EXPEDITION TO THE FLOWER SHOW

Last week in Times of India newspaper there was this buzz about the flower show in Bangalore.  Sitting at home the whole day my job is to read the paper and find out what interesting event is going on in the city. I read about the flower show and the replica of the Lotus temple which will be made out of flowers. I have never had the chance to visit any flower show. I was very excited to go and see the great show. On Saturday after many arguments everyone agreed we will go for the show.  Even before going my teenage  daughter claimed the show to be "Lame". This is  the feedback given to her by her friends.  What is ever interesting for a teenager I hardly understand.  Very easily everything becomes boring, lame, stupid at that age.  Anything we suggest is taken with a big "huh " and a sigh".  When I hear that sigh I loose my till -then controlled temper. That makes me even more adamant than her to hold on to my views and rules.  So this time I got my way through. My nine year old son had no other choice other than be a jing bang to his beloved sister.  All three of them tried to convince me to go to MG Road. First time in my house the majority did not win. The minority won. Yes, we all decided to go for the show. 

Usually on a Saturday my husband takes a nap after lunch. But last Saturday he sacrificed his sleep so that we can reach the flower show on time. It was in Lal Bagh.  We started around 2.45p.m. I read in the paper that the show will be open from 3p.m. I packed  some snack and water to have in the park.  It was quite sunny.  After driving for fifteen minutes the speed of the car started reducing. Bangalore traffic started to show its real face.  On our way we had to cross a few bridges which were under construction. Indians truly enjoy a lot of freedom while on road. They can drive however they like and where ever they like. No rules needed to be followed.  The liberty on road is amazing --right from humans to cattle everyone can use the road as if it is their private property. Since we have come back to our beautiful motherland after fifteen years we were feeling guilty  to enjoy that liberty. My husband was religiously driving with caution though scolding the intruders on and off. NO use of scolding them because with all the glasses raised and the AC on, what is the use of muttering inside the car when no one is going to hear you other than us? But you need to vent your frustrations right?no matter it reaches the target or not. So we were silent spectators of the happenings.  This is the main reason I don't drive in India. My blood pressure will shoot up if I happen to drive. The vehicles started to move inch by inch.  My son was starting to get restless along with his dad.  My daughter was enjoying her nap.  I couldn't complain because I was the one who suggested the idea of going for the flower show.  It was almost one and half hours and still we were on the road in the middle of nowhere.  The traffic on the opposite direction seemed to be free flowing. Adding fuel to the prevailing condition it started to rain.  Bangalore weather is so unpredictable.  It started raining cats and dogs.  The  traffic became even more slower. We felt cold inside the car with the AC on. So I asked my husband to switch off the AC. After five minutes we started to feel hot because there was no air circulation inside the car. I asked him to switch it on again. This was going on for sometime . After sometime he got frustrated and started to show his anger.  This time who else other than me will be the target? We moved so slowly that it took us almost two and a half hours to reach Lal Bagh.


 At last we reached the venue.  When we reached the place the main entry gate was  closed.  People were coming out through the exit gate.  Since it was raining heavily we were waiting inside the car for the gate to open.  Suddenly we could hear our car number being called out and it was followed by some Kanada words.  When we turned and saw, we saw a police jeep saying something in Kanada.  We lowered the glass and asked what it was. He asked us to move away from the place since we were not supposed to park our car in that spot. We told him that we had come to see the flower show and were waiting for the gate to open.  You know what he told? He told,"Madam flower show closed today because of rain. You go today and come tomorrow 9.a.m."  Yes a big full stop to the purpose of our visit.  There was no board intimating that the show was cancelled.  There were around six to seven cars waiting at the gate.  At least we came to know that it was cancelled through the police officer. Hats off to the tolerance level of our fellow Indians!  We took a U-Turn and started going towards our house.  All through the way my husband was sarcastic in blaming me for the whole episode.  I did not open my mouth so that I won't make him even more irritated.  This time when we were going back the traffic had moved along with us to this side I guess. The other side seemed to be free flowing now.Just like how the grass is always greener on the other side. I couldn't blame anyone other than myself for my bad luck. 

The children did not want to go back home. What else to do in that rain?  This time I just said I would go wherever they went. Now the majority won. Because of the cold weather my son had an urgent call from nature.  We couldn't stop anywhere in the middle.  Then we decided to go to the Forum Mall for using the restroom.  After that the kids  wanted to go to the Landmark bookstore.   I had no other choice other than nod to their wishes.  I just followed the three of them into the bookstore and grabbed a book for myself and started to read.  Though the woman in me wanted to go around the mall for shopping , I kept her under my control and sat there and read. We spent almost one hour in the bookstore and then hunger bell started ringing.  We took the kids to the food court.  I had no mood to eat anything there. I took a few bites from the chat they had ordered.  My mind was wandering around the mall .  After food we decided to head back home .  It took us another one hour plus to reach home due to the heavy traffic. At last we reached home at 9.p.m. I felt we had spent almost six hours without any purpose.  Kids were happy because they got to buy a few books from landmark. How can any shopping be interesting when you get home without any shopping bags.I didn't want to stay home after all this. I wanted to share my experience with someone before I went to sleep. I went to my friend's house and told her the whole story of our expedition to the flower show. After hearing it they asked me "Have you booked your tickets back to Singapore?"  A sensible question to contemplate. There ends our journey to the flower show. Though upsetting we all took it as an experience--a first hand experience of Bangalore traffic and to decide faster about our prolonged stay in India..  At the brighter side we felt happy that we were not living in the hustle and bustle of the city.  Imagine the plight of the people for whom this is an everyday ordeal!! Each experience adds to our perseverance.  Lesson learnt is "Grass is NEVER green on the other side". Jai Hind!