Day 4- TUESDAY Urban locality study

This day was very much a "human geography" day for looking at Bangalore as an example of a developing City, and how it is rapidly changing and developing. We had chosen this as an activity because it provided a context for much of what we had learned about rural India. We also wanted to be able to teach about the "many different India's" of the modern day - so that what we teach is able to show how diverse the country is.


The day started with a short talk about the history and current situation of the City, and then we were taken on a journey which started at Silvepura and travelled into the centre of the city. On the way we stopped at 10 specific points and each time we stopped we tried to think about what was going on in that place, by following the enquiry process. I enjoyed learning about how to study a city using this transect process.

The places that we stopped at looked at very many issues which related to diversity and difference existing side by side in the City. We looked at the many ways that Bangalore is trying to accommodate its booming population- including production of bricks and granite as a building material. We looked at how infrastructure provision such as transport, sewerage, and rubbish disposal is lagging behind the Cities booming population, and saw ways in which the City is tackling these problems.

We saw glimpses of the famous "IT City" with its vast glass fronted office buildings, and went into the old Cantonment areas, where the old style "Bangalore Bungalows" are being replaced by fancy high rise apartment blocks.

We went to the buzzing commercial district, and finally to the central government buildings. It had been a long day, and we finished off in the quiet grounds of a hotel for a cold beer!

That evening Roshan shared with us his art in education project and series of teacher training workshops.

Day 1- SATURDAY- Arrival, orientation and artefacts.

Day 2- SUNDAY- Sensory mapping, rangoli patterns and folk dance.

Day 3- MONDAY- Rural locality study.

Day 4- TUESDAY- Urban Locality study.

Day 5- WEDNESDAY- Sita school, State primary school and scrap science class.

Day 6- THURSDAY- Convent school and private school.

Day 7- FRIDAY- Artefact gathering at a rural market.

Day 8- SATURDAY- Mysore trip.

Day 9- SUNDAY- Shopping.

Day 10- MONDAY- Reflection, cookery, and organising.