Why we love Bengaluru?

Hi All,

So much is written about traffic and road conditions in Bengaluru. Social media, News Papers, TV Channels across India have special segments on Bengaluru conditions and we are losing the brand etc. At the same time, we also see newspaper articles on major MNC CEOs committing to increase capability in Bangalore.

Whatever anyone says, we Bengalurian’s still love this great city. I thought let me explore some reasons.

We moved from USA and decided to live in India in 1991 and where else one would go in my IT filed other than Bengaluru. I remember the days of travelling from JP Nagar to Banneraghatta Road in my Kinetic Honda Two wheeler with wife and two kids. Roads were not that good but not treacherous. I have seen the construction of many new roads such as Old Airport Inner Ring Road, BTM Lake Road, Outer Ring Road and many more.

I vividly remember CEOs of many IT companies in Electronic city staged an Road Ruko agitation to demand improvement in road conditions, pre-elevated bridge era. As things were happening in the infrastructure side, so were people moving in, apartments getting constructed and cars being brought.

Our company #tech_mahindra and others developed Tier-2 city facilities for a long time and gave lots of incentives for engineers to move. But more or less this Bengaluru to Ter-2 cities movement has been a nonstarter. I understand other companies are also having same experience.

I started thinking about this Blog when we have to cancel long awaited lunch get-together with my old friends due to our good old Sarjapaura Road few weeks back. I left my house at 1145am and I was near the Total Mall about a Km away by 1245PM. When it looked like we will make the venue for Dinner and not for lunch, we decided to cancel the lunch meet.

Still I would not trade this city to anything else? Why is this love for Bengaluru? Let me list a few.

Where else you will get this? Pilot announced that the outside air temperature is Minus 45 degrees  C and the Cabin temperature is set at 24 degrees C for our comfort and we land in Bengaluru at 21 degree C outside. The mild weather almost 9-10 months of the year is unbeatable compared to other large cities.

Where else you will get this? Our Pub culture. Unobtrusive, not shady joints like other cities;  microbreweries in sprawling open spaces with large fish tanks where families, young professionals , college students of both sexes come and have fun without constantly looking over their shoulders who is looking!.

Where else you will get this?  Great cosmopolitan culture. Local Kannadigas, other Southern states, northern states, western  states, eastern states, north east states and ex-Pats from around the globe living together peacefully.

Where else you will get this? Our city is best loved home for ex-Pats of non-Indians and home coming NRIs. In my gated community, Halloween is celebrated with more enthusiasm than many cities in USA I lived in. Easiest transition for NRIs returning home with lots of good places to live, good international and local schools for the kids, great friends and social life for the kids and the parents.

Where else you will get this?  All the three southern states are overnight Bus/Train or a quick car drive away so that professionals can keep the connection with their extended families. Have you seen the weekend exodus in Buses on Friday evenings from large IT parks? Many Bus companies have created special pickup points near many IT companies on Friday evening.

Where else you will get this? Every gathering, every party in the city, one in 3 say they are in a startup and proudly talk about how their previous startups have failed !.; the other two thirds of people working for big global companies are made to more or less feel sorry for their status. Many of them have started saying “I work for a XXX Giant company but am working on an idea for a startup” just to get the “respect” back in the party!.

Where else you will get this?  Every gathering or a party, you will bump in to Harvard, Stanford, INSEAD, MIT and other Ivy league alumni talking about how they find Bengaluru is the only place where they can innovate.

Where else you will get this?  Every StarBucks, CafeCofeeDay and any other coffee joint has become the Shark Tank Studio where startups are pitching their ideas to VCs and Private fund managers and walking away with agreements for funding.

Where else you will get?  Sri Sri Ravishankar’s ashram campus is just at the outskirts of the city where thousands of professionals go for Art of the Living courses to learn meditation, correct breathing techniques and Yoga for a balanced life.

Where else you will get?  Every one is aware of IT/ITES companies in Bengaluru. But, Head Quarters of Biocon is just at the outskirts where the Biotech revolution started in India. Narayana Hridhayala demonstrated to the world that world class heart care can be given at affordable costs and even free for deserving patients.

Finally where else you can still get the good old charm of Sunday morning LalBagh walk and Tiffin at MTR?

To summarize, yes our beloved city has got its faults but still it is our beloved city and we love it.

.Bye for now

L Ravichandran