The daily commute

Every afternoon on my way to work I experience an intensive taste of India as I walk along MG Road.

The walk is a slight departure from my daily stroll along Queen Street back home, and it will probably be my abiding memory of Bangalore.

When I open the door to leave my hotel I'm instantly hit with the unmistakable sights, sounds and smells of the city, and they continue unabated until I arrive at the Deccan Herald building 15 minutes later.

During those 15 minutes, a number of sensations wash over me.

The heat is usually first. Though Bangalore is renowned for its temperate climate and locals laugh when they see me sweat, I'm simply unaccustomed to wearing work clothes in 30-degree sunshine.

Last Sunday was Bangalore's hottest September day in a decade, doubling the 16-degree temperatures in which I'd be working in Auckland.
      

That's beach weather. That's the type of weather that sees jeans and shoes and socks consigned to the back of the wardrobe. But, instead, my jandals go unused as I attempt to complete the trek without passing out.

Once the shock of the heat subsides, I begin to negotiate the obstacle course that is MG Rd. While the walk may be a straight stretch for its entirety, the hazards that populate the footpath - or, in places, the lack of footpath - always keep me on my toes.

There are, of course, people. Everywhere. There are motorcycles darting out of every second driveway with no intention of ceding right of way. There are stray dogs in what look like their death throes but, having been too late in seeking a rabies inoculation in New Zealand, I remain vigilant.

Then there are the street-side vendors, with whom I have struck up a pretty good relationship after passing every day. By now, they know I am uninterested in water pistols and sunglasses but I can be lured in with literary fare.

With India's literacy rate rising, these sellers seem to do decent business. And they're not just selling pap - for a local learning to read there are worse places to start than 'To Kill a Mockingbird'.

But with my luggage already overflowing due to a surfeit of books, I have so far resisted the advances of the salesmen.

 

In fact, short of buying a bottle of water to quell the dehydration, I have been a very poor customer during my commute. Even during a rare rainstorm when, like magic, umbrella sellers sprouted in numbers.

I've ignored the numerous food stalls, as alluring as some of the smells can be, and I've somehow resisted several chances to score a map of the sub-continent.

I am tempted to purchase a picture from a clever young man who uses only his toes to paint. But that's less for the artistic value and more as a reward of his talent.

After all, it's a lot more impressive than the guys (plural) on Queen St attempting to wow by standing still.

Which, incidentally, is one thing you seldom see on MG Rd.

Chess club

One of my least-favourite themes in New Zealand sport is the elevation of niche sports when it suits a narrative.

That is, were a New Zealander to become world champion in hopscotch, we would suddenly find a legion of hopscotch experts among the media and the public.

The number of hopscotch fans would instantly flourish and talkback lines would be clogged by armchair hopscotch critics dispensing wisdom they recently read on Wikipedia.

This, of course, is because New Zealand is a small country. We have to worship our world champions because there aren't many of them. If that means pretending a sport is important for a couple of weeks, so be it.

Countries with impressive sporting pedigree, like Australia or the United States, would barely raise an eyebrow if one of their own claimed a world championship in mountain running (we love you, Melissa Moon) because no one cares about mountain running.

But, in New Zealand, we act like we care so we can bask in the glow of being best in the world at something - even if it's something relatively trivial.

Today I discovered clutching on to achievements in minor sports is hardly a phenomenon unique to New Zealand. India, a small country in sporting standards, share Kiwis' enthusiasm for inconsequential sports when one of their citizens is doing well.

(Disclaimer: Chess is not, and will never be, sport. I don't want to be one of those sports Nazis who decree what does and doesn't qualify, but chess doesn't qualify. Simple. For the purposes of this post, chess will be treated as sport for one afternoon only.)

Turns out India, a country with just 26 Olympic medals in history, is home to the five-time world chess champion. And the media want you to know about it.

In today's Deccan Herald, I came across a story unlike any I had ever read: a blow-by-blow account of a chess match.

Viswanathan Anand, the undisputed chess world champion since 2007, is currently competing at the Chess Masters Finals in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He, apparently, utilised some stubborn defence to force a draw with an Italian player in the third round - a summary which doesn't do justice to the story.

The tactics, the technique and the strategy were all broken down in an account which made the match seem momentous. At the end of the 400-word wrap, the individual moves were listed like a cricket scoreboard.

A third-round draw in a tournament below the pinnacle of the sport wouldn't normally warrant that kind of coverage but, because Anand is the world champ in a nation with few, he's given the world champ treatment by the local media.

