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Well, there were no fire works here, but the Bangalore Wine Club had a July 4th party with American inspired food (more “fine dining” than backyard BBQ) & wines. The wines were from a vineyard I visited a few years ago in Sonoma.

On weekends in Mysore there is a traditional “haat” or outdoor market. They sell everything from fruits and veg (like a US farmer’s market), to livestock (chickens, goats and lambs), spices, oils/implements for religious worship, and terra cotta pots for keeping water. We got some red chillis for cooking and some pots (for decorative purposes).  We also learned to admire things from a distance and then send our Indian friend in to ask the price, because there is a marked difference between the price they quote her the price they quote me.  Here are some photos from the haat.

Apparently, Bangalore used to be know for its grape farms. C recalls that, when he was a kid, whole areas of northern Bangalore were grape farms. My friend D tells me that her apartment building used to be grape land. You’ll notice I didn’t say vineyards.

On my last trip to India, in 2005, I tried the local wine — a newly revived industry back then.  (Vines planted by colonist where taken by phylloxera. Once independent, India moved towards prohibition and discouraged wine production. Wine making wasn’t revived until the 1990s.) I kept an open mind. Really.  But it was undrinkable.  (Probably one of the reasons the G&Ts became so popular…)

That was then and this is now. I am happy to say, Indian wine has come a long way.

In 2013, there are several that are okay and one — Vindiva — that is good. Vindiva is akin to some New Zealand Shiraz and Marlborough  Sauv Blanc wines that I enjoy.  And I am happy to have found it, because the import duty  on foreign wines is insane.

I learned that the vineyard isn’t far from here: it lies SW of Mysore. So, off we went for a tour, tasting and lunch at Alpine Wineries. What an amazing afternoon!

This is the original vineyard. Note the stone uprights supporting the grapes! Subsequent plantings use metal rods instead of stone pillars.

With A & D, wine tasting at Alpine

Alpine is taking an scientific approach to finding the right grapes and conditions for each parcel of its property.  Currently, it’s planted about 1/5 of its total property and it is ramping up production slowly, to ensure quality. Alpine grows its own grapes and does not source from off-site — to ensure quality control.  Alpine hires local villagers (who’ve worked in agriculture for generations) to help harvest, prune, etc. While the wine making is new, the agricultural tradition isn’t. This allows the winery to grow in a way that is compatible with the nearby village and  it helps the villagers obtain local work that suits their skills and pays fairly. (The location, while beautiful, is quite remote, so there are few employment opportunities nearby.)  Alpine is also harvesting rain water and employing bio-dynamic techniques where feasible.

However, some of the grander plans included in the master plan (golf course? air strip??), seem … a stretch. And less ecologically appropriate.  If it can keep focused on wine, I have high hopes for Alpine’s future success.

Alpine is making 3 ranges of wine. One (Oro) tends to be quite sweet — which is popular with locals, but not my thing.  The others are more along the lines of what I enjoy. The higher end Vindiva Reserve line is my favorite, although the mid-range Vindiva Classic Sauv Blanc is tasty too.

Thus, have a new “house wine” for my home in India

Mountains in background…

Watching Wimbledon @ karaoke bar in B’lore. Crowd is for Murray . Congrats!!!

On my first road trip out of Bangalore, we stopped by the Big Banyan Tree. Well, its proper name is the “The Famous Big Banyan Tree at Kethohalli of Bangalore South Taluk.” (Big name for a big tree…)  Reportedly, the 4th biggest in the world, it covers appx. 5 acres.  It is 400 years old with a height of 95 ft.

Did you see me? I’m hiding “Where’s Waldo” style in a photo above… Go back and look; I’ll tell you where I am at the bottom of this post.

And, it’s where I spotted my first Monkey in Bangalore. (Tourist are warned not to try to picnic there — the monkeys are expecting food!)

Where am I? In the second photo, dead center, in white shirt. Yep, that’s how big the Big Banyan is!

A, D and I visited the Somnathapur temple. It was built around 1268 by Hoysala king, Narasimha III.  (The Hoysalas were quite the dynasty in these parts.)

With D in the temple doorway

Exterior of temple

D & A looking at the amazing carvings

Elephant and horse carved “boarders” that band the temple structure.

The inner temple has lovely ceilings inspired by the petals of lotus flowers. The focus of the inner temple are the three sanctorum.  Each holds a statue — or “vigraha” — depicting an incarnation of Krishna: Janardhana, Venugopala (Krishna playing the flute) and, in the sanctum-sanctorum, Keshava (this statue is actually a replacement, as the original has been lost to time).

Ceiling of temple

Venugopala

The columns which support the colonnade appear to be turned on a lathe, they are so smooth. This columns were designed to resemble  traditional brass lamps, called “samays.”

Colonnade

With A, at the gate in the wall surrounding the temple

I understand that there are (at least) 2 kinds of Hindu temples: Vaishnava temples with depictions of Vishnu and Shiv (or Shaivite) temples with depictions of Shiva. Somanthapur is a Vaishnava.

It was somewhat similar to temples I visited in Cambodia (e.g., Angkor Wat — originally a Vaishnava Hindu temple built in the 1100’s);  both have a perfectly square shaped wall surrounding an inner temple structure, and the inside of the wall is lined with colonnades and small rooms.  It also reminded me of the Champa temple ruins in My Son Vietnam –which stands to reason since the Champa were Hindu, originating from India, and the My Son temples are thought to have been built in the same time frame as Somnathapur.

