Saturday 16th February - A Debt is Settled

Today is planned to be a special occasion, one of the highlights of this trip. To ensure that we have the required stamina, last night was an early one, reinforced with Nytol and earplugs. We wake refreshed but to dampen things a little the train is running 1 hour and forty minutes late. A man walks down the corridor shouting "Dozy, dozy, dozy!" . This is not a reprimand for those still abed but an indication that we have travelled south overnight, and that he wishes us to partake of dosas. We eschew on-train food unless it is packaged, so it is biscuits and chai for us.

We eat our breakfast while the train sits in Sri Sathya Sai Prasanthi Nilayam station. Not quite LlanfairPG but still a bit of a mouthful. It is a large, four platform place, utterly devoid of people.  It's purpose is to cater for pilgrims visiting the nearby ashram built by Sathya Sai Baba, the late guru. We have regained about 20 minutes of the time lost. The Atlas shows that a section of the line has scenic views so D opts for a spot of door riding. The views aren't bad but of much more interest is the abandoned metre gauge alignment that parallels the current track about a hundred metres west. All of the embankments, bridges and viaducts are still in place although some of them look rather frail.

After the scenic section we have a long wait for a northbound train to cross at a small wayside station. We finally get going and have a good run until just outside our destination, Yesvantpur Junction. Here we stand still for 15 minutes while nothing else moves. We finally get off the train an hour and fifteen minutes late. Outside the main exit we find an Ola booth and decide to take a chance. The young man in the booth juggles several mobile phones at once, making bookings for people and calling up drivers. There is wait of about 5 minutes and our driver appears. The traffic outside the station is chaotic as everybody jockeys for position on the single track road leading towards the city of Bangalore. Progress is stop start for most of the trip of 11km. The last section of the trip is along MG Road, dominated by the elevated Metro line. D makes a note.

The Laila Boutique Stay looks good and the first impression at reception is good. Our room is spacious with a well appointed bathroom. We have no time to linger, quickly showering off the train grime, donning clean clothes and hailing an auto for our late lunch appointment. PitterPatter has been our most persistent and creative heckler over the Radinja years and has provided much help and advice over that time. Today we are going to meet her face to face.

The auto drops us outside Sherlock's pub in Frazer Town, conveniently opposite a branch of the bank that likes to say yes to us, without demanding an additional Rs 200 fee. R waits while D nips over the road for cash and PP arrives while he is so engaged. We exchange greetings and PP suggests that we eat, then have a beer. Having not had a proper meal for 24 hours this sounds good to us. She leads us a few doors along the street to the Mangalore Pearl, a large L shaped room decorated with cartoon murals. 

We all agree to let PP order and she kicks off by suggesting that we each try cokoom juice alongside salted cokoom and coconut milk. After tasting. D prefers the former and R the latter so no need to fight over things. We also have Prawn Rava Fry, large prawns fried in semolina. Very tasty. Conversation flows over a wide variety of topics. Every now and then PP summons the head man and issues instructions. 

We have a chicken dish with gravy and a semi gravy mutton dish to eat with various rice based accompaniments. Kori roti, a bit like broken up dosas; Sannas, light and spongy fermented rice cakes; and Neer Dosa which are the same mix as ordinary Dosa but steamed, not fried. They look a lot like wet dishcloths but are very good as is all of the food. PP explains that they are all dishes from the Konkan coast and gives us a basic lesson in how to eat them. Over lunch we exchange gifts. PP has been very generous and seems pleased with the tin of shortbread with a picture of a kilt and the packet of Aunt Bessie's Yorkshire Pudding mix.

After we have eaten we retire to Sherlock's for refreshment. We sit on the airy balcony which overlooks a street full of entertainment. Every half hour or so a truck pulls up and a team start loading it with two wheelers that have been parked in No Parking zones. People come running out of nearby buildings to try to intervene but there is no mercy. The waiter is an incurable optimist who keeps trying to sell us food. He isn't that much better at portrait photography.

After we have shared a pitcher of beer there is one more place that PP wishes to show us. It involves a short walk which takes us to Mosque Road, a side street which still has its canopy of imposing rain trees ( Samanea samans ). Apparently large numbers of the trees, which originally came from South America, have been felled in recent years to make way for the metro and road widening. This street is the last one to have its full complement of these trees.

Mosque Road is also the home of the Albert Bakery. For reasons lost in the mists of time PP owes D samosas and today this debt is settled with a large bag of the mutton variety. There is just time for a supermarket raid to get some Chaat Masala. We have had an unforgettable afternoon with PP and whatever else we do in Bangalore will be a bonus. 

We ride an auto back to base and take tea and samosas as instructed. We still have enough left for tonight's supper. As dusk falls we hear the bugle playing on the nearby military base. One of the reasons R wanted to see Bangalore was because her Dad had told her about when he was stationed here as a young soldier in 1947. There are still numerous barracks around and other reminders. We drove into the city along Infantry Road.

We settle for a quiet evening in and catch up on 'The News Quiz'. We are starting to wonder whether we need to take a couple of goats back with us to complement our collection of spice mixes and ensure that we will have something to eat when we get home