Ritz-Carlton Magazine - Winter 2014 - (Page 36)

FA L L I N G I N L O V E W I T H ... BANGALORE BEYOND THE COMMOTION OF INDIA'S THIRD-BIGGEST CITY, FIONA CAULFIELD FINDS BEAUTY AND INSPIRATION I P H OTOGRAPHS BY M AHESH SHANTARAM I suppose my relationship with Bangalore could be characterized as an arranged marriage. Like many par ticipants in such unions, we did not have an immediate connection. It was 2004 when I first visited the city and, more than in any place I've ever visited before or af ter, I felt lost. I had spent my life in Australia, England, the U.S. and Canada; I lived for five years in the frenzy of New York Cit y. But in Bangalore I was utterly bewildered by the chaos on the streets - by not only the sheer volume and variet y of vehicles (and people and animals) but also by the fact that the cit y appeared to lack a center. There was no obvious urban plan, no distinct skyline, just an endless gridlock of humanity surging for ward, albeit slowly, inch by laborious inch, and the place looked as if it was literally bursting at the seams. I wanted to get out as soon as possible. A year later, I was in the midst of a love af fair with the much-glit zier megalopolis of Mumbai when circumstances dictated that I move from there to Bangalore for a shor t time. The flat I rented - for what was meant to be no more than four months - had no fridge, no shower, no hot water; I managed with a one-ring electric burner, and would heat a pan of water to use in my bucket bath as I listened to the early morning chanting from the Hindu temple do battle with the local mosque's call to prayer and the bells from the nearby Catholic church. I never could have imagined that, t wo years later, I would publish a book called "Love Bangalore," an ode to what was by then my adored hometown. Eight years since I first rented that flat, I'm still here - albeit in a more modern and comfor table apar tment. Bangalore's charms do not lie on the sur face. There are few tourist attractions to tick of f, and perhaps because of this, the city invites you to go on a dif ferent kind of journey - 36 W W W. R I T Z C A R LT O N . C O M LOC AL COLOR Flowers overflow into the streets at the City Market, where vendors also sell everything from produce and spices to street art. http://WWW.RITZCARLTON.COM

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Ritz-Carlton Magazine - Winter 2014

Ritz-Carlton Magazine - Winter 2014
Contents
Contributors
Editor’s Letter
President’s Letter
Falling in Love With ... Bangalore
Design
Shopping
Gifts
Beauty
Jewelry
Watches
Tradition
Behind the Scenes
Family
Local Knowledge
Outdoors

Ritz-Carlton Magazine - Winter 2014