the time I walked out of the market in Bangalore I had flowers in my hair and around my neck, a mark of red dye on my forehead, and my picture with a myriad of Bangaloreans! Wearing my Salwar Kameez, my skin color was the only dead give-away of my non-local status. Babagi in Mysore made it a point of leading us to his many "brothers" stalls, one of whom made Jasmine incense. The smell was intoxicating and the process was interesting to watch. But nothing quite amazed me as much as watching the men carrying huge baskets of bananas to market....balanced on their heads they moved rapidly through the crowd to empty their load and return to the trucks for another...oh to have that balance!

You will have to create the image of these scenes until I can download some shots for your review. Now in Madurai I am off to another market, a temple and a palace before my next curry!