Manan kaka visits Bengaluru

Manan visited us for 4 days. He arrived on 2nd Jan. We took him around Bangalore for a couple of days. 

To welcome him Sanika had prepared Gulabjamuns or gullu as Manan and Vivan would christen them later. 

The next morning we started with the Indian Musical Experience museum. Situated in JP Nagar, this is a hidden gem on Bengaluru. I really loved it. It covers a lot of the forms on Indian music and talks about their history. Forms like indie, rock, devotional, Indian classical and their types are described. There are a couple of audio-visual shows that are quite immersive. There are also a bunch of interactive exhibits that teach you about things like the swara, raga, and tala, for example. A lot of thought and effort has been put behind the art at the museum. It is not only informative but also stunningly beautiful. I would highly recommend this to anyone visiting Bengaluru. 

We went to Blossoms and the Bookworm on MG Road. Manan bought a tranche of books there. He even bought a couple for me - the vegetarian, and one about facts.

We ended the day at Toit Indira Nagar. I tried a couple of beers - the rice blonde (made from basmati) and the red ale ( bitter and sweet). I liked the blonde better. Manan tried the Tint-in-wit and the hefeweizen, if I remember correctly. 

One of the highlights of the day was the metro rides from Yelamachalli station to MG road and then from MG Road to Indira Nagar. We even bought tickets using whatsapp. Bengaluru being herself, of course there is an app for that. 😅

We started the next day with a light breakfast at IDC. Manan wanted filter coffee. He got good coffee here.

We then headed to Lal Bagh. With Sanika choosing to work from Blue Tokai, Kormangala, it was just Manan and me. I was not really sure about two grown ass men going to Lal Bagh by themselves. But it turned out to be a surprisingly good experience. We trudged along the length and the breadth of lal bagh talking about really random stuff. At one point, I felt we were in a podcast. 🤣. 

After oohing and aahing at the massive trees and the delicate flowers and the pretty lake we went to pick up Sanika so that we could go to Byg Brewski, Sarjapur Road. At the brewery, Manan resigned to the comfort of Hefeweizen and I to my new trusty kombucha. 

In the evening, to wrap things up, we had a quick meal at Chianti and then desserts at Magnolia. Had the famous banana pudding and blueberry cheesecake. Vivaan got the chocolate ice cream with sprinkles, of course.

Vivaan was in school during these two days. I felt a tinge of guilt about not having him with us when we were having fun. I think that’s why he got an ice cream AT NIGHT to end the day. But whatever time he spent with Manan was filled with laughter and silliness. Vivaan loved Manan and connected with him instantly. He knows only a few grown men who can be funny and who can make him laugh so much. 

Until next time, Manan kaka. ❤️