NEW YORK CITY: Heaven knows that Bangalore has problems spilling out of its back pockets. But when the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) showcases a book titled ‘101 places not to visit‘ by Adam Russ, with Bangalore securing the pride of place in the India section, it’s time to sit up and cry.
The introduction to Bangalore reads:
“In the heart of a country of incredible sensory richness lies a town with all the life-loving vibrancy of a chicken battery farm”
And through nine short paragraphs, the 192-page “essential guide to the world’s most miserable, ugly, boring and inbred destinations” (published by Robson Books) tears into Bangalore’s food, bars, museums, and everybody’s favourite whipping boy, infrastructure.
Admittedly, its flippant tone—“tongue-in-cheek, laugh-out-loud humour (that) outlines all the not so attractive elements”—will not meet everyone’s OK, but Russ does really shows how the light has gone out in Silicon Halli. And how little we have tried to preserve our own.
HISTORY: Nicknamed the “town of boiled beans” after the staple diet of most of the town’s population until about ten years ago, Bangalore is the capital of the state of Karnataka state and has been a vital fortress town and administrative centre since the 16th century.
The Indian government’s awarding of numerous defences and telecommunications contracts to companies in the region led to a period of remarkable growth in the 1960s, until problems with the infrastructure became apparent, namely the fact that there was a limit to the number of plug adapters you culd run off a single socket.
CULTURE: As cultures go, India is as rich and diverse as they come. Tour the country and whereever you go you will be greeted by majestic vistas, earthly smells and people as rich in diversity as they are in debt to the World Bank.
Except, that is, in Bangalore, a city whose soul has been clinically removed in the name of corporate efficiency. The arrival of the major banks, telecom companies, and the other super-villains in the city drawn by the lure of first-rate graduates happy to sit for long hours in cubicles and be abused by Western consumers—has altered the city and its people irreparably.
Everything about the host culture has been watered down, westernised, or otherwise screwed up. Family life in India is dominated by conversation in India, and families do a lot of talking in Bangalore—just not to each other. This is because families don’t just get to see each other. They’re too busy explaining to you why the ATM just ate your card. To maintain family life in Bangalore, parents have to work split shifts on different time cycles. This means that someone is always home to make sure the kids get their introduction to telephone customer service homework in on time,
ATTRACTIONS: Unless you are planning a guide to the world’s largest call centres or have a fascination with theme bars so fake there are indigenous tribes in the Amazonian rainforests that wouldn’t be taken in by them, Bangalore is a city to be avoided at all costs.
The government museum is on Kasturba Gandhi road and is worthing spending a rupee on if you’re a museum curator and want to feel good about the way you display your exhibits back home.
EATING AND DRINKING: The clash of cultures has resulted in some interesting recipes appearing on Bangalore’s menus. Many of these “fusion” dishes work surprisingly well. Most, however, do not. In particular, the Dixie Fried Reclaimed Meat Thali with Kannada Chicken Bone Fries should be avoided by humands—or any other animals with fewer than six stomachs.
EAST BECOMES WEST: The arrival of American frims in Bangalore in the 1980s has had an undeniable impact on local culture, with vegetarian restaurants gradually being replaced by Pizza Hut and Baskin-Robbins. And the city authorities’ decision to host the Miss World contest in 1996 showed that they were out of touch not only with the rest of India, but probably with the rest of the world as well.
***
Boredom rating: 5 stars
Likelihood of fatal visit: 2 stars
Essential packing: Tele-salesworker union card
Most likely cause of death: Falling telegraph pole***
Also read: Who killed Bangalore?
churumuri 
Why would anyone want to visit Bangalore unless they had work..?