If he were merely making up the numbers at the tournament, the story would have been a brief at best. If he were American, the story would have failed to register except among chess aficionados.

But because India is starved of sporting success that doesn't involve leather smacking against willow, Anand's progress is eagerly followed.

I can only imagine the zeal in New Zealand if we had a player in a similar position. I remember reading stories of less-noble games like scrabble or monopoly in the media when there was a Kiwi involved, so chess would undoubtedly take on great importance if we were doing well.

I have no problem with a bit of self-congratulating but it needs to remain in context. Not all world championships are created equal and not all world champions need to be lauded to the same degree.

We can still recognise athletes like Melissa Moon, as long as we also recognise sports like mountain running might be a bit fringe for Halberg awards.

If a Kiwi became the world champ in hopscotch, however, we might as well call off the show. The supreme prize would be a formality.

Yeah, science!

University students in India are of a different breed to their Kiwi counterparts.
 
Which is probably a good thing because, with more than 150 colleges in Bangalore alone, the city might become a bit messy if students acted in a similar manner to Dunedin's scarfies.

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure Indian students also enjoy the social aspect of the university lifestyle, but I can't imagine too many couches being burned or too many street parties requiring the riot police.

The worrying unavailbility of boxes and beer and RTDs at local liquor outlets suggest binge drinking may not be first and foremost in students' minds, while the two encounters I have had with groups of youths revealed they are more than capable of having fun without liquid lubrication.

The meeting to which I previously described my journey gave me a clue. Before the gathering had even begun, and without a drop of alcohol in sight, there was plenty of coordinated singing and dancing among the enthusiastic group.

Those kind of histrionics used to come out only after the tenth beer during my student days in Palmerston North.

Then yesterday I had the pleasure of attending a quiz on climate change at the Indian Institute of Science. Open only to university students, more than 300 teams from Bangalore's glut of colleges came together to compete for the Rs 10,000 (NZ$228) prize.

The sheer numbers in participation didn't surprise me - students, no matter where in the world, are always going to turn out in force for financial reward - but the manner of their participation did.

Expecting a staid, orderly affair, I instead found a level of passion matching the singing and dancing I had already experienced. At a science quiz, no less.

The final round was made up of three teams, but the real action was found not on stage but among the audience in a packed auditorium.

When questions went unanswered by the competing teams, they were thrown over to the crowd with one proviso - the first person to reach the microphones near the stage would get the first shot.

That created scenes of havoc which would have left OSH covering their eyes. Students scrambled out of their rows of seating, flew down the stairs and did everything short of throw a few elbows to ensure they reached the mic before their peers.

There were spot prizes for correct answers, but I got the feeling the mania would have been the same with no incentive.

Audience members still in their seats howled in delight at some of the more erroneous answers, but the cheering wasn't nefarious in nature. Those who erred played their part to perfection, acknowledging the crowd before leaving the stage with wide smiles.

Behaviour like that brightened up what was shaping to be a dull afternoon (though I did learn a lot about climate change) and left me wondering how a similar quiz would play in New Zealand.

One thing's for sure - there would have to be an open bar to engender anywhere near that level of fervour.

Planes, trains and automobiles

Going out for a job in Auckland is as easy as wandering down to the car dock and driving away (after a thorough consultation with Google Maps, of course).
 
In Bangalore, it's a little more tricky.
 
With the newsroom located in the middle of the city, a lot of news can be found on foot, but covering stories beyond walking distance is always an adventure.

My very first trip outside of the confines of central Bangalore was for a speech on the state of democracy in India. A breakdown in communication saw the auto driver take me to two shops before my destination, which left me with some nice souvenirs but late for the talk.

Thankfully, that mishap has been a one-off and the tuk-tuk remains my preferred choice of transport.

My latest venture, though, was too far for a tuk-tuk, but ended up being as effectual as it was enjoyable.
 
I was tasked with attending a meeting for a youth leadership group - a perilous prospect considering the venue was half an hour from the central city. But with the aid of the group's media man - easily the most helpful PR person I have ever encountered - a train, bus and motorcycle got me to and from the venue in style.

Catching the train, which runs above the city, was easy enough. I would like to think even I, someone who has had serious issues navigating public transport in New Zealand, could have managed that on my own.

