Yesterday, I stayed in for most of the day. I have to vacate my room in a couple of days. I would have liked to stay at the hostel but there were no rooms free. I booked a room at a hotel for my final few days in Bangalore, the capital of Karnataka state. The hotel is within walking distance of the centre.
In the afternoon, I went to the supermarket. I bought some vegetables and Schezwan sauce for a simple evening stir fry.
Someone had recommended going to Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath. The art complex was originally created with four goals for Karnataka’s art: education, collection/exhibition, publication, and restoration. Founded in the 1960s, the space allows students, artists, collectors, and art-lovers to meet.
When I went, there was lots going on. There were two markets on the site: the indoor was selling clothes and the outdoor a variety of colourful ornaments.
After walking around the markets, I went into the main building housing the art collections. I bought my ticket. There were several people hanging around but not many in the galleries themselves.
As I entered each gallery, the room attendant switched on the lights. They’d been switched off to save energy. There was no air-conditioning. Each gallery’s fan was usually pointing to the attendant, who was sometimes looking at her mobile phone. (All the attendants were women.) Sometimes there was another fan for visitors.
There were far more galleries than I thought. A section on Mysore art reminded me of my time travelling in and around Mysore.
It was pleasant and peaceful walking around the galleries with no one else around. Occasionally I got hot and stood in front of a fan to cool down. I liked the variety of art and ended up spending most of the morning there.
In the afternoon, I headed to my usual Starbucks in Church Street. As I got out of MG Road metro station, I saw this unicorn statue made of electronic components. Bangalore is the Silicon Valley of the East.
