Expatriates are not new to Bangalore as they have been coming to the city to work in the booming IT sector for the past 15 years or so.
According to Vestian’s 2012 Residential Market Report, there are over 10,000 expats now in the city, a number that is only set to increase as the city continues to grow exponentially.
But these statistics fail to capture the changing demographics of expats over the years.
Many 21-23 year olds, who are fresh out of university, are now coming from the United Kingdom to complete internships in industries such as publishing, finance, marketing, law and public relations. They are usually unpaid and work between one and three months.
So their schedule is only designed to get a flavour of working and living in the city. The short duration of the interns’ stay gives them a unique perspective of India that is yet to receive media attention.
City Express caught up with five interns to understand why they came to Bangalore and elicited their opinions of the city.
Mark (name changed),who works at a branding consultancy says, “Demand for jobs is at an all time high and jobs in UK is hard to come by at the moment. This made an internship abroad seem an ideal move.
Bangalore stood out because of its reputation as the IT capital of India, and could offer a good insight into how new business and overseas culture merges with the traditional ways of the city”.
Other interns too expressed similar motivations; they wanted to gain experience working in a high growth environment whilst savoring another culture.
Carlos (name changed) who has strong family ties in North India was not expecting the dominance of designer stores and western shops while Marie and Robin were expecting high levels of wealth but they weren’t expecting the concentration of wealth in some parts of the city.
Indeed, the super wealthy with their gated compounds, servants and luxury cars do seem to live a very segregated life and the levels of development have not trickled down to high street areas such as Brigade Road in a way that is similar to cities such as London.
Gemma, on the other hand found the perception that English girls “are easy” to be a problem at times. When compared to other cities in India she was pleasantly surprised that Bangalore didn’t have that many beggars.
Marie’s insight is probably the most interesting as she expressed concern that the numerous bandhs coupled with the weekly public holidays may prevent Bangalore from reaching its full growth potential.
The interns also found working in Bangalore a very different experience from the UK. The interns knew Indians worked hard but were taken back by the sheer number of hours and the levels of dedication, employees showed to their career.
Gemma, who works at Narasappa Doraswamy & Raja says, “Working here is completely different compared to UK. The main thing is the hours people work.
In my office, people regularly come in early and work through the night.
” Robin, on the other hand, was most surprised by the respect accorded in his office as despite being an intern, he was regularly called ‘Sir’ by his superiors.
Gemma was impressed by the generosity of Indian people and the real effort they made to make her feel comfortable.
Bangalore is definitely a city that has opened its heart to foreign workers! It is not all cheery though.
For the expats, the hard work, generosity and kindness of Bangalore’s residents juxtaposed with what Mark called “that will do attitude to problems such as road quality; a problem that is hindered by the high levels of corruption.
” They were also not expecting the prevalence of conservative values in the city.
Carlos, for example was aware of the 11pm curfew, but was not expecting it to be so diligently enforced and Marie believes that other cities such as Mumbai had a more cosmopolitan feel.
The interns further reveal what you probably know. Bangalore, like all major cities is marching to its own tune and the warm weather, good education and desire to welcome others will allow this city to further establish itself as an international business power.
Issues though such as social segregation, punctuality, sexual misconduct and a tolerance for embezzlement reveal many of the pervasive social problems facing the city.
In addressing these problems, Bangalore will fulfill its cultural as well as its economic potential.
This will encourage more expatriates to become permanent residents in Bangalore, allowing the city to reap all the advantages of a global population.