Experience India! Day 5

Basically, Day 5 and 6 were the days which gave some break and energy to continue for the next few days. On day 5, the first programme on the list was cultural workshop, so I thought it will be another monotonous day with some lectures in the morning but I was proven wrong, it was an exciting Bollywood dance class. As an Indian, I do watch Bollywood movies but I’ve never thought of dancing like them. I’ve seen Tollywood(Telugu), Kollywood (Tamil) and Bollywood(Hindi) films, each film industry caters to different Indian fans, and there are slight variations between the South and North. Each Indian film industry has its own distinct flavor and style. Now, let’s move on to the Bollywood dance class. I have to admit that this is my first Bollywood dance class that I‘ve ever attended in my life. Initially, when the Instructor, Ms. Minoti Ramachandra, started the class, I was quite uncertain whether I’ll be able to finish off the dance movements as I didn’t have any prior experience in dancing. I learnt that Bollywood dance is all about the body shakes and sizzling body movements. In conclusion, we enjoyed dancing and were able to grasp the Bollywood dance movements quite well.

Next, we went to Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore, a well- known and prestigious institution for post-graduate studies, where Prof. Iyer gave a short introduction of the institution and we went for a stroll around the magnificent campus, accompanied by Prof. Iyer’s students. The campus is such an eco- friendly place and it was a feast for the eyes to see so much of flora and fauna flourishing in that place. It’s entirely a different experience and world inside the campus, a great place to escape from the hustle and bustle of the city. Also, tthe students proudly shared with me that IISc will be celebrating its 100^th anniversary soon. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Prof Iyer for this beautiful and informative visit to IISc.

Thereafter, we headed straight to Commercial Street. In my previous post, I’ve mentioned about Commercial Street also. Now, I shall elaborate a little bit more on this place, Commercial Street is a shopaholic’s paradise and let me warn you that it’s also a big colourful maze. At this point of time the skyscraping mosques and some prominent buildings play a big role in letting us know our whereabouts but unfortunately we got lost in the maze and ended up taking an auto vehicle back to the meeting point.

For those who want to explore Commercial Street, they should avoid weekends because the streets are usually congested with people and vehicles. A good place to bargain, especially at the roadsides and smaller streets. To a normal person, the entire place might look unorganized and dirty but I found out that there’s beauty in it. The real beauty is in the way the Indians function in such a messy place and situation. That’s all for now, I’ll be back later with more posts on the Mysore trip.