Tough Transition to Bangalore

I found myself in Bangalore India again in mid-April taking advantage of our school's spring break. Actually, this was a trip I've been wanting to make for quite some time -- a chance to reconnect with some of the kids from the children's home /orphanage I've visited over the past 6-7 years. Turns out, my stay in Bangalore was busy combining a bit of sight-seeing and meeting them at the same time.

Unbelievable: the two young people in this post are a brother and sister team who I first got to know when they were 11 and 13. If interested, here's a link to a 2009 post outlining early impressions of my first trip to India and the Beulah Home. Now the siblings, like so many others, are on their own in the city since they have outgrown their stay at the orphanage.

We're talking 18 and 20 year olds living in Bangalore (a city of 8.5 million), those who rarely got out of the village orphanage and were quite accustomed to a more-protected life. Needless to say, it is a scary transition for those from the orphanage encountering an endless number of strangers in the city and trying to navigate their survival -- from learning the transportation system to paying utilities with limited (to say the least) resources. I was glad to learn most are getting jobs working in the service industry, such as hotels and restaurants, and not living on the streets as I initially feared.

Bottom line: many of these now-young-adults are woefully under-educated in comparison to others their age in this country, even with the efforts from the orphanage to provide them education. As a result, I'm trying to connect them with a reputable school so they can learn a trade/profession. I'm working closely with them so they take initiative and are instrumental in the process. It's our aim, Lord willing, that they then invest their talents and Christian witness wherever God plants them. For the brother and sister, they are open to going back to their home village in north India after they become trained in the city. Not only could they witness to those back home but also offer services residents don't often get in the rural areas.

So, using my keen sense and ability to locate the nearest Starbucks, I treated my kids to their first frappe and we started to make plans. While the initial goal is to upgrade their education and transition to life outside the orphanage, we talked about needing to be flexible in our plans in order that God can use us as He sees fit. Any effort we put forth in our lives needs to be seen in the broad reality that God alone gives us strength and grace to do it!

In fact, just as I was writing this paragraph, the song Grace Alone started playing and the words were a wonderful reminder that God is the One who allows us and enables us to move forward... whether we're talking about my efforts to find funds and organize educational details or these young people who will need to put in the effort to graduate and survive the city.

Here's a link to a music video with lyrics if you want to take a listen to the song:

Grace Alone

Every promise we can make
Every prayer and step of faith
Every difference we can make
Is only by His grace.
Every mountain we will climb
Every ray of hope we shine
Every blessing left behind
Is only by His grace.

Grace alone which God supplies
Strength unknown He will provide
Christ in us, our cornerstone
We will go forth in grace alone.

Every soul we long to reach
Every heart we hope to teach
Everywhere we share His peace
Is only by His grace.
Every loving word we say
Every tear we wipe away
Every sorrow turned to praise
Is only by His grace.

Video to "Grace Alone" by Marantha Music

Principaled Palace

I told friends who met me at Bangalore Palace that I felt like I was on the set of Downton Abbey (a British period drama featuring the lives of an aristocratic family and their servants) when approaching this tutor style palace, complete with fortified towers and turrets.

Actually what is now known as Bangalore Palace was not the domicile of some British dynasty but, built in 1862 and owned by Reverend Garrett, a Principal of a High School in Bangalore. I don’t know, but it kind of surprises me that a Principal would have the funds for a 35 room residence with floor space of 45,000 sq ft (4200 sq m) on a sprawling 454 acre (183 ha) property. I guess educator salaries have taken a dive over the last 1.5 centuries =) As the story goes, this residence was eventually purchased by British authorities in charge of educating a young prince.

While areas of this palace show its age and look worn, it is still splendid with an interior decorated with elegant wood carvings, columns, and relief paintings on the ceiling. Some of the 35 rooms open to visitors include a ballroom, residences, and decorated hall from where the king addressed assemblies. A screened area at one end of the hall provided an area where ladies could watch assembly proceedings in private. I was particularly impressed by the collection of over 30,000 19th-20th century art work and photos hanging on the palace walls!

Visitors are allowed to walk through several courtyards and their adjoining rooms where the Maharaja and servants resided. One of the courtyards contained bright colored ceramic tile flooring and benches that looked more like it belonged in a Spanish palace than Indian. I guess the Spaniards don’t own the rights to brightly colored ceramic tile =) Never the less, it was a nice place to relax during the tour.

Tippu Sultan's Summer Palace

Another palace visited while in Bangalore was built and occupied by Tippu Sultan (1750-1799), a ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore who was soldier, scholar and poet. Tippu is a legendary leader who fought against the British, allying himself with Napolean and French-trained armies in his efforts. Fighting commenced throughout the 18th century until he lost half his kingdom, pledged his sons as payment and the fourth Anglo-Mysore War finally toppled him in 1799.

Tippu’s summer palace in Bangalore was built in the second half of the 18th century, surrounded by a mud fort and made entirely of teak wood. There are a total of 160 pillars with lotus carved capitals, 5 arches, 2 balconies facing east and west, along with 4 rooms positioned at all corners of the “audience chambers”.

The shell of this palace remains today but one can still imagine the splendor during its day. Museum rooms occupying the four corners of the courtyard contain artifacts from this palace depicting some of the wars fought by Tippu and manufactured magnificence.

Tippu adopted the tiger as his emblem, used in the design of his throne and throughout the palace. It is believed that tigers and cheetahs were kept chained in his palace, and his favorite sport was hunting these animals. In fact, he was known as the Tiger of Mysore and associated himself with the tiger even in spiritually-interpreted dreams that he recorded in his Register of Dreams. In a 1790 entry, we read that as a devout Muslim Tippu was shown that he was blessed by God and would “subdue the impious Christians”. This interpretation obviously did not materialize as the British conquered Tippu's kingdom and he died in 1799.