Every city has its own charm.And every one who has atleast a reasonable time to spend there develops a like or dislike to wards the city, based on one's own experiences witnessed there.
Some are known to be very adpatable to which ever cities they move in, and start enjoying the city, from day one while some others are die hard fans of their own home cities only and refuse to budge in.And if the experience encountered by these die hard fans of their own cities,happens to be a bad one, they become tough in their attitude and refuse to give the city, its due credit for so many other good aspects of the city.Any way that is the interesting part of the human pscychology.
This post is not about Psychology.It is about the city Bangalooru(Formerly Bangalore)wherein i started my career with HMT INTERNATIONAL LIMITED, in Cunninghams Road,near Shivaji NAGAR about 35 years back.I had to visit BANGALORE again on an assignment i had undertaken as a consultant in the recent past. And it is now almost a month since my association with the city had been revived . The city then and the city now had under gone a sea change.Ofcourse, as it happens in any other cities, the change is happening here too..But that is besides the point.
There are still some basic qualities or characteristics of BANGALOORU which remain unchanged.
The first one is the Good, steaming cup of cofee , with a fragrance which is difficult to resist, when you step out of Contonement or Bangalore City Railway Station.
The second thing is the orderliness which you can still witness in Auto satnds and taxi stands when you wait for your turn to take a token for a prepaid auto/taxi service.
The third (and in order of ranking this should come first)is the weather. Be it hot summar or spring or winter, the weather by and large remains pleasant in BANAGALORE.The cool breeze which embraces when you take a morning stroll in the back ground of a rising Sun is an experience to be felt to be believed and can not be explained in words.Similarly the evenings also become chill right from 4 pm onwards giving relief form the oppressive heat , witneseed once in a while.
Fourth and the best according to me are the steamimg IDDLIES dipped in Hot
sambar(which will have the slight taste of Sugar as is the practice in KARNATAKA-imbibed from famous Udupi tradition)and the ever teasing Vadas
available allmost round the clock in many of the eating outlets.
I must add in same breath that the IDDLIES of Hyderabad and Murugan IDDLI Kadai MADURAI , are equal favourites on any given day.
Fifth is the courtesy still evident in the way people treat you. By nature they are soft people and if politicians keep away from playing with their temperaments on one issue or other, Bangalore will win the prize for the best courteousness.Remember that stalwards of Cricket , both Kumble and Rahool Dravid hail from this place which is the greatest evidence of soft ness and courtesy.
The city represented the place where i had started my first innings of my career.It also coincides with the start of my second innings.I am a strong believer in fate and also in the saying that events in life comes often in circles.
We go back to the same people and same cities decades after our first visit by sheer coincidence and not by any plan or design.My first innings at BANGALORE lasted for 4 months before i moved to another city of my like Kolkatta to further my professional aims.My son also had a stint of around 4-5 months before changing his academic directions. Credit in full to my daughter who made it a point to finish her MBA with IBA at Bangalore with a continuous two year stint.
My present innings at BANGALORE is also initially contracted for 4 months with a proviso to continue further if both sides agree.Unlike earlier times when i had commitments to fulfill and expectations to be achieved, i am enjoying this innings with an open mind and am prepared to take which ver way the life leads me from here.And i believe that is a great feeling, viz doing some thing to one's liking with out any strings attached to it.
I have said too many good things about Bangalore,But then to give a disaml note at the end is not my intention. However the fact remains that BANAGLORE is also falling a prey to the industrialisation and commercialisation around and the air is thick with pollution.But for that the city is still loneable one on any day!!
