I love Bangalore.
For the last 24 years, 3 months and 12 days, I have lived under the same roof in the seasoned, laid back environs of Jayanagar, Bangalore. Not many, if any, can boost of this achievement. For the unacquainted, Jayanagar is an old and well planned residential locality replete with greenery, food joints and people . As a kid, growing up, I remember boasting about it as the largest locality in Asia. I am lot more modest these days.
In more ways than one, Jayanagar is very reminiscent of Bangalore, the Bangalore in the minds of the long deceased. It's peaceful and ever inviting. Maybe that's why I love them both, Jayanagar and Bangalore. One of the things I like the most is the feeling of returning to Bangalore after a few days or weeks away. I am really not able to put it in words but have to say that's got more to do with the 'feelings' than my poor vocabulary. Some of you would say it's the same feeling returning to anyone's hometown, but all I would say to you is, "What do you know? "
I love Bangalore. Off late though, something inside keeps reminding me this love has been blind, sometimes treading the stupid. For someone who has always trusted his brain more than his heart, this is uncomfortably weird. How much longer can I continue to lie? I might succeed in fooling you but will never be able to fool myself.
How can I turn a blind eye towards ...
... all the jealousy and greed around
... the tons of unsatisfactory, uncommented code
... the hatred amongst the 'hosts' (the thick-witted ones) and the ungratefulness amongst the 'guests'
... the all pervasive, mindless stereotyping
... a night life that ends in the evening
... constant reminders of my over dependence on others to get my work done
... a feeling that I will overflow out of a full drain onto a busy road instead of making my way to a treatment plant
... finally, the Bangalore Royal Challengers - over-hyped, dull and identity-less - as if they were hand-picked to showcase Bangalore, the new one
I still love Bangalore, but sadly it doesn't seem to love me anymore.
Maybe we need a vacation together. Maybe some counseling. Or maybe... No, I am sure we need a break. A fairly long one ...
22 comments:
I feel your angst harsha, as a fellow bangalore full timer .. unfortunately hoping that things will change for the better seems to be like hoping against hope !!
nice post..
i love bangalore too..though im not a full timer..
keep it coming dude..
dude.. well written stuff here. i like your style. Wonder why it has stayed dormant all this time. THE SILENT ONE SPEAKS!!
@ Sri... Chalo, let's go up North. Atleast the chics will be a saving grace
@anonymous... thanks :) but why do you post anonymously?
@rahul... ha ha thanks boss. You don't want to be all spent by 20, do you? It's a long life.
I adore Bangalore too :-) Doesn't matter how it changes, I'll continue loving it, cos my best memories belong to it, esp. to namma Jayanagar - Be it adigas, the Bhel puri wala, Cool Joint, the Stadium, or the 13th Main, - Its just adorable :)
its sad. i can never love any ONE city that much. never grew up in one place long enough. sigh. but i can partly love each one i guess!
i post anonymously cuz u wont like it that i post here if u knew who i was.. speaking about Jayanagar,i just love the fact that 13th main is so close to Vijaya college.. :)
@vandy ... neither was it jayanagar that was adorable, nor was it the reason for your cherished memories :) and why cool joint? that's like the drain I was talking about.
@rod ... but you have seen both sides of a coin. Probably gives you a much better perspective on things. We(I) might take a lot for granted :)
@ anonymous.. oh common, my dislikes start with brinjals and end with pumpkins. Before the cat gets killed, please ...
And im still cant completely understand what you say..
but theres certainly something different about you now..theres a new swagger around ur style..so whats changed you in all these years??
Hmmm, not quite so sure that the trip up north is needed. From my strategically placed abode, I can conjure vivid images of what the trip might represent. But I definitely agree in spirit to your proposal.
The swagger is inevitable with a few extra pounds. n that's my only addition over the years.
With my earlier post, I meant that I don't dislike anything and that you should break the suspense soon.
