Day 7 Goodbye Bangalore

We had an exciting time at Bethany High today. The lessons were very interesting. The music and movement lessons got us up on our feets dancing and swaying to the beat, so did the teachers!! It helped us to relax and enjoy ourselves. We also had a quick lesson on Adjectives followed by an Abacus lesson. I would say it was a Grand finale to our visit to Bangalore.

After a vegetarian lunch, we were off to our hotel rooms to start packing.

I guess time flies when you are having fun.. just when things were heating up... soon it was time to say goodbye... the days certainly passed very quickly.

Namaste... Thank you for coming along on our trip. We hope you have enjoyed it as much as we have...not forgetting the memorable times and the ties we forged along the way... deeply engaging and enriching... cheers and thanks to all who made these 7-days possible...mega thanks...

Day 6 @ Bangalore

An hour and a half on the bus and we were at a bustling cocoon market. Farmers were having their products tested at the in-house lab before there were put up for auction. The tests will determine the quality of the catch and the quantity of cocoons required to produce 1 kg of silk. Some Maths lesson we had there about ratio too! This will then determine how much the farmers will rake for that particular yield. Therefore, there is always an incentive to producing quality cocoons. Farmers were also provided with information on how to improve their products. Within minutes all the cocoons changed hands - from the farmers to the silk producers!

We moved on from here (a short bus ride) to witness the reeling. The smell was unbearable but certainly struck a chord deep in us.... unforgettable.... You could smell the factories from a distance. The cocoons were placed in hot water (70 to 80 degrees celcius). About 3 cocoons were placed together before reeling was done. This was to ensure the prevention of snapping during reeling.

The next step was weaving where we saw the machineries at work. All this were done at separate locations.

We then went on to see where these silk worms came from. The worms were barely the size of ants, more accurately, 'teeny weeny black ants' and hardly visible unless you stare real hard at the leaves before any form of crawlies could be seen! =( The sight certainly got our hairs standing on its ends when seeing them!!! Eyeoooow.... They were fed with leaves from the Mulberry leaves. The quality of the leaves were not compromised as it affected the quality of the silk; as the saying goes - you reap what you sow... so the saying holds true after all ..

After this, we headed to the Karnataka cultural centre. The sculpturer was very skillful. Within a few minutes he could make, pots, plates and even a magic lamp which we had no qualms in purchasing as part of our quest to being Aladdins in our own rights... hee hee...what a catch! Some of us also bought other clay items that the man had 'conjured' up...

We then headed back to the hotel as most of us were tired after our tour of the cultural centre; yet another day of insight into what were some of the primitive tools that the forefathers used in their daily lives. It definitely made us appreciate what we have today... cheers for modernisation and mechanisation.... =)

Day 5 @ Bangalore

Today we had an exciting day out! We started the day with a visit to the Energy Park. At this park, the Sun's Energy and Wind Energy are used to light up the park, serving as the main source of energy to operate most of the mechanism in the park. There was also a model home which funtioned purely on these two forms of energy. See that mini-van in the picture? It is a 16-seater mini-van which runs only on batteries charged by the Sun's energy.

Next stop, the Planetarium where an exciting show awaited us. The accompanying music was so soothing it sent some of us into a short slumber... The show was extremely informative and close to our hearts. The reason? Well, we could relate to it as we had learnt about the solar system in our Science syllabus in Term 1. Talking about revision for our CA2 and SA2.. hmmm...

Another interesting place in store for us... The Palace. No photographs were allowed but but but, we managed to get one shot of the exterior. Here it is ... We spent about an hour here. The tour of the palace gave us an insight on the life and times of the Royal family in the state of Karnataka. Don't we wish we were born in the royal family with royal treatment... all the lavish and glory attached... boy were they awsome and amazing!!

We were starving by the time we got to the restaurant and food never tasted so good. See the slideshow for a taste of what we had... Sorry that's all we can offer!

The next session was what some of us were 'dying' for... shopping... Yipee!! We spent an hour after lunch shopping at the handicraft centre before heading on to the Science and Technology Museum. You should have seen our faces at the centre.. hee hee... eager beavers.... The museum was very interactive and it was divided into 4 levels each with 2 halls catering to the different fields of science. This was certainly a reinforcement to what we've started our day with at the Energy Park, ending the day with yet more Science concepts... Einstein, Aristotle... here we come.... We certainly had lots of fun here.

It was then back to the hotel for our dinner where we subsequently retired after a fruitful day of sightseeing and learning... snooze... snooze...

Day 4 Lunch

Day 4 @ Bangalore

An eye opener, that's how most of us felt when we arrived at Basavanagudi, a local middle school. The school had only 170 students. The school was very primitive but made use of every thing available(even empty carton boxes were used as teaching aids) to ensure that the kids were not deprived. Our hearts went out to the students of the school. However, we were glad that they were in school and not out in the streets as that was the only way for these kids to get out of the cycle of poverty. What we heard was that the famous Indian actor Rajinikanth had his humble beginnings in this school! Hmmm, we hope there will be more success stories like this.

A special moment was when we sang our school song in front of a class of pupils. The words in the school song was indeed very relevant. "To care and share, a helping hand for those who are in need."

After the school visit, we headed for lunch at a restaurant. The spread was good. It was the best meal so far. Nasi Briyani was yummy yummy yummy...

