Twenty one years ago when I reached Bangalore, after my wedding, I realised that I had landed in my dream city. It was a bonus, because I was to live in a city which was so much like Pune, the place I spent my childhood days in and also because I would be closer to my hometown, Cochin, as the attraction back there was always ‘Amma’, my mother.
Bangalore never disappointed me; I have had a wonderful time here and am always thankful to god for giving me a life I wished for. Even if I lived in Malleshwaram then, M G Road seemed like home. And like little birds building their nest by picking twigs; we, my husband and I, used to walk on Sampige Road, the arterial road of Malleshwaram, to buy every bit that can make a home.
When I talk about Bangalore, I remember the serene lush green canopies on all the roads from Raj Bhavan to M GRoad and St Marks Road, with the burger joint- Ice & Spice. This burger joint is important to me as one evening when I felt unusually hungry, I had not only hogged on two burgers but also ended up rushing to a doctor as I suddenly felt giddy. Now don’t think it was the burger that made me giddy but the little life that was getting ready within me.
This day was unforgettable as I had the burger during a lunar eclipse and later at night, my pregnancy was confirmed. I was all the while worried about the food I ate during ‘Chandragrahana’ which according to puranas is inauspicious for a pregnant woman.
When I gave birth to my bundle of joy nine months later, I had a bubbly little normal child as against the mythological stories.
And after all these experiences, one wish that remains is ‘No one should destroy the greenery on New BEL Road’.
A request to the Forest Department is that when they cut huge trees which have been there for ages, they replace it with a sapling which can grow into such huge trees so that our next generation gets a chance to see trees on the roads as it had been in the past.
(The writer is a teacher at Sri Vidya Mandir Education Society, Malleshwaram)