A closure to Bangalore.

Music: Deerhoof - Chandelier Searchlight (click to download)



My time in Bangalore, India is coming to an end. Earlier last fortnight, my mind kept wandering during my daily hourly cytotron treatment in Scalene Cybernetics Ltd. You tend to think a lot when you’re immobilized; some happy thoughts and many profound. Then my mind kept urging me to go to the theme of love. Yes, without a doubt, I have experienced tremendous affection from people all around me back home in Malaysia and in India.

Even so, I’ve been unable to maintain a good relationship with my fussy and scheming former guesthouse host here in Bangalore who has made me a ‘persona non grata’ during my stay. I was quick to realise his scandalous ways and immediately sought after another place to stay - which turns out to be the exact opposite of his morbid home. Furious in the name of justice, I compensated those emotionally exasperating thoughts by consoling myself; telling myself repeatedly that you win some, lose some and then you forgive.

Considering this insight, of course there are times that I could have understood some Bangaloreans better to have long conversations about how they see themselves in 5 years’ time. Because of the language barrier, you often rely on intuition, eye contact, body language and body gestures to speculate what they’re trying to communicate across to you. Fortunately, I’m Asian so I think I got my guesses right most of the time!

And then, there are always the enjoyable but hazardous auto-rickshaw rides I’ve had during my time here, an essential form of transport in Bangalore. I’ve posted on this particular subject before so in epilogue, I just want to summarise that an auto-rickshaw ride is like an FPS (first-person shooter) game gone bad. It’s like a Japanese/Thai horror genre film in first person; you just shut your eyes to skip the stomach crawling parts.

Hygiene and toilet manners are huge problems here with a lack of recycling facilities available for the rural parts of the country. You often spot civilians throwing cigarette butts and plastic cups just about everywhere you can imagine. As toilets aren’t freely available within certain areas - and toilet papers very costly - there is also a tendency for the working class to urinate openly into drains and public grounds.


A primary school kid hanging outside a convenience store located in the village area.

Food delicacies of India remain a muted fascination because I hardly had a chance to explore the city’s celebrated restaurants. The eateries that I’ve been to failed to suppress my reverence that Malaysian food is still ‘numero uno’. I still bleed Malaysian and yearning for home. I can’t wait to get back to good ol’ Penang for some wok action! Here’s a little holler at you, Uncle Tony! In addition to that, wheat consumption is evidently just as high as rice so bakeries are a norm. I noticed that bakeries usually operate as convenience stores too; sprouting in every village corner. However, don’t expect them to carry condoms!

In response to a friend who has urged me to pay a visit to the Bollywood cinemas, I regret to feedback that most old picture houses have been replaced with the new and that a cinema ticket costs double what we would pay in Malaysia. Yes, how strange...considering the non-existence of piracy, at least in the Bangalore city area.


A young construction worker in Bangalore.

Bangalore isn’t all that bad and just about missed opportunities. One good thing about life here is that you’re often surrounded by professionals and intellects. By making affordability and availability of books a norm, they have caused a domino effect in addition to championing their nation’s wealth of writers. I envy the pace of their writers’ output! Stores and sidewalk bookstands’ sales are driven by the good sales they enjoy selling fiction and non-fiction works from the world’s literary greats. This has ultimately spawned a wide array of genuinely powerful thinkers to drive Bangalore in the future. And while we’re on the subject of affordability, I reckon that India is the only place in the world where you can get a USD$0.80 haircut!


Cheap haircuts and a nice backrub...all in one place!


All your daily needs here along the streets of Sivajinagar.

Another reason why I’ve been happy throughout my time here was because a lot of people in Bangalore have proved my preconceptions wrong. You’d be amazed by the amount of diligent and warm people here, doing their best to make an honest living. India (or Bangalore rather) is a nation full of potential – if only there was a better form of governmental leadership and a system that is humanely concern about the grouses of its people. The commoner (or as Aravind Adiga kindly put it – ‘half-baked’ Indians) here suffers greatly from absence of sustainable opportunity. Despite difficulties, it’s heart-warming to see that Bangaloreans are truly kings and queens of street marketing. They make the ‘pasar malam’ scene back home seem trivial as most night owls flock street markets here (i.e: Devasandra Main Road and Sivajinagar street market) in mammoth numbers.