Our next stop was something close to home, the Information Technology Park Ltd (ITPL). Why is it close to home? The park was officially opened by our previous Prime Minister Mr Goh Chok Tong and it is managed by Ascendas - a Singapore based company. We got even excited when we saw that the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore had an office in the building!

This was the only development in Bangalore which had a dedicated power generation plant. Impressed? It also had a water recycling plant. Waste water collected was processed and used to water the plants and flush toilets.

The day ended with a brief but exciting shopping trip where we started to stock up essentials like biscuits, soft drinks for some, and even cup noodles... what a treat indeed after all this time...

Our Reflections

When we first arrived @ Bishop Cotton Boy School,we were super~ nervous because the whole school are boys(kinda obvious isn't it?Maybe because we are girls?Obviously~!).We then drove in to a beautiful,some what elegant and enormous gate! When we went to the auditorium,all eyes were on us. Very creepy.We then settled down the front seats.

Later,the students from the school performed for us. First,the choir. They were singing both Tamil and English songs. They also sang their school song and national anthem. The school song was melodious! Everyone loved it. Second was the Tabla performance by 2 of  the students. They had nimble fingers! Thirdly was the hip-hop dance.3 students performed it. Next, the MC(Master of Ceremony)told us about the history of their school. For more info, check out their website 

(http://www.bishopcottons.com/bcbsside.htm)...

We learnt that the youngest level was kindergarten and they had their own color groups too. Gotta go.

Chia Ling,Darla and Nurin.

DAY 3 - Bishop Cotton Boys High School

DAY 3 @ Bangalore

We visited the Bishop Cotton Boys High School. It is not only the leading school in Bangalore but also one of the leading schools in India. There have Kindergarden, Junior School, Middle School and Senior School within the same campus with a student population of 6000. The children put up an impressive performance for us and were very hospitable.

After lunch, we headed to a Kannada Film Studio - Kanteerava Studio. This studio is not open to tourists but our agent managed to get us in. It was really exciting. We were given a 5 minuteS view of what goes on during a live recording session. We had to be really quiet, really quiet as we watched the recording of the show. Lights, Camera, Action! It was the first time for most of us.

We saw the construction of a set for a movie shoot which was taking place next week. The set-up costs about SGD$50,000, takes a week to set up and only half and hour to bring down. It was for a 5-minute dance scene for an Indian movie. The amount of work that went in to produce a 5-minutes scene was unbelievable!

We were also given a glimpse of how music is recorded in different segments (percussion, string, wind instruments) and then put together using computer technology to create melodious music.

All that effort that goes into a production of a movie is unbelievable. So if you are reading this and still wathching pirated movies, please stop! Thank you.

Day 2 @ Bangalore

Today was a day for sight seeing. We started off the day with a visit to the ISKON temple. We could not take any pictures there. We learnt alot about their programme to help feed the needy children in Bangalore so that they can focus on thier education. It is a programme which aims at alleviating the cycle of poverty.

This was followed by a lunch at a colonial styled house turned hotel. We have taken lots of photo at this location. It turned out to be a working lunch where we did lots of reflection as the place was very conducive.

The day's visit ended with a trip to the Mysore Soap and Sandal wood factory. It was an enriching experience as we got to see the processes involved in manufacturing a bar of soap. Sorry, no photography was allowed at this location.

Day 2 - Watch out for more updates

Today we will be visiting Vidhana Soudha (Parliament House), ISKCON(Temple-for its Architecture), Karnataka Soaps and Detergengts Factory(The famous Sandalwood Soaps are manufactured here.) If the bandwidth allows, I'll include more photos.

Day 1 Briefing At Hotel

Day 1 Supper at Hotel

We Arrived Safely-

We touched down at the new Bangalore Airport on time at 2130 hrs. It was a relatively smooth journey. Customs clearance was fast.

We arrived at Hotel Pai Viceroy and had a quick supper before retiring to our rooms.

School Visit 3

We will be visiting a 3rd school in Bangalore, Bethany High. We will provide you with more information on the school when we get there... Stay with us.

School Visit 2 - Bethany High School

This is another school we will be visiting on the last day of our trip. I am looking forward to the visit, I hope you are feeling the same way too. You can check out this site for more information about the school http://www.bethanyhigh.net/history.htm We will try and put up more photos as soon as we have visited the school.

School Visit

This is one of the schools we will be visiting in Bangalore.
Bishop Cotton Boys School , Bangalore
Founded on April 19, 1865, by the St. Mark's church Chaplain, the school took the name of Bishop Cotton of Calcutta. After five years , in 1870, the school acquired its present site of 13 acres at a cost of Rs. 22,000. This school was a co-education oriented and a separate school 'Bishop Cotton Girls School' was started exclusively for girls later, thus making way for Bishop Cotton Boys School exclusively for boys. (Information and pictures taken from http://www.bishopcottons.com/bcbshist.htm) Look out for more details after our visit to the school.

Are you excited about the trip?

Hi Everyone,

I hope you are all packed and ready to go. This is going to be an exciting trip. How many of you have never taken a flight before? Tell me how you are feeling?

How many have never been to India? What are you thoughts about visiting India, if this is your first time?

Hope to hear from you.