Correspondances carte blanche Écolières en uniforme, à Bangalore. Schoolgirls in uniform, Bangalore. Au Sri Chamundeshwari Temple, haut lieu de pèlerinage à Mysore. Sri Chamundeshwari Temple, a major pilgrimage site in Mysore. fizzes and throbs day and night. Trendy of miles of electric cables and chases off over more than 1,800 plant species. This bars are sprouting up on sidewalks. monkeys, who take devilish pleasure in island of greenery is also the site of the Micro-breweries stand next door to unscrewing the bulbs and throwing them Glass House, modeled on London’s Crys- temples. The names of new neighbor- at people walking past. “Don’t forget,” tal Palace, a cast-iron and plate-glass mas- hoods smack of industrial exoticism, and one fascinated spectator tells me, “we terpiece built in Hyde Park in 1851 and the Phase 1 and Phase 2 districts, like Indians are not serious.” How could you destroyed years ago. something out of some sci-fi flick, are the be when the most stunning show is at Then get lost in the labyrinth of Ulsoor latest areas to spring up in Electronic the mercy of a gang of wily macaques? Market, near the Shiva temple, where City, Bangalore’s IT hub. Electricity At 7:30pm, it’s lights out. As Bangalore computer scientists doff their jackets to drives Bangalore—without it there’d be continues to buzz and crackle, Mysore don dhotis and perform puja. Worshiping no computers, networks or Internet—yet drifts off to sleep. The next day, we hurry the formidable god is a way to ward off Mysore takes things to even greater to see the flower market, perhaps the most evil spirits, and traders come to bless their beautiful in all India. new Datsuns—what better than prayer to The stands of jasmine, avoid ruts and stray cows? Another place India’s algorithms are grounded in tuberose and roses (€1 for worship in Bangalore is the Sri Dodda per kilo) run by whole- Basavana Temple, where devotees come to the computing powers of its priests, salers are intoxicating. worship not Shiva but his mount, the bull. Once again, the num- In Mysore, people worship at the Sri astrologers and mathematicians. bers are dizzying, with Chamundeshwari Temple, the shrine ziggurats of garlands celebrating the epic battle in which the of petals ready to buffalo-headed demon was slain. A giant honor Shiva, Vishnu, stands by the temple, scimitar in one heights. Every Sunday at exactly 7pm, Ganesh and the monkey god Hanuman, hand, cobra in the other. India may have the Mysore Maharaja Palace (India’s sec- together with perfumes, masala, fruits, veg- been invaded by car metal, but animals ond most visited monument, after the Taj etables, bags and calendars. It’s all so daz- abound, chewing the wires of networks, Mahal) lights up like some delirious take zling it’s hard to leave. flitting about, hovering, nibbling. They on Harrods at Christmas. The inevitable say there are snakes, cobras even. But “Oh my God!” rises up from the crowd Magic spells2.0 To find a similar atmo- there’s no reason to be afraid. People gathered in front of the long façade, sphere and smells, visit the local flower respect them, paying homage to them at illuminated by some 96,000 bulbs, as market once back in Bangalore. It holds roadsides and buildings. They play a key a military band plays in the background, its own, and the surrounding area is like role in the prayers of priests and pandits complete with clashing cymbals. To a horizontal Tower of Babel. For a bit in Mysore, their elongated silhouettes prepare for this magical weekend event of respite afterward, head to Lalbagh Gar- seeming to parody the elusive links an army of attendants checks hundreds den, with its small temple on high reigning of the great web of Bangalore. 150