India - Downton Abbey

Where: Bangalore, India

When: Sunday, Feb 10, 2013

In modern day India, you even now get a really good feeling about what it was like to live during the British Colonial Era—at least for Western visitors like me.   This week I’m staying at the Leela Palace which is a 7 star hotel (yes, kind of like an 11 for a stereo) in the heart of Bangalore.  The hotel is an aging ornate Pink Stucco grandiosity with gardens, outdoor terraces, intricate marble floors, and many servants.  The hotel caters to two types of people:

a)      businessmen who have come to this Emerging country to accomplish big things

b)      US or European tourists who want to visit India without actually visiting India

You can see both groups of people here at the pool.  All are pale and trying to get a tan.  This includes me.  At home, we pour our own drinks, carry our own bags, or lay-out our own swimming pool towels.   All is done for you here. 

The first 24 hours in the country are always an adjustment for me because I stubbornly insist on doing everything on my own.  I have caused many kerfuffles in the breakfast room because the latte was taking too long, so I went over to get it myself—or when the jasmine rice on my plate was empty, so I went to refill it from the buffet table set up for my convenience.  And then there was yesterday when instead of taking the chauffeured BMW, I hailed an auto-rickshaw outside the hotel to go shopping on Indiranagar street. 

But the Indian culture has persisted for many generations, so I should know better than to fight it.   It is a service culture through and through.   And I realize that very starkly here – the waiter pouring my Kingfisher beer works with humility.  But he is also proud to be serving me drinks. He specializes in this type of service.   And he is completely unlike an American waitress who may despise me a bit for not having work on a Saturday night. 

 At first, I am uncomfortable with being fussed over.  Or annoyed with the extra time it takes.   But after the second beer, it becomes second nature – you can see how British Royalty could get used to this sort of thing. 

Vinya - My driver from Hyderabad

The Leela from my hotel terrace

Family Running Errands