Lost in Translation

Back to Bangalore, and back to our windowless ground floor apartment next to a 24/7 construction site.  Back to the coconut fibre mattress and the cockroach infested wardrobe.  Back to the dodgy plumbing and the smelly kitchen.  And of course, back to Gerald.  In case you are wondering, we are ready to move on.  Flights are booked for Italy!

But first a trip south to Srirangapatnam and the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple.  (The further south you go in India, the longer and more unpronouncable the place names become.)  We had read about the temple and wanted to visit it.  Unfortunately, there was a typo in the guidebook and the temple we wanted to see was the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple in Srirangam, not Srirangapatnam.  So, a five hour road trip with a suicidal driver to the wrong town.

The town of Srirangapatnam is on an island in the middle of the Cauvery River and attracts quite a few pilgrims to the various holy shrines and bathing ghats.  Shirls buys some bhuja for the journey and we chat with the stall holders selling alms and snacks to the faithful.

On the way home we stop at Lalbagh Botanical Gardens to join the Indian families going for a late afternoon stroll.  The gardens have a glasshouse modelled on the Crystal Palace.  They are a peaceful oasis and are relatively litter free.  Plastic bags are banned, and the beggars and hustlers are kept out by the Rs10 (30c) charge at the gate.