Since I've been in Bangalore, Queen E (Rani) and I have done many fun things.
-We went to a very dear, pricey children's boutique called Apple of My I - which had excellent hair clips and baby bottles with handles for Rs 400 ($9). The children's shoes were not bad. If you're in the market for children's shoes.
-We hit an Airtel store, where I got a lifetime membership for the SIM card - which seemed like a good idea until they told me I must use the phone every 45 days in order to keep it active. Very sorry, Madam. New law is there.
-We visited a shopping district called Commercial Street, which is getting ruined - ruined I tell ya! - by all of the commercialism.
There we used the bathroom at KFC (sinfully clean, with plenty of TP), haggled good prices for fancy dresses and refused to be ripped off by an unscrupulous silver salesmen. This was our first trip without the baby and we were in a rush, as we had to get back to HQ before the husband's 2PM conference call. We arrived at exactly 1:59 - only to learn that the call had been canceled at the very last minute.
-We went with her maid to her nearby village, where we visited the temple and Ganesh puja (see above), and found awesome silver anklets for QE.
-We also walked to her club's many pools (it started to rain when we got there), gave money to the same pack of hijaras(eunuch men dressed as women) two days in a row, and enjoyed tender coconuts on Airport Road - all while wearing bangles and with a baby in tow.
Not bad for two old ranis.
l*Rani means queen, and QE's long-time nickname is Queen E. And I've been known to resemble Italian-born Congress Party chairman Sonia Gandhi, one of the most powerful women in India. Soniya also means love, and is celebrated in this song from the 2001 hit film Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham:
Nice to see you in a picture with a coconut. :)
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