Shree Ayyappa Tourist

You have to come up to the first floor at Jalahalli Cross to find us. Shree Ayyappa Tourist is right there in T Dasarahalli, and it’s a spot that stays pretty loud because of all the vehicles crossing under the flyover. We’ve got a small balcony area where you can see the whole mess of traffic below. Inside, the office is mostly just desks and a few plastic chairs for anyone waiting. We spend the morning checking the schedules and making sure the drivers are ready. The walls are a bit bare, maybe a picture of a deity or two with some dried flowers. We don't really go for anything stylish here. It’s just a place to handle the travel stuff. People coming from the nearby industrial areas often stop by to ask about weekend trips or going back to their villages. The stairs are a bit steep, so we tell people to watch their step. Sometimes the power goes out for an hour and we just sit and talk until it comes back. The printer makes a lot of noise when it’s working, but it’s been reliable for a long time. We keep a bottle of water on every desk and a big register for the names. It’s a straightforward way to spend the day, just looking at routes and times while the city moves around us at the cross. The clock on the wall has a loud tick that you eventually stop noticing after being here for a while.