More Signage Highlights

Going through some photos from this summer on my computer, and came across a few gems from Motihari, Patna and Delhi.

"Casualty" is always a very sensible choice for a rural Indian medical complex (Motihari).

Not sure what "Tick"s have to do with "Fun" and "Taste." On Boring Road in Patna.

Very inspirational name for a Fitness Religion (Delhi).

Scenes from a school near Bettiah

One child called out the numbers 1-100 while the others echoed him, then he started again while I slipped away... I couldn't even fit all the children in this shot.

Secondary students get tables! But there are just as many of them...

Super steep slide... I kept watching for any children to play on it, just to see what would happen.

The See-Saw of Death

Hotel Farmer Luxury

Jeff and I are spending a few days in Bettiah, West Champaran, observing a field project, and we have the delightful privilege of staying at “Hotel Kishan Vilas,” which roughly translates to “Hotel Farmer Luxury.”

When we pulled up, the slogan on the door read “Redefining Hospitality.” This felt a little ominous to us, until we found out that this is a new branch of their original hotel, Hotel Kishan (Hotel Farmer) across the street. I think we made the better choice.

They are clearly attempting to redefine hospitality in small and large ways. It’s clean, the beds are comfortable, there’s AC, a fan, a coffee table with chairs and a private bathroom, and even a (crackly) television. However, in their attempt to show their eagerness for hospitality, they may have omitted a few things. For example, they serve food but there’s no restaurant, so we’ve been eating in our room, which is totally fine (the food’s quite good).

What’s a little more awkward is their habit of knocking to deliver a meal while they are also walking inside. We either lock the door (and hear a thump as they walk straight into it), or more often, Jeff’s taken to remarking, “Yes, you may come in” after they’ve entered the room. This is strongly reminiscent of our attempts to train our dog Lalu by directing him to do something after he’d already decided (and started) to do it.

It’s very normal for restaurants here to have an enormous menu but actually offer only a small number of items. Hotel Kishan Vilas takes this to another level. They have a notice on the back of the menu that says: “Ice Creams and Sweets Available on Demand,” but when Jeff politely asked for ice cream last night, we were informed that they didn’t have any. “Of course!” we realized later – he wasn’t demanding enough.

Go figure we didn't take it literally enough.

All of this is a gentle critique, because it’s a lot better than we expected and we’re totally comfortable here. We’d heard horror stories about Bettiah from J-PAL RAs when we lived here, but for a short visit, we’re doing great.

The view from our window, on a gorgeous day. 

Mango Milkshakes!

If you find yourself in Patna during mango season, you MUST visit this mango milkshake guy in Income Tax Golumbar. Anyone from IDinsight can show you where to go. It is 100% worth the 45 minutes round-trip from A.N. College (and only 43 minutes if you're crazy and only buy 1 milkshake).

With the renowned owner

Two very happy customers: Jeff and Harlan

The Patna Mall: The Escalator, Food Court and Big Bazaar

Finally, the moment arrived: I visited the mall in Patna. 

Last summer, Jeff told me stories about the newly constructed mall, which has the first escalator in Bihar and was a source of constant fascination. I’ve gone back a few times in the last two weeks, and every visit is an experience.

First, the escalator: in the year since the mall’s inauguration, some people have learned how to use the escalator. Others, not so much. It’s pretty remarkable to watch grown men and women huddle around the first step, determining the safest entry point. When we walked up, I overcame my usual hesitation to take pictures of people because this very sweet older brother was trying to cajole his sister onto the escalator – she kept putting one foot on, getting pulled up while her legs spread under her, and then jumping back to safety. Poor thing!

The mall itself is quite impressive. It has floor after floor of major Indian and international brands (Nike, Adidas, Dominoes, etc.). I actually bought workout pants at the Nike store, mostly to see if I could. That deserves a whole other post in itself.

Can you imagine never having seen an escalator before, and encountering this?

The mall is pristinely clean, and the shop windows glisten with expensive merchandise. There’s a Café Coffee Day, and a Dominoes and Pizza Hut facing one another (we prefer Dominoes pizza, but appreciate that Pizza Hut has a version of baked pasta). There’s an arcade out of the 90s, with simulated car racing, air hockey and a very precarious ride for children. There’s also the 5D theater that Jeff visited last year, and the Scary House that I’m desperately trying to convince him to come into with me (no success yet).

There’s also a Food Court, with prominent Patna eateries like Roll Mafia (paratha rolls stuffed with yummy things). And of course, there are the not-as-prominent eateries, with great signs:

"Icy N Spicy: Ice Creams, Shakes and Chinese"

Subtitle: "Just Come for Purity & Taste with Surity!"

Perhaps most importantly, there’s a Big Bazaar, a supermarket chain out of our dreams when we lived here, with a shelf full of peanut butter and Nutella and a whole wall of different cereals. All it needs is bagels and salad and we would be all set here (don’t worry mom; I’m definitely coming back soon).

And what self-respecting grocery store wouldn’t have a confounding security process? First, the guards at the entrance used plastic zip ties to shut every opening in my backpack (including the pouch with my wallet), presumably so I wouldn’t steal anything (or buy anything):

And after we’d paid for our items, they used more plastic ties to seal our grocery bag shut. After which we were directed to the security guard at the exit, who checked our receipt against our white, opaque bag and marked everything OK. It must be quite a challenge to recruit security guards with x-ray vision.

If you’re in Patna, I highly recommend a visit to the mall!

We're still in Bihar, after all.