First Impressions

Maybe it’s because I have never lived in a city before, but I have always felt drawn by  the ambiance of an urban environment. In Bangalore, the sounds that surround us are endlessly intriguing.

The italicized headings below correspond to the different audio clips I mixed together. Professor Moledina had the idea of bringing an audio recorder with us on our trip, and I am definitely having way too much fun with it! You can listen and download the clip by clicking here (select the file called “First Impressions”).

A flight attendant’s welcome
It’s interesting to think that before this trip, I hadn’t left North America since I was twelve. I try to remain informed about world events, so I do feel some connection to places that I have never visited before. But this is the first time I feel like a foreigner: I’m old enough to understand, I’m Americanized to a certain extent, I’m traveling to a country where the color of my skin makes me stand out, and I don’t have any background in the language at all.

Constant cacophony of Bangalore traffic
I’m used to dealing with the way traffic in the US resembles a slow-moving river – a cars and SUVs following a predictable though congested path to their destination. The best way I can describe the traffic in Bangalore would be a chaotic, constantly shifting stream of two-wheelers, auto rickshaws, cars, people, bicycles, stray dogs, and the occasional cow or two. Vehicles merge and converge and beep and honk and wind their way through a maze of streets, often accelerating and weaving as the cars in front of them decelerate. Lanes are a very optional concept. Many intersections only have a yellow light suggesting caution, or no light at all. Jaywalking, for the newcomer, is an act of courage.

Merchant in Lingarajpuram
This clip sounds like a merchant of some kind announcing his wares, though Professor Moledina couldn’t decipher exactly what he is saying. Vendors on the street sell a variety of Indian dishes that I cannot yet remember the names of – apparently they are all delicious, but I haven’t tried any since we’re avoiding any chance of falling ill. There are myriad examples of small scale Indian entrepreneurship on every street corner, it seems.

Azaan before dawn
I didn’t expect to encounter such a visible (or audible) Muslim presence in Bangalore. In the early morning of my second day in Bangalore, I was woken up by the sound of a call to prayer. In the recording, the Arabic is complemented by crickets and the ever-present traffic. I was confused at first since I have always thought of India as a Hindu nation (obviously an oversimplification). Within 24 hours, I had not only heard my first azaan but also encountered women wearing burquas for the first time and saw my first mosque. I’ve read about and studied Islam in the past – so again, I’ve felt some connection born out of awareness — but I realized today that I had never actually seen or heard any of these things in person.

Taxi driver conversing in Kannada
The local language of the state of Karnataka is Kannada, and it’s the language I hear most commonly spoken here. Many people do speak English, though especially with drivers we usually encounter a significant communication barrier. Professor Moledina can speak some Hindi which gets us by in most cases.

The Sound of Bollywood
On our way into Bangalore from the airport, we pulled up next to a large truck which was playing Hindi music. My first “India moment” — when our arrival really began to sink in.