Bangalore: Part 1--The Very Modern City-- A Metro, Malls, and Avatar Two!
Bangalore, aka Bangalaru: Where old meets new. (Hey, it even rhymes!) Considered the twin city of San Jose (and really, Silicon Valley in general), Bangalore is the center of I.T. in India. As such, it attracts bright, young Indians who love everything about the good ol' U.S. of A. Not only that, these I.T. people have money--lots of it, which gets invested in many new, very modern buildings that are VERY western. One such example: the mega mall I visited, in a total state of wonderment. Here I was, in a large city of India, but in fact I could have been "anywhere, U.S.A." There were myriad American companies represented in this mall: e.g., Columbia, Guess Jeans, United Colors of Benelton, and the like. Sadly, though, there was also an overabundance of all of the worst American fast food: Burger King, KFC, McDonald's, Domino's Pizza, and so forth. Ad nauseum, quite literally! Horrifying. Not surprisingly, I also sawmy first, extremely obese Indian child. Probably