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In other news, Adam Russ was one of the first to lose their jobs due to outsourcing of work to India :))), come on Adam, be fair any …any city is better than Chennai
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Boredom rating of Bengalooru was always up there as far as I know. I mean, it used to be known as the ‘Pensioner’s Paradise’ didn’t it? About attractions, when someone new to here asks what he/she should visit/see, I’m always flummoxed. Lalbagh, Cubbon Park, Sir M V museum, MG Road, City Market, Utility building…
It did have soul though – a gentle, friendly soul. Now it is gone. Two guys (both not from Bangalore) riding a motorbike on a footpath, thrashed a female reporter from The Hindu, and they removed the last bit of soul from Blr.
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No wonder Bangalore (now fondly called Bengalooru by a few losers, as the locals are known) looks so out of place, even to people of different tribe (like Americans, of course not to mention Mr. Friedman’s praise comes for other commercial reasons).
Now, let me telly you that I do like things Italian like Pizzas, Pastas and Coffee. But in the heartland of Coffee, when you are told they don’t serve milk coffee in places like Barista, you wonder where you are, India or Italy. Never mind in these same places you would hardly find a soul pronouncing Macchiatto or Capuccino properly, the Itlaian way.
This goes on to say that local culture is important and disruptive development is not good for anyone, the least for Kannadigas.
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I agree that the soul has been surgically removed. The social fabric of the city was long gone. What’s left is phoniness of the growing consumer culture.
Benda Kaloorina hrudaya bendu hogide.
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Bangalore has lost a lot of its soul, I suppose, but you have to wonder, on behalf of all the people who now have good incomes and prospects, what the soul meant for them while they were earning Rs 5K per month.
The call centre employees didnt build the malls or the Barristas, they didnt knock over the infrastructure single-handedly. As always, an incompetent city administration just failed to keep stride as the city suddenly encountered commercial success.
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Bangalore always was a soulless city and so the tale being told today is understandable. The bigger tragedy would be if Mysore with its enormous cultural identity went the same way as Bangalore and there is every possibility of that happening.
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Sadly, the man is right.
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Yes the man is right … look at what they have done to MG road. THe building’s are an heritage any other city in the world would have turned the world upside down to save a historic place … I miss just sitin n sippin coffee on the boulevard !
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Rohith,
Please do not skip your lobotomy appointment!
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Gaby: ‘Bangalore always was a soulless city’
No!
The soul was stubbed out in recent times.
If you havent read it already, I recommend this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Promise-Metropolis-Bangalores-Twentieth-Century/dp/0195667255
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nair’s book is 50$?!!!!
i read her papers and some other stuff online. for some of the stuff had to ride free on library subscriptions. good stuff in that it is a academic exposition and hence gives a perception of being a scholarly understanding but nothing that you couldn’t get if you were a tuned in east sider or a simple west sider.
this 50$ a pop book is some scam in printing in the west. some doode in dharwad’s line bajaar or balmata, mangalore would have printed it for much less.
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Yeah,
But gaby comes from the ‘soul-filled’ west doesnt she :)
…no offense to gaby – couldnt resist the cheap shot.
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TS,
I thought you didnt believed in ‘xeroxed notes’ ;)
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didnt believe – why do I keep making these typos?
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Guys guys, please dont apologise – Yes i write from the posturing soul-ful West but I come from the original mother country of the soul- Bharatavarshe jambudhweepe etc. Makes me have a strong ego with a thick skin.
Anyway I didnt spend 50 bucks to find out what I and my grandmother always knew. Bangalore really had no soul.
BTWI dont like Nair’s style of writing. Some of DVG’s essays in Gnaapaka Chitrashaale are a classier exposition of the Bangalore in the first half of the last century
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This cheap rohith guy are the kinds that have screwed up blore. He couldnt resist a jibe at locals,they dont need an excuse.. sick people really
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Speaking of books, Peter Colaco’s book on Bangalore is a good one too. He is an old Bangalore hand.
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Quizman, yeah peter colaco’s book was the kind which makes you nostalgic if you have been through similar experiences.
gaby – If you dont mind telling on a public forum, how many years have you lived in Mysore/Bangalore/the wicked West? I am curious since you reiterated that Bangalore is soulless. Want to know where you are coming from with the statement (no pun intended).
