Bangalored Now

Bangalored now

 

This blog was started nearly 19 years ago, when I needed a forum to express my pride of being a resident of Bangalore city (now known as Bengaluru since 2014). Within a couple of years of starting the blog, I moved to the U.S. which didn’t give me much motivation to post consistently on this site.  I have made several trips since, each time kindling my deep association with the city. Memories of my hometown, just like the older posts on this blog, are frozen in time. Perhaps it will be helpful to refresh them by highlighting the current pulse of this burgeoning city, seen through my eyes.

It's safe to say that the most talked about topic in Bengaluru is its snarling traffic. I try to defy this by running errands in the neighborhood by foot. I quickly realize it’s a physical challenge as I am greeted by uneven sidewalks, open manholes, wires hanging loose from a post, and several other life-harming situations. I acknowledge that I am a disparaging NRI who has become accustomed to order and efficiency. But I refuse to always opt for door delivery services and get a driver that will just contribute to the traffic woes. I have grown up in these very streets and there is still a charm to be found in walking the several streets of the city.

During my last visit in January, I took time to be a bystander and comprehend this huge momentum that is noticeable everywhere. I visited several department stores and always got elbowed out of the way at the billing counter. There seems to be a pattern that one has to get ahead before the other person at all times. This mindset has always been there, probably feels more chaotic when I try not to be part of it. Another thing that is quite striking are the endless shops, restaurants and items for sale all over the city. It is mind blowing to see the huge economical machine at work. The future is promising, almost giddy if you are a businessperson. It’s great to see a young and modern India hustling and bustling. But surely not all that glitters is gold.  Irrespective of the fact that the infrastructure is yet to catch up to this boom, one can sense there is equal amounts of aspiration, desperation and pointlessness in the air.

Fortunately, not everything appears to be moving at a rapid pace. While the city is booming with state-of-the-art business parks and grand apartment complexes, there are equal parts of the city still steeped in ancient mythology, culture and colonial heritage.  You see signs of it everywhere in architecture, clothing and spiritual landmarks. This contrast is quite fascinating and supports my personal belief that time really runs slow here. I am not sure how to explain it but have noticed many people here don’t strictly follow the clock. There is also the fact that the city has always known to be laidback. My hope is that this welcoming slowness will creep into the rapid pace at which the city is growing. There seems to be a dichotomy at play here, with an external façade of hustle and bustle within the populace, while there is an aching desire to maintain an almost godly sense of serenity beneath it all.

As I wrap up my thoughts on this trip, I realize it’s time to wipe off the dust of several surfaces, literally and figuratively. One from the desk of the room at my parents’ home where I started this blog all those years back. It’s now covered with fine dust due a new apartment breaking ground next door. The second must be from the title of my blog “Bangalored”. In the early 2000’s, it was referred to the act of having jobs outsourced from US to India. This term has outgrown itself, way beyond my imagination as I keep hearing about the enormous investments here that are promising to shape the future of the world. Bangalore has reinvented itself time and again to be the Garden city, pub city, the silicon valley etc. I am guessing the city’s sobriquets will keep changing but hope the essence of Bengaluru will always remain.