Mr. A. Arputhan, the sweet comedian who happens to be in the same boat as yours truly.

I also enjoyed my nightly couch talks with fellow patient, Mr. A. Arputhan, who works as the Assistant Director for the State Income Tax Board (Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri). Apu; shortened that way as ‘arpu’ in Tamil means ‘to itch’, also from Penang, suffers from glioblastoma. Despite the occasional gibberish resulting from his ailment, the daft comedian remains a very loving father, who displays the meekness of a virgin cow. Through my observation of Apu’s state of mind post-surgery, I’m encouraged to seek solace and comfort in the things I already have. He remains in Bangalore for the next fortnight so I bid him best of faith and that the Lord will raise him up for the challenges ahead!

To summarise it all, Bangalore is still a very pleasantly economical place to visit but be visceral and budget-savvy so that certain circles of stereotypical Asian opportunists don’t milk you dry.


So far it's all God's mercy and good work that's pulled me through...

Nothing is perfect with or without cancer. Despite all these accumulated exposures (28 days' worth of 1 hour cytotron treatments & 14 days' worth of 2 hour cytotron treatments) and experiences, I am heading back home to Malaysia praying for a miracle. My new MRI scans will take place in a month's time. The last scan done upon completion of my 1st 28-day cycle showed no significant increase in the cancer mass in my brain. However, with it being physically there and active, I remain wary about what to expect in January 2009. And whatever’s to happen thereafter is anyone’s guess. But what I’m certain of is that God has bestowed me with a gift - or you could categorise it as a divine miracle – that I have the gift of a strong will power to live. I think most people here and back home that know me or have seen me would bear testimony to that. This great gift from our graceful Heavenly Father will carry me forward to the end of the race and I will continue to keep the faith and shout my thanks to the Lord (Luke 17:15) that is merciful to me.

I’d like to extend my gratitude to the people involved in making my stay in Bangalore a pleasant one and also to the people back in Malaysia who have kept us company with their text messages and prayers.

My next post will be on my cytotron treatment in Bangalore. See you guys down the line!

What's brewing in Bangalore.

A budding city in Asia and although at times unfashionable, Bangalore makes up for their flaws by being a centre for technology and the pious. However, you would be sorely mistaken if you thought Bangalore, the IT hub of India, has caved in to the demands of Western conglomerates’ and allowed full access (or should I say penetration) to their local food & beverage market.

Granted, the level of income in today’s working class India probably doesn’t appeal to these multinational companies. Spending power remains at an average but as always with developing countries, the ‘crème of the crop’ middle-class citizens and the expatriates stationed here want to indulge in cafe culture and surely wouldn’t mind forking out the extra bit for a connoisseur’s experience.

Where there’s an opportunity, there you’d find an intelligent businessman busy building his empire. Enter Coffee Day, Bangalore’s successful and modestly styled bistro. It has all the likeness to a full-blown upmarket coffee chain outlet, minus the bourgeois. The franchise is sprouting almost everywhere in the city area prompting rumours that its owner, Mr. V.G. Siddartha is planning a domestic dominance with 160 outlets planned for Bangalore alone (as quoted by an insider). Judging from current outlet count at 134 (in Bangalore alone) and 647 (in the whole of India), coupled with the insatiable appetite of young and modern Bangaloreans for all things sweet, I’d be the last to doubt his vision!







Coffee Day outlets are designed and furnished in a fairly simple manner; painted in red, brown and beige; with limited seating areas. Some outlets have petite-looking bar areas which are restrictive to staff members when handling brisk business. Despite that, it is remarkable the way Coffee Day staff members get on with their day with such enthusiasm towards customers.





In regards to their products, Coffee Day offers customers a comprehensive array of products available on their jocularly composed menu. Beverages include staple favourites (espresso, latte, cappuccino, macchiato and black coffee), gourmet blends (Aztec and Ethiopian), ice blended assortments (trademarked as ‘Cold Sparkle’, ‘Tropical Iceberg’, ‘Iced Eskimo’ and ‘Kaapi Nirvana™’), cream blended selections (cafe frappe, ‘Devil’s Own’ and choco frappe), tea selections (‘Masala Garam’, ‘Assam Express’, ‘Darjeeling Divine’ and ‘Lemon Demon’), non-coffee based varieties (‘Lemon Freeze’, ‘Strawbrrrrrrry’ and ‘Lychee Thanda’, Fruiteazers (consisting of shakes, granitas and spritzers) and last but not least Freeze Frames (ice-cream desserts). For the fairly hungry, Coffee Day’s fresh from the oven goodies (cookies, croissants, sandwiches, cakes, doughnuts and muffins) are there to save the day!

