Cultural Contrasts in Bangalore
Author: Mark Langrehr
Project: Jaaga | Hampi Arts Initiative
Year: 2014
Bangalore, India
It's difficult to even find where to begin when discussing cultural differences between India and the US. Some things are easier to grasp, such as a different attitude toward timing and schedules. I think we're all used to Indian Standard Time by now. I've also gotten the impression of a generally more relaxed office environment from my visits to other GIEP partners, too. In the Indian workplace, there doesn't seem to be much anxiety in taking breaks or in longer chats from time to time. My own experience regarding work culture in the past two months has been somewhat limited, though, as I've primarily been working with only two people outside my own Michigan group, one at our partner organization, and now a researcher, Meera. Meera is quite experienced in research and translating. In addition, in the brief time we've spent in Bangalore together, she's been very aware of differences between Indian and American cultures. Her son even graduated from the same university I attended for undergrad. She's been a great help in working as she knows how to ask the questions I need for interviews with street vendors so they translate across not only languages but other cultural constructs. Given my background, I'm also quite interested in how cultural differences manifest themselves in the city of Bangalore. Simple things, such as fewer supermarkets, reflect a culture that values fresher produce and more frequent shopping trips more than one-stop shops at American or other Western Megastores. Other more specific cases reflect different norms, such as KR Market. The newest structure here was built four stories high in an attempt to relieve the congestion on the ground floor and streets of this busy wholesale market in Bangalore. However, Only the lowest two levels (each a half story from grade) have since been occupied. Vendors add that buyers don't want to traverse several flights of stairs to purchase goods, and they can't afford the drop off in sales that would accompany a shop on the upper floor. The highest floor of KR Market has even been fenced off and locked due to its vacancy, even as the ground floor and surrounding area is a thick with back-to-back vendors and pedestrians. Such attempts at reorganizing India seem myopic. Relying solely on a top-down agenda, especially within India, seems perilous, and this particular case is very telling. It's interesting to me, too, how the failure of the intended new KR Market creates a starting point for a wholly different reality still dependent on such a setting, even if in the eyes of its designers it may be misuse. The maze of flower stalls on the basement level punctuated by bare fluorescent lights and seated vendors is truly an engaging marketplace, and one made possible in the productive slippage between the ultimate users and the designer's intent. Other issues at KR Market, though, such as garbage or congestion, aren't helped through such oversight. Here, again, the charms and challenges of India are intertwined. For me, India's ambivalence toward planning and its creative resiliency are essential to Bangalore. From the day I moved into an apartment building nearly full of offices (and no more than two apartments still housing people overnight), it was clear that this was a city that operates in wholly non-Western ways. For me, herein lies the fun - and the frustrations - everyone here must address. In looking at the city, it's easier to point out what's different, but more difficult to discern what it means. Our interactions in such a different setting are similarly coded, but our experience here is certainly valuable not only in India but many situations at home and abroad.
