Thursday was our last full day in Bangalore. I finished up teaching a hacking class at work, took some photos around the office, and then we headed out a little early. We ended up going down to Commercial Street again just to wrap up some shopping before we left town. Below are a few of the photos from our last day in Bangalore…
Next up, a brief stop in Delhi and the Taj Mahal!
Last night after work I decided to just walk up and down the road near our hotel. There are an amazing number and variety of people all within walking distance. It’s still somewhat nervewracking to walk alone through the hustle and bustle of a place where everyone looks at you suspiciously but I figured I might as well just suck it up and keep smiling. And, overall, it went really well. I didn’t take as many photos as I would have liked but when I got a particularly inviting smile from someone, I would ask to take their photo. Most seemed hesitant but they ultimately would pose and let me take the shot. After the shot, I’d motion toward my camera for them to come and take a look at their photo. This is when the crowd forms. People young and old gather around to look at the photo and then some of them would want their photo taken as well. It was very reminiscent of the last time I was in the West Bank. Once you took one photo, you’d have to take 100.
I’m writing this on our last day in Bangalore. Tomorrow, we get up bright and early and take a flight to Delhi where we will be visiting Agra and the Taj Mahal before we leave to come back to the US.
I leave you, then, with a few street portraits from Bangalore:
Many thanks for your patience with my limited blogging and photos while I’m in India. As I’ve mentioned before, our Internet connection at the hotel is painfully slow so uploading photos has been virtually impossible. Having said that, I wanted to give you some updates on what we’ve been doing and a few moments of introspection…
Yesterday, Saturday, we traveled to Mysore which is a couple hours outside Bangalore. It was a long drive but totally worth it. Mysore is pretty incredible. We went to the top of Chamundi Hill where we visited a temple and got a great view of the town below. After that, we ate lunch in a very lavish hotel/palace looking place. Being here almost made you feel like you took a trip back in time to British India. I decided to eat a little more conservatively since my stomach was slightly upset.
After lunch, we traveled to Mysore Palace. A very impressive building. Upon entering the palace grounds, I was told that I had to leave my camera in their “camera room” since photography was prohibited inside the palace itself. Haha… Yeah, that wasn’t going to happen. So, they told me that I could walk around the palace grounds but could not go inside. Not a problem. That gave me a chance to wander around for an hour or two while my coworkers went inside.
Despite the huge palace, I felt like I was actually the top tourist attraction. I was approached at least 10-15 times to pose for a photo with people. I’m guessing large white men with cameras are still somewhat of a novelty here.
It’s very… exciting to wander around a place with people that are so different. It’s a weird mix of nervousness and adrenaline. The looks you get from people are amazing. As a rough estimate, I’d say about 40% of people were looking at me very suspiciously almost as if they were ready to attack me for being there. Another 50% stared at me (and the camera) with sheer wonder and fascination like I was from another planet. Finally, the last 10% looked like they were extremely happy that I was there. And, of that, about 5% of the young ladies looked and smiled at me almost as if they were immediately infatuated with me and would follow me anywhere. It’s quite amazing.
After the palace, we simply went into town and walked around for a couple hours. The town reminded me very much of Nablus, albeit with many more people and traffic. After we stopped for some coffee, our driver picked us up for the long drive back to Bangalore.
This morning, I slept in a little bit and left the hotel around 11 with my manager to go get a bite to eat at a fancy hotel. After this, we met up with some of our Indian colleagues to do some shopping on Brigade Road and Commercial Street. I was feeling a little light-headed so I actually ended up going back to the hotel early to get some rest in preparation for some classes I have to teach this week.
Which brings me to something that’s bothering me…
I didn’t take too many photos today but there was one photo opportunity I ended up missing almost as soon as we arrived on Brigade Road. While we were standing in front of the KFC (our designated meeting spot), a young boy no older than 11 was sitting on the sidewalk with a young girl no more than 4 or 5 laying across his lap. She was either sleeping or completely unconscious. Both were dirty and barefoot from what must have been days of begging on the street. He looked at us more than a few times motioning with his hand to his mouth, asking for money or food or both.
For a few minutes, I alternated between being entranced to averting my eyes out of shame. I wanted the shot. I wanted to help. Unfortunately, I did neither. It’s very easy to get caught up and “go with the flow”. All of the locals and people on the street walk by this sight without so much as a glance. I hesitated long enough that, before I knew it, we were about a block or two away and I had, effectively, lost the chance.
