Namma Bengaluru

Now that a decade has passed in the garden city, it warrants a space in my blog as I treasure the moments which defined a part of me and my character. When I got the job offer during second year of my college, it was obvious that I would be part of the Chennai office as my seniors and other known beings. This led me to learn Tamil alphabets and prepare for a live in the hot sun which would have been a unembellished thing considering my high humid upbringing. Destiny had a different design for my life which arrived in the form of an offer letter to join the Bangalore office. I had to unlearn all those Tamil letters and words which I had guzzled during my preparations.

Bangalore had already earned a notoriety among the people around me those days when people considered it too modern and fast to accept. A city which was destined to affect their children as far as noble parents where considered in those days.Such a thought of the generation induced some fear in my mind but as always I was ready to face it head-on. My friend SR reached home in the evening which we had planned to start our journey to Bangalore. My parents all excited and considerate that I feel easy, led us to the airbus which was one of those first rides to the city which later became a part of life. As all my fellow Bangaloreans might have experienced, the bus. I was already accustomed to sleep in the push chairs during my three years stay at Coimbatore which preceded garden city. Slept most of the journey with wonderful dreams which sprayed confidence and hope.

Woke up with the famous words which you always hear when you travel to Bangalore from gods own country - "Madiwala, Madiwala, Madiwala..........". I helped my buddy SR to wake up and be prepared to keep those right foot on the ground first where we expected my mom's colleague and family to be present to welcome us along with my other classmate SK who would have reached well in advance as he had a shorter journey to make. The first gust of strong cold breeze almost blew my mind away. A perfect welcome by the wonderful city to remind us, we are really going to chill here :)...I realized this cold morning is what I wanted to see always and felt there is really something magical here. Without much formalities, family one had taken us under their wings and took us to a hotel near famous Lal Bagh after a brief introduction. As it was next day after the new year and we traveled on Jan 1st, the hotels were mostly crowded. We found a room in the famous stay. The receptionist wondered from which place I was when I asked her for A/C room and confirmed her assumption of me being some fool when I said, hot water is not required in the bathroom. This was my response to her when she warned that hot water won't be there post 9:30 a.m.

Knowing me some of you could guess I am definitely not going to reach there same morning when I have to take charge. We had whole day for ourselves to prepare for the big next day. Uncle had warned us about the sudden dusty whirlwinds and looters in the form of autowalas. We had planned to start our day with a breakfast in our hotel and stroll down the roads to find shortest walk-able path to office. We wanted to avoid the autos at all cost and also wanted to find out whether the distance was really walk-able. Our family doctor had arranged a place to stay through his acquaintance and we had to reach there after first days training at work. We met with his friend and he guided us to the place where three grandmas where living and needed some security in the form of three musketeers. We started our life in Bangalore in that single large hall of a room with three rolled beds on the floor with no laptops or internet or luxury.

Fast forward ten years, I now rethink why am I addicted to this city. What is it that keeps me return to this adopted home of mine? Am I in love once again? Maybe yes, loving every bit of this wonderful city which gave me work, love, life and accepted me to blend with it and its culture. The sweetness and rhythm of its language and welcoming nature of its people. A typical day for most Bangaloreans are from its parks, the large lung space that it boasts of. Wherever you are in Bangalore there is always some place or other to fill your lungs with cool fresh air even in the midst of the city where we have the Cubbon Park and Lal Bagh. I could also call Bangalore as a heaven for vegetarians as there is always enough choice and availability of veg food all around the city. The special half tea or coffee which kick starts most human engines. The richness and variety of the food here has always intrigued me and made me feel that there is really a space for nutrition in these minds. Almost everyone you meet in this city are modern but God fearing which is a rich taste to have as in most other places too much modernity raises untoward questions on God and his followers. Not sure whether there is another city in this country where good talents are respected and received in workplace as in here. Even amidst the crazy traffic and non law abiding riders, there is a calmness in breeze and its way of soothing the thoughts of people. The unending chain of darshini restaurants, the omnipresent Adigas and MTRs. This city provides a kind of freedom to its people which allows them to move around more freely that others and be independent. You could notice almost equal and ever growing number of female riders and drivers on the road. The small packs of book shops with a earnest selection of books from previous century. I do realize that the world around me is being engulfed in global warming but if the whole world is going to get hotter and warm, Bangalore would still remain a charm!

Once upon a time it was been called as retirement home for the rich but today it is the sakkath hot place of youth. A city which has space for all and taste for all kinds of life which can just be termed as flavorful. I have met wonderful people in Bangalore from across India who had all migrated with their heart full of dreams and hope, glad that this city exists so that all those dreams come true one day as it has done for many million souls already and teach generations to dream and work towards!