My trip to Banglore

I left for a short trip to my Athhai's place on 29th July... Its been quite a while since I visited this town - which has now been declared as "the IT capital of India"! Well I agree...Indeed, all the wealth is reflected in the tremendous growth phase which has gobbled up major part of this beautiful city!

The first thing any person who steps into this valley will notice is the beautiful weather - its really very very pleasant! And it being July, typical Banglore weather prevailed for most part of my trip...I must admit though - that having been transformed into a complete Chennaite, returning to my birth place was a cool...hmmm...Cold trip!

Anyways, my Athhai has a beautiful place in Kasturi Nagar - with lots of gardens sprawling around the house! Its always so pleasant to see roses, jasmines, hibiscus and pavazamalli, eat curd rice with pomegranate (literally garden fresh!) from Banana leaves that grow at home with lovely food cooked by Pattu!!

I was quite pleasantly shocked when I went looking around Banglore - it is literally transforming into a mini-Singapore! Huge malls have cropped up everywhere, with lot of eat-outs peeking out of every corner! Most of the roads have been made one-ways and more importantly the average age of the driver, as my father shrewdly observed, is 30 - which in itself has instilled a discipline achieved perhaps, nowhere else in India!

But the beauty of Banglore is that inspite of the IT boom and the cropping up of the electronic city, it retains its charm and beauty...The places have definitely transformed - but not to an unrecognizable extent - instead they have evolved into dynamically improving environments! My visit to the Cubbon park, Vidhana Soudha(and Vikas Soudha!) and my favorite Ragi Gudda temple confirmed my impressions.

In spite of having lived in Banglore for nearly 14 years of my life, this was the trip when I discovered a beautiful institute here! The Tata Institute - now known as the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) came into the picture because my university, NUS, has set up an overseas college here! Curious, I went to just move about and get a feel of the campus - and I must say - I was shocked! I have seen IIT but was still shocked to see that "the campus" consisted of nothing but little buildings in the midst of what seemed to me to be dense forests!! It was really beautiful and I realized that this is the most conductive atmosphere for research and study! A sight one can witness, I believe, only in India!

I hail from Koramangala - and I loved going back to see my house in NGHC (National Games Housing Complex) It's a place that offers a lot of memories...And that always affects you....

Maybe that's why even though I profess myself to be a Chennaite, Banglore will always hold a special place in my heart...