Bengaluru, India Photos Like You’ve Never Seen Her Before
All of those fairy tales and hype you hear about India are just that… hype.
The mystical, spiritual place that is supposed to be India, is the most contrasted place to all other nations I have ever been in. A full 180 degrees in the opposite direction of sanity and order. But at the same time, there is beauty in Chaos as the saying goes.
The Chaos of Bengaluru Traffic
Bengaluru is India’s IT capital, home to over 13 million people, and the traffic is legendary for all the wrong reasons. There are no lane markings that anyone follows, no right-of-way rules that anyone respects, and the honking never stops. Auto-rickshaws, buses, motorcycles, cows, and pedestrians all compete for the same inch of road. Getting across the city can take hours.
A family of three riding a motorcycle barefoot through Bengaluru traffic
A police car with Kannada script on the license plate
Motorbike riders packed together in traffic, seen from an auto-rickshaw
Cows grazing on a traffic median while buses and rickshaws pass by
An Uber taxi with a Hanuman decal on the rear window
Gridlocked traffic at a Bengaluru intersection
A cow sitting in the middle of traffic, seen through a car windshield
Motorcyclists packed together at a traffic light outside Cafe Coffee Day
A wall of motorcycles and scooters waiting at a red light
Auto-rickshaws, buses, and motorcycles jammed together in traffic
Motorcyclists and rickshaws crowded at a traffic light
A colorful decorated TATA truck driving through Bengaluru
Auto-rickshaws and pedestrians battling for space on a narrow market street
Two women on a bus, one covering her mouth, the other filming
Colorful painted buses at a Bengaluru bus station
A traffic policeman in a pith helmet directing traffic
The view from inside an auto-rickshaw, meter running at 6 rupees
I’ve been to many developing nations, and I’ve seen a fair bit of dirty streets, or pits of filth… but Bengaluru, and ultimately every place I visited in Bengaluru, India… was just choked in piles, and piles of garbage… everywhere!
Also, add the occasional rivers that are actually an open-air sewage system where locals dump all of their unwanted… everything.
Furthermore, the incessant, never-ending honking of horns, for almost limitless reasons causes massive headaches, along with the unfiltered gasoline that pollutes the air as you walk the streets.
A woman sweeping the street with a traditional broom
A couple sitting among debris on a demolished lot
Workers digging up a street by hand
A cow eating from a pile of garbage on the roadside while scooters pass by
Apartment buildings behind an overgrown vacant lot
A mountain of trash piled up next to a Sprite billboard and auto-rickshaws
Piles of trash and debris under a market overpass
Spicy, Milky, and Indigestion
The food itself was delicious, although days later, I found out that I could not tolerate both spicy food, or really anything… because it all has some form of dairy product (I’m lactose intolerant).
Thus causing bloating, indigestion, upset stomach, and diarrhea – not only in myself but in my travel buddy as well, who was not lactose intolerant.
A policeman and a customer at a Bayar’s dosa and idli restaurant
Mangalore bonda and upma with chutney at a local restaurant
A samosa wrapped in newspaper, held up in front of auto-rickshaws
A food receipt totaling 258 rupees for 11 items of Indian sweets
Vada, kachori, dal, and chickpea curry at a local restaurant
Two plates of biryani, the yellow rice swimming in spicy curry
Homeless People Everywhere
Two elderly women picking through rubble and trash on a broken sidewalk
A little boy playing with his own poop, a man with leprosy begging for money.
A barefoot boy crouching on the pavement, staring straight at the camera
A man with severe burns sitting by a railing on the roadside
An elderly woman sitting on the sidewalk with her belongings
A homeless man sleeping next to a Royal Enfield motorcycle
An old man with a turban leaning against a shopfront on Gundopanth Street
An elderly woman’s weathered face, deep in thought by the side of the road
The Cows and Animals of Bengaluru
Cows roam the streets freely, quite frequently blocking traffic.
I was filming a calf crossing the street towards its mother… only to have the mother charge me with her head… for whatever reason – which I thought was hilarious.
Stray dogs are everywhere too, sleeping on sidewalks and in doorways like they own the place. And then there are the macaques, bold little monkeys that will steal your food if you’re not paying attention.
