What happened when two vegan travelers came across the world for a meaningful vegan food tour of India? We took them on a vegan tour of India to the rich heritage of the southern state of Karnataka, India. Dayna and Kent, our visitors, had some thoughtful expectations from this trip: sustainable travel options, authentic Indian vegan recipes, to learn about the history, art, architecture, socio-cultural growth and environment of India. We put all hands and minds in to plan an itinerary for this eclectic couple and tailor made a ten day tour of South India
Bangalore- The capital city of Karnataka
Though over the last two decades Bangalore has become the silicon city of India with the exploding tech-hub industry, this lazy, snoozy city has a rich culture of vegan food, conservation, open spaces, clean air for breathing in pockets of green held onto tightly by enthusiastic city dwellers, art, music, idealistic youth seeking changes and simple, yummy food. Here’s what we offered Dayna and Kent:
Visits to vegan, sustainable food and trade collectives
Experience Indian music
Sound therapy
Vegan Indian cooking workshops
Trips to parks and local independent marketplaces
Community meets
Ancient villages of Hampi- A heritage learning experience
Architecture and design
Legends, myths and facts
Thousands of years of progression in art, science and culture
The unique goodness of human nature that respects sustainability
Dayna and Kent kick-started the tour with Angie, our community travel manager with a cooking workshop organized by a local vegan restaurant, and a collective for vegan experiences. A group of twenty enthusiastic vegans explored menus and cooking techniques using whole foods and plant based ingredients. The gang had a fun time learning new ways of being conscientious and healthy in their food choices. Cooking Indian food without oil and ghee is very difficult, so the restaurant had planned an assorted menu for oil-free Indian cooking. They explored cooking techniques like fire frying, soaking, pureeing, making smoothies and lots more. The group whipped up a delectable spread of appetizers, main courses and desserts and shared a hearty meal over constructive note taking and sharing best practices.
A trip to Bangalore Palace was on the list next. Dayna and Kent were taken in by the architecture, coloured, patterned walls and embellished cornices and antique implements like water heaters and a jockey weighing machine! After lunch over light chit-chats, the group reached an interactive gallery or live-museum that celebrates ages of Indian music and compositions. Genres, celebrated and alternative musicians, variety of instruments, immersive listening stations, literature on the history of Indian music… Dayna and Kent were absorbed by the experience and its offerings. A quiet tea later, they experienced a sound therapy session. In Kent’s words, "I had some wonderful feelings. I just envisioned a cleansing roller thing that just went through my intestines. My arms and my legs completely disappeared, it was just my stomach, the thing I was having problems with and me cleansing it. Amazingly I feel so much better.”
With renewed energy and room for love, the group visited People for Animals, a not for profit organization that gives care, medical help and shelter to as many animals in need as they can. PFA has branches in most major south Indian cities and towns, caring for over thousands of animals collectively. Dayna and Kent both love animals and they had a blast! They learned how to make bird and bat food, fed them, learned to make hammocks for baby monkeys and spent a beautiful day with the furry, feathery friends. They were amazed by the concerted efforts of the youth to be mindful and caring of all other animals in the urban wilderness, overtaken by the conniving strength of our developmental mindsets. Get in touch with Escape To learn more about our efforts to support PFA through our vegan tours and how you can volunteer abroad in India to assist with their wildlife rescue and rehabilitation efforts.
The next day we took a small road trip to a village of music, arts and culture, but the group hit a small slag; their taxi cab got stuck in the slush on an off-road track. But that turned out to be a fun adventure for everyone. Walking through some muddy, uneven roads is easy-breezy, if you get to watch a live dance performance by Surupa Sen and her troupe! The dancers were rehearsing for an Odissi concert, a native dance repertoire from the eastern-coastal state of Odisha. Created to evoke the elements of nature and deities, the troupe practiced their mesmerizing routine as our group sat in awe. Lunch was a nutritious vegan thali, an assorted meal-spread of millets, rice, lentils, vegetables, pickles and pappadums.
Delicious meals are an essential part of our vegan food tours of India. We couldn’t leave Bangalore without having a quaint, minimalistic dinner at the first vegan restaurant in the city followed by one of the country’s first vegan high tea’s consisting of vegan chai and vegan desserts put up on by a local, independent baker. The group was now ready to take off to Hampi, an ancient town once ruled by the Sangama dynasty of the 6th century and now a UNESCO heritage site. They made a pit-stop en route at an ancient Fort, literally translating to a picturesque battle stronghold built by the Vijayanagara kingdom between eleventh and thirteenth century. The expansive yet fortified structure straddles over several hills and a peak, overlooking a flat valley of bustling cities beneath.
