10 Things I love about Bangalore.

There are dozens and dozens of reasons why I love Bangalore – the city where I got my first job, first fell in love, where I first set up my own home, the place where my daughter was born, where I first became an entrepreneur…. but let me share my top ten here.

I was not born in Bangalore, but am a Bangalorean at heart. This city, along with Chennai were our regular holiday destinations. We always drove down the 300-odd kms from Bellary in whichever car Abba then owned. I always remember how I felt when we entered the city. It seemed so different from our sleepy town. The roads were broad and clean. The trees looked lovely. The people looked so… well, so ‘hep’, as we said in those days.

I came to Bangalore in 1986 to join a small outfit as a Trainee Copywriter. And gradually fell in love with the city. Here are some of the things that I most love about Bangalore. As I mentioned before, this is not an exhaustive list and is not in any particular order.

1. Vidhana Soudha
I remember when I was staying in the hostel in Sampangirama Nagar and my room-mate and colleague Kamala and I would take the bus to our office - MC&A on Millers Road. The bus would wind its way across Vidhana Soudha and the lovely buiding would just take my breath away! It looked so magnificent in the mornings and my heart would swell with pride. While the Vikasa Soudha has been designed just like the Vidhana Soudha, it is no patch on the original. It probably has to do with the way the stones have aged over the years… Vidhana Soudha really has so much character. I don’t know if I can say the same about the people, inhabiting it, though!

2. Cubbon Park
I think few places in India can boast of such an expansive lung space right in the heart of the city. Driving through Cubbon Park is sheer joy! The majestic Attara Kacheri (as the High Court building is known), the Central Library, the Jawahar Bal Bhavan with its toy train, the Rose Garden, the fountains, the statues, the bandstand and of course the dozens and dozens of trees that dot this over 300-acre garden, make this place truly unique. You can actually feel the difference in temperature when you enter Cubbon Park. It is a couple of degrees cooler and the gentle wind sings a sweet lullaby for many a tired and distraught soul who finds refuge on the Cubbon Park benches. Cubbon Park was our favourite location for photography when Anu was small. We have pictures of her hugging a bamboo, sitting on the steps of the band stand and perched on one of the large boulders there.

3. Jacarandas
While they are not really “native” to Bangalore (like the large population in this city), Jacarandas have become as much Bangalorean as you and me! Come spring and the jacaranda trees cast their magic spell. The yellow and purple flowers form a splendid canopy and a carpet that would give any Persian rug the run for its money. Driving down the Windsor Manor Bridge the Jacarandas near the Cauvery Theatre make me feel good to be alive. I feast my eyes on the delightful blossoms and am grateful to be living in this beautiful city.

4. Good Food
Bangaloreans love to eat. Not surprising for a town named after food (Bangalore, many believe, is the anglicized version of Benda Kaal Ooru – the Town of Boiled Beans). Bangalore is dotted with eateries, restaurants and cafes. There are the Darshinis – where there is literally ‘standing room’ only, the Udupi & Andhra Eateries, the Pizza Burger joints, the Dhabas and the Chinese, the Thai, the Italian, the Lebanese, the Mexican and the Fusion Food Restaurants… of course who can forget the street food? The Bhelpuri Stands, the Pani Puri Wallahs with their mobile store that they can put up anywhere and my favourite: the steaming corn on the cobs, sold on hand-carts!

The best part of the food scene in Bangalore is not just the availability of any kind of food but what I’d like to call the good “in-between” kind of places. Restaurants that are comfortably ensconced between the Darshinis and the Five Star Restaurants. Where good food and great ambience don’t necessarily burn a hole in your pocket.

5. Weather
Bangalore weather is famous – and rightly so. Though summers are getting warmer with the increase in population, traffic, concrete structures, the cutting down of trees, et al, the city still remains pleasant almost all through the year. I have always maintained that Bangalore weather spoils you for any other city… despite being born and brought up in Bellary where summers can be scorching and despite doing my graduation and post graduation in Chennai, where it is summer all through the year… I just cannot take the heat now. Holidays to Nagpur (another hot city) are planned during winters. I avoid Bellary in the summers. And after a hot and sweaty break in Mumbai last summer, I have come to the conclusion that the best place to send my summers are in Bangalore, until I can take off to Switzerland, that is 

6. Overall Cleanliness
I hadn’t really paid any attention to how clean most of Bangalore is until I noticed the dirt in a couple of other cities, Mumbai and Chennai for instance. Early in the mornings if you drive down the city, you will see the BBMP sweepers at work, sweeping, clearing the garbage and generally keeping the neighbourhood clean.

7. People.
Before I actually started living in Bangalore, I was told that the people of Bangalore were terribly materialistic and cunning. That they would steal the shirt off your back. But that’s such a myopic view. Like every place in the world, Bangalore has its share of crooks and cheats, but then you have the good Samaritans too. On the whole, I believe that Bangaloreans are a real helpful lot. Ask somebody for directions and chances are they’ll actually take you there! It has happened to me a couple of times. I have found ready hands when my bike broken down on the road or when my car got into a ditch that I did not see. Bangaloreans are largely peace-loving, the “swalpa adjust maadi” types. Sometimes this “adjusting” nature means that we put up with a lot of stuff that we should not, but I guess there are pros and cons to everything.

8. The Volvo Buses from BIAL
I have been seeing the bright red Volvo buses since the new International Airport started. Living en route the Airport, I would see the smart and shiny buses zipping on the roads. In the beginning they were almost empty. But now, most of them are full. I first tried out the BIAL shuttle last year when Anu and I flew down from Mumbai and I was real impressed. The conductors/drivers spoke courteously and helped us with the luggage. The commute was comfortable. The fares were reasonable. And I enjoyed the ride. I think BMTC is doing a great job with this top-notch shuttle service.

9. The Bangalore One Centres
A truly superb E-Governance initiative, Bangalore One demonstrates how technology can be used to make life simpler and easier for the common man. My first experience with Bangalore One is when I went to their Malleswaram Centre to pay my Electricity and Telephone Bills. I was asked to sit while my number was called. The centre was spacious and well-ventilated. The chairs were comfortable. The people were professional and knew what they were doing. Compare this with having to stand in long lines in the electricity and telephone offices and you’ll know what a distance we have travelled. Today, there’s a Bangalore Centre in almost every nook and corner of Bangalore. They are open all days of the week from 8 am to 8 pm. And they have added on to their services – besides paying your utility bills, you can get your bus pass, renew your license, pay your property tax and do so much more. So very convenient!

10. MGs, Commercials, Brigades
Forget the malls, its Commercial Street for me! I am not a big shopper, but Commercials (as the locals call their main shopping street) is where I like to go simply because you get just about everything here! Clothes, accessories, footwear, knick-knacks, stuff for your home, lingerie, stationery, jewellery, electronics, music…. Everything! The narrow streets that lead off from Commercials have their own charm with their tiny stores where smart-alecky salesmen and their ready repartees are sure to make you smile.

MG Road and Brigade Road is where we used to ‘hang out’ when we were in hostel. This is also where I take visitors to Bangalore for either shopping or just a quick drive through. I love the way Brigades looks during Christmas and New Year. But with the Metro work and the demise of its once famed boulevard, MG Road has lost a lot of its magic.

The only negative about these places is the parking.

The Eloor Lending Library

In a world, where things seem to change in the blink of an eye, it’s good to come across a place that has remained just the same… and I mean that in a nice, complimentary way! I went to the Eloor Lending Library yesterday, after almost five years…. And felt I had come home!!! The Library was just the way I remembered it. Even a couple of guys at the counter were still there, looking just the same! The books greeted me like long-lost friends and begged to be taken home. And how could I refuse them? There was Dean Koontz, who I was introduced to, right here in this Library. I remember picking up my first Koontz from here: “From the Corner of His Eye” and I was blown away. I became a HUGE Koontz fan since then… today, I have a small Koontz Collection in my home. The Orson’s Farm Comics used to delight both Anu and me when we used to come here almost every other Sunday, before we moved to Jakkur. Anu went through the entire collection of Nancy Drew, Goose Bumps, The Baby Sitter’s Club. Princess Diaries and the Fearless series at Eloor. “They have changed their entire Children’s Section”, she said, “Anyway, I do not qualify now”. The books she picked up this time were more grown-up, including Arundathi Roy’s “The Shape of the Beast”. She too recalled fondly how we would stock up on our books before her holidays. What pleasure these books have given us! They have travelled with us on holidays, making the long train rides to Nagpur shorter. They have also provided me excellent reference material for assignments I would be working on or for Anu’s school project. I have been educated, entertained and inspired by the collection at Eloor – easily one of the finest any Library can boast of.

I have discovered many new writers here. I would read some great review in the paper and ask for that book at my next visit and there it would be! Some best-sellers would always be “out” and I would finally reserve them. Sometimes, the amount I have spent on Late Fees (entirely my fault) could have bought me the book itself…. But who could give me access to so many titles? Who could connect me to so many writers and introduce me to so many genres under one roof?

As I walked up to the counter hugging the books I had picked up, I wondered if the Membership Number was right and if my Membership was still valid. It was and I happily watched the new addition of a bar code scanner that made the book entries so much simpler. Since this was an unplanned visit, we did not have a carry bag for the books we had just picked up. But no worries! Eloor even had a carry bag that they generously offered. Now, if I could only find a way to fit Eloor back into my regular routine….


Eloor Lending Library is located at Blue Cross Chambers, Infantry Road Cross, Bangalore – 560 001.

MOTHER’S LITTLE CONSCIENCE-KEEPER

On June 16, 1990 – to use a cliché – Anu was born and I was born too – as a mother.
It seems an under-statement to say that my life changed the day my little bundle of joy was placed in my waiting hands. I know trillions and trillions of parents would have gone through that life-changing moment, yet it is something truly personal and unique.

As I have said many times before, Anu hardly troubled me as a child. In fact, the landlord’s son would tell his mother, “You hardly know that there’s a baby in the house”. There are so many memories of Anu that I cherish. I’ll never forget how she had put a peanut up her nose and we had to rush her to the doctor to get it removed! Then there was the time that she had applied honey on her face because Cleopatra is supposed to have used it. When I returned from work, she told me “Cleopatra must have felt really sticky!” Of course her long, solitary walk from school to Nandidurg Road in first standard is something all our friends remember vividly!

Anu had this delightful habit of writing little notes when she wanted to tell me something – whether it was apologizing for not getting good marks in a test or to ask for some money every month “like a salary”. I have preserved those notes till today and while she finds them silly, I really love them!
Anu is extremely honest with a very strong sense of right and wrong. Over the years, she has become my moral barometer. Whenever I am in a moral dilemma I sound her off and can be sure that I will be given the ‘right’ advice. Sometimes, I wonder who the mother is and who the child! There are other times when I may not actually seek out her advice but mentally test myself – would Anu approve of what I am doing? What would she say if I told her about this?

And she always has a lot to say when she feels I am not doing the right thing. “You were rude. They are just doing their job” she says when I rave and rant at some hapless customer service guys. “Why do you yell so much?” she grumbles when I scold the maid. “That was mean of you”, she points out when I say or do something that she feels is not right. She was the reason I went and voted this time. “Don’t grumble about the system, when you are not even willing to make the effort to go and vote” she told me again and again. There are innumerable incidents where Anu has – intentionally or unintentionally - helped me do a reality check on life.

She has also helped me see the “greys” in what I previously thought were clear black and white situations. Her perspectives have made me rethink on many issues like homosexuality. Of course, she also has her own dilemma s and sometimes asks me for help. “Having a conscience sucks” she said once, when I told her to do what she believes is right.

For the most part, she is a very truthful person and has never ever cheated in her exams. I remember once when Anu was in school, her teacher erroneously given her extra marks for Kannada (or was it Hindi?) Anu faithfully pointed it out to the teacher. The teacher told her that she would correct it in the Report Card, but forgot to do so. So Anu again walked up to the teacher and told her that she had forgotten to correct the mistake. “The extra marks are for your honesty”, the teacher answered.

Of course, it has not been all rosy and hunky dory. Life never is. As Veronica, her school friend, used to say: “Life is like the left bum of a black man. It is neither fair nor right!” We have had our share of fights and misunderstandings, we have gone through our ups and downs, we have said some hurtful things to each other in fits of anger, which we never meant….. but that’s alright. At the end of it all, I know Anu loves and respects her parents and I hope she knows the feelings are reciprocated many times over.

I don’t know if I have been a good mother, but I am blessed to have such a wonderful daughter. I love her concern that I can see in so many little things she does for me, in the way she senses when I am upset or worried, or when she can make out from my voice if I am having a tough day. .. I can go on writing reams and reams about my favourite woman, and I know she will brush it aside with “You are saying that because you are my mom”, so here’s just wishing you Anu a truly wonderful birthday from me and papa. We love you loads!!!!