BANGALORED

“It is time that we stop shifting our jobs to Bangalore. It is time that we started promoting our own cities like Buffalo and not Bangalore”.

These words are those of the most powerful man in the world. These words symbolize the effect the city of Bangalore has had on the world. This city of 6 million is the primary reason why people approach us Indian and say “Are you from India? There is something wrong with my laptop. Can you fix it?”

Such has been the impact of the city I now reside in. Such has been the impact of the ‘city of gardens’.

So now people abroad work twice as hard, because they know the slightest inefficiency means they risk being “bangalored”. They know there is someone or the other in this amazing city who can do their work in a faster, better and cheaper way. But there is so much more to this city than its IT safe haven.

Bangalore or Bengaluru as it is now know is truly a glamorous city, it has a mall in almost every street, its business parks will give you the illusion that you are no longer in India, the lifestyle of some of its people will give force to you believe that India is not a poor country.

All big cities have a darker side. Mumbai’s slums accounts for 40% of its total population, Delhi does not fare better but surprisingly Bangalore hardly has any slums. The people are also highly congenial. The co-passengers of my office cab refer to my cab driver as “sir”. You may have been careless while walking and end up bumping into someone, but who shall always hear a “sorry” from the other side before you can utter one. Even the autowallas who are the most dreaded elements, especially in south Indian cities, more often than not agree to go by the meter fare. The city is a huge air conditioned room. When the entire country burns, here in Bangalore you hardly feel anything.

But it is not all rosy, nothing in life is. People looking for a place in this city do not just consider the house, the rent or the locality. They also take into consideration the number of traffic light between the house and their office. Many times this becomes the deciding factor. People who think Bangalore is a north-Indian city in south India are in for a surprise. In Bangalore you will be the odd one out if you do not know at least one south Indian language. Given that is way better than any of its southern counterparts and that English can get much of your work done, but sooner or later you will find yourself scratching your head trying to figure out what the other guy is trying to say. The city has a high per capita income, being as expensive as it is the lesser off population must have succumbed and migrated. Mumbai may need 90 cm of rain to bring it to a standstill but in this city areas get flooded even in the summer.

I am new to this place. But I have developed a liking for it. But any given day I will still prefer my janam-bhumi over this tinsel town. I think that is the case with most of us. No matter where we end us in search of prosperity, a part of our hearts shall always long to go back to our hometown.

But I have heard people say that there is something about this town which makes you make her your hometown.

For now at least
It’s a new place………..A new Beginning