Dear Bengaluru, what can I write about you? You are probably one of the most 'large-hearted' cities in the country. Bendakaluru, needless to say, is what you were called originally, before taking up the anglicised name.
There are numerous things I can talk about, starting with its founding, till its present status as the Silicon Valley of India. It is evident that the city is growing, and offering food and shelter to every class of society. Nowadays, it is a home for not only the good, the bad and the ugly, but also to the glamorous, the intelligent and the spendthrifts. People are slowly moving towards shopping malls instead of the old Chikpets and Gandhi Bazaars, opting for multiplexes instead of cinema halls. Its lush green gardens, old eating joints in Malleswaram and Basavanagudi, MG Road, Lal Bagh, Ravindra Kalakshetra, Hotel Ashoka and Dr Rajkumar Road are some of the signature landmarks that come to mind when I think about Bengaluru.
Sadly, few other things have also made their way to the list, namely the Metro mayhem, apartments being sold upto `3 crore, the resplendent Vrishbhavati river also known as ‘the Kengeri mori’ (yes, black is also a colour), disappearing/disappeared sparrows, barren lakes and ponds, encroached reserved forest area by real estate eagles and horrendous waste management by civic authorities.
This is not to tell its inhabitants to stand up and act. I am only saying how bad this column would look in the future, if we do not. Probably, after 10 years, someone who ponders over what to write will have nothing else to praise the city about, except for its malls, apartments and the pubs. Are these enough?
The reader is a resident of Kanaka Layout, Padmanabhanagar
