Back to Bangalore

Moved to Bangalore one more time.

The first time I arrived in Bangalore, in 1992, it was a city where you could leave at 1:45 PM for a 2 PM Saturday movie, reach in time and with Rs.100 in your pocket, you could get a balcony ticket, a nice cup of strong coffee from India Coffee house, a book from Gangaram's and still have enough money to take an autorickshaw home. After growing up in the perpetually parched Chennai with walls lined with political movie posters, the heat and the humidity, Bangalore was the closest I got to a resort - great weather, tree-lined avenues, a company shuttle to take us to and from work and a salary.

Now, 16 years later, the city is divided into gated ghettos , which have their own power supply, water supply, playgrounds and security. None of them have, as far as I know, declared their own foreign policy yet. Going for a movie is a day-trip and drains your wallet. The roads are congested with no discipline - any attempt at following traffic discipline is looked on as an act of lunacy. It's a classic example of the Tragedy of the Commons.

The good news is the increasing environmental awareness, a willingness to take on responsibility rather than wait for the government to do "something".

However, the key question is whether these groups can attain critical mass and create policy and behavioral changes.

Comments

shankar said…
Your post brings back pleasant memories. When I arrived in Bangalore in 1994, as an employee of the then newly established Oracle India, our offices were part situated in the Holiday Inn hotel. We had the five star meals and had the opportunity to learn to swim during the lunch-time in the hotel swimming pool. I remember that we watched Terminator-2 together, I think in one of the theatres in Brigade Road. That was indeed the best one year of my life.

It appears from your post that those days are long gone. Probably the same should be true of all cities in India, where any place is at least one hour away from any other place. (That was too drastic a generalization, but I think you get the point)

Nevertheless, I'm happy to see that you are blending in. Please keep posting.
Aug 15, 2008, 10:08:00 AM
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