Day 4

I woke up early and walked to the bus stop where I tried to find out which bus would take me to headquarters by asking “Biocon?” to every bus that stopped by. One conductor finally helped me and told me to wait for Bus number 356. I got on 356 B and it took off immediately. When the conductor got to me she said that only 356N went to Biocon so I jumped off the bus and ran back to the bus stop just in time to catch 356N which took me to Biocon.  It was 8:30 and I couldn’t find the shuttle which would take me to Biocon Park – where all the labs were situated. After asking around one of the guards helped me out and told me the shuttle leaves between 8:20 and 8:30 and it had already left for today. Therefore, my best bet was to walk forward and find an autorickshaw. I said thanks and started trekking up the road until I came to a row of autos. When I said Biocon Park, they immediately asked me for 100 rupees. I had heard that auto drivers would try to rip you off but I didn’t know it would be so blatant. I knew the regular price was a 14 rupee flat rate and 5 rupees for each kilometer traveled after the first one. Biocon was definitely not 18 km away – more like six. I told him I would pay him 35 and no more and he cursed me in Kannada but took off anyway.

At the gate to the lab, I paid him 35 and he made a fuss but after arguing for 15 minutes he finally took off and I went to work a good hour late. Surprisingly things were just getting started. I met the lady in charge of all the trainees and she told me to shadow one of the lab members named Arindam for the time being. When I introduced myself to Arindam he told me to shadow Chandru, which I did. I spent the day learning about the lab and the processes that were done there and took a bus back to Woodstock with a friend I made in the lab who also stayed at Woodstock. It was at this point that I finally felt a little settled into Bangalore after a tumultuous first two days.

As a resident expert on Bangalore bus-riding based on the number of hours I’ve spent on these buses, here is a definitive guide about everything you need to know to ride a bus in Bangalore:

1. Know the bus stop you’re leaving from, the stop you need to get to and the stops before and after it.
2. Ask the conductor or bus driver before getting on whether the bus will go to where you want – it might change according to the day. No knowledge of Kannada is necessary, just say your destination with a questioning  inflection and they will either shake their head yes or no.
3. The bus will be crowded to the point where people are packed in and cannot move and some will be hanging from the door with half their body outside the bus. If you see a red Volvo bus, try to get on it. They charge double fare and therefore manage to keep the crowding to a minimum.
4. Due to this crowd, pickpocketing is rampant. Keep your things in your front pockets or your backpack and if you have a backpack, hold it in front of you instead of wearing it on your back. Also take out the fare you need to pay before getting on the bus so that you don’t give everyone a glimpse of your wallet when the conductor pays you a visit.
5. The front of every bus is reserved for ladies. Don’t sit there even if no one is there or the conductor will yell at you.
6. When you see the stop before your destination start making your way towards the doors. If you wait till you get to your stop, you won’t make it through the crowd to the doors before the bus takes off again.
7. When you get off at your destination pat yourself on the back – you just traveled on a Bangalore bus!