After visiting the Sankara Eye Hospital, we had a meeting at IIHS to discuss strategies for designing a sustainable social business venture. Then we hopped on the bus and headed to the Malleshwaram Market in Bangalore.
For some cultural contrast, we first began our tour with a quick walk through the mega mall (much like a typical American shopping mall), where market shop owners are now unhappily competing for business.
We entered the Malleshwaram Market with the steps of the mall just behind us.
My first encounter in the market was with a street food vendor selling deep fried hot peppers and potatoes. It only cost about 17 cents for a hot handful of these delicious treats, and I began to dig in.
The market was filled with tiny shops selling a multitude of trinkets, ritual items, spices, flowers, fruits, vegetables, clothing, jewelry, and freshly prepared meals.
The atmosphere played tug of war with our senses as we squeezed our way through the throngs of Indian shoppers. We listened to traditional Indian music along with honking of car horns, sipped on sugarcane juice, enjoyed deep fried veggies, breathed in the smells of fragrant flowers, incense, and steaming food, and watched it all whiz by in every imaginable color combination.
This evening officially goes down as my favorite so far. It will be tough to beat, but I'm looking forward to trying!
