Bangalore/Bangaluru

We bused all day from the Himalayas to Bangalore and arrived early, early morning; we got a little rest before visiting a wholesale saree shop in an area of Bangalore called Chickpet. The saree shop was a nondescript building tucked down an alley, but the business itself is incredibly developed. We learned that India houses these types of businesses in a way that may seem strange, but due to the collectivist mentality, word-of-mouth and customer loyalty allow “mom and pop” businesses to thrive, and can even inhibit multinationals from breaking into the scene.

The sarees in the small shop were made in a building only a ten-minute walk away, so after a quick introduction to the shop we walked over and saw how they make them. (Manufacturing is mostly automated with a few manual jobs performed by the workers.)

After Chickpet we were able to do some shopping on the main strip called MG road. The store we spent most time in was Cauvery, a government store that sells hot items like silk and sandalwood. Apparently it’s best to only buy sandalwood at government stores because of the inauthentic wood being posed on the streets as real (they just spritz a cheaper wood with a sandalwood spray and pose it as sandalwood).