Other than Coffee Day, there’s virtually no other proper cafe franchise available for the public to patronise. It’s a huge wonder why Starbucks or Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf haven’t entered their market. Suppose political head honchos haven’t been put to work to allow this to happen. Fortunately, locals here are rightfully content with a highly efficient and cost-friendly Coffee Day. In the long term though, I think globalisation and competition should just be allowed to take its course so as to improve the cafe connoisseurs’ experience in Bangalore.

Instead of whining about the lack of coffee house franchises I have to choose from, I decided to give a few of their listed drinks a try. To the seasoned coffee drinker who might want to upsize their orders, that option is sadly unavailable. Often packed to the brim, it must be remarked that their outlets often have problems taking up ice blended drink orders especially in mall outlets; quoting stock depletion as a single source of reason. Of all their ice-blended drinks, Kaapi Nirvana™, their award winning flagship beverage, ranks as a personal recommendation – just get them to go easy on the cream topping. Most coffee orders served here are extremely sweet!





Cafe culture here in Bangalore, from my observation, remains an untapped and partially ventured market in India. Tea remains their favourite type of beverage and with only one sole coffee house franchise dominating the scene it is hardly a surprise that you don’t necessarily get a ‘bang for your buck’ when patronising their outlets. There is however so much potential that Coffee Day can strive better to deliver while they’re still a big player in the local business. After all, a lot can happen over their coffee, can't it?

Risque driving in Bangalore.

Hang on TIGHT!

Perhaps I wasn’t prepped in such a way that I wouldn’t be baffled by the amount of odd driving habits practiced by the locals in Bangalore such as the incessant honking evident amongst auto-rickshaws, cab drivers, motorcyclists, truck drivers and private vehicle owners. I thought I’ve seen it all, coming from Malaysia, a country that’s prone to road accidents regardless of season.


A Bangalorean cab in the city square.

There is adequate evidence to support the notion that driving in Bangalore can factor in fear into one’s blood pressure. Yes, it even supersedes the reckless driving one may experience in other Asian cities and maybe New York City or Paris. To top that up is the obviously poor air quality Bangalore citizens have to endure daily. If you’re unlucky, chances are that anytime after noon in Bangalore is peak hour with hordes of speeding auto-rickshaws and truck drivers buzzing through the dusty streets of Bangalore with such haste and generating an overdose of noise. You’d think twice of being a pedestrian here.





Strangely though, there are also incidences whereby unlike other Asian countries, drivers don’t take it personally when honked at. They even sport ‘Sound Horn No Problem’ or ‘Sound Horn OK!’ motif on rear-end of their vehicles. To what extent is their tolerance remains a mystery though.

When stuck in a traffic jam, the cab drivers and auto-rickshaws go through a series of meticulous and daredevil manoeuvring, often cheating death at every corner and main junction. With streets so crowded you wonder where they learnt how to drive. In the rural areas maybe? This driving culture is so widespread that it doesn’t matter where you learnt how to drive because it still poses as a risk when you’re out in the streets. Most places in Bangalore have dark unlit roads so everyone drives with their hi-lights on which makes it even harder to navigate and take notice of the stray dogs scared for their lives in the road curve.

Generally, cab drivers tend to multi-task a lot as well. They fumble through their pockets for a cigarette or nonchalantly speak on their cell phone for numerous times (they argue that they’re actually ‘networking’). And guess what? Occasionally, you may end up in a cab that doesn’t have seat belts for both driver and passenger too!



Now for the informative bit. Cab drivers, from a foreigner’s experience, charge approximately 850 rupees for a city excursion. The drivers will linger around and remain under your service until he takes you home. At the end of the day, it is 850 rupees for an 8 hour shift with you or more depending on how far you’ve gone beyond the city limits. For long distance trips, the rate may hike up to 1200-1500 rupees depending on destination, type of vehicle (cab agencies have 4x4s too) and hours of usage.


