Have you breathed all of India in your lungs?

Having lived and worked across the length and breadth of the country, I thought I'd share a less philosophical post to cover my experiences of working across all directions of India, NWSE, with my readers today. Since 2009, I have been working in the global software industry as part of my obsession with computers that I developed back in high school. Unlike most of my peers who parted ways with engineering or software early on in their careers, I have continued to work with computers following a passion that I developed in my high school years for computer science. Anyway, this post is not so much about computers but about my experiences of living in all four directions of this massive country - Delhi in the North, Calcutta in the East, Mumbai in the West, and now, Hyderabad/Bangalore in the South. I feel lucky to have got the opportunity to work with diverse companies in all parts of the country and experience the culture in these areas within a decade of passing out of engineering college. Some people, including my father, have never lived in more than two or three cities in their entire lives although they may have visited many parts of the world or India on business tours. Let me break down my article into representative yet distinguishable components so that it becomes easier for you to comprehend my experiences.

I was born in Kolkata at a time when India hadn't developed so much. Infrastructure in Kolkata was primarily restricted to British colonial buildings and a few bright spots here and there in the primary business centres of Kolkata. Most people travelled by the metro rail or took public transport such as the tram or bus. My earliest memories of traveling in Kolkata as a child were day trips made to the Alipore Zoo, the Museum, Esplanade and New Market, the Birla Planetarium, and the Victoria Memorial. Central Calcutta is beautiful, sans the crowd and hustle-bustle of city life if you may say. South Calcutta is newly built and now, areas of Rajarhat and New Town along with patches of Salt Lake have really started to develop at a fastidious pace. The new government has done well to improve the condition of sanitation, infrastructure, roadways, and general wellness of people in the city. I say new even though it has been more than a decade that the Trinamool has taken charge - just imagine how deeply rooted the communist government is in the minds of Bengalis. Terror terror!

Fortunately or unfortunately for me, Calcutta has never felt special because it is just home. Whenever I'd visit Calcutta, I would feel as though it is coming back home. I have almost all of my extended family dwelling in the city and while there is not a lot I know about the city, I somehow just don't like the city's infrastructure too much to call it my own. However, this touristy feeling doesn't exist in me when I talk of Calcutta. You're at best a Calcuttan by virtue of Bengali culture or due to ancestral connections. You don't reside in Calcutta to build your career or to explore a new city altogether. That's not happening in the city yet!

Let's move to my favorite city now, Delhi. The city where I was brought up and spent more than two decades of my life. Are you alarmed at the fact that I've already nominated Delhi as my most favorite city and raised a word of caution in your minds towards a possible bias? Well, no! Just like a fish cannot live without water, I cannot imagine a life without memories of Delhi inside me. Delhi boasts of great infrastructure, something like the Congress government led by Shiela Dixit started back in the early millennium. It doesn't have prominent remains of colonial architecture but to me, that isn't so apparent as I have studied in Connaught Place and have lived very close to Central Delhi for over two decades. So, I have seen enough of colonial Delhi.

(This is the Sanjay Lake, a 5 min walk from my home in Delhi - I used to spend hours sitting by the waterside and meditating on my own)

And the architecture is beautiful. Connaught Place on a dark cold wintry night can replace London and the areas around Gole Market, Bangla Saheb Gurdwara, Lodhi Road, and Chanakyapuri are soaked in grand architecture. Unlike Calcutta, Delhi has been able to maintain the luster of its heritage buildings better but don't forget modern-day Calcutta is way older than Delhi. Hence, the need for reformation.

Let's come to the most wonderful and amazing part of India - Mumbai. I have had the opportunity to live in different parts of Mumbai, from Navi Mumbai to Colaba and Bandra to Sion. Mumbai is a city full of life and energy. It is a city where you'll never feel bored. It is a city for all - whether you're rich or poor. And Mumbai brings humility in you and grounds you to the reality of India. Unlike Delhi or Calcutta, the upper-middle-class and middle-class population mostly travel by the local train and they love it!

They have absolutely no disregard for local transport and experiencing the Mumbai local is both frustrating (especially during office hours) and exciting (due to the speed at which it operates). I have mostly traveled by local train and it has been an experience of a lifetime.