Points (Rahul might make up a mnemonic to remember these, well he would only remember the nemonic and we the points lol)
1 - I never could imagine you would blog i logged onto orkut saw this on your link (advertising) and clicked.
2 - Thought it will be junk
3 - I read the first post, i liked it. Went onto the second one, loved it.
4 - Yep i love bangalore too. Infact not as much as one other place but its a close second.
5 - I completely agree with you and disagree with sri. Up north is always better. And no i am not being biased coz of personal interests :) Its research.
6 - Is 13th main your street? God damn 4 years i never knew. I started my scooty first and then my feiro and it used to reach there right at 8 odd when we had a 8:15 class.
7 - You write well. You have lots of stuff bottled up i always knew.
Good job, i ll follow your blog too now. Hope you cross the two mark which i got stuck at.
Do we have to wait for an eternity for number 3??
lets just say, i like the "swagger" that you have "obtained". keep it comin
@ spari ... haha regardless, I can't match the dramatics.
Thank you, I will surely go over the 2 mark but ...
@anonymous ... Securing my job is priority number 1 for now, he he Will post something soon though :)
@ash ... thank you dude. Hope all's well :)
F*** when did u start writing like this man ... today was the 1st time i visited ur blog ... hmmm its good keep goin ... i'm shocked gulle ...
@ deepak .. keeping in mind your reputation of keeping track of things as and when they happen, this is quite a 'shock'. thanks anyways.
I read your recent posts now. One request, whenever u advertise your blog in gtalk or orkut, add a "New post(with date)" tag.
Talking about the blogs, still a long way to go dude.
1) First of all, the blogs arent interesting to read(but 3rd post was awesome, the first was just an introduction anyways and some parts of 2nd were good).
2) There is absolutely no humor in your posts at all. Almost looked like I was wasting my time reading it, with nothing to smile.
3) Less of ideas, more of repetitive lines. I almost closed the blog while reading the second paragraph, but fortunately a glance of the third paragraph made me realise things were changing. The change of stance was great, I liked it.
4) Yep, you admit it, vocab needs to be improved upon.
5) Post without a proper conclusion. No point ranting.
Looking forward for your future posts :)
@karthik .. my turn to 'judge' your comments...hehe
Ok. Though I have a few reservations about this suggestion, I will probably update it for a few days :)
I do not wish to enter a state of blogging 'nirvana'. So I write with no end state in mind :) In the process, if I improve, do let me know
1. If 1 is 'awesome', another 'just an introdcution' and the last 'partly good' .. how does the average turn out to be bad? or are you talking about weighted averages?
2. Lol, interesting. I don't claim to be a comic but how humorous can a 'helpless cry' be? Also, you should keep in mind that 'humour' is a very relative term :)
3. Thanks, but again I am not a revolutionary, nor do I have any revolutionary ideas. I do get a few that pretend like they are until their true colors come out.I keep these to myself :)
4. Very true, but I am not a big fan of using 'complicated' words to express simple thoughts. And, since my thoughts will continue to be simple, I don't see this improving much :)
5. Again, you will hardly see any conclusions on my posts. It's not my intention and will defy my purpose. In my defence though, if you notice the last line .. you will see that I will be jumping at any opportunity that finds me a new home (a temporary one)
Looking at your expectations of a blog, I will probably have to rename mine or move it out of the 'blog' category :)
Looking forward to more of these though. It's an interesting point of view.
Karthik,
you suck..as usual..
@anonymous ... least you could do is voice such opinions openly instead of anonymously :)
@Anonymous,
Good that you are shouting from a crowd, else I would have shot you dead.
@Harsha
Nothing is without a purpose, and ya I know you would improve. Will wait for more of your posts, but where are they??
Hmm, and nice arguments. But my point was that "arbid stuff" shouldnt be too arbitrary nor they have to be revolutionary. Keep it simple but interesting to some extent that people would like to see more.
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