Auto-rickshaws are a cheaper means of tranport but just as risky!

Auto-rickshaws are generally the preferred means of transport if you’re sort of restrained budget-wise. From where I am staying (approximately 20 km away from the city), hiring these riders would cost me 180-200 rupees for a one-way trip to the city centre IF it is a favourable drop-off point (i.e: shopping mall). So, it would be safe to summarise that 1 km on an auto-rickshaw is equivalent to 12 rupees. For short distance trips from within a particular village, it is customary to offer around 30-40 rupees for a one-way trip to anywhere within the area.

An unexpected appointment in Bangalore.

I’ll be frank with you. It’s hard to be cheerful and motivated all the time when you’re faced with an illness that’s bound to crop up if not policed accordingly. Sure, being a cancer survivor, it’s irritating enough being negative but I’d be lying if I told you that I haven’t felt that there are days when I sense that the end is near.

I still suffer throbbing glimpses of pain in my intracranial orbit a few times a day. Those are ones that bother me the most rather than my facial paralysis because it suggests that there’s still work to be done. This time, I’m hoping that it doesn’t cause a neurological discrepancy before I have time to detect its progression to a more cautionary level.



Dealing with anxiety, my mother and I have been trying to spend our days here like there is no tomorrow. We took the streets and our excursions led us to Brigade Road, a high street shopping bazaar that even Malaysians would be envious of. So it was a packed-to-the-brim sort of weekend in Brigade Road. To my left, a jewellery salesman; plying his trade as usual and selling his goods to tourists at exorbitant rates. To my right are a few clothing boutiques ranging from the now-obscure Pepe Jeans (unless you’re into F1 racing), Tommy Hilfiger, United Colors of Benetton to branded sports apparel stores.


Brigade Road...where the young dudes shop!

But what didn’t occur to me was that God sent a messenger that I would meet by chance. How that accidental meeting came about was through a simple “hello” on my part. This revitalising appointment set up by God with a benevolent preacher named Daniel was not a chance encounter but one that was pre-arranged by my Heavenly Father to wake me up in certain areas. It’s true that once you accept Him as your personal Saviour and seek His presence in your life, He makes it the best choice you ever made!



At the end of Brigade Road, whilst my mother was browsing through some beautiful garments at the mall, my eyes made contact with an Indian man, standing gallantly a few metres away. He was dressed in what seemed to me at the time, a pristine white sweater that could have been mistaken as an angel’s outfit if God wanted to despatch one to speak to me. When I addressed that gentleman, he unpretentiously glanced back, looking somewhat confused by this role God has summoned him for but certain of himself. He walked towards me and then I noticed the whites faded to green but pressed elegantly for someone his age. We shook hands and I explained to him the reason why I am in Bangalore. He introduced himself as Daniel, a former clergyman from a local Methodist church, St. Mark’s.

Our lengthy conversation on Christianity kicked off with him elaborating to me about his family being in Malaysia and that he has stayed back many years after the 2nd World War even though his relatives have fled to Malaysia. What surprised me the most was his striking resemblance to my Dad’s virtues; well-versed in the Scripture and an asserting character but better in the sense that he displayed a certain sense of calmness when preaching the good word of God.

He then asked me if I had faith in healing through Christ and without hesitation said, “Yes by all means!” He further illustrated that because of walking through faith alone, he was healed many years ago before any form of treatment was available in India for his health predicament. And he has survived up till this day! Doctors, he stated, are mere tools of healing but to achieve that, one should seek for Jesus for He is just and merciful to those who keep the faith. After all, if he was loyal and serving Him diligently, wouldn’t it have been a shame that God took away his life when he has such a big heart to offer to his community.

Daniel goes and shares with me about the power of prayer in life; your conversations with the Lord. Now, this is not something new and unheard of but Daniel then reiterated what my Dad has advised me before but with different sort of vigour: whenever you’re feeling overcome with despair, seek the worthy King for your full armour of God, belt of Truth, breastplate of Righteousness, shield of Faith, helmet of Salvation and sword of the Spirit (as quoted in Ephesians 6). If you’re still stuck in a rut, John 9 (when Jesus healed a man born blind) should be studied and meditated upon.

