DAILY PHOTO: Under the Flyover

Taken on February 19, 2014 in Bangalore.

Taken on February 19, 2014 in Bangalore.

This was taken under the Bala Gangadhara Swamy Flyover–near the K.R. Market. It’s typical Bangalore.

DAILY PHOTO: Brigade Road

Taken February 18, 2014 in Bangalore

Taken February 18, 2014 in Bangalore

This is a section of Brigade Road in Bangalore–one of the city’s retail districts.

Fun fact: in India–for reasons I don’t know–franchisors don’t exercise control over or coordinate the locations of their stores. For this reason, one may have two Reebok stores in a given block and five within walking distance. It’s actually not unlike Waffle House is (or, perhaps, used to be) in the Atlanta metro area where one might have Waffle Houses catty-corner from each other. Usually, a company or franchisor wants to control the density of stores so that they don’t cannibalize each other out of business and leave their more disciplined competitors to snatch up market share.

If I had to guess why this seems to work here, I would say it has to do with high density of wealth and low labor cost for retailers. There are–in absolute terms–a lot of people in the city with disposable income but they are concentrated in certain areas so it doesn’t make as much sense to spread out your stores. Plus, with low labor costs, the price of keeping a store up is relatively low. Of course, it may have nothing to do with either of those issues, but rather be rooted in India’s bizarre regulatory environment.

DAILY PHOTO: Banana Flower

Taken in December of 2013 in Kuala Lumpur.

Taken in December of 2013 in Kuala Lumpur.

The other night, I ate banana flower for the first time–that I know of / remember–in two separate dishes. My wife and I were eating at the Oh! Calcutta on St. Mark’s Road in Bangalore, and we sampled banana flower croquettes as part of an assorted starter platter, and then I tasted some of my wife’s entrée, which was “dry cooked banana flower with coconut slivers.” The former was tasty, but so spicy that my undiscerning palate was incapable of learning anything about the flavor of this flower. The latter, much milder, dish tasted like a tasty take on mashed potatoes (again, to my unrefined palate.)

The picture above was taken in Malaysia, but banana flowers are present everywhere bananas grow (throughout much of tropics.)

Deceptively, the flower looks like it could be a deadly weapon–with its pointy, conical bloom.

DAILY PHOTO: Townhall in the Setting Sun

Taken February 12, 2014 in Bangalore.

Taken February 12, 2014 in Bangalore.

Less gold (and tuk-tuks) in this shot.

Less gold (and tuk-tuks) in this shot.

DAILY PHOTO: Roses are Red… and a Bunch of Other Colors

Taken on January 26, 2014 at Lal Bagh Gardens

Taken on January 26, 2014 at Lal Bagh Gardens

Taken at the 2014 Republic Day Flower Show in Bangalore.

DAILY PHOTO: Flower Fountain

Taken on January 26, 2014 at Lal Bagh Botanical Gardens in Bangalore.

Taken on January 26, 2014 at Lal Bagh Botanical Gardens in Bangalore.

This looks like a waterless fountain, a fountain bursting with flowers.

DAILY PHOTO: Pink Coxcomb

Taken January 26, 2014 at  Lal Bagh Gardens.

Taken January 26, 2014 at Lal Bagh Gardens.

There were many beautiful coxcombs at the 2014 Republic Day Flower Show, but this one looked eerily like a brain.

DAILY PHOTO: Republic Day Flower Show

Taken January 26, 2014 at Lal Bagh Gardens in Bangalore.

Taken January 26, 2014 at Lal Bagh Gardens in Bangalore.

The Crystal Palace at Lal Bagh gardens, which is normally roped off and  empty, has been packed brimming with flowers for the annual Republic Day Flower Show that ends today.

It would be slightly more enjoyable if security wasn’t threatening to wallop one with a stick if one loiters for a second. You can see it as many times as you can fit in a day, but you must keep moving along. It’s a one way flow, so if you don’t have the desire to go through twice (once on either side) I’d recommend going on the south side (farthest from the main entrance.) For some reason the crowd was about half on that side (probably because no one anticipated the layout would make you do two half loops instead of one full loop.) Why they did it, I have no idea, but the flowers were pretty.

DAILY PHOTO: Commercial Street Storefront

Taken December 7, 2013 on Commercial Street in Bangalore.

Taken December 7, 2013 on Commercial Street in Bangalore.

This is one of the more ornate and less modern storefronts on Commercial Street.

Commercial Street is the heart of a market district in central Bangalore. It’s a short street that runs parallel to, and a few blocks north of, MG Road.

 

 

DAILY PHOTO: Tomato Lantern

Taken November 2013 at Queen's Restaurant in Bangalore

Taken November 2013 at Queen’s Restaurant in Bangalore

I took this in a dimly lit Bangalore restaurant with a cellphone. Needless to say, it did not turn out well, but it’s something different for a Sunday. My chicken tikka came with a cool tomato lantern. It looks like something that fell out of Iron Man’s chest in this photo, but was a pleasant piece of ambiance in person.

Queen’s is a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant on Church St. I’ve found the food to be consistently good, though the decor might keep the faint-of-heart out.