The next few days were filled with history and culture. Hampi was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire in the fourteenth century. The prosperous, grand city was built along the banks of river Tungabhadra and has for centuries held proof of progression in science, art, architecture, technology and culture. Angie gave the couple a guided tour of the history of Hampi. The temples, statues and structures were built in the ancient Dravidian style of architecture, typical to southern India. Upon close observation, one can trace how the art of construction and designs got imprinted by the styles brought in by other cultures into the huge weave of the Indian-subcontinental timeline. The newer monuments displayed new Islamic styles with domes, lattices and layouts, movement from simple stone pillars to granite structures, modern, sophisticated designs to accommodate better resistance to passage of time and all the way down to present day attempts at restoring and conserving the monuments with granite, brick work and lime mortar. Legends are abundant at Hampi. The group learned about the famous stone chariot at Vittala temple that was believed to be moved by the gods when sins would swamp on Earth, the coveted whispers of the queens’ luxurious hamaams or bath-houses, the musical pillars that play the seven notes if tapped right and many more fascinating stories. The local residents of Hampi still boast a rich display of their native bounty and skills at the marketplaces, offering exotic vegetables, spices and other knick-knacks the group stuffed their jholas (traditional tote bags) with!
Next to the main town of Hampi, there is a quaint little village where the group headed next. As part of UNESCO’s conservation project, the village is a heritage site that holds a rich legend. It is claimed to be the mythical village of Kishkindha from the yesteryears, where Rama met the mighty tribe of Hanuman and his brethren according to the epic poetry of Ramayana, one of the most popular relics of Hindu religious literature. The village today stands neglected economically, tucked away in the pockets of heavily developing cities of southern India. The quest of the trusts and volunteers dedicated towards conservation of this legendary village is to establish self-sustainable micro-economies within the people. Tourism of course stands as the main vocation for the village and through tourism, trusts have enabled the local people to bring their art and produce to the mainstream markets. The markets are a vibrant blast of fibre-based handicrafts, household essentials and utilitarian items, spices, jewelry and so on. Home stays are encouraged here to avoid building energy-consuming heavy establishments with luxury stays for tourists. Our group stayed up at the heritage house, enjoyed the cultural activities, wholesome, vegan millet-based meals and hot cups of local teas.
Kent decided to go all-in to experience the native life with a traditional haircut from a professional nai, or Indian hairdresser. Not only were his skills edgy and utilitarian but his champi (head and shoulder massage) is a crowd puller from all places nearby!
Dayna chose to explore the art of rangoli, patterns made with colored rice powder near the entrance of the home at every nook and cranny of Indian communities. This inter-generational art form is passed down from mothers to daughters with intricate family tweaks and quirks and is believed to welcome Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity and nourishment into their homes. They both did an impressive job at making their own rangolis guided by the connoisseurs, the artistic women of Indian.
Evenings were quiet affairs walking by the river banks and soaking up the local everyday humdrums of humble homes. Basking in the sun-down twilights or caught in surprising spells of late afternoon showers, the group tread along the village roads. One drizzly afternoon, a very flustered Kent got signaled by this woman to come take shelter with her under a structure; he couldn’t resist a picture with this person who doesn’t need language to help a fellow man.
Back to the capital city, the couple still had a list of exciting places to visit and very little time left in hand. In quick succession, the group visited the lush, green parks of Bangalore, with their famous, conserved ancient trees. They were joined by Benny, a local enthusiast of culture exchange on their trip to Food Street on Sunday evening. This bustling, crowded, long stretch of streets contains food joints and thelas, wooden cooking counters on wheels, carted down streets selling delectable treats! This trip got Dayna and Kent overwhelmed-the appetizing aromas of chaats, pooris, pan-seared dosas with tempered coconut chutneys and flavorful podis, batter-fried bhajiyas, pickled fruits and vegetables, sweets in thick syrups with saffron and an endless number of other Indian artisanal foods sold at the price of pennies! It is practically impossible for one to navigate the steamy, spicy waves from every cart and shop and not be overfed by the end of it! In the middle of chirpy chats, the group gorged on street delicacies and collected knick-knacks like leaf bowls, earthen plates and indigenous but commonplace eco-friendly food-ware of India.
The last meal in Bangalore was a home lunch arranged by Samyukta, a vegan culinary visual artist and raw chef who organizes pop-up dinners. The menu included crackers and dips, buddha bowls, date caramel and shrikhand, a traditional yogurt-based dessert with cardamom, but vegan! Dayna and Kent had their bags and hearts filled with memories, knowledge, stories, colours, aromas, new vegan cooking techniques, and a great deal of information to share back at home. In Kent’s words, “This is a crazy country! How are the people so agile and the culture so vibrant, yet the ambience so peaceful and sustainable?!”
Escape To provides vegan tours filled with vegan food and uncovering the hidden richness of unexplored India. Join one of our upcoming vegan tours or contact us for a private, custom tour any time of the year. Our resident team of passionate vegans will hand-pick and customize a meaningful travel experience for solo travelers, couples, families or groups of friends.