fortune telling robot.

Originally uploaded by mattlogelin.

after 8 months of searching, i finally found the fortune telling robot near the russell market!

a little history…before my first trip to bangalore my friend ben sent me a link to a photo of the fortune telling robot taken by flickr user paul keller. i made it my mission to track this thing down and get some photos of my own. after 6 months in bangalore, multiple trips to the russell market area and a lot of assistance from my driver and random bangaloreans, i left the city without the photos i wanted.

fast forward a few months. i’m back in bangalore (this time for three months) and i decide to take advantage my ability to walk the streets in advance of monday’s bandh called as a result of the cauvery decision. i wandered around for a few hours before i found myself in russell market. it was at that time that the fortune telling robot reentered my mind. i figured someone maybe be able to help me find it today. i made my way past the fruit and mutton stalls to the back alley where the fish mongers do their work. i asked a fish monger if he knew where i could find the robot. he directed me to stall #3, but stall #3 sold potato chips and tootpaste. no robot there. i talked to another fish monger who told me that he only sold fish…no robots (i think we may have been having a communication issue).

i went back inside the market and met an extremely kind man who identified himself as the guy in charge of the market. finally! someone who can help me! after feeding me papaya and some other fruits, he talked me me into rs. 500 worth of fruit that i didn’t really want to carry home. before i left i asked him if he knew where i could find the fortune telling robot. once again i learned that the the market only sold fruit, vegetables, mutton and fish…no robots sold in the market. he directed me to the beef market.

i was frustrated and stuck with a very expensive 6 pound bag of fruit, so i gave up on the robot and decided to head home. on the way home i saw a woman sitting on the opposite side of the street who looked like she could use the fruit more than me. i crossed the road, gave her the bag of fruit. just to the right of the woman was the thing i had been searching for for more than 8 months…

the goddamned robot.

the robot read me my fortune, but it was in kanada so i have no idea what it said. i took way too many photos while trying to explain to the robot’s owner why i was so interested in this big hunk of plastic.

he didn’t really care. he just wanted the rs. 5 that i owed him for the fortune.