The bus, however, remains a mystery to me. We walked for a while before my guide, almost as an afterthought, instructed me to jump on one we were passing. It immediately pulled away and dutifully dropped us near the meeting.

From there, we hijacked borrowed a motorbike (allegedly a friend's) and completed the short distance to the venue with some time to spare.

At the meeting, I was reassured my hesitance about going solo on public transport was common. An Australian, who had been in Bangalore for three months, proudly told me of his recent successful confrontation with the bus system.

For these buses are rather dissimilar to the buses to which I've become accustomed in Auckland. Finding seating seems to be as difficult as buying a Quarter Pounder from a local McDonald's, while there doesn't appear to be set stops along the route so much as places the bus slows enough for passengers to jump for their lives.

I was pleased to find the return trip more straightforward. With bus and train travel jettisoned, I had plenty of time to ponder the terms of my insurance policy as the motorbike sped through the streets of Bangalore and back into the city's centre.

The voyage as a whole doubled as a diverse way to experience the city and, once I cleaned the grit from my face, I was left to reflect on a successful trip.

I didn't even need Google Maps.

Glory, glory Man United

No trip to India is complete without visiting that traditional Indian tourist destination - the Manchester United store.

A devout Red, I had never before been inside a store solely dedicated to my favourite team. My pulse used to quicken just considering the possibility of such a place.

That I should come across one in India - hardly a football metropolis - was unexpected. I had seen only one United shirt during my five weeks in the country, compared to the approximately 167 United bumper stickers I saw during two days in Thailand in 2010. 

But I was fortunate enough to find one just down the street at 1MG, a posh, relatively new mall at the end of MG Road.

It was just as I imagined - staff decked out in team kit, framed player shirts on the wall and classic tracks like 'Glory, glory Man United' running on loop over the stereo. (Even I would have problems with that soundtrack. It might actually be worse than working all day to Christmas songs.)

Managing to escape with a Rs 500 (NZ$11.30) keyring as the only damage took some restraint, and it's probably a good idea I keep to a minimum my encounters with such stores.

As it happens, that particular shop is one of six - SIX! - official Manchester United outlets in the country.

I should be less surprised, given there are an estimated 100 million football fans in India. It's a fanbase that remains much more untapped than most parts of Asia, but one clubs such as Manchester United are beginning to embrace.

Former player and current club ambassador Bryan Robson was in Bangalore a few weeks ago (sadly, just days before I arrived in the city) for a sponsorship event, and Captain Marvel hinted at United playing exhibition matches in the country in years to come.

If it's good enough for the Wellington Phoenix, who recently completed a successful four-match preseason tour, it's good enough for the biggest club on the planet.

Unfortunately for Indian supporters, local football in most of the country is of no match for the Phoenix, let alone United.

India, the world's second-most populous nation, are currently placed 169th in Fifa's rankings. By comparison, China, the only country with more potential players to call on, are not much better at No 78.

China, however, were never ruled by the country known as the home of football. But while Britain's other great sporting passion caught on, and India are now one of the premier cricketing nations, football languished behind.

So, with the two games sharing in a similar tradition and grassroots enthusiasm, why did India become cricketing powers but continue to struggle with the round ball?

The answer is a discussion best saved for another time and place. In brief, though, the state of football is essentially a result of favour for leather and willow.

With funds poured into cricket, the beautiful game was neglected and suffered from a lack of investment and competence at the governing level. That was no more exemplified than by the 1950 World Cup, for which India qualified - albeit by default - but opted against attending after the national body failed to understand the importance of the event.

That was the closest India have been to the World Cup and, judging by the quality of players and teams currently being produced, it will remain their only association with the tournament for some years.

But enough on that for now. Manchester United vs Liverpool, one of five or six English Premier League matches screened live every weekend, kicks off in 10 minutes.

Come on, United.

Not that social

For a Gen-Y journo like myself, there has been missing something every day at my desk in the Deccan Herald newsroom.

That something is social media.

Despite being excellent tools for journalists, Twitter, Facebook and similar sites are blocked on the computer system here because they fall into the restricted category of social networking.

Without Twitter, in particular, I have been left with a feeling akin to a crack addict jonesing for their next hit. I'm constantly scanning my open tabs to check for new tweets and, even after two weeks going cold turkey at work, my eyes still cannot help themselves searching for that fix.

In New Zealand, I open Twitter when I get to work in the morning and it remains active until I leave at night.

