For someone who has to brave the Bangalore traffic on a daily basis, one early morning drive can bring back all the nostalgia for Bangalore….Though the unearthly hour of 6.30 in the morning is not something I would want to venture often, the smell of the fresh breeze without the accompaniment of smoke and pollen reminds me of why despite all the cribs about the city, it still does have its charm…

Really, this post is like a break from normal programming…but sometimes it is good to just be…

Hmmm….after I had made a mention of the possible impact of the inexperienced chief minister, it looks the Honourable Chief Minister has already heard about it and has responded to it. I didnt know I was such a powerful spokesperson..

Anyway, turning the argument on its head, maybe in some ways it is also good. Like in any B-school, you will have the real experienced guys (5yrs & more…we used to call them Lathis) and the real young kids (19-20 yr olds). Both of them have their own strengths. I guess similarly, having a chief minister who hasnt held office before may allow him to go ahead with schemes without being ambushed by other compulsions at least until he learns the trick of the trade. (oh…there my cynic head sprouts up again….in you go)

For the record, I do see the roads being taken up as a serious concern. The Koramangala roads are being tarred at a feverish pace and it seems to be the case in several parts of the city. Great!!

It always feels good to be back in Bangalore whatever people might say about the crumbling infra ..blah..blah…

After 2 sweltering days in Chennai, Bangalore weather is just 2 cool.

And just like that Bangalore goes crazy at the death of a veteran actor. I guess I can never be truly Bangalorean since I dont feel for the death of Dr.Rajkumar as much as the thousands of Kannadigas…

The security guards at my office were passing out pictures of ‘Annavaru’ to stick on the car windshields. The guard tells me ‘for your safety only, sir’. I must admit I found it funny but I guess I would rather find it funny than with a broken leg or something.

I understand having a hero/role model to look upto. But to go crazy to the extent of creating violence at that is just something I cant figure out. The worst, they have just shut down the city…

For a poor bachelor like me who does not count his culinary skills as a strength, this was a nightmare. Hell, I didnt even have enough food stocked at home since I wasnt in town for the last few days. I hope tomorrow is a little better.

God bless the inventor of Maggi, the saviour always….

Taking a cue from this what comes to mind when you think of Bangalore.

The Vidhana Soudha at night..

Originally uploaded by anitabora.

If you dont recognize this, this is Brigade road without the millions of vela people (Courtesy Anita Bora)

There was this book by Rohinton Mistry called ‘A Fine Balance’ which I read a few months ago. The book is set in Bombay and talks about the life of 2 tailors in Mumbai and their struggles to live in the ‘jhopatpattis’ (probably didnt spell it right). Their struggles to maintain their space on the footpath etc. In parts, the book was quite good. However this post is not about that.

So recently, I saw this feature on NDTV about the slumlords in Mumbai. This is something that has been spoken and woven into the plot very well in the book. I actually could relate this to the book better. Kudos to NDTV for featuring this really old story that everyone conveniently ignores - that of the worlds largest slum.

All Mumbaiite friends of mine keep extolling the virtues of the city (to which I have never been). By coincidence, I have been reading quite a number of things about Mumbai, the latest being ‘Maximum City’ where there is a detailed description about the ‘dhanda’- the dance bars and the underworld and about the usage of the notorius ‘Rent Control Act’. I do not know if it was the nature of the readings but frankly I get the impression, you go live in Mumbai to struggle and then feel elated about your victory over a miserable life. Arent all these about the blatant breakdown of normal social order? I am becoming more and more convinced that Bangalore is just getting unfair press. Having said that, I would like to live in Mumbai someday to see if what the people say is true.

Probably will get a few brickbats from the people I know in Mumbai. So to appease them, here is a post on how well planned Navi Mumbai is. It’s good to know that we have a Chandigarh and Navi Mumbai to talk of as ‘planned cities’ even in this chaotic great nation.

Finally this post is not about Mumbai being bad or Bangalore being better but wanted to end with a few questions. What makes an effective city administration? How do we in India live comfortably in the midst of blatant violation of human rights? Have we just become too immune to all this? Is the burden of thinking about 1 billion people just too much?