DISCLAIMER: I’m trying to learn about the temples, so I apologize if I’ve misstated anything here. Please don’t take this as authoritative — it’s not; it is just my current understanding, subject to my misinterpretations!

Sorry, wifi problems and smartphone problems have been torturing me. Still haven’t resolved everything, but I’m back. Look for more frequent posts!

The good news is that while I was missing from this blog, my friend A was visiting and we did some weekend trips — so I have lots to blog about!

I love that this sign is in the heart of the city. Presumably, one has been driving for quite a distance before they see this sign… Makes you wonder what lanes they were using before they come across this sign.

In Spring 2012, I planted 2 climbing roses at home. Ginger Syllabub, an heirloom climbing rose known for continual blooming and an “exquisite perfume.”  They arrived as 8-inch high sticks with a couple of leaves and small root ball.  Frankly, they weren’t very impressive. Sticks really. The Charlie Brown Christmas Tree was more robust.  The first summer they grew some more leaves and doubled in height, but they didn’t do much more.  Of course, this summer (and we’re only 1/2 through!), they’ve shot up 6-feet+ and started blooming. N sent me photos (attached). They look better than I could hope and I’m so pleased. I just wish I could smell them!  A rose by any other name may smell as sweet, but it doesn’t smell at all from this distance…

We recently had a fire drill at work. Which may not seem extraordinary, but this was a Fire Drill Spectacular!

In my company’s US offices, we often have fire drills. Generally, you leave the building, regroup outside, then you’re allowed to back in. Sometimes there is a little reprimand that we (collectively) have not evacuated quickly enough. But there is normally no dog-and-pony show in the US.  In the NYC office, the floor fire marshal is former FDNY from Brooklyn, so he gives a longer briefing (filled with digs about the NYPD’s [in]aptitude for handling fire emergencies) — but still, that takes less than 5 min of chit chat.  And I think that’s more about the fire marshal having a captive audience in front of whom he can tweak the NYPD, than it is about fire safety.  But I digress… US fire drills are nothing to write home about.

Ah, but this was different. Firstly, we’re in a large office park with multiple buildings — some of which my company fully occupies, some of which the company “only” occupies a few floors. This fire drill involved ALL my company’s employees — from all buildings, all floors, all at once. It was a crazy number of people.  We were all sent to one side of campus to regroup. It was a rather warm afternoon and those in suits were complaining about the heat on the tarmac, in the sun. After standing around for quite a while, the PA system (!) kicked on and then the show started.  Someone who appeared to former military/amateur comedian was on stage — yes, there was a stage! — seeking volunteers. With the MC’s direction, the volunteers acted out how to carry people down stairs  during evacuation (2-carriers/1 victim; 1 -carrier/1-victim; conscious victims; unconscious victims; pregnant victims — which was a crowd pleaser, since all the volunteers were men); how to stop/drop/roll; when not to use the elevator (including a line about how getting into an elevator during a fire would instantly turn you into Chicken Tikka); fires basics (fires need oxygen, smoke goes up); how to wet rags to seal doorways/make face masks; highlighting the fact that, in our office complex, no helicopters were going to land on the the (4th story) roofs or pull people out from windows; etc. etc. This went on for at least 45 min. Then the fun started: fire extinguishers.

The MC asked the crowd how fire extinguishers work and he was greeted with silence. Then he said — in all seriousness — that “most” people presume the red cylinder fire extinguishers will automatically explode and put out the fire. I thought he was kidding. But no. A look around showed many of my fellow employees nodding their heads/shrugging in agreement. The MC went into a detailed explanation of the mechanics of fire extinguishers.  I was afraid it was rather basic and, frankly, insulting. However those around me explained that they never had drills in elementary school and were never taught fire safety. Practically no one in this crowd of highly educated engineers, scientists, and professionals knew how to use a fire extinguisher.  This is was literally the first time they were hearing this.  I have to say the MC had people’s attention which was especially notable given a crowd this big, in this heat and standing for what was now approaching an hour.  But wait, there’s more…

The MC announced that they were going to light a fire and security would put it out.  Then they would seek volunteers from the audience to try. Oh yikes. The risk-adverse professional inside me was slightly mortified at first. But then I remembered my first Chemistry teacher, who made us all use the fire extinguisher. It really was a valuable lesson (especially given all the fires we had in that class), so I warmed up to the idea. Once I resolved my internal conflict, I turned to one of my co-workers who was visibly tense. My co-worker explained that another company across town — NOT my company — had hired some people to do a fire safety demo the year before. Their demo included lowering some one from an upper floor using a rope. They asked for volunteers and got a young lady to agree… then they dropped her. She died. Apparently it was all over the local news. (I later Google’d it — true story.)  My colleague was fearing for people’s safety and having visions of the headlines if this fire extinguisher stunt did not turn out as planned.  But Mother Nature knew the deal… storm clouds were gathering.  Rain was inevitable. How bad could it really be?

The MC narrated the “professional” fire extinguishing, then he asked for volunteers. This time he selected a lady. They torched up the fire again and she put it out.  Whew. And of course, the inevitable closer, ” So simple even a lady could do it!” (Ouch. Sigh.)  And with that the skies opened up and big fat rain drops started splashing down on us as we scrambled back into the buildings. I would wager a bet that we entered the buildings to avoid the rain faster than we left the buildings to avoid the “fire”.

To sum up: the LONGEST fire drill ever. With the most people.  And the greatest detailed. And no one died during the drill. But many people got a fire safety education for the first times in their lives.  So, an overwhelming success!