Discovering Bengaluru
I first came to Bangalore (or Bengaluru, but even the Kannadigas don't seem to be using the new name that often) for a two-month assignment in April-May 2006. I was staying with my teammate at a service apartment in Austin Town. We used to leave early and come back home after dark, so our roaming around Bangalore was restricted to the weekends. I had quite a few friends from my German class here (who were working with companies like Bosch) and were based mainly in Koramangala, so that locality, The Forum to be specific, was the most common meeting point. Brigade Road was within walking distance from where we stayed, so I used to go there often as well. For farther places like Banerghatta National Park, City Market and Tipu's palace, Iskcon Temple and so on, BMTC was the clear choice. Being a bachelor, I didn't mind traveling though crowded buses and walk long distances, so economy roaming was always possible. The Metro work was not started back then, and M G Road retained all of its glory - it retained its beautiful walkway underneath the trees lined up on one side, old bookstores and cafes on the other and smooth-moving, less noisy traffic moving through the street. I have known Bangalore only for the last 3-4 years, still I feel so bad that this beauty and the calm has been ruthlessly destroyed for Namma Metro - I can just imagine how the hard-core Bangaloreans must be feeling. Hailing from Pune - which itself used to be a sleepy old town in the yesteryears - aptly called as the pensioners' paradise - and now seeing its current state, I fully empathize with the pain of the true Bangaloreans.Talking of Bangalore and Pune, I can't help but admire the striking similarity in the two cities. Both were and continue to be education hubs with several well-respected educational institutions at the state as well as national level. Both cities have a strong presence of the armed forces, defense institutions and cantonments set up during the British Raj. The presence of top-notch national level educational and research institutions and defense research organizations offer a strong intellectual influence to both the cities, which reflects in the culture of the cities as well. Both cities are inhabited with a large population of white-collared intellectual working class. The surge of IT industry in both the cities (admittedly, though, Pune still lags well behind Bangalore on this front) has contributed to it as well. Both cities are blessed with some pleasant weather throughout the year (although with mindless development both cities are already losing it) and some scenic hinterland.
I moved to Bangalore again, this time as a proper resident, three years later, no longer a bachelor. Living here as a couple introduced me to some further traits of this great city. Actually living here and managing a household meant far more interaction with the locals, the grocery shops (sometimes I still prefer to buy small grocery items from the good old-fashioned shops and vegetables from roadside vendors or HOPCOMS) and the administration. The thing that has struck me the most and which I really admire and appreciate is that the locals here are very friendly, helpful, simple and peace-loving individuals. They are modest to the level of shyness, innocuous and obliging. Most of them are not business-minded and seem to be content with what they have. The autorickshaw drivers have to be a universal exception but even within them I have observed that quite a few of them comply with my observation, especially when compared to other cities like Delhi or Mumbai. The locals' kindness and the pleasant weather has really helped us in adjusting to this city. I am ashamed and embarrassed to admit that my Kannada vocabulary hasn't grown beyond a handful of words (even if I can recognize several of the alphabets), and I hope I can rectify this soon!
posted by Sandeep Limaye @ 12/27/2009 10:37:00 pm
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