Carina in India: IX

Lalbagh is a big park and botanical garden in Bangalore. The place where I am staying right now (Jayanagar) is really close to this park, so Lex and me decided to take a trip there.

Before you enter the park you have to pay an entrance fee of 10 Rupees per person, which is about 12 cents. Super cheap for us and many middle class Indians but too much for all the lower class people. I am pretty sure that the entrance fee is not only intended to keep the garden nice, but also to keep the poor people out. Unsurprisingly, the garden is really nice, very well maintained, pretty clean, and full of middle to upper class people showing off their nicest clothes.

The upper class showing off their pretty daughters and dresses.

Recycling Indian style: Metal spikes are not enough, these walls are armed with glass shards.

Something that did in fact surprise me was the curiosity of a lot of people. The park was not very crowded, not very many people were there but Lex and me were still asked multiple times to have our picture taken with our new acquaintances. It was very surprising to see the joy in the people’s faces when we agreed to having our picture taken and it felt good to be welcomed that way. I just wish it was not for our hair and skin color.

Although Lalbagh is one of the cleanest places in Bangalore that I have seen so far, you can still find garbage lying around among the beautiful trees, bushes and plants, on plain rocks, and sadly, in the park lake. But I did not let this fact distract me from enjoying a little bit of silence and peace, diving into the atmosphere of an Indian jungle and trying to imagine what the city must look like if there were places like Lalbagh, more respect for nature and less respect for capitalist growth and building blocks.