The place called Commercial Street
Different people go to Commercial Street for different reasons. A few go there to shop, a few go there to help someone shop and a few go there to simply look at people shop. Some of them of course also do window shopping, eat or simply take a leisurely stroll soaking in the abundant hues and sounds that get cooked up on this bustling street.
Commercial Street also called com street is basically a place to shop. What gets sold most here I suppose is clothes, then you have accessories, stuff for home & a few eating joints. You will also see a Bank & a few CA’s offices somewhere amongst all this. So that way it is a typical road, in terms of its physical outlook it’s not very wide, it’s lengthy and it’s a one way with the main entry from Kamaraj Road.
At a time when Malls are dotting the city’s landscape and which are largely up market & accessible only for a certain section of the people, Commercial Street is a mix. Has a little something for everyone. And if you think you are up to it you can test your bargaining skills here something that you just can’t in the malls.
Although most establishments here open shop by 10 AM business picks up only much later. Going by how crowded they are post lunch & evenings, I suppose those are the peak hours here. Hence if one actually wants to do some purchasing the morning till afternoon period is a good bet to leisurely shop around. But if you are not really interested in buying anything and just want to check stuff out, the evenings are great.
A road like this brings out; the most marketed and talked of part of Bangalore – it being a cosmopolitan city. So you will have a Hindi speaking group as well as a family talking in Kannada and the sales girls talking amongst themselves in either Urdu or Tamil. Needless to say you will also get to hear plenty of Hinglish, Kanglish & also English.
As in most places in Bangalore here too you have a lot of stuff that you can buy off the street. From cotton socks, to books, to some supposedly antique items can be picked up here. The latest street product that has hit this road is yet another way of getting rid of mosquitoes. This product looks like a mini version of the badminton racket is attracting curious looks & questions on how it works.
Clothes, clothes & more clothes. Clothes in shops and of course clothes out on the road worn by the shoppers. You will find influences from Bollywood, FTV and plain & simple Tradition. Simply put the best part of this road. But what are clothes without people and I don’t know if this actually can happen to a city but I think Bangalore is getting a lot of pretty people and Com Street is one place where they seem to congregate. So people plus clothes is what brings in the color & the glamour to this otherwise ordinary road, that perks up the entire activity that you are there for, be it shop, eat or just a stroll.
Some tit bits of info out of the many times I have walked the entire commercial street stretch. The best time to go shopping – morning. Eating wise, a place to check here is Lazeez, a restaurant that has some good rolls. Woodys for the typical south Indian fare & especially may be masala dosa. The Jamuns that gets made & sold at Bhagatrams are simply the best. Best congregation day – Saturdays.
I recall that some time back there was a proposal to make Com Street a no traffic zone and exclusively a pedestrian zone. As part of this they wanted to set up fountains and lawns on this stretch. Of course nothing has happened since and there seems to be no talk of it happening in the near future as well. I think something like that will be excellent for this stretch of the road.
Commerical Street is an experience. Experience it.
Nicely written, Lokesh!
And don’t miss the chance to wander around in the little roads that cross commercial street! All sorts of interesting things for sale, bangles, jewelry, shoes, bicycles, toys, almost anything you can imagine.
I also find it amusing that it seems like some of the most egregious parking and driving offenses seem to happen right in front of the Commercial Street Police Station!
Charles, thats the trend almost everywhere in Bangalore. Offenders know the cops would be away manning some junctions far far away, so the liberties are taken right in front of their vacated den :)
Good one Lokesh. A few photos would have been perfect.
Lokesh anna,
Kool Post! Again, no sarcasm buddy… :( Ur post seems to be like Essay revolves around particular thing or road. Try something Different. U hav used to some kind of Writing thats ur style. Everyone has got their own. But, urs is tooo unique. In the long Run it may prove costly. it will take some efforts… Try to comment on other posts… Post some pics..
Just an friendly advice!! Just my thoughts….
Lokesh,
Nice post. A couple of pics would have helped, as your colleague has remakred.
@Naren:
Take a long walk. Preferably out of Bangalore! Don’t come back too.
@ Khalid, artha aglilla, aagodu beda bidi… Walk??? “Out of Bangalore”????? “Don’t come back too.”!!!!! hmmmm…..
Be Specific….
So one more masala dosa Discussion started!! The Record Breaking 42 Posts……. ok!!
@Naren – artha aagilla andhere, all the more reason yakke neenu hogabekku! Namellarigu punya maadi, hogi! Bega!
@ Khalid, idu Kuda artha agilla!!! Nimduke sariyagi heli… Namduke gothilla!! Nimduke Yava Bashe sariyagi baruthhe heli sir????
Hi Chitra, Silkboard & Khalid,
Thanks for your comments. I totally agree that adding a few pictures to this post would have been good. I had a few constraints with respect to that hence I couldn’t do it.
Charles, it is true what you say. There are lot of things that one can pick up on all the connecting roads. There is plenty to eat as well, especially on Ebrahim Sahib Street.
Naren, I appreciate your comments. I know most of my posts are of a particular type. And I know this is the third one about roads (& related things). I take your feedback on writing on other topics & adding pictures to it. Hopefully it will start soon. Thanks again.
If you do an image search on Google for Commercial Street Bangalore, you can find hundreds of pictures.
One thing that might not pop up amongst the multitude of snapshots, is writing as well done as Lokesh’s. Very descriptive, with or without photos.
Keep up the excellent work, man!
-Robert
Having posted about Commercial st, I enjoyed your post very much, too!
Thanks Robert. Your suggestion on the photos is good. Should try something like that the next time around. Thanks Deepa.
Thanks Lokesha, Even i used for some kind of writing in my teens. It took some time to come out of it! So, we are expecting Colourful stories from u!!
Paa pa Khalid, has taken walk to Sathyamangalam Forest. hmmmm…… Better work then watching Pakkadha mane Hudgi….!!!!
sorry to say this, but it sure is a boring post and I agree with Naren’s first comment. The post seems like an essay written by a 5th std school kid.
Maybe Lokesh did write it for his kid and decided to post it here too!!!
Well Bored, what do I say, it was fun reading your comment. Thanks for putting it down here. Some boring posts get some very interesting comments.