Bangalore darshan with my brother- excitements and thrills
Last Sunday was the best day since I came to my brother’s house in Bangalore. I am new here, so people, places, and practices are new to me. I love traveling, but the thought of walking for 2 Kilometers to bored a bus is horrifying. It made me lock myself for the entire month. Interestingly, my mind was playing two games, in one side, it didn’t want me to cover such a distance for the sake of exploring the city, while, on the other hand, it wanted to experience and explore this place.
Finally, last Sunday, I got the chance to explore India’s ‘Silicon Valley ‘, with my brother, as my guide. The thought of going out with my brother was so exciting, as he has been a ‘partner in crime ‘, since childhood. He is someone who would explain everything that he finds crucial for me while traveling.
We went out of the house with an umbrella and a little purse in my hand at noon. We walked for nearly 2k.m for reaching the bus stop. I was talking a lot while walking, which my brother didn’t like and asked me to keep quiet. But how can I follow his instruction, I am habitual for it.
We reached the bus stop and was waiting for the bus for 20 minutes. Throughout the waiting period, my brother was explaining the pointers for boarding a bus. Like a devoted disciple, I was listening to him in a very focused state. Then the bus arrived at the stop, but to my dismay, I couldn’t get the window seat; I sat beside a lady nearby the door of the bus, while my brother sat at the last of the bus, making sure that he could maintain his eyes on me throughout our journey. As the bus proceeded slowly towards the destination ( Banashankari), the bus started getting loaded with people. I started feeling bored as I couldn’t get a clear view of the outside. In no time, I started dodging. But, every 10 minutes, I would make sure that my brother was there, and that the bus was yet to reach its destination.
After a travel period of ‘Ninety ‘ minutes, we reached Banashankari. My brother asked if I wanted to drink juice or want to eat something- I nodded my head. He put his hands on my shoulder, lovingly, protecting me from vehicles and people walking recklessly, and we headed towards ‘ Banashankari metro station’. Inside the station, we stopped at the counter to get my metro card. From there we headed towards the platform, I was asking him questions related to ‘why’s, what, and how, and he was answering patiently. One amazing thing I found at the platform is people had lined up to board the train, very opposite to the usual practice of people- not to queue, but rather to act as an unregulated crowd.
The ‘Purple line ‘ metro came, and we boarded the train. It was after so many years that I was traveling in a metro. It felt good. The crowd was not that much, so we managed to get seats. As soon as our destination(RR market) arrived, we unboarded the train. I was closing observing everything, as it can act as a travel guide for my future travels in Bangalore.
In the station, my brother was describing the difference between the ‘Purple line train’ and ‘ Green line train’. Like an obedient student, I was listening to his words, with full concentration, and asked questions, if I needed.
We came out of the metro station, and my brother started explaining the place. He told me that, we were supposed to walk for ‘two km’ to reach the destination (a restaurant where tasty foods are offered, at an affordable price). He showed me his college building, playgrounds, etc. We crossed the road and took a right turn. After walking for ‘Hundred meters’ we reached ‘Udupi Restaurant, where we ordered ‘onion dosha’, something we were eating for the first time. It was damn tasty.
As soon as we finished the lunch, started walking and reached ‘Vidhana- Soudha, the streets in front of which were crowded; In the scorching sunlight, I didn’t dare to stand there and take photos, so after observing this giant structure, we headed towards the ‘Cubbon park’.
‘Cubbon park’ was full of greenery and spread over a vast land. One interesting thing I got to know about the park is- it is free for Indians to visit the park, but foreigners have to pay for the same.
Inside the park, on one of the boards, something like “ be careful of snakes, it can be in bushes or holes “, was written. It felt quite scary. We started exploring the park, which had bountiful plants, trees, as well as couples. We sat on a bench for a while and then left the park. While returning to the metro station, we finally managed to take a photo of ‘ grand Vidhana soudha’.
At the metro station, my brother updated me about further plans that we would be going to ‘ Yashwantpur railway station’. I was more than happy because for me everything was new to me. We boarded the train and reached our destination. My brother then informed me that ‘Yashwantpur railway station is just below. We headed towards the station, took platform tickets and ‘four samosas ‘, and went ahead to see the train’s engine. To us, it was like a movie theatre, enjoying every sight at the station, along with eating ‘samosa’. Finally, after spending thirty minutes at the station, we decided to head back home, as it was already 6 pm. After a total journey of three hours, both with the metro station and bus, we finally reached home.
I look forward to more such experiences and it is bound to be memorable when I am accompanied by my brother.
