Bangalore

Today was a more relaxing day as the rest of group joined us in Bangalore. We are 12 in total and it is good to have the whole India group together. We toured the city of Bangalore, which is the Silicone Valley of India. While visiting a Hindu Temple dedicated to Shiva (the Destroyer and also the God of fertility), we were welcomed to a holy fire ceremony where we were adorned with garlands of flowers. 

We got back in time to do a little shopping and are now dressed in a lot brighter colours. The women of India look so amazing in their bold colours and patterns! We enjoyed taking in the street sights - fruit vendors, small shops, and lively streets with all the scooters, bicycles

auto-rickshaws, cars, trucks, and of course pedestrians who come absolutely last in the pecking order and have to run out of the way of everything. 

After a yummy breakfast (I am getting quite efficient at scooping up rice mixed with chutneys and sauces with my hand!) we loaded up the bus and headed for Sirigere. It was a beautiful drive through the countryside where we saw huge masses of granite rising up out of the ground, many wind turbines and cotton fields. During the colonial period, Britain moved the weaving industry and the manufacturing of salt to Britain and it wasn't until around Independence in 1947 that Gandhi brought the crafts of weaving and salt production back to India.