Bangaloreans we are made of a different mettle altogether. Broad-minded , easy going but cosmopolitan in our attitude. Hospitable, but shy, tolerant, but watchful.
(Tolerance, which spring from a live ?and-let ?live attitude-helping us nurture a sense of love and kindness for the needy:eg.love and affection which baby Noor got from all section of the society.)
Conversations here begin with ''have u had your Tiffin? had ur lunch ?'' say no- and see for yourself what happens. You don?t know to speak kannada?..no probs-we?ll talk to you in signs, or better still, speak in ur lingo?well what do u know..in b?lore, besides kannada, we speak tamil, telagu, Malayalam, Urdu, sindhi, hindi, marathi, Punjabi, gujarathi, bihari, bengali, oriya ..assamese ..and english ofcourse!(eh..did I miss e-language?)
For us, a weekend without fun is akin to a kebab without chicken...heres how the ever ?busy bangalore unwind itself:
----we may not have much to choose from for weekend fun, but we make the best of what we are bestowed with..this is the mein of bangaloreans.
----for teenyboppers n twenty ?some things freaking out on pocket ?money ?there are lots of happening addresses: bowling alleys, pool joints, snooker parlours and a few joints to guzzle.
----Fun world, star city and Amoeba are a big draw with young families here.
----For those incline and enough to spare (money, ofcourse), golf is the course. Otherwise, there are umpteen clubs to savour current affairs and matters of mutual interest, washing it down with a mug of beer (Wanna know more bout it?-read my revu on Urban edge)
----Gastronomy is a passion bangaloreans cant live without.
----In planet recreation, the divide between the privileged and the under privileged is too stark.
Since the middle classcant afford these while-away-your-weekends which comes at a price, it has to content itself with options such a visit to well-lit Vidhana Soudha, forever under under renovation Indira Gandhi Musical fountain on Raj Bhavan Rd or cinema houses in two cluster ?one around MG rd and the other around KG rd. Then there is the Jawaharlal Nehru Planetorim, Cubbon Park, Lal-Bagh, which are attracting a lot of crowd after the renovation of its infrastructure by the BDA.
And then there is boating in lakes ( Ulsoor lake, Sankey lake, Yediyur lake, Hebal lakes, Kengeri lake), if they are not emptied for desilting?but there?s no sign of watersports as of now.
---- There are places such as..Nandi Hills, Bannerghatta National park on the outskirts, which can be covered in a day but their pitiful state is the biggest stumbling block.
-------There?s always something or the other happenin in the city like recently we had the Strand book festial and then the city was soaked in cultural extravaganza-courtesy ?Bangalore Hubba. Come Feb 8th and u can meet and greet Bryan Adams!(Palace grounds)
Unique sights of the city
----Restaurants which serve Andhra style Chinese food.
----ppl who gather in groups on a cold morning just to laugh and then drink one ?by-two ?coffee.
----lady conductors hangin out of a public bus
----if u have not been on the road without spottin a cow right in the middle, u r not in bangalore.
----Bangalore is the only place, where families with little kids in tow, visit pubs for relaxation.
Comprising 100 wards and surrounded by more than 5 satellite towns, b?lore had excellent civic sense before the hordes descended on to. For a while, there was total chaos. Orderliness is back again ?now, what with disciplinary agencies in place.
Eg:I can cite MG road, where jaywalkin is banned and the name for the drive?Zero Tolerance!
But the land value is hardly zero..u want to buy? The price is sky high. You want to sell?again, the sky is the limit. Why not come and see for urself?. Just a short visit may be, u will see subways, railway over bridges, railway under bridges and ofcourse our Hebbal flyover (the longest in the country-built with clover leaf technology providing 5 loops along with a bridge at the grade level aimed at decongesting the National Highway-7.
Sorry, we have no tubes, no overground intercity rail. Nor an international airport (as yet), the skies r full anyway!
For Gods sake, don?t you understand ? we don?t want bangalore to b like Mumbai or Kolkota, not even like Delhi. We are happy the way we are, with our own pace. We dictate the pace and not vice ?versa. That?s a bangalorean virtue!
It would be unfair of me to b boastfull of Bangalore and not talk bout its negative aspects.
Sore sights in Bangalore
--Traffic jams, traffic jams and more traffic jams.
--Unending flyover construction work.
-Laying roads, digging raods, laying roads and diggin roads ..and more laying n more diggin?and swallowing tax payer?s money.
--Upendra in outfits that would make Govinda seem sober.
--Trees being cut down to accommodate ever growing number of vehicles on the roads and glass n concrete buildings.
-Indian bellies hanging out in low waist jeans.
Hard to pinpoint, but a typical B?lorean is one who can ''adjust'', B?lorean loves to ''adjust''?which means we may complain but do little about things to improve our city.
Bangalorean?s reaction to :
--a riot : lock ur doors + turn on the tv.
--an accident : I didn?t see it.
--a natural disaster : Oh God! More adjustments to do!
--women in public places : ?Madam, kindly adjust?
--Civic sense : indifferent to civic issues + civic agaencies
--rules : we will all adjust.
--money : save ,save,save!
--police : don?t want to deal with those ppl,stay far away from them.
--Also we tend to be over-eager to please outsiders
--we tend to b too laid back-while we shud be keeping tabs on the unburdened growth of the city and think of ways n means to better living conditions.
< b>Some of the things I wish would change in bangalor:
1)Zero tolerance: MG road ?why focus on this small stretch of road alone?.they could decongest the area by removing parking from here completely- n create parkin malls like near St.Patrick church.
2)Ive been travellin in BMTC buses for over 3 years now..and I feel Bngalore ,the tech epicenter of India ,deserves a bus stand that?s world class.
3)Bangalore could cash into adventure tourism in a big way..if the govt. goes the extra ?mile to boost water ?based recreational facilities in the city.
Phir bhi dil hein Bangalorean..I absolutely adore Bangalore, because I was born n brought up here.This is my home and its got a big city feel to it!
Phew!..that was a long revu!..I've poured my heart out about the pleasant n not so pleasant things about my city..I'm sure you'd certainly have something to say ..So go ahead and let me have it!
