I have been fortunate to return to Bangalore every January, since we left there in May 2009. The main reason is to attend an important conference on computer networks, an opportunity to meet researchers from my field. But I always take the opportunity to visit old friends and favorite places. Read on!
- The IISc campus, particularly the apartment where we once lived and our neighborhood friends. It’s fun to see how the kids have grown!
- The little shopping plaza next to the apartments, where we bought milk and bread and vegetables – and where the kids blew their allowance on a pile of candy every Saturday.
- The peaceful center of campus, its forest, and abundant wildlife.
- The infiniTea shop on Cunningham Road, which serves the finest tea in Bangalore in a comfortable atmosphere.
- The Reliance Digital shop, just down the road from infiniTea, where I peruse the latest Bollywood movies and CDs.
- The Cauvery Emporium, a state-run shop that sells quality crafts at fair prices, a chance for me to buy a few new silk ties and find gifts for everyone else.
- Nilgiri’s grocery store on Brigade Road, just down the street from Cauvery, a chance to re-stock my supply of tea and spices.
- The New Shanti Sagar, an unimposing restaurant on Sampige Rd in Malleswaram, where I elbow my way in through the lunchtime crowd for a masala dosa and a cup of chai.
This time I was able to go back to a favorite MG Road restaurant, The Tandoor, and to try a new restaurant, Green Theory. I got to see the new dormitory (hostel) under construction on the IISc campus, and the nearly-complete academic buildings. I saw the troupe of macques that roam the campus. I bumped into some IISc colleagues, quite at random, which was fun. I visited neighbors at a serendipitous moment and was able to meet their newlywed daughter and the family of in-laws. I met the family of one of my Dartmouth students, who introduced me to a new Dosa shop (Shri Sagar) down on 7th cross in Malleswaram. Wonderful!
Good food, good shopping, good friends. Thanks Bangalore!
Check out the photo gallery.
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David Kotz 