Blending to avoid exploitation

On Friday I decided to just get up and go. I donned my salvar and Bata shoes and prayed I wouldn't get caught in a freak storm. After 3 failed attempts, I procured an auto driver for Rs100 who took me into the city to Commercial Street, the "downtown" of Bangalore. I found I quickly got distracted by the side alleys and after much wandering, I managed to find myself in some unknown alley with a gorgeous Church at the end. I was pleased to find only a few vendors asking me where I was from...my disguise was working! I was blending and hopefully passing off as a local who would not be fleeced! I haggled prices down on most of the items I bought but I could hardly have passed off as a bargainer. After a tiring day on the streets, avoiding motorbikes and autos, mud puddles and dirty ditches, I decided to head on over to Caperberry on Dickenson Road, recently opened by Shruti, one of my NAFL school friends from when I was living here 13 years ago. I found an auto and asked him to take me to her place which, according to the map, should only have been a few minutes ride. The driver was a Muslim man who not only spoke Hindi but knew some gujarati as well. I was excited and started talking to him which I quickly regretted when he claimed the address was farther than originally quoted and increased my rate from Rs30 to 50! I wasn't about to argue or walk out of the auto at this point so I shelled it out and went to find Shruti. I found her debriefing her staff in a meeting and waited for her in her lounge. The place was gorgeous, clean, and modern. It would have passed off as an upscale American bar if I hadn't known otherwise. The bathrooms carried American brand sinks and the paper towels were stacked neatly in a basket. The full bar had bright blue lights beaming from underneath and the lounge had gold and silver centerpieces next to a stand with a flip menu featuring the specials. We talked about our lives and she told me about her recent projects. Coincidentally, her family has worked with the Deshpande Foundation through Vidya Poshak, an NGO that supports a finishing school of sorts to help with job placement. Apart from working long hours at her newly opened restaurant, she was also heavily involved with her family's new venture: housing for under privileged children around Bangalore and a new school that the children could attend for free, subsidized by fees paid by the other 80% of the students. Their work is inspiring and reminds us of what one person can really do and help. Her parents would have been perfect Global Impacteers in their time! She also told me about the new alcohol curfew of 11 pm, hurting her business a bit but newly enforced because of the increase in drunk driving incidents. There are breathalizer check points she has to pass now every night on her way home. I cannot start to imagine what a drunk driver would do in the streets of Bangalore! The streets are hard enough to maneuver in the daytime, lanes that no one follows, horns honking for no reason and impossible to tell who it's directed for, and pedestrians crossing the streets at their own risk as crosswalks and lights are far and few in between. Some intersections and circles don't even have lights or stop signs-cars inch forward and scooters swerve last minute, trying to avoid collisions and traffic jams. After what seemed like barely enough time to catch up, I made my way to Mahendra Uncle's to drop off some Splenda sent by our family friend. After insisting I eat something, I finally convinced them I had to get back before it got too dark and I would risk getting completely bitten up. After procuring me a trustworthy auto driver and taking his number down, they let me go. The driver knew the area but not well--he was surprisingly VERY patient and after circling around in the dark, I was relieved to finally find the house and end my adventure.