A Glimpse of Bengaluru

Bengaluru, crowned as the Silicon Valley of India, will make you fall in love with it instantly. Whenever the name Bengaluru is mentioned, there’s an adrenaline rush in my body. The soothing weather, lush greenery, grand buildings, the bustling traffic, the famous filter coffee (pronounced as kaapi) urges me to revisit it. I’ve had the opportunity of spending a couple of months in Bengaluru for my internship last summer (2019). Here is my first experience of Bengaluru.

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Everything New Phase

The day I got to know that I’ll be spending the next couple of months in Bengaluru for my summer internship, there’s this wave of excitement in my body. This can probably be attributed to the stories I’ve heard, and the movies I’ve watched (the main culprit being Bangalore Days). These instilled in me, an ecstasy of a dream come true.

The friendship with Bengaluru started on fine Tuesday morning (21 May 2019). I was received by my cousin, who graciously offered to go PG hunting with me. I was stuck with a good deal on a twin - sharing room in RR Nagar area. We immediately set out to explore the city on his motorcycle and ended up at Cubbon Park. The first thing I noticed is the dense tree cover on either side of the road. The trees were huge, giving shade to the entire flock of motorcyclists sulking in their helmets. The second thing I noticed is the most commonly associated Bengaluru thing - the traffic. Its insanely hectic to survive the unending traffic signals, narrow lanes, continuously pestering honking. However, you’ll be greeted with a fine drizzle now and then, lightening your mood. But, it gets in your way of a conventional workday, when unprepared.

I began exploring the city on the weekends, renting out Honda Activa from the nearby Vogo and visited popular spots like Church Street, MG Road, Mantri Square, Orion Mall (Rajaji Nagar), ISKCON Temple, Lal Bagh Botanical Garden, and the Visvesvaraya Industrial & Technological Museum. I even had the initial excitement phase, to travel in the Namma Metro, which subsided gradually.

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Namma Bengaluru Phase

After living there for a couple of months, I can say that there’s no taking away the Bangalorean in me. I got used to running into lakes (not literally though :P) all over the city, seeing exotic cars parked on the roads, the exorbitantly priced chicken sandwich, taking the weather into account before stepping out, calculating the time to reach, motorcyclists taking to the pavement, afraid of the dreaded Silk Board Signal, etc. And the vastness of the city never allows for seeing it completely. However, Bengaluru never fails to amaze me, there’s always something exciting to do in the city. The sheer number of shopping malls, restaurants, breweries, parks, etc. keep us engaged.

The weekend getaways are amazing. For instance, I visited Nandi Hills on a Saturday (that’s a story for some other day), and Chennai the other weekend. The options are endless. The phrase Namma Bengaluru becomes clear, and you wholeheartedly feel belonged to the city. It makes you stay a bit longer than you planned for. As expected, I had a great time in Bengaluru. Nevertheless, the goodbyes are very hard.

When it was time for me to end the internship and get back to my college, it almost felt like leaving a brother behind. Bengaluru gave me a lot of memories to cherish, and something to look forward to in the coming days. It definitely holds a special place in my heart.

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Epilogue

I finally had a chance to fully experience the Bengaluru life this year, owing to my job posting over there. Nevertheless, it was delayed due to the restrictions at present. Having said that, I’m eagerly waiting to get out there and share my experiences with all the readers.

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The views expressed are purely personal.

Cover Photo by Prashanth Y on Flickr.

All other Photos are shot by me.

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