Monday 10th February - Never on a Monday

There wasn't much additional excitement last night apart from our train getting back to Bangalore 20 minutes early and our auto driver getting thoroughly lost. We got to bed at about half past midnight so we deserved our lie in until eight. After breakfast it is time to pack as we will be on an overnight train tonight. We are a bit out of practice when it comes to packing our train bag and need to think carefully about what needs to go in.

Our plan kept today flexible so we have to do a bit of quick thinking. The National Gallery of Modern Art gets good reviews so we set off for there. The first part of the trip is by Metro, the remainder by auto. On the Metro platform D gets the Gallery up on Gmaps to discover that it does not open on Mondays. That will teach us to read things properly. We get on the train and quickly look for an alternative. If we get off at the first stop we can visit the Rangoli Metro Art Centre. The decision is taken as we glide into MG Road Station.

The first hurdle is to find out whether one can short stop on a Metro token, which you can. Then we have to get across MG Road which we accomplish. The "Centre" turns out to be a rather swish pavement in the shade of the elevated metro track with a wall on one side featuring installations and quite a few locked doors. The Metro philosophy is well and truly lodged in the minds of the security staff who insist on D packing his camera away in the day pack. There is no ban on photography as people snap away with their phones. We stroll to the far end where there are seats in the shade and plan what to do next. This involves a return to MG Road Metro and, as we retrace our steps, a security guard is opening one of the locked doors. This reveals a gallery with exhibits by four local painters who wish to make a statement in favour of realism in art. Some of the pictures are quite interesting but the one of an Indian train looked much too clean for realism.

The next Metro trip involves changing at Majestic, the only place that you can change trains on the Bangalore system so far.  First we have to go through security to get into the station. The scanner operative is actually paying attention and spots a camera in D's bag as well as our sporks. D has to sign a register and provide his Indian mobile number before the camera can be admitted. The sporks provoke puzzled looks before being waved through. The change at Majestic works perfectly and we have a short walk to Tipu Sultan's Summer Palace. 

This is the one remaining building of a larger palace complex and was the Durbar hall where proclamations were made and petitions heard. On a sunny day like today it was easy to see how effective the design was for providing cool, breezy shade in a hot climate. Much of the structure, including the ornate wooden pillars and intricate arches, appears to be original. Only fragments remain of the stucco work but they give some idea of how splendid the building must have been in its heyday. Tipu Sultan fought a series of wars against the British, winning some but losing the last. The small museum in the palace lauds him as an Indian hero and a wise Muslim ruler. One wonders how this will be dealt with in the next history book.

For us it is hot and a bit dusty and as we have no room to retire to this afternoon a spot of research identifies a watering hole within walking distance. This is found without difficulty and we ascend three flights of stairs to a room that has been decorated to look like a cellar. A chap behind a DJ console admits that the place is open and scurries behind the bar to produce a menu and switch on the a/c. It's R's turn to pay and D turns out to be a cheap date as the (modestly priced) beer is buy one get one free. The soft drinks are not expensive either. We linger over refreshment until we deem it time to move to our next target.

Best just check. Bu99er! The Mavalli Tiffin Rooms or MTR as we have been told to call it, does not open on Mondays. We were both looking forward to a South Indian snack so we see where else might fit the bill. UpSouth in Mantri Square gets a decent score and the photo of the restaurant that comes up looks alright. It is open today. An auto is flagged and he delivers us to the front door of a big shopping mall. The security staff have been trained on the Metro as they insist on D putting his camera in the daypack. As usual all of the food is on the top floor where there is a row of restaurants. UpSouth is not there. It is on the other side, a counter in a food court that looks nothing like the photo. The food is OK and as a special favour they add hot water to the black syrup that they call coffee. R remembers that we need to check our ticket in the Charting Lottery for tonight. We have been given berths in E, a two berth Coupe in a full 1AC coach.

This mall has a FabIndia store, so that is six in Bangalore and there may be others that R has not visited. After a couple of false starts we find the corridor link to the Metro Station and head back to base. Just round the corner from the Laika Boutique Homestay is the Indian Cartoon Gallery, which occupies the basement of an office block and is accessed via the ramp down into the car park. It is not a big gallery, just one large room. We went last year and thought it worth a revisit. The current exhibition is of work by Shaunak Samvatsar who publishes his work as 'Breadcrumbs'. One or two of the more localised political nuances may have escaped us but there was still a lot that amused.

Back at Laika we collect our bags and order a cab using the Ola app. Last year this got a bit fraught as a couple of drivers dropped out. This time it went well and we were at Bengaluru City Station with time to spare. There was a 200 metre conversation with a group of porters who were trying to suggest that only supermen such as they could actually get luggage to Platform 8. "Lifts not working! Only stairs. Give me 200 rupees". Of course they did not know that last night we had seen and used the rather gentle ramps on the north footbridge. The down ramp on platform 8 delivered us to within 20 paces of our indicated coach position. D 1 Porters 0. We are in good time which gives D the opportunity to look at a building spotted yesterday. It claims to be a Rail Art Gallery. The doors are locked, the lights are out and there is nothing about opening hours to be seen. Round the corner is the Rail Cartoon Gallery similarly bereft of information.

Train 22691 starts at this station and the coaches are propelled into the platform about 40 minutes before departure. We get the bags on and get comfy. A member of the catering staff appears with a piece of paper that appears to show that solitary occupation of Coupe E has been granted to a Mr Mohan. D produces the result from the Official Indian Railways PNR checking site that says us and we hear no more about it. The (digital) TTE seems happy and that is good enough for us.

The train leaves bang on time at 20.00 and five minutes later comes to a stand. Then we get going properly. At about eight thirty soup is served with the usual rock like breadsticks and a pat of butter that has no purpose that we can spot. The main course is delivered just before ten, not very inspiring but edible apart from the railway paneer and the roti. And then the tub of ice cream.

Destination did you say? Why, Nagpur. Where else?