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Yadavgiri, Mysore till age 4 years then JP Nagar Bangalore till age 9 years and then Newcastle upon Tyne , United Kingdom till now. Bangalore and Newcastle are equally soulless- the tragedy is that Mysore- a fab town going down the same route – what else is the Deepak Thimmaiah festival etc .
About the soullessness of Bangalore tell me whether Bangalore has any redeeming defining characterestic- the romance of Paris, the commercial Hong Kong, the sterile Singapore, the Madras mamis, Delhi arrogance, patronising Kolkata, Sporty Manchester- well I might not be right on all these counts. Dont get me wrong I love Bangalore only next to Mysore but I ve laid out my impressions. In any case` most Western cities are equally sterile and soulless- Brighton to Helsinki to Munich.
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Gaby,
Nice to know your familiarity with the various cities of the world. So nice–you live in Gascoigne territory. Also the setting for Likely Lads sitcom, is it not? How about the caramel colored water that passes for the finest brew in New Castle? That should count for something. I thought London was a nice city, though! When I was London on a brief visit I was nostalgic for Mysore!
Your remarks on Bangalore are so true. The city has disappeared from the elegant streets and bungalows of the yore in ‘cantonment’ Basavanagudi Malleswara and so on. Instead I see only hideous ‘flats’ in their places with folk drying their underwear! The city still has some decent eating joints, though (both veg and non-veg) and the climate is still air-conditioned despite all the progress:). I am still not sure about the coffee shops though..I prefer the cawpee in our own local Krishna Bhavans and Gayathri Bhavans thank you! may be we can say the politeness of the Kannadigas? DDG and his kin excepted, though:)
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Wait. I am a little confused. I was talking about your statement:
‘Bangalore always was a soulless city’.
But if Bangalore was always soullesss – it didnt take any route. And so how can you say, ‘Mysore is going down the same route’?
And why did you not qualify Mysore with an adjective? The — of Mysore?
Madras mamis? That is a redeeming defining characteristic?!
Maybe just semantics, but I have a lot time on my hands today :)
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I am sorry to say, but living in Bangalore for 5 years in early childhood hardly gives anyone a good perspective of the city. Especially, if your view has been influenced by other family members who regretted leaving Mysore or some such place. As they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
For me, Bangalore has been the only place that gives a warm fuzzy feeling of home. Beautiful tree lined roads and beautiful gardens were what defined the character of the city. Alas, it is now a far cry from what it was not so long ago. Honestly, Bangalore is not the “touristy” city and one should not have such expectations. That said, it definitely does not mean that it does not have a soul. One needs to have a soul to be able to recognize another. I do agree that it is now a tortured soul at best, thanks to the irresponsible adminstration and irreverent newly arrived citizens.
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Now, to get back to the book and the subject of this post. This book gets a a pathetic 2 star rating on Amazon ( and those 2 stars were granted because some people have treated this book as a joke book and not a guide). I totally agree with this Amazon reviewer’s opinion. – ” I realise that it is supposed to be amusing but it all comes across as being rather arrogant. Like others have said, he (the author) hasn’t visited any of these towns and so has just followed stereotypes which he has found written in other books or on the internet. It seems extraodinary that he should set himself up as an expert on what to and not to visit, it simply means that he has an opinion, but to try to give it credibility by publishing it – shame on you! “
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The book is supposed to be a humorous (sic) take on some of the popular destinations of the world. It is a parody of other ‘real’ travel books and Churumuri (and others) might have missed the point by taking this seriously.
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I think the comments are highly exaggerated.Bangalore is no worse than London, New York whose growth have always outstripped the amenities. It takes hours if you get caught in rush hour traffic in London as also in New York.Bangalore as also Mumbai have ‘ soul’ as against people in New Orlaens who ran away leaving the marooned and sinking couple of years back. Our so called soulless cities have risen to a man during the mumbai rains year afte year.The Thames was a dirty river some years back before they clened it up.Bangalore ‘s growth was phenomenal in a matter of 3 – 5 years.It still has its plus too.It’s the usual western media pulling down anything Oriental or Indian.
