My Impressions of Bangalore

Bangalore has evolved from a mud fort built by Kempe Gowda to the IT hub of India. The rulers of neighboring kingdoms always had rule over Bangalore and they appointed a chief to rule over Bangalore. Kempe Gowda was one such cheiftan who decided to fortify the city with a mud wall and develop Bangalore into a major city of those times.

Tipu Sultan fought three wars with the British and was defeated and killed in the third. Tipu’s letter for help to defeat the British was ignored by Napoleon, had he come for Tipu’s help, India, especially south India would be a very different place.

The arrival of the British brought a different environment for Bangalore; there was a visible divide among the people that was brought by language, lifestyle, status and political power. The British used Bangalore as their base to train militia, repair fighter jets and for higher officials to retire. It was then that Bangalore was referred to as ‘Pensioner’s Paradise’. The British and Tipu Sultan, Hyder Ali had an obsession with gardens, therefore they invested a lot of energy in building gardens and decorating the city. They are solely responsible for Bangalore being referred to as the ‘Garden City’ in today’s time. Thus, today’s Bangalore is only a relfection of the Bangalore built by the British, Kempe Gowda and Tipu Sultan.

Since the British retired in Bangalore, there are lots of Anglo-Indians staying in the cantonment area. Their culture and lifestyle has brought a divide among the people in Bangalore, the cantonment being one side and the rest of the city being on the other. Their differences also created two worlds in the city; one that goes out to pubs and the other, which is extremely conservative. The culture of the Anglo-Indians is very similar to that of the westerners and the locals of Bangalore do not approve of it. These differences are often emphasized upon for political advantage.

Bangalore has the most beautiful houses and apartments than any other city I have seen. The people of Bangalore are conscious of how their houses look and therefore make a lot of effort to beautify it. Each area has a charm of itself; there are lots of parks with bandstands and walking tracks, the houses have beautiful gardens and they compete with each other to maintain them. Though much has been changing in the last few years due to growth of population and lack of space in the city, recent constructions include skyscrapers and stereotypical houses, which is very unlike Bangalore.

In the last couple of decade, Bangalore has undergone drastic change in terms of its identity. Bangalore today is known to the world as the IT hub of India, some call it the Silicon Valley of India. Bangalore has seen an influx of people from all over the country and an influx of IT companies from all over the world. This has changed the city’s culture drastically, at first the Anglo-Indians and then the influx of western companies has changed Bangalore into a western’s home in India. Now Bangalore has the highest English speaking population in India and it is moving towards becoming an economic hub in India, much like Mumbai.

The busy street with honking cars, swarms of people, hurried feet and bright neon advertisements. A city evolving from the slow and quiet, English tea-party lifestyle to the fast and confusing metropolis. It is a big change for Bangalore to see in a few decades. The older city exists underneath this newly created menace, this consumerist metro, like any other.