Bang Bang Galore!

A Filmmaker’s BLOGELLA
Written by Steve Rosenberg

Blog 3 (Internet Café)

Bangalore is a challenging place. In this toxic stew of air and sound pollutants, a seemingly easy jaunt across town is a trip to the underworld.  A simple twenty-minute cab ride in a three-wheel open-air auto rickshaw in thirty- four- degree humid weather is exhausting.

Traffic swirling, charcoal coloured smoke belching noisily through exhaust pipes and horns honking randomly are only part of the equation.  And then of course, there is the process of negotiating a fare. It’s an exhausting process, a chess match that can easily evolve into a checkmate if you are not paying close attention.

There are those drivers who are unwilling to take you on a short trip unless they charge you quadruple the local rate and others who agree to use the government meter and then find the most circuitous route imaginable. Bargaining is a bad habit I acquired and leaves me feeling like I have blood on my hands for trying to squeeze out deal that is consistent with what Indians pay.

My place of retreat is the local internet café, where I disappear for a while. I feel much more comfortable in this setting than I do at home.