I find it an invaluable source for monitoring breaking news, finding stories and gauging the mood of the public on certain issues. (And, just quietly, it can occasionally be useful for the purposes of procrastination.)

Facebook, meanwhile, is unmatched when it comes to searching for people and, though I utilise it less frequently, I know journalists in New Zealand who wouldn't be without it.

The reporters I have spoken to at the Deccan Herald are not exactly thrilled about the websites being blocked, but they often simply circumvent the regulations by accessing the sites on their smart phones.

Without one of those toys, I've had to make do with other methods to sample the sentiment of the people. The most-commented stories on the Deccan Herald website are a good place to start, with rational argument replacing the petty abuse found in other forums on the net.

Today, a story about how urinating in public may soon invite a Rs 100 (NZ$2.20) fine in Bangalore started a lively discussion about the need for further construction of toilets in the area.

Healthy debate is all well and good, but sometimes you find yourself yearning for the snide remarks and sarcasm of social media. Another well-read story, about how a controversial spiritual leader may join an Indian reality show, would undoubtedly elicit Twitter gold given the combustible mix of reality television and polarising celebrities.

Self-styled godman Swami Nithyananda has been accused by an actress of raping her more than 40 times, while some of his other disciples have also made allegations of sexual harassment. That's not going to stop him appearing on 'Bigg Boss 6', a Big Brother-type show in which celebrities live together for three months in a house cut off from the outside world.

What could possibly go wrong? I bet Twitter would have a fair idea.

Bharat Bandh

As I walked to the Deccan Herald building this afternoon, I noticed the streets were significantly less-populated than usual.

Intersections which would normally be treacherous to traverse were now nearly empty, and the groups of men loitering outside local business were far fewer than previous days.

When I hit MG Road, an auto driver called out to me. Figuring it was the usual offer of a tour of the city or a trip to his friend's shops, I kept walking.
  
But this time, it was some advice: "Go home - everything's closed."
 
Sure enough, as I continued down MG Road, doors were indeed shut. Even at KFC. It wasn't just MG Road where businesses were closed, either. And it wasn't just Bangalore.
 
This was a bharat bandh - a traditional means of protest in which all non-essential services throughout the nation take the day off to display their displeasure at the government.
  
The National Democratic Alliance and other opposition parties called for today's shutdown to protest the recent hike in the price of diesel as well as foreign investment policies in the retail sector.

Schools were closed, most public transport - aside from the odd auto driver - ceased, and the typically bustling centre city of Bangalore was a comparative ghost town.

Though bandhs were banned in 1998 by the Supreme Court, political parties still use the extreme tool to make an effective statement.
 
Because of the ban, several opposition leaders were detained today, with the ruling Indian National Congress party perturbed by the civil disobedience and insistent the protests caused nothing but economic loss.

Bandh, a Hindi word for closed, may be part of the Indian culture but the concept is rather mind-boggling for a foreigner. It's like some sort of bizarro national holiday back in New Zealand, ruining lunch plans and shopping trips alike.

But, aside from the minor inconvenience, I found it meritorious a country of more than one billion people would shut up shop if the government was perceived to be stepping out of line.

I would love to see Labour and co attempt similar tactics in New Zealand next time National is playing up.

I doubt it would stop asset sales, but it would be fascinating to watch.

The next Prime Minister of India

With the current Indian Prime Minister not exactly swamped with praise in the local press, it's simple to find someone the people would rather see in power.

 

The Washington Post's recent description of Manmohan Singh as "a dithering, ineffectual bureaucrat presiding over a deeply corrupt government" was met by Indians with more agreement than outrage, indicating his approval rating is hardly through the roof.

One Indian with no such popularity problems is Sunita Williams. You may have never heard of her - I hadn't until this week - but Williams' every step is big news in India.

That she takes those steps as just the second woman in command of the International Space Station may have something to do with the fanfare.

Though Williams was born in America, her Indian father has seen the country's press and people claiming her as their own, with headlines of her feats referring to the astronaut only as 'Sunita'.

September has been a profitable time for Sunita stories. First, Williams set a new record for cumulative spacewalk time by a female with her sixth walk. She then took command of the station after a Russian crew returned to Earth, before yesterday completing a triathlon in space to "set yet another record".

 

My personal favourite Sunita story, though, involved the headline: '$3 toothbrush saves day for $100 billion space station'. It breathlessly told of how a rudimentary toothbrush, "designed" by Williams, became instrumental in the installation of a vital part for relaying power at the station.

