Bangalored ... oops.. Bengaluru'ed yet again..

..Life is so full of surprises; you can never say you have seen enough or are done with something. I thought of never visiting Bangalore again and here I was.. back in Bangalore…oops…Bengaluru yet again, after almost three years. A lot has changed about the city and a lot hasn't. During my short stay of 3 weeks here are a few changes that were noticeable:

1. The condition of roads is much better now. A lot of new fly overs, underpasses have been built, the roads have been widened, and the Hosur road elevated roadlink is now complete. A lot has been done in the span of less than 3 years to the credit of the administration. But it still didn't seem good enough, the traffic situation seems a tad better but probably roads have been stretched to their limits and maybe it's time for alternate means of transport.

2. Heard that a new metro (Namma Metro) is coming up soon. They recently had a test run on one of the routes. The sooner it comes, the better it would be for Bengaluru. The good news is that the bus fleet seems to have been replaced and you can see some shiny new buses on the roads. The highlight being the Bangalore International Airport (BIAL) service, the buses are beautiful, comfortable, the staff polite and the fares seem to be reasonable for the distance and service. But since the roads are already bursting at their seams I believe Bangaluru seriously needs a well connected metro/light rail system dearly.

3. Visited the new Bangalore International Airport for the first time – it’s much better than before but nothing great. But one good thing that it has done to the city is that it has given it more space to expand between the main city and airport. You can see a lot construction going on both sides of the road enroute the airport.

A Signage in Koramangla for Taco Bell.

4. Tens of new malls and cineplexes have cropped up all over the city but irrespective of which one I visited, each one was crowded to the limit with hardly any space to lay your foot on as if bearing a testimony to the booming economy that India is. Many US brands like Staples, Ikea, Taco Bell have opened shop in the city recently. There might be many more but these are the ones I came across.

5. A lot of new eating places have opened now. Most of them are chains with multiple branches throughout the city. They are a little expensive and the quality is not uniform. Paying Rs.125 for a thali (full serving) is common place and considered nominal but the size and the number of dishes is not uniform. One place though which surprised and delighted me was Khandani Rajdhani, they have several branches serving Rajasthani food with thalis ranging from Rs 125-325. But the service is very good although you may have to wait for up to an hour at most branches (they are immensely popular). It's unlimited all you can eat food with good service from smiling servers that is the USP of the place. Thanks Prady for introducing me to this Gem :)

6. Another good thing I noticed is the presence of lot of mobile services (not the cell phone) including mobile saloons, mobile car services, mobile pet care. In a city where getting out is tough and time consuming because of the traffic, these services will reach you at your place and provide the service you need. And people are being innovative; a certain city mall drops you home via a shuttle service if you shop with them :). These are smart moves by people who understand that customers are willing to pay a little extra in case you save them time and travel.

These are some of the things that I found interesting, positive and that caught my eye. A lot of things are still unchanged but I decided to concentrate at the brighter side :). And I am never saying never for visiting Bangalore again as I am sure it will call me again to continue the love-hate relationship I have with the city, but I hope it is long enough before I do that.