Friday, July 15, 2011

Russell Market

After so many trips to the various malls around the city, I've realized a a few days ago, that I'm immensely bored of them. I did not travel around the world to India to see this nation outdo the American concept of a mall. Furthermore, all the people I meet are convinced that there is not anything to do in Bangalore but to shop at these malls. The first things native Bangaloreans want to show me are these gigantic, modern, expensive shopping areas; I had to proactively tell them that I wanted to see something and experience a surroundings that I could only witness in India. I came here for India, isn't it?

So we went to Russell Market and the Shivaji Nagar area of town. We arrived and strolled down the streets. The roads weren't unusually narrow, but the traffic and amount of people on the streets were definitely noticeable. We took a stroll down a street which I later learned is called Jamma Masjid Road.

On our walk, we stopped by the 19th century Lakshmi Narasimhaswami Temple. The priest was a young boy, a few years younger than me. He took my grandmother and I into their house which is attached to the temple by a few stairs and served us prasaad.
Just down the street from the temple, was a large, ornate mosque – the Jamma Masjid. An article from the Bangalore Mirror provides this profile of the Masjid:
"The foundation for this architectural marvel on the Jamia Masjid Road (earlier called the OPH Road), with its impressively carved 90-feet minarets, Mughal-era domes and golden inscriptions in Persian, is said to have been laid by Emperor Aurangzeb."
"The legacy of communal harmony is, meanwhile, something that the Masjid is proud of. “Isn't it wonderful that it’s situated between two temples? And till date, neither the Masjid nor the temples have had any issues. In the history of Jamia Masjid there has not been a single religious clash on this street,” says manager Sayed Abdul Ali."
As we walked by the mosque, my grandmother mentioned that she always wanted to see this mosque, but never felt at the liberty to go inside. So I thought that given the number of temples I've already seen in India, my visits to mosques have been lacking. At the entrance, different people were telling us different things. One said we weren't dressed appropriately (neither of us covered our heads, and I was wearing shorts) and one said that only Muslims could enter. Finally, one man wearing a black taqiah walked up and happily welcomed us inside, “Koi baat nahin. Bhagwaan ek hi hai! Koi farq nahin parta. Andar aaiye!” – “It's no big deal. God is one. It makes no difference. Please come inside.”
After a few minutes at the mosque, we continued down the street, occasionally stopping at some small shops before finally reaching the actual Russell Market. The market itself was covered by an interesting exterior, but the inside was dark, with winding aisles of vendors classified by merchandise. Flowers. Fruits. Vegetables. Toys.
This was exactly like something one would see in an India guidebook. Once I pulled out my camera and asked – “Main tasveer khinch saktaa hoon?” – the vendors would smile and graciously make space for me to take the pictures I wanted.
Overall, I had an excellent experience visiting this small market. The experience was more interesting and satisfying than another stroll around the mall. Different people, different prices, and different atmosphere – isn't that why I'm in India?!

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