Now, I can’t get that boy out of my head. I don’t know exactly what I should have done. Should I have simply given him some money and sat down on the street a few feet away and start shooting? Is that really helping? I know that photojournalists often justify shooting situations like by saying “they’re telling their story”. I generally believe that but it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense when presented with this kind of situation. Telling their story to who? Is that photo going to save this kid’s life? No. In fact, it wouldn’t make a damn bit of difference to his life. The only benefit I can see is that it would have simply been a powerful shot for my portfolio and I feel selfish because I can’t stop kicking myself for not taking it.
There’s a line in the musical Miss Saigon that says:
“Christ, I am American, how could I fail to do good…”
That sums up a lot of how I feel about situations like this. Sure, it might be somewhat naive to think that I can somehow save the world or even one person from what appears to be a predetermined fate. And, there’s a part of me that wishes I was little “harder” when it comes to these situations… Take the shot, give him a few rupees, and move on.
I don’t think that’s the right path, though. I don’t want to lose that naivete, that sense that what I do with my camera can and does make a difference. If I lose that, then what’s the point? Why not just shoot professional football games and fashion models? It would certainly pay more.
I don’t know what the answer is. I do know, however, that doing this kind of work is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Balancing my guilt, shame, and emotion with the need to take the shot is something that I imagine I’ll wrestle with for a long time… My success in doing so and my potential success as a photojournalist are inextricably entwined.
Having said all that, I leave you with a couple of my shots from yesterday:
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I’m happy to report that I finally got around to taking some photos on Thursday afternoon and night. There isn’t much to report from Wednesday… It began raining almost as soon as we left the office. We were going to go out but, with all the traffic in the rain, we just ended up sitting in the car for a couple hours before we just decided to go back to the hotel.
On Thursday, though, we decided to take a half day so we could visit the Bennaghatta Biological Park… Here, we went on a safari, of sorts. We boarded a bus, sat all the way in the front next to the driver and drove through a controlled outdoor habitat for some wild animals. I must say, though, the most dangerous part of the trip was the ride itself. We were flying through these dirt roads until we’d come upon some tigers or lions and the bus would suddenly stop so everyone could take photos. It was a little tough for me since the bus was surrounded by a wire grate and I only had a little hole on the side through which I could stick the lens.
After the safari, we headed back into town where we were planning on eating dinner. Since we were early, we walked around Commercial Street for an hour or two. Commercial Street is exactly what it sounds like… Narrow streets, packed with people and shops. Very cool photo location.
Finally, after browsing through the shops and people-watching, we met up with some more colleagues at an Afghan restaurant called Samarkand. This place is phenomenal. I can’t even remember what exactly I ate but it was fantastic. I highly recommend this place if you’re ever in Bangalore. We will likely return next week since one of our coworkers has been dealing with an upset stomach the last two days and didn’t join us last night.
Anyway, I finally have some photos online now. This is just a glimpse into some of the photos I have and they really haven’t been edited too much. Also, I’m not sure when I’ll be able to upload photos next. Uploading from the hotel is out of the question. Too slow. And, next week, I will be fairly busy in the office. I will try to blog fairly regularly but the photos themselves may be few and far between until I get back. It’s a shame, too, because I think this weekend will be a great photo weekend.
At any rate, here are some of the photos…
Greetings from Bangalore! First of all, I’d like to apologize for the photo-free post. Haven’t had a chance to take many photos yet… Details to follow…
I arrived in Bangalore a little after midnight Tuesday morning. I went outside to find the driver assigned to pick me up from the airport only to be greeted by, literally, hundreds of drivers, all holding signs carrying the name of some Westerner who worked for some multinational corporation. It was quite a scene. The drivers were practically falling over each other to make their sign the most prominent in the crowd. After a few minutes of slowly walking down the line, I found the gentleman who was assigned to pick up “Shawn Doffy”. He grabbed my luggage for me, escorted me out on the street where I waited for him to retrieve the car. After about ten minutes, he arrived through the mass of people, traffic, and blaring horns to take me to the hotel. The drive was uneventful as we sped through the dark streets of Bangalore. Conversation was limited, as he only spoke a little English and the little he did speak was overpowered by a thick accent.
