Musings from Bangalore #1

I've been meaning to write this post since the day I arrived in Bangalore, but now that I've found a venue for broadband internet connection, I am ready to finally compose and publish these set of observations from my first few days in Bangalore.

1. Speed bumps are ubiquitous on the streets in Bangalore. Yet, I believe that whoever considered instating these speed bumps are highly deceived. People do not actually slow down, rather they utilize these speed bumps as amusement by continuing at rapid speeds. Someone needs to build more amusement parks in Bangalore!
   
   
2. 
   There is great socioeconomic disparity easily visible on the streets. In its introduction to Bangalore, Lonely Planet India notes that “slums are tucked away even within well-off neighborhoods.” Unlike in the United States, the wealthy are not as segregated from the poor. The wealthiest IT businessmen roams the same streets and breaths the same pollution as the poorest beggar. For example, across the street from my grandmother's three-story house is a series of shacks.
   
   
3. Manual labor is employed whenever possible. With the plethora of construction projects and renovations taking place, this is too apparent. Moreover, a large portion of this labor is unfortunately done through children. Economically, this makes a lot of sense in a nation where people are abundant and education is not available for all. Thus, with the supply of labor available, hand-made goods and labor is often cheaper than manufactured goods or machinery.
   
   
4. 
   Horns take on a totally different meaning in India. They are not employed after something dangerous (like in the United States), but rather horns are used by vehicles to notify other vehicles and pedestrians of their presence. Therefore, horns are ALWAYS sounded. I must admit I saw no benefit to this system during my first days in Bangalore, but after becoming a pedestrian in the city, I do appreciate when a vehicle beeps its horn as it approaches me. Is this a sign of being in India too long??
   
   
5. Along the sides of the streets, there are (usually old) women in vests sweeping with what can be described as “brooms” aka bunch of long straw. Unlike my experience with horns, I still do not see the benefit of this sweeping. If you saw the amount of trash and dirt along these streets, you would realize that one lone woman sweeping with such a “broom” would make little or no difference at all. Perhaps this is just another way to employ people...