Lalbagh Flower Show and Art Festival

Taking the suggestion of a co-worker I asked Uday to take me to the Lalbagh Flower show, having no idea what it was. After a 20 min drive we approached the entrance to the Lalbagh Botanical Gardens. Paying the entrance fee we pulled through a gorgeous entrance full of colorful flowers, blooming trees, and of course people. Pulling off to the side I got out of the car and was quickly approached by a local who told me he would be my tour guide. Walking up a hill he asked me how I was doing, where I was from, why I was in Bangalore, pretty much the standard question set from any local. It wasn’t until we were at the top of the hill until he told me a 2 hour tour would cost $2000 RS, I told him I did not need a tour guide, nor would I be here for 2 hours. The price then went down to $1000 RS for the same tour. Once again I informed him that I was not interested, and yet again the price dropped, this time the tour was free and he would accept tips afterwards. Being brushed away one more time he got the hint and walked back down the hill. Stopping at the top I turned around to look over a portion of the 240 acre grounds. A sea of people it reminded me of the fairgrounds back home. Taking a few “snaps”, Indian English for pictures, I descended the hill to venture through the rest of the park. Walking around you would think I was Moses as the sea of people parts as I walk around, everyone afraid to bump into me. Making it to the main area, where the show was, there was an outer ring filled with booths of people selling plant bulbs and flowers, and the interior a covered structure jammed packed with people. Slowly strolling around the outer ring I have to fight people to move around. Who would have ever guessed that a flower show could attract this many people? Fighting my way into the main structure I was amazed at the view. Shaped like a cross, there was a rectangle garden in the middle, with a walking trail around it. The outside was lined with flowers, the corners contained vertical beds that climbed to the roof. The colors were vivid and bright surrounded by flowers of all kinds. If you stopped to take a picture the crowd pushed you from behind but you could only move as fast as the thousands of people in front of you. Leaving the main event I continued to walk around the gardens. Just like the state fair there were vendors selling food and drinks, but very little of it was deep fried. There were bananas and jalapenos deep fried in a wok, cucumbers and mangos sliced like a blooming onion sprinkled with chili powder, fresh fruit bowls containing watermelon, pineapple, grapes and mango, and corn on the cob roasted over hot coals. Though the flowers were interesting, once again people watching turned out to be much more interesting.

"Lalbagh Flower Show" Pictures

While at the flower show I received a call from a co-worker asking me to join a few of them for an art festival near the Grand Ashok Hotel. Jumping on another chance to explore the city with a set of excellent tour guides I said yes. Getting out of the car I found my tour guides and began our afternoon stroll. The festival was no more than a blocked off road, a few kilometers stretch, lined on both sides with homemade booths full of professional and amateur art and craftwork. Canvas paintings of Indian gods, artwork created on tree leaves, classical, modern, abstract, animals, almost anything imaginable could be seen ranging in all sorts of sizes. The quality of the work is spectacular and pieces similar in design and size would be going for multi-thousands of dollars back in the states. If only shipping wasn’t so hard, this could be a lucrative business idea. Browsing each booth we slowly made it to the end of the road were we stopped for a snack. Turning around we strolled down the other side of the road stopping to talk to my co-workers mother. Having already purchased a piece of her artwork (gifted to my mother for Christmas) I was excited to see what she had on display. Instantly I found a hanging piece that I loved. It was a headshot of the Goddess Durga outlined in gold leaf and gemstones in a silver basket-weaved style frame.The Goddess Durga is the mother of the universe and believed to be the power behind the work of creation, preservation, and destruction of the world. Since time immemorial she has been worshipped as the supreme power of the Supreme Being. Not planning on attending this event I was not carrying enough cash to cover the piece I liked. Since India works on the barter system, I struck a deal offering to pay her son on the following Monday and then we continued our walk. I know many of you find it hard to believe I would attend an event such as this but it was actually really fun.
"Art Festival" Pictures
Officially a flower and art connoisseur

Blake