The hotel isn’t bad. I stayed up for about an hour or so getting settled in and jumping online to check some email. The hotel offers wireless access but the connection is painfully slow. This will likely impair my ability to upload photos during my stay. I’ve decided that I will likely put the photos on my computer and upload them from the office. Anyway, after about an hour of checking email, I went to sleep.
I woke up around 6am to get ready to go to the office and meet my other coworkers who had arrived the previous day. We had breakfast at a small restaurant behind the hotel and then met our driver out front.
Upon arrival at the office, we were greeted by our Indian colleagues, some of whom we had met during their recent visit to the US, and we were shown to a conference room which was to act as our office for our stay. A waiter promptly came into the room to offer us coffee, soft drinks, and water. Unfortunately, the coffee cups were way too small to feed the caffeine habits of these Americans, so we certainly called on him more than once for refills.
Most of the day was taken up with meetings. The meetings were primarily meet-and-greets designed to introduce ourselves to our Indian colleagues and to let them know what kinds of services our department provides. I was fine until the last meeting of the day where I started to feel the effects of jet lag.
After our time at the office was complete, we headed back to the hotel to change and drop off our bags, then we headed back out to meet some local coworkers at Mainland China, a fantastic Chinese restaurant. We spent the evening chatting about the social web, drinking wine and beer, and eating.
I finally returned to my hotel room at around 11pm. I got online briefly but was way too tired to process the few photos that I had taken that evening. I needed sleep.
A few initial thoughts from my first day…
This is a remarkable city. You can almost see the growth of the city take place right before your eyes. The streets are jampacked with everything from cars to overcrowded buses to motorcycles carrying entire families to stray dogs and cattle roaming freely. Really… just a remarkable sight. You almost get the sense that this is where it’s all happening. I’m not sure you can see both the good and bad of globalization in such close proximity to each other anywhere else. One moment you’re passing by modern office parks decorated with fountains, elaborate corporate art and inhabited by multi-billion dollar companies such as Intel, Cisco, and Accenture. Crowds of well-to-do young people are streaming in and out of their offices, chatting and texting on mobile phones, and experiencing a level of wealth their parents couldn’t even fathom just a generation ago.
The next moment, however, you’re driving by small villages made out of cardboard boxes, scrap metal, and concrete blocks. Kids walking barefoot collecting garbage, oblivious to the hustle, bustle, and wealth just meters away.
I wonder, though, if they really are oblivious. It makes me think of the famous saying often parroted by proponents of deregulation, the free market, and globalization:
“A rising tide lifts all boats.”
I generally believe that’s true. After all, I tend to be a big believer in the benefits of globalization and the free market. However, there should be a second part to that saying:
“A rising tide lifts all boats. Those without boats, drown.”
Of course, one could make the argument that, if globalization never existed and if companies had never come to places like this, then, not only would these people be where they are anyway, but more people might be in the same predicament. So why not help some of the population, instead of none? That’s a valid argument. Or, perhaps these people, as terrible as their situation may seem, are better off than they were ten years ago. I don’t know. But, I can’t help but think that there has to be some underlying tension. How can so many people be deprived of so much while their neighbor is deprived of so little and their not be any social consequences?
Look at the United States where the contrast is not nearly as stark. Many people have lost jobs due to companies hiring cheaper labor overseas. Granted, this is often exaggerated because of the emotional nature of the problem but, regardless, there are undoubtedly some people who have been “left behind” on the globalization train. On the other side of that, many more people, in my humble opinion, have benefited from globalization, in terms of lower prices for consumers and so on. But, even though those that have been “left behind” constitute a far lower portion of the population than those who have benefited, one only has to watch Lou Dobbs, or a few political ads, to see how this tension has worked its way into our social and political dialogue. So how does this tension manifest itself here, where the contrast is much, much greater and where the number of those left behind compared to those that have benefited may actually be proportionally opposite? Can it continue for much longer before there is some backlash? Can India continue to grow at such an incredible pace if that growth is so lopsided? Or would it be better to grow slower but more equitably? I don’t know. Whatever the answer is, as more countries enter the globalization realm, I think we’ll see this question become one of the most critical challenges that all countries will need to address before they can fully embrace their new global supply chain.
Food for thought anyway.
We have no concrete plans tonight after work so we’ll be wandering the streets and taking photos. I hope to have some uploaded tomorrow morning.
Tags: bangalore, india, travel
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