Wednesday, 6 March 2013

// Impressions of Bangalore



Bangalore a city which I didn’t know had such a plethora of heritage & cultural background, my impressions of Bangalore were that of a young blooded city, with a happening night life and taste for good music. But todays presentation totally changed my outlook about Bangalore and its history, right from the kings of Kempegowda who ruled over Yelhankanadu which turned out to the where we reside today, the tucked in town of Yelahanka.

Every story has two sides, even the flourishing IT sector and the pride of Bangalore has its dark side which is a sad state to see. It’s sad to see how the majority of Banaglores youth is driven towards this sector only due to its monetary perks. The darker side of this humongous business is hidden away from the entire world, it’s sorrowful as to how they have to go through mandatory procedures to get rid of their mother tongue influence (MTI) and live two lives at the same time. Half of their lives are spent in making and breaking deals over the phone and the rest in getting their personal life in order, their life has literally become like a circle that has no end. Over and above that as Thomas Friedman has quoted how “The playing fields have been levelled” it shows how these IT firms are able to deliver our nations needs but also how the multinational companies are outsourcing their businesses to India.

Bangalore has evolved a lot in the past two decades and has earned its way to the top to be called the “Silicon valley of India” the “pensioners paradise” and somewhere down the line earned a negative name for itself due to its high population of IT crowd, where you get “Bangalored”.Colonial rule has affected the people of Bangalore and this can be seen through their lifestyles. Bangaloreans have a great command over the English language, their cuisine & choice of music are much more westernised than the rest of India. The anglo-indian community is such a close knit community even as of today that they have their communities and clans spread all across Bangalore.

They’ve beautifully kept the subtle beauty of British architecture at the same time given an Indian touch to all their architecture. Tipu Sultans and Hyder Ali’s love for botany has been sustained and safeguarded. Unlike other cities of India where most of the statues from the time of the British raj have been taken down, Bangalore has still kept them standing .One more thing that I felt abnormal about the city was that the majority of the roads were still named after the British rulers.

Even though today in the 21st century Bangalore is in the race for global glory, it still has it’s feet strongly rooted to the ground.Even though it has boomed in the IT sector it hasn’t forgotten its culture and its traditions which are seen through the pragmatic, efficacious people of Bangalore who are always ready to give out a helping.

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