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i wrote a rather long piece refuting the lack of soul angle before i deleted it in a fit of anger.
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just saw DB’s post, that is one of the problems, too many intellectual, and prim-and-propah types per capita. more worrisomely too many of these occupy media space and get too much visiblity. the real ferment and fervour-kaararu all sidelined.
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If you go by the posts on this website – we’re a nation of whiners, AT&T (all talk and talk)
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I cannot help but agree with this assessment.
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Reading koppal haida’s comments was very interesting, to the say the least. I am still not sure how a Kannadiga, which I am, would resist a jibe at locals by the jet-setting (or otherwise) folks of the country living Bangalore. I don’t understand either when he calls simple Kannadigas cheap and why he calls them that!? Acoording to him if being nostalgic about a laid-back lifestyle and history of something is bad then having one’s own set of beliefes is as bad. Grow up pal!
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TS
There is a joke in Fawlty Towers and it goes, “Pretentious? Moi?”
I have had to reach for a dictionary and google to find out the meaning of some of the words and ‘foreign’ phrases you have used in your earlier posts:)
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Most of the times the Posts in Churumuri seem to convey the strength in vocabulary than to convey the message to readers in ‘Plain’ English .
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Hey,
Bangalore’s traffic is no worse than any other big cities in US of A, UK or Japan or China (just check out the number of ring roads being built in Bejing). In a growing city we got to live with it. just bcoz the traffic situation is getting worse do anyone of us (including you and me) stop commuting. Honestly, you can get from one part of town to the other in around 2 hours even during peak hours, which is reasonable. So why the big hue and cry ? If you like it, take it, if not please move on..
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…for those who need to know how Baghdad looks now…pls come to Chamarajpet…those roads and the deafing pataaki sounds make a perfect simulated environment….this simulation can be experienced today and tommorrow ONLY, while the roads will remain the same for many more months to come as they have been all these years…
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Namaskara,
First of all I would like to know Gaby’s real name…..You seem like an interesting character…..Or did you goto UK and changed your name to Gaby??
Neways for all the guys who say that Bangalore is a soulless city, go back to your own towns.
I felt writing a lot of things, but not in a mood to write anything.
But as one of the guys mentioned, I have experienced the air-conditioned atmosphere in Bangalore last year October. Bangalore is one of the best places on Earth.
Some Western moron writes something about Bangalore. Dogs do bark on the street. Do we care about them?? … Nope…..
Let us have some Swabhimana and stop blaming our own places of birth and culture guys.
cheers
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Bangalore has changed in character thanks to the boom and been ripped of its soul no doubt and true it has brought in a lot of advantages in terms of job opportunities etc etc but what use is it if deteriorates the quality of life! Give me a minute from the Bangalore of 1980s , my life will be done . Happy memories of Bangalore of 1980s shall always . Linger on no matter what happens and I know it will nver return again, Bangalore of 1980s was cosmo in its own way yet still retaining an old world charm. I see that charm existing in some way in some of the Bunglows on Vittal Mallya Road . Hope something happens and I get to savour atleast one moment from the Blore of 1980s. Of independent houses, old tree lined avenues and pollution free raods and cool Blore air . What a loss our generation has had to see in its lifetime. Thankfully my granfather is not alive , he wud be pained to see Blore in its present state today which is thanks to people who don’t understand the character of city and the politicians who have ripped the city apart.
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I hail from Kolkata, which I’m happy to report, despite it’s recent strides in mass consumerism, has not lost its soul. I inhabit Bangalore now, and its a very sad story. The air quality is despicable in the major parts of the city and the roads were simply not meant to take up the assault of 2000 odd new vehicles that encroach on them everyday. The pub culture is extremely wannabe; theres a 11.30 PM shