Sunday, May 31, 2009

Bangalore

It's exciting to be in a new city. To see twin lines of orange lights stretching ahead of you. To zip by glossy buildings that seem to have been transplanted from another world. To know that these very roads and corners, now so new and strange, will become dreary and familiar to you in a little while. It's exciting to know that there's a whole new culture waiting to be explored.

It rained just before I landed. At the innumerable traffic lights, the wet road reflects the red brake lights of the cars ahead. Half an hour into the journey from the airport to the city, I see a signboard saying, "Bangalore City - 9 KMs". I have to hand it to the foresight of whoever put the airport exactly where it should be forty years from now.

Unfortunately, the airport is just a sign of things to come. My aunt lives in the north of the city, in a place even Bangaloreans don't seem to have heard of. Travelling from here to anywhere else is torture. "Oh, that place?" the driver says of the hotel the alumni meet was held last night. "It's close by, just ten kilometers away." And it takes us forty minutes to get there. People at the party speak casually of travelling an hour or an hour and a half to work daily. I think nostalgically of Delhi, with its wide roads and flyovers, where you could literally zip from one place to the other - well, as long as they were the right places.

I keep getting taken aback by how long it takes to get from Point A to Point B in this city. Surely, Bangalore is deliberately trying to defeat its hapless commuters? It's an endless maze of one-ways and narrow roads and pretty police stations. Yes, that's one thing I have to give Bangalore - it has the prettiest police stations I've ever seen.

People seem to be trying to solve the problem, though. Radio stations and billboards urge people to try car-pooling. A bunch of flyovers seem to be under construction. A Metro is on the way, apparently. I don't know if all these ideas and things will materialize while I'm here, but I'm definitely going to live as close to my office as I possibly can. Ah well, at least my office offers transport.
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13 comments:

sandeep said...

very nice to see the PoV of a newbie in the city :) I stay 2kms away from my office and walk to office and back to save time!

welcome here and wish u a good time

Nikhil Narayanan said...

Welcome.
Good luck lady!

-Nikhil

Jina said...

Good luck..
Dont worry..Been there, done that and got out..in time to find love, dream and do everything I wanted for as long as I want..

This is exactly I felt in Mumbai..But yeah..Blore traffic is a nightmare

Have fun gurl

Hameeduddin A said...

You are lucky indeed...

I just wish I can get through this one year and end up in a city...a real city....a mumbai, or delhi or b'lore...a city with a decent night life ..or at least a late evening life...

Sigh...From where I am writing...even jampot is a city :)

Igirit said...

welcome.
bangalore isnt the best of cities; but we try and make the best of what we can. :)

naween said...

every city has a jungle hidden within.

Which main? what cross? said...

Now that's a different look at Bangalore.

Farcenal said...

Hah, love it!
When you leave Bangalore, you'll realise how much you miss it. I look back glossy-eyed, don't mind me.

One thing you'll have to get used to is the 11:30 rule. Not even a change in government seems to have changed that. I think the atmosphere in Bangalore is much more relaxed than Bombay or Delhi - where you're constantly scrambling to get from one place to another. The weather also means you don't feel like you're in the South.

I hope you enjoy your stay in Bangalore. And what's all this nonsense about not being about to write books and find love? Unless you're working as an investment banker, you'll have time to chill out and do all that. Bangalore isn't a halli!

Jade said...

Everyone: Sorry for the late replies. I haven't had much internet access over the past one week. :)

Sandeep: Gosh, don't scare me! I'm planning to stay at least 6-7 kms away from my office. :(

Nikhil: Thanks! :)

Jina: Let's hope I manage to do the same!

Hameed: You're insane. You should be trying to stretch out the last one enjoyable year of your life!

Scarlett: Thanks! I guess I'll soon start to do the same. :)

Naween: True.

Which Main? What Cross?: Thanks. :)

Farcenal: Hmmm.. yeah. I've heard about the 11:30 rule - sucks. :( Though I actually don't have much time. I might not be an investment banker, but my company is famous as a hard taskmaster. :(

N A R I YA L C H U T N E Y said...

Hey Jade, ATB for your new job gal :). I just moved to Bangalore one month back after stints in Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai and believe me this is the best city to live in for any Mallu. Though Bangaloreans crib about traffic, i don't think it is any worse when compared to other cities . Add weather+ one night journey to home+ awesome south Indian food. I am already repenting not taking the Bangalore offers I had when I passed out. Anyway all the best with your new job :). When you start playing politics in the morning either be the breakfast for others or have breakfast :P when others play politics

Anonymous said...

Go gal Go!!!

PK

lafemmereva said...

trust me!! U will love blore!! I lived in it for about 2 years and Oh man!! I used to love living in that devil's den!!! endless opportunities for just about anything you want to do!!! So gurl!! Go grab life by its horns!!!

Jade said...

Nariyal Chutney: Thanks. :) I grant you the three plus-points you mentioned, but the traffic IS infinitely worse than other cities, IMHO.

PK: Going. :P

lafemmereva: Your words give me hope. I hope my Bangalore life turns out as exciting as yours clearly was. (I'm going purely by the number of exclamation marks. :P)