Letters from the Cantonment

They say the best way to experience a city is to get lost in it. Probably, another good way is to get lost in the pages of Fiona Caulfield and Maegan Dobson-Sippy’s curated guide to the city, Made in Bengaluru, and find yourself inspired – checking out an experience, destination or an art form that’s quintessentially Bengaluru. Here, they tell us more about their journey.

Handcrafted with natural dye cotton covers, these books aren’t your typical travel guides. “They are designed for luxury vagabonds who are in search of authentic experiences, albeit, in some style and comfort. They present a highly curated selection of local experiences that enable a reader to fall in love with the destination and connect with it in a much richer way than merely sightseeing,” explains famed Australian travel writer, Fiona, who moved from New York to make Bengaluru her ooru in 2005. She tells us that it was on one of her trips to Calcutta in 2004 where she craved for some truly local, authentic information that wasn’t available, that inspired her to roll out Made in India guides – to focus on the makers of a destination, a fine list of experiences in a city, including where to stay and dine. “I think the best way to ‘experience’ a city is by doing fewer things well, and to enjoy them thoroughly instead of working through a list of ‘must-dos,’” says Maegan, a Brit born in the Middle East who made Bengaluru her home after shuttling between Chennai and Delhi.

True to it, their guides have everything – “Where you can find the best chaiwallah to the finest high tea, a local churi wallah selling bangles by the dozen for a few rupees to the Tiffany’s of India, presenting extraordinary lavish jewellery,” says Fiona. The duo shares advice about Bengaluru’s markets and bazaars, including the little-known wholesale fabric market, as well as revealing small textile studios painstakingly practicing art forms as they were done 100 of years ago, and reveal an atelier creating jewel-encrusted costumes for globally acclaimed movies. The book that focuses on the ‘makers,’ shines light on them under genres like: local craft, lifestyle, fashion, jewellery, home, health and beauty, kids, food and drinks, flowers and plants, books and markets and bazaars. It also contains a ‘Love Bengaluru’ section, opening with an essay How to Love Bangalore by acclaimed Bengaluru-based writer, Arshia Sattar.

They may not have been born in Bengaluru, but that doesn’t mean that they are not every bit the Bengalurean: “My fondest memories of the city includes everything from finding spinning tops to toasters, fish tanks to antique coins at Chikpete’s incredible diverse Sunday market. Waiting for the Gulmohar tree outside my balcony to bloom every summer, early morning weekend walks in Cubbon Park followed by a breakfast at Koshy’s before the appam and stew runs out are some others,” says Maegan, sharing some of her delicious memories. Fiona loves the festivals and celebrations – especially Ayudha Puja where everything from rickshaws and trucks to her laptop and pen get their own special thank yous.

Maegan continues, “Wandering around the Mohan Building just off Avenue Road and hearing its story as part of the ‘Found Spaces Festival’ by India Foundation for the Arts – from its time as a family home, one of Bengaluru’s first ‘shopping arcades,’ and even as a boarding house, finding new things and re-visiting old friends to buy Christmas presents at the A Hundred Hands exhibition of handmade products every winter. I also enjoy spending entire afternoons drifting in and out of bookstores, taking refreshment breaks at the Indian Coffee House. I miss eating akki roti served as part of the thali at Kamat Yatri Nivas, and also in the café at Rangashankara when I’m not in town, and eating at Korean restaurant Soo Ra Sang, near my house,” she says, giving us a glimpse into what to expect from the book. As Fiona says, “After a decade of research, the book is really like a letter to a friend who will be visiting the city when we are not here. I hope we celebrate and portray a rich and dynamic city that is more nuanced than simply being regarded as India’s Silicon Valley.”