Bangalore Ahoy!

Been about two weeks since I landed here. I've ignored this little page on the world wide web for quite some time, and finally free time and boredom and a will to write coincide with availability of internet. (Sexy internet, btw!)

Well, so yes, I'm doing my PS-II at HP Labs India, Bangalore, and thus will be putting up here till December 11th at least. Now, since I am actually staying in the city this time around, and not a random place like Electronic City last year, well, a few things did catch my eye, some amusing, the other rather trying.

Anyway, in no particular order, here are the TOP 5 observations about B'lore (or B'luru, if you prefer your cities new-name abbreviated.)

1. It IS a cosmo, and very much so. Unless you are living in weird places like e-city and the like. You'll probably hear more Hindi in B'lore malls than those in Delhi ("Hindi's so unfashionable, na?" - 'Delhi-chick', circa 2000)

2. Keeping PG's is one of the best ways in Bangalore to mint money. All you need is lots of plywood, 6 single beds, two rooms and an axe. Well, maybe 12 half-mattresses and half-pillows too, one each for the people you'll accommodate in this space. It would fetch more money if you could arrange for a loo nearby as well.

3.

• There is no concept of a meter when it comes to auto-rickshaws, unless you get exceptionally lucky. The Bangalorean autos even leave their yellow-green counterparts in Delhi far behind in this race. Highly impartial, the 'one-and-half-times-meter' rule applies to all at night, Kannadiga or not.
• Buses ROCK! Unless of course you are travelling at night to Electronic city which is when you'll have to deal with rather obstinate and drunk gentlemen.

4. Quite a lot of roads here have their lengths measured. I mean, there is a 100 ft. road, and then I know of two 80 ft. roads, one each in Koramangala and Indiranagar. And probably only Bangalore has roads this proud of their lengths. I can only wish they increase the width of the roads, they somehow do not fit into the whole idea of Bangalore being this big and totally cool city.

Also, there are a lot of Crosses and Mains out here, and (I think) they are supposed to be perpendicular to each other; and a place which has in its address nth Cross and mth Main, need not be at the cross section of these two roads. I guess the city-planners didn't like Cartesian Geometry much.

5. The song 'If you come today', immortalised by Rajkumar (I apologize if I got the spelling wrong) is still in vogue here. Maybe not at malls (where they play Hindi songs, surprise surprise!) but surely at laundries, and sandwich shops etc. Timeless classic, one would believe.


So long, will get back with more later.

Adios.