My most favorite time has been living in Colaba while I worked with Conde Nast for a very brief period. Unfortunately, I had fallen ill and had to quit my engagement with Vogue after a couple of months, but those three months will remain etched in my mind as perhaps one of the best days in my life. Mumbai around the Fort & Colaba area is just majestic. The architecture is breathtaking. I used to live only a five-minute walk away from the Gateway of India and my favorite haunt would be sitting opposite the Taj Mahal Hotel every day late at night and sipping a cup of masala chai while enjoying the cool breeze. Over the weekends, I would walk for almost fifteen minutes from Colaba to Marine Drive and spend my evenings just gazing at the sun and walking down the promenade.

Another favorite area of mine in Mumbai is Bandstand - I can never, and literally, never forget the cool breeze as soon you enter that area. It's a dream location for someone that has spent almost all his life in the landlocked city of Delhi. The only water I used to see every day is the receding Yamuna water while traveling to school in a DTC bus in Delhi. But Mumbai is indeed a beautiful city, the central and southern parts of Mumbai remind you of the Portuguese culture and the population enjoys thriving with each other as one common 'junta'. Even the elite in Mumbai, like the Bollywood stars, is close to the common man. The food is brilliant and quite cheap if you compare it with other similar cities. From Parsi to Iranian, and Lebanese to Mexican, you get almost every food in Mumbai at affordable prices. And if you are working in SoBo, there are just so many restaurants that you will never regret your life in Mumbai as a foodie. The roads in Mumbai aren't as wide or as green as they are in Delhi but you can't complain because there has been quite a lot of development in Mumbai including the new Sea Link Road and the expressway that connects New Bombay to Central Bombay in just about 30 minutes.

Unfortunately, the older areas of Mumbai tend to get waterlogged and dirty during the long monsoon season, and monsoons in Mumbai are a terror. Despite that, I have thoroughly enjoyed my time dwelling in Mumbai for well over two years working for very reputed organizations and those memories will live with me as long as I live. I'm talking as though I'm very old and there isn't more of Mumbai to see - but that's for another day.

I haven't explored Hyderabad too much but for whatever I have, I haven't enjoyed Hyderabad too much. There isn't much to see except the old Nizami architecture and a couple of museums. Although I could be wrong as I've just spent six months in the city, I wouldn't like to go back to Hyderabad again. The food isn't great and you tend to take a lot of calories in your system if you're addicted to the Biriyani. However, I have been working in Bangalore for the last few months and have worked out of the city (as I write from Koramangala now) for a bit.

I have enjoyed the food in Bangalore which is really diverse and cosmopolitan. You get all varieties of food - from Bengali to North Indian, South Indian to Continental, and you'll never have a dull time choosing amongst your selections. The weather in Bangalore is deteriorating. When I last visited Bangalore in 2004-05, it was much cooler and the city seemed more tolerable. It has started to get warm and guys, although it may seem too theoretical and fancy harping on about global warming, I think Bangalore is just the perfect example of why we should care more about climate change. While I haven't explored Bangalore in its entirety, I have enjoyed the infrastructure in terms of the clean and wide roads, irregular patches of greenery and have certainly liked the cosmopolitan nature of the masses in the city.

So - which city wins the contest? I did say I'll talk about it at a later point in time, and if you ask me, no matter how congested and polluted Delhi may be, no matter how prodigal and boastful the upper class is about their wealth, I still enjoy living in Delhi because I have left a major part of my childhood and adulthood in the city. Whenever I get back to Delhi, there is a sense of remembrance and joy in celebrating my youth. Although I may not have lived in proper Delhi after my father retired (I have lived mostly in Gurgaon and Noida), but traveling down the roads taken frequently always brings back memories from my youth. And it always helps to be in proximity to the political center of the country. It is easier to bring about changes in governance, work on life-altering business ideas, and network with people that recognize you more than they would in other cities. If I weren't a Delhite, I would obviously be living in Mumbai. Mumbai is a second close and it truly is a wonderful city.

I have thoroughly enjoyed working in the NWSE directions of the country in the most prominent cities of the zones. And I am lucky to have got the opportunity to explore India in its entirety. There is hopefully a lot more to come and I hope that someday even if I were to change my opinions about these places, this article that I am writing during my business trip to Bangalore will remain as a piece of evidence to good times spent in India.

Which is your favorite city in India? Where all have you worked? Do share your experiences in the comments. I would love to hear from you.