'Shakes & the City' - Bangalore. Review on Bangalore

“These days, even thinking about staying out late in Bangalore gives me the shakes” said a colleague who has been working in Bangalore for over 5 years. Probably ‘shivers’ is the right word he should have used…but the message is nevertheless conveyed across.

The story about the murder of Tania Bannerji was in the headlines on last week’s news. Though it is probably what can be called a ‘crime of passion’, the incident did trigger off discussions & renewed concern about personal safety in Bangalore. Of late whenever you pick up the Bangalore edition of the Times of India or any other newspaper, you will invariably read about someone getting mugged, robbed, assaulted or beaten-up. Sometimes 3 to 4 incidents in a single day!

Initially it was simple phone, purse or chain snatching that we were reading about.. these days’ people are getting mugged, they are relieved of their phone, money & they are taken to the nearest ATM where the culprits draw cash out of their accounts. The alarming fact is that such incidents are not just occurring in remote or isolated places like outer ring road etc., but increasingly in the so called ‘relatively safe areas’ of Bangalore, such as Airport road, which is one of the major arteries of Bangalore. In the last couple of incidents, the victims were traveling by Car & were overtaken & stopped by goons on bikes.. so even a car is not an effective shield anymore.

Fiona, the famous RJ on RadioCity was mugged earlier last month when she was out for dinner with her fiancée. In the scuffle that ensued, she got slashed on her face & has a scar with 21 stitches to remind her of that incident which occurred on museum road, close to Empire restaurant. Talking about the incident she says "You think you're being really careful, but this can happen to anybody. Bangalore just isn't safe anymore." She recommends everyone carry pepper spray or go out in a big group. "Don't depend on other people. Take care of yourself," she adds.

While carrying pepper spray is a good thing, to be pragmatic, there is nothing much that one can do if mugged by a group of two or three goons armed with knives or worse. How many of us would have the presence of mind & time enough to pull out the pepper spray, aim & use it on the attackers? Also, the loss of your phone & money is not as bad as getting injured. Yes, I agree with Fiona’s comment that ‘you can be really careful, but it can happen to anybody’ & while the Police & our Government should be doing something to stem the tide of such incidents, it is also our own responsibility to ensure our safety.

IMHO, these are some useful do’s & don’ts.. this is not a comprehensive list, feel free to add in your thoughts in the comments section…

First of all, avoid taking Autos late into the evenings or at night-time, especially if you have to go through some deserted or isolated stretches of the city. While an auto might be a quicker & relatively cheaper(?) option, I would suggest calling in a CityTaxi. With Autos demanding double fare during the night, they cost just as much as a CityTaxi. So for distances of 12–15 kms, a CityTaxi probably costs less than an Auto after 9.00pm. You might have to wait for 20–30 mins for the taxi to pick you up, but it is safer than getting into a passing auto. I have listed down a few CityTaxi phone numbers towards the end of this review, add all of them into your phone contact list. When you are in a crunch, atleast one of them will have a taxi available in or around the area.

Guys, if you are driving back late in the night, resist that temptation to stop & take a leak on that lonely stretch of road.. there have been quite a few incidents where people have been mugged when they stopped for a smoke or to pee on roads like inner-ring road [Koramangala], Outer-ring road etc.

If you get stuck in a party well past the Cinderella hour, without your own transport or if you’ve had a couple of drinks too much, think ! is it absolutely essential that you drive back / catch a ride at that time of the night? If you have an option of staying back or going to a nearby friend’s or relative’s house, might as well do that.. you can always head back home early in the morning rather than risk it in the night.

As far as possible, avoid carrying laptops with you. I did an assessment on my usage & more often than not, I don’t even switch on my laptop when I get back home or over the weekend. Also, switching on the laptop in the evenings or weekends means that your official life is creeping into your personal life.. so think! Do you really need to carry the laptop home? Just use your office locker to store it overnight & over the weekend. Same goes for jewelry & valuables.. avoid carrying on your person unless absolutely required.

ATM cards & credit cards seem to be popular targets for thieves these days. At least credit cards have some sort of consumer protection & they can be cancelled / blocked too.. but canceling an ATM card after money is taken out of your account is akin to bolting the stable after the horse is gone.. So avoid carrying ATM cards on your person. Carry a reasonable amount of cash & a low-limit credit card to take care of your expenses.

If you are withdrawing a good deal of cash from your bank or from an ATM, someone might be watching you! Don’t leave your cash / bags around in your car or scooter. Ensure that you either head back home or if the cash needs to be given to someone else, do that first.. resist that temptation to take care of a small task on the way.

Sometimes the unexpected does happen, suppose your car breaks down in the middle of nowhere.. or you run out of gas.. well, the best option is to stay in the car, call up one of the help-line numbers [all Hyundai / Maruti dealers have a 24hr helpline service: You should find the number either on the sticker on your wind-screen or listed in the service manual] or you can call up services like First2Move or Breakdown 365 [The numbers are at the end of this write-up]. You can either enroll as a member, in which case the service fee you’ll have to pay will be lower or even non-members can avail of their services, for which they may charge around Rs.250 per call + spares / consumables. Call up these services & enquire about their charges, facilities etc. & take a call on whether you wish to enroll or use their services on a need basis.

All said & done, life is still unpredictable & while taking precautions is good.. don’t get too carried away & stop enjoying life.. after all, you live but once…

Some useful numbers :

Breakdown 365: 080-23631404 / 080-23539574 or hotline 98450-67004.

First2Move: 98453-23456

Rescue 24/7: 98803-75979, 080-32945875

Trident-Hyundai 24 hr helpline: 98450 22611

Banashankari City Taxi: 26795757

Canara Call Taxi: 26729966

Chamundi Call Taxi: 25200333

City Safari: 251106666 / 25539999

East West Call Taxi: 22353377 / 22384000

M.H. City Taxi: 251133444 / 25911353

Megha City Taxi: 28515885

MNS City Taxi: 26698745

Om City Taxi: 26605555 / 26609999

Raj City Taxi: 23337777 / 23335666

Sathya Sai City Taxi: 23122222 / 2923706

Spot City Taxi: 25510000 / 25510090

Star City Taxi: 23133333

Traveller City Taxi: 23630001