App-less in Bangalore: how I went grocery shopping as the city simmered

Photo credit: ivandanru / 123RF.

This morning, my flatmate was prepping for another long day of work in the living room. Thanks to Eid and another strike day on Friday, today is the fifth day of her weekend. She looked out the window, saw a vegetable cart moving past, and dropped everything, running down five floors to chase him several blocks (confusing several policemen who thought that she was maybe the precursor to an angry mob). She came back victorious, armed with tomatoes and spinach, thereby setting the tone for my first app-less day in Bangalore.

That sound is everybody fighting to get home.

See, there’s a strike going on. Bangalore’s state and the next state share the water that comes from the Cauvery River. The government made a ruling over how the water should be split, and that’s made people in both states mad enough to riot. Bangalore was one of the affected cities.

It’s my third week living here in India’s Silicon Valley, and I’ve been using my phone to eat my way around the city via Freshmenu or Swiggy. Yesterday, I watched on television as one of the restaurants I usually order from was vandalized.

WHY ARE YOU SETTING FIRE TO THINGS IN YOUR OWN CITY WHEN YOU ARE FIGHTING FOR WATER YOU IDIOTS.

— Sahodaran Mustafa (@sidin) September 12, 2016

In a twist of irony – not lost for Indians on Twitter – that meant vandalizing property and setting vehicles on fire, mostly if they had a clear association with either disputing state.

Pretty ironical for a city that is fighting for water to set things on fire. #cauvery #bengaluru

— T S Sudhir (@Iamtssudhir) September 13, 2016

Food run

Lucky break