I stared at him obviously in awe and exclaimed “Amen!” in the middle of a crowded street. God had put my doubts and transgressions to a halt and turned my life around back in 2006. He knew that doubts were creeping up again and He, the great director and comedian, sent an angel in the form of an Indian pastor to remind me that He loves me!

God, I feel, didn’t stop there. When I requested my iPod to shuffle itself, it played Eric Clapton’s ‘Tears in Heaven’, I took the meaning of the song title in its literal sense; that is I’d like to be crying happy tears in heaven when I’m in the presence of the Lord.

Again, the limited internet access I have here in Bangalore may bring about long delays before I get another chance at blogging so I apologise in advance for my tardiness.

Bummin’ in Bangalore.

I arrived in Bangalore on the 9th of November with a disease - fragments of the last battle with my skull-based cancer. But I was hoping that my spirits, held high by the wonderful people back home, would cause a ripple during my expected four weeks here. After all, hasn’t it been foretold that God’s love is like a drop in the ocean?





To my mother, accompanying me out of concern, we came to Bangalore in search of the missing piece of the puzzle – a viable treatment to rid me of the residual cancer cells still nesting in my head. On and off during the day, I’d experience slight throbbing pains in the orbit. There are days when I worry that it would recur far sooner than we thought. Still, I shake away the anxiety and focus on the possibilities that cytotron could offer.



The weather in Bangalore shifts frequently from dry to chilly at every quarter-turn of the day. I recall spending the first few nights in my temporarily-adopted home in Seegahalli Road with no blanket in sight. It was cold enough to dry and flake my skin so we set out in a search for blankets to warm us through the nights.

My cytotron treatment in SCALENE’s Centre For Advanced Research And Development (CARD) spans for 28 sessions (from Monday to Sunday). Initially, I was flabbergasted for fears that my body isn’t allowed any weekend rest; previously allowed in conventional radiotherapy. I was then reassured by two respectable physicians Dr. Ranjith and Dr. Kumar (the creator of the cytotron machine) that in cytotron, the body usually doesn’t deteriorate over time and that I would have virtually no side effects to worry about. Present are two other notable patients also joining me in this crusade of a cure; a Mr. Rana (from Mysore, India) with colon cancer and Miss Edil (from Budapest, Hungary) with breast cancer that has metastasized to the liver.

As internet connectivity is unavailable here in my guest house and ironically even more scarcely available in the village centre, I spend many hours of my day reading through very affordable books; from Bono’s biography to exceptional literary works from India’s finest authors. These books are priced at approximately 30-40% off Malaysian bookstores’ rates. The obvious cause of this is because publishing houses, even famed ones like Harper Collins, have opened offices in India to cater for the knowledge hungry and aspiring intellectuals of India ranging from doctors to engineers to IT professionals.

On a personal note, it’s amazing that I’ve covered twice as many books in a week than I’d do in a month back home. India is an intellectual hub with many locals flocking for the latest information available in bookstores like Crossword and Landmark. Along the streets in Brigade Road, one can also stumble upon mainstream bestsellers at low prices too.

As it is, Bangalore (or Bengaluru) to me is defined as an archaic city with a modernistic subconscious harmonious etching her foreground. In the city, it’s still a safe bet to play caution if you have a ‘TOURIST’ label plastered on your face.



I’ll seek for more opportunities to post from a shabby internet cafe every few days. Please accept my apologies if blog posts become a rarity during my time here in Bangalore.

Cytotron: A viable alternative.

When life puts you in a corner and you have to choose between playing the waiting game, stay fickle-minded or act upon the best next course of action, being spoilt for choice suddenly becomes a dilemma.

The latest news is that I'll be leaving for Bangalore, India tomorrow to undergo an experimental cancer treatment called 'cytotron'. The treatment will last approximately 6 weeks. The good news is that I should still be able to obtain internet access so I can share with the world what this new treatment is all about. We've been hearing the buzz about proton therapy throughout my recent blog posts; which is still something I am seriously considering should my cytotron experience fail to yield any positive results. Being a cancer patient who has a limited budget and residual cancer sitting within my skull, I need to think and act fast to avoid any possible recurrence so soon after my major brain surgery.

I thank all my friends and family members again who have visited and offered solid advice, company and aid. Respect goes out to MCA and the Malaysian public for their compassion and understanding of my cancer journey.

Let's hope for a miracle to happen!