5th cast

There is a very nice bollywood film in cinemas called English Vinglish. Fun to watch when you get a chance (screening in Europe?). A gorgeous French man character in it :-) 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dWir9Q_Vek  

Going to cinema here was an adventure. Firstly because I couldn't get things right due to total misinformation of which place, what day and what time the film is shown. Then you start the screening with... national anthem! People stand up and respectfully watch as on the screen appears brave soldiers of Indian National Army in tough Himalayan conditions holding the national flag straight in spite of blowing wind... No kidding!!! And there is a break in the middle - of course in the  most exciting moment of the film. 

You know how there are/were 4 casts in Indian society. Well, I discovered there is a 5^th one – the rickshaw drivers… Ohhh, these are evil people. They give you prices out of the blue, that can be 3 x more than it is. Every time I need to play tough and bargain with them…cutting the price by 3 or 2, walking away so they can call their last price… before I finally close the deal with the 3^rd or 4^th driver… Sometimes they don’t want to take me at all – they just say “no” and drive off… It so much spoils the fun of going anywhere.

And then came this one time when it was one drop too much. I wanted to go to a specific market. After the usual initial hassle (look above) the driver started to argue with me that here it is good enough and why do I need to go to that market of mine. I needed even to ask myself for the directions! I got into argument with him – me talking in English and him in Kannada…We finally made it. After the market, when it was dark and I had bags full of veggies and fruits, I needed to march in the horrendous traffic, under some kind of a flyover that made the fumes concentrated even more, and there was no rickshaw available... They were passing by with the lucky winners already inside. Even when I turned into some quieter street, they stopped only to drive off after I indicated the destination (too far). I was close to tears! Finally the local woman, who saw me in my misery, stopped a rickshaw for me. The guy accepted my destination and the price right away. That is the miracle of a social pressure in the community…

The very next morning I got myself a scooter… It cost me probably the same as taking a rickshaws but the hassle turned into fun! I have never driven scooter in Europe and here I am squeezing between cars, buses, rickshaws and other two-wheelers, on the roads that remember the last Raja, among Indians who are famous for their free style driving... I zoom around, getting lost and asking for the directions every 500m but I am free!!! I can go anywhere, given that I leave an hour earlier to find my way :-)  I don’t have to be on the mercy of the 5^th cast anymore. Vio happy!

 I discovered the Indian coffee!!! Love it!  It is just right mixture of brewed coffee, chicory, milk and sugar. It's like coffee icecream but hot :-)

My Bangalore home, "Chez Lizzy". And that's a pace of life that I can finally enjoy :-)