First impressions of Bangalore

Over the weekend Katong Couple attended a friend's wedding in Bangalore. The only other place we've been in India is Delhi (and Agra). One of first impressions of Bangalore was how familiar it was coming from southeast Asia. For many reasons, south India felt much more familiar than north India. And I suppose it's not surprising given the different climates, and the north's closer connections to Persia and the Islamic cultures of the middle east and central Asia versus the south's long historical links eastward. Many things stood out:

• Vegetation: The tropical trees of Karnataka make the place look at least superficially similar to SE Asia. Bangalore's boulevards and neighborhoods are surprisingly green.
• Birdlife: Many of the common birds are the same or similar species as we see in SE Asia. These include two types of crow, mynas, koels, kingfishers, etc. (The Lalbagh Botanic Garden teems with birdlife.)
• Coffee culture: Unlike the north where tea is the beverage of choice, south India drinks coffee. And it's sweet and milky like coffee in Malaya, Thailand, or Vietnam.
• Cuisine: The rice-based diet, rather than the breads in the north, is also familiar.
• Multilingual environment. As a city of migrants, Bangalore is a place where people communicate in many languages. Bangaloreans switch easily from Kannada to English or Hindi or another language to communicate with people from elsewhere. In Singapore or Malaysia we also see that sort of linguistic flexibility.
• Then there is the Tamilian connection in Singapore & Malaysian: in Bangalore we could easily find familiar foods like dosai, colorful south Indian Hindu temples, and a Dravidian language.