A stray dog lounging on the sidewalk
A stray dog resting by metal railings
A black-and-white cow crossing the street in front of a scooter and a temple
A mother cow staring down the camera, daring anyone to come closer
Schoolgirls in blue uniforms walking home alongside a wandering calf
A house crow perched on a branch in the park
A striped palm squirrel peeking out from a tree trunk
Crows feeding on scattered grain on a park bench
A bull with brass bells and a rope halter resting by a blue corrugated wall
A decorated bull with painted horns, flower garlands, and a red tassel
A macaque monkey lounging on its back in the dirt
A stocky macaque monkey sitting on a pipe by a fence
Close-up of a macaque monkey eating a sugarcane stalk
A macaque monkey nibbling on something while perched on a branch
A scruffy golden stray dog staring into the camera
Hindu Temples of Bengaluru
The Hindu temples were beautiful, intricate, and very colorful. I have not yet seen anything of this design on my travels to 60 countries.
Karnataka has thousands of Hindu temples dating back to the Hoysala dynasty in the 12th century. Bengaluru’s temples range from ancient stone structures to modern Dravidian-style towers. The ornate gopurams (temple towers) are covered in hundreds of hand-painted deity sculptures.
Hinduism has its own religious history that is as deep and complex as any other religion out there. And the faithful are quite faithful to their beliefs of millions of gods, and saints and spirits, and whatever else.
Colorful Hindu goddess figures on a temple rooftop
A grey stone Hindu temple surrounded by palm trees
Intricate stone carvings of Hindu deities on a temple facade
A green painted Ganesha shrine on a temple rooftop
A Durga goddess statue decorated with flower garlands inside a temple
Hindu deities at the Sri Lakshmi Narayana temple altar
Ornate Hindu deity figures with an elephant behind them
A woman praying before a Sai Baba shrine, a golden Nandi bull beside her
Hindu paintings and icons displayed on a sacred tree trunk
A Vishnu statue draped in yellow garlands, seated on a multi-headed cobra
A painted Naga snake shrine covered in turmeric
A colorful Hindu temple entrance with a golden pillar
Close-up of colorful Hindu deity figures on a temple
A Nandi bull statue at a Hindu temple
A Dravidian gopuram tower packed with colorful gods and mythological figures
Close-up of Vishnu, Lakshmi, and attendant figures on a temple gopuram
Colorful Ganesha and deity figures on a temple facade
A row of Hindu deities painted in vivid blues, greens, and golds on a temple roofline
A colorful Hindu temple squeezed between shops on a busy street
Close-up of dozens of colorful Hindu deity sculptures on a temple tower
A fierce Narasimha deity sculpture riding a lion on a temple
A Durga goddess sculpture slaying a demon on a temple facade
An ancient stone Ganesha statue sitting in a garden
A weathered gopuram with faded sculptures of elephants, musicians, and deities
Rows of weathered Hindu deity sculptures on a temple tower
A red-faced Hindu sage statue decorated with flower garlands
A grand Indo-Saracenic temple with a colorful gopuram on top
The marble interior of a Hindu temple with wooden doors
A massive Nandi bull shrine draped in jasmine garlands and orange cloth
The Bull Temple
The Dodda Basavana Gudi (Big Bull Temple) was built in 1537 by Kempe Gowda I, the founder of Bengaluru. Inside is a 4.5-meter monolithic Nandi bull carved from a single granite boulder. It’s one of the largest Nandi statues in India.
A small stone Nandi bull statue draped with a flower garland
The Sri Big Bull Temple entrance tower in Bengaluru
The massive stone Nandi bull statue inside the Bull Temple
Leonidas smiling in front of the giant Nandi bull at the Bull Temple
David doing a prayer pose in front of the Bull Temple tower
Churches of Bengaluru
Christianity arrived in Bengaluru through Portuguese and British colonialism. The red church is likely St. Mark’s Cathedral (built 1808) or a similar colonial-era church. Mother Teresa’s legacy is honored throughout India.
The irony isn’t lost on me, with dark-skinned local Indians worshiping a Jewish guy, who died thousands of kilometers away… and is portrayed as a white guy.
A red colonial-era church tower with purple bougainvillea
Close-up of the clock tower on the red church
The Gothic spire of St. Mary’s Basilica towering under a stormy sky
A mural of Mother Teresa on a building wall
A golden bust of Saint Teresa of Calcutta outside a church
Worshipers sitting in the blue and gold interior of a Christian church
A priest delivering a sermon inside a colonial-era church
Islamic Bengaluru
Muslims make up about 15% of Bengaluru’s population. The old city has several historic mosques and Muslim neighborhoods. You also have Muslims co-existing peacefully with the other religions here, and they have their own areas of the city, with Arabic writing, and clothing as well.
A Ramzan Mubarak billboard from a local politician
A green-domed mosque squeezed beneath a highway overpass
A Muslim woman in a black abaya carrying her children near a mosque
Colorful zigzag-patterned minarets of a mosque rising above the palm trees
The Markets of Bengaluru
KR Market (Krishna Rajendra Market) was built in 1928 by the Maharaja of Mysore. It’s one of the oldest and biggest markets in India, spanning several city blocks. You can find everything from spices and silk to flowers and jackfruit.
The open-air markets are fun to experience. All of the products are home-grown, homemade, or probably imported from China. Haggling is highly recommended.
A woman selling fresh coconuts on the street
A tailor and his assistant working from a cluttered sidewalk stall
A lemon seller and a tire repair shop side by side
A man resting on a bicycle loaded with coconuts
A man selling flower garlands at a blue-walled market stall
A woman in a pink sari tending her roadside stall of yellow boxes and garlands
A toy vendor napping beside an enormous pile of plastic toys and backpacks
Women in colorful saris buying vegetables at a street market
David walking through a narrow alley in the old market area
A crowded silk market street with shops and signs
David chatting with a vendor at the jackfruit market
A man selling a massive pile of mangoes at the street market
Women in red saris walking through the crowded market
An elderly woman selling jamun berries from a basket on the sidewalk
Women selling mangoes and coconuts at a busy fruit market
A bustling open-air vegetable market under blue tarps
Women in colorful saris sitting among bangles and garlands at the market
Pyramids of red, orange, and pink spice powder at a market stall
Women sorting red roses and yellow marigolds on the floor of the flower market
Women in colorful saris crowding around a tomato vendor
Yellow and red bananas piled high at a market stall
Banana vendors selling from stalls strung with colored rope
David chatting with a friendly Muslim shopkeeper at a hardware store
The colorful flower market inside KR Market
An old key-cutter working on a ring of keys by the side of the road
A vegetable wholesale market sprawling under a highway overpass
A spice vendor scooping from colorful mounds of turmeric and chili
An elderly man selling watches from a street stall
A fruit vendor selling bananas and mangoes from a cart in traffic
The People of Bengaluru
The clothing of Hindu women is very vibrant and colorful, and the togas of the Hindu men are interesting as well. Bengaluru is a mix of old and new India, tech workers in jeans next to women in traditional saris, schoolkids in uniforms, and laborers in dusty dhotis. Everyone’s going somewhere, and nobody’s in a rush to let you pass.
Women in colorful saris walking down the street
Young men playing cricket in a dirt lot
Schoolchildren in uniforms lining up in a courtyard
Women digging up a road at a construction site in Bengaluru
A woman in a golden sari walking past a stone wall
Young women riding in the back of an auto-rickshaw
Two women walking through the market area
A family leaving the temple, the father in a white dhoti carrying his daughter
Women in silk saris filing out through the temple gates
A little girl in a polka-dot bandana peeking out from her mother’s arms
The Streets of Bengaluru
Walking around the narrow streets of certain parts of the city is an eye-opening experience.
But being on these streets for more than a few days will definitely take its mental toll on you, especially if you are a westerner (at least in my opinion).
Bengaluru, India is crowded and dirty, and the air is heavy with pollution.