Any self-respecting Simpsons fan will be immediately reminded of Homer's space voyage, when he "designed" an inanimate carbon rod to hold his shuttle's door in place and prevent the ship breaking up on re-entry.

  

I wonder if Sunita's toothbrush will end up on the cover of Time magazine.

Today in the news

There are some stories in the Deccan Herald that seem as though they're plucked straight from the pages of a typical New Zealand newspaper.
 

Bus strikes currently feature on the websites of both the Deccan Herald and the New Zealand Herald, while one of yesterday's big national stories, the 0.25 per cent reduction in India's cash reserve ratio, was straight out of Dr Alan Bollard's playbook.
 

There is, unsurprisingly, an emphasis on cricket, with the forthcoming Twenty20 World Cup garnering significant column inches in both countries.
 

And Kate Middleton is hot property no matter where you are.
 

Then there are the stories that remind me - if the cows in the street weren't reminder enough - I am in India.
 

Muslim discontent born out of the controversial American-made film released to the web last week is a lot more real in a country with the third-largest Muslim population in the world. The US Consulate in Chennai was closed this week after anti-American protests outside of the building continued, while one person was killed in similar protests in neighbouring Pakistan.
 

Suicide is another story the Indian press make more real, describing in detail an issue the New Zealand media is prevented from reporting.
 

Not only are methods discussed but also motives, such as an argument with a partner over the family finances. One of the first stories I read in Bangalore detailed an unseemly increase in the number of people jumping to their deaths in the city, a pattern prompted, it was said, by a similar increase in high-rise buildings in the rapidly-developing city.
 

Something else on the rise in Bangalore is the amount of noise in the city. A report yesterday said Bangalore was now the seventh-noisiest city in the country which, after even the shortest period of time spent outside on MG Road, makes you feel extremely sorry for the other six cities.
 

Among factors given to explain the noise was "gratuitous horn use" among vehicles. The type of investigation and analysis which brought that breakthrough would be welcomed in any country's press.
 

Even Woodward and Bernstein would be proud.

Namaste

After one week in the newsroom of the Deccan Herald, the second-largest English language newspaper in India, I feel well placed to make some important observations.

• Most news is kind enough to occur within walking distance of the newsroom, but if transport is required, leave 30 minutes earlier than normal. This 'tuk-tuk allowance' is for unforeseen circumstances, such as being taken to the driver's two shops before the desired destination.

• Some newsmakers are more interested than others in appearing in the newspaper, particularly those who provide a phone number with an assurance of being available 24/7.

• If news happens between 5-5.15pm it will in all likelihood remain uncovered due to a mass tea break, raising philosophical questions about whether it was ever really news at all.

For as much as the newsroom at the Deccan Herald has in common with similar spaces in New Zealand, there are some areas in which it stands alone.

Before I first stepped foot in the old building located in the heart of Bangalore on Mahatma Gandhi Road, I considered myself something of an Indian veteran. I had, after all, already spent three whole weeks in the country covering the New Zealand cricket team.

Plus, the last couple of days before I began my internship I was free from cricket commitments and able to explore a little bit of Bangalore. I was practically a local by the first afternoon of work.

That afternoon was spent meet-and-greeting, the highlight of which was being regaled by the experiences of the associate editor when on assignment in Afghanistan shortly after the US invasion.

To my surprise, that late start was the rule rather than exception which, for a night owl like myself, was welcomed with open arms. Unfortunately, though, it did mean walking to work along MG Road at the height of the afternoon heat, something cruelly complemented by wearing jeans, shoes and socks for the first time all tour.

But I had to become accustomed to being over-dressed in the 30-degree sun, as finding news required more fitness than it did a phone. When rumours swirled about an impending bus strike, instead of calling an official for comment it was just as easy to wander to the local terminal and find one standing outside.

That method doubled as an ideal way to soak up the sights, sounds and smells of Bangalore, India's most progressive city. After a week spent in Hyderabad, footpaths made a welcome return to my life in Bangalore, though the number of men urinating on the side of the road sadly declined.

Bangalore occasionally seemed a different country to Hyderabad. The multi-culturalism born out of the IT surge is no more evident than in the malls, where a multitude of Western and Oriental food options are enjoyed by locals and ex-pats alike.

The traffic may be worse, and the vehicles' horns may be just as busy, but walking around in Bangalore lacked an element of the controlled chaos that was abundant of the streets of Hyderabad.

Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, I'm not sure.