I just moved to bangalore a few of months ago. I think I am now in a posistion to comment a bit on this here city. First thing I noticed as I approached Bangalore in the plane that set it apart from AAmchi Mumbai was the greenery and the layout of the buildings.
I had never noticed this before (I led a bit of a sheltered life till then -- never cared about the rest of the world besides Bandra (West).) but Mumbai is choking. Its this tangle of 7 islands that is now crawling with people from all over like ants on a fallen piece of jam! Mumbai still looked good from the plane -- a replica of Manhattan, tall proud buildings jutting out of the land, surrounded by sea, and people reaaaly busy commuting and stuff.
Bangalore looked very spread out, small sized buildings, and much less traffic from the air. Second thing I noticed when I stepped outta the plane (it was a 1 hr 10 min flight) was how pleasantly cool it was. I thought it was because it was the morning -- but the temperature barely changed in the afternoon.
So I thought it would become devilishly cold at night (I was working in Pune -- the city of extremes, earlier). Fortunately, this city seems to have this built in weather control system. It dont get hot, it dont rain, it dont get cold. Its wierd man! Take this case in point : I hang me clothes outta dry in the morning., take a nap. Wake up to billowing clouds an gusty winds in the evening.. Jump outta bed expecting a heavy Mumbai sthyle downpour and pull those clothes off the line like its the end of the world. But nothing happens. It keeps blowing and never rains! Crazy. So I'm like, aint this the monsoon, anyways?
Skeptical, I call Mumbai on me cell. Is it rainin, Ma? Yes, it is! Its flooded and lightning in Bombay. But its the same old weather here. I guess that would count as a plus point, wouldnt it? But I think you get a certain satisfaction from calling your office and telling them you cant make it in today due to excessive rain, making a pot of hot chocolate or tea, sitting with your family in the balcony while dark heavy clouds burst overhead and the world looks like its under a veil. You wont get to see that in Bangalore.
Bangalore has a slight water problem because of the lower precipitation. bangalore has a BAD electricity problem because of the low water. bangalore has lots of power cuts because of the electricity problem. Bangalore gets a minus point because of the power cuts.
People: Are friendly enough, though they all tend to be highly vegetarian. I feel like Im this sinner eating nonveg here.
Entertainment. I never realized how much Bombay kicks as* where entertainment, lifestyle, etc was concerned till I moved out of it for work. Bangalore can NOT compare to Bombay where movies, theater, DVDs etc are concerned. Theaters are few and they are all in the MG Road area. The prints suck. The projectors suck. The sound sucks. The seating suck. The prices --- suck too. I have like 15 cinema screens in a walking distance of my home in Bandra itself -- all very good quality.
DVDs suck in Bangalore. Cause all of them are blatantly pirated. I dont really care about that bit. But their picture quality is worse than VCD! I am earning and can afford to pay 75 rupees for a decent original DVD movie. Why cant I get it in this godforsaken city :)
Transport -- Its good. I hate the trains in Mumbai. Besides making me feel like I am a chicken in one of those chicken delivery vehicles, about to be slaughtered, travelling by trains in Mumbai are a good way to contribute to charity. Say, the last time I went by train in Mumbai, I contributed my Samsung R220 cell phone that I bought 3 months prior -- to charity. Some poor jobless soul got it and probably got a good price for it too!
I hate travelling by road in mumbai too. I prefer to jog or walk in mumbai because there are toooo many people with big fancy cars and not enough place for everyone. bangalore seems to have perfectly straight and perpendicularly intersecting roads, given numbers rather than names.
Its fun to stroll in bangalore. I have me a bike, so I hop on it and if I wanna go some where -- I just pull over and holler :How'ja get to this here place? Then they point me in the right direction, and I kick off and after another 500 mt I repeat the procedure till I land up at my destination. Thats a plus point for Bglore. Besides, bangalore is a truly beautiful city. I love trees and flowering plants, and bangalore has no shortage of them.
Lots of IT companies here (It is bad for me, because I would rather have lots of IT companies in Mumbai, and I wouldnt have to be here in bangalore. then). Electronic city is the bangalore equivalent of the SEEPS and MIDC area in AAmchi Mumbai. But its 10000 times better looking and totally unpolluted.
I cant find book libraries in Bangalore. Can you tell me where to find them? People are dead after 10 pm. 0 night life. MG Road BRigade road and commercial street LOOK great. Verrry flashy, jazzy and shiny. However, if you are actually shopping for something, you wont find what you want. It has no variety. Hell, man, go to Bombay and shop there and come back. Hill road, and linking road are within walking distance and I get every darn clothes related thing I want there!
Computer scene in Bangalore is crappy. People dont seem to be interested in this sorta ting. Mumbai guys got them laptops and LCD screens, cable conenctions and what not. Here there aint no decent place to buy a PC neither. Few isolated PC shops here. Mumbai has its own grimy but very thrilling Lamington road. Go here and you;ve got 100s of bargain price computer shops where you can buy individual components of the most exotic nature!
Overall, bangalore is a great city to live in -- if you are a college dude, fresher working dude with a chick. Itsalso good for retiring folks. As far as I'm concerned, Mumbai kicks as* where true life style and pop culture is concerned. Its one rockin city by the sea. Whatever bad points its got, its plus points more than compensates for it. Love y'all
Updates October 18 2003: I dont like these things about bangalore:
Most areas have daily 1 hour power cuts.
Bangalore seems to be as polluted as any other city.
It rains daily -- just enough to annoy you.
I dont see kids anywhere. I mean children around 10 years old. They seem to be a rare sight in Bangalore. I get the impression that most of the working class people here have come here only for the jobs and to make money -- like me.
The greenery -- all right. They have lots of trees and many parks. But if you look at it carefully, its all quantity and less quality.
What about parking... I am shocked that practically any place you'd actually want to park at charges you per hour.
Tiny buildings... Did I mention this earlier? Bangalore resembles Pune in that most of the buildings are 3-4 story pygmies.
I've revised my rating of Bangalore to 3 stars. I dont reccomend it anymore. It isnt as great as I thought. Go stay in Pune, Navi Mumbai or Mumbai. Its better.
Pros : lower population, green, cooler climate, IT capital
Cons: no entertainment, lifestyle, daily power cuts, small buildings,