A man in white walking past auto-rickshaws and a water tanker
A narrow residential lane in Bengaluru
A colorful street with rickshaws and motorcycles
A narrow street with tangled overhead wires
A busy tree-lined street with a person sitting on the sidewalk
A white colonial-era mansion on a quiet residential street
Massive political billboards covering an entire building in Bengaluru
A sticker on a pole reading “Why Are We Here?” on a Bengaluru street
A cyclist next to an auto-rickshaw decorated with a jasmine garland
A golden temple gopuram rising above Acer signs and auto-rickshaws on SP Road
A building covered in electronics shop signs from Panasonic to ASUS
Two boys walking down a narrow street with shops and fruit carts
A busy commercial street with people, rickshaws, and suitcases
A sign reading “Nathi Krupa” with a swastika symbol on a red building
A man buying a coconut from a bicycle vendor in a crowded market lane
Motorcycles, wires, and shop signs crammed into a narrow market alley
A long row of parked motorcycles lining the market street
A crowded street with rickshaws and a Hindu temple in the background
A group of men walking through the busy market streets
A building covered in bamboo scaffolding under construction
A construction worker sitting on bamboo scaffolding high above the ground
A colonial-era school building with students playing in the courtyard
David standing at a roundabout with a statue and rickshaws
High-rise construction towers rising above the treeline
Rows of laundry drying on clotheslines between apartment buildings
Cubbon Park, Lalbagh & the Government Museum
Cubbon Park was established in 1870 by British commissioner Sir Mark Cubbon, covering 300 acres in the heart of the city. The State Central Library (the red building) dates to 1915. The Government Museum, established in 1865, is one of the oldest in India. Lalbagh Botanical Garden was first laid out by Hyder Ali in 1760 and later expanded by his son Tipu Sultan.
These green spaces are a welcome break from the chaos outside. You walk in and the honking fades, the air gets a little cleaner, and you can actually hear yourself think.
Locals relaxing on park benches in Cubbon Park
A kid climbing a massive banyan tree in the park
A marble statue of a Maharaja in Cubbon Park
The red colonial-era State Central Library in Bengaluru
The State Central Library with its gardens and a dated 1876 pillar
David selfie in front of the red State Central Library
A stone Vishnu sculpture at the Government Museum
A stone carving of a deity flanked by two serpents
A headless stone Devi sculpture at the Government Museum
A tree-lined pathway through the lush greenery of Lalbagh Park
A statue silhouetted against water spray from a fountain
David walking toward a massive banyan tree in a park
Bengaluru’s Historic Landmarks
Bengaluru Fort was originally built as a mud fort by Kempe Gowda I in 1537 and later rebuilt in stone by Hyder Ali in the 18th century. Bangalore Palace, built in 1878 in Tudor-Revival style, was inspired by England’s Windsor Castle. The ISKCON temple (Sri Radha Krishna Mandir) opened in 1997 on a 7-acre hilltop.
A camouflaged Indian army armored vehicle on display
The stone walls of Bengaluru Fort, built by Tipu Sultan
The white ISKCON temple towers rising above the trees
A Victorian-era cottage with ornate white gingerbread trim
The castle-like towers of Bangalore Palace peeking through the trees
Tip: Get a Sim Card at the Airport
I also spent a full day looking for a way to get a sim card, but unfortunately, foreigners are not allowed to get sim cards once they leave the airport – unless they have a permanent address, or they know a local Indian who can help verify the sim card at a local mobile vendor.
This was more frustrating than it should have been because the mobile plan vendors kept giving me the wrong advice – go here, go there, just show your passport… all of which was useless information.
Tip: Just get a sim card with data at the international airports, and shop around multiple vendors, because some will try to rip you off (double the price, for the same features).
My Thoughts About The Trash Problem in India
Many Indians believe it is the culture that allows Indians to turn their own country into a giant pit of trash. But I think it has more to do with the infrastructure and lack of garbage disposal by private industry and government.
In Toronto, several years back, there was a strike by the unionized government-owned garbage collection agency. As a result, no one was picking up garbage. Within just a few days, Toronto started to become a giant cesspool of trash.
The dumping occurred everywhere, and many people went great distances to throw away their unwanted refuse. Some just dumped it onto the streets in front of their houses and called it a day.
I think, regardless if it’s a developing nation like India, or a top-tier country like Canada, human nature resorts to the ‘tragedy of the commons’ – once one person doesn’t care, then quickly everyone else will not care as well.
Since 2010, Leonidas has been an incredible Web Developer, and amazing Digital Marketer. He is the author of various exciting case studies in digital marketing, most notably in Pay Per Call Marketing.
Make sure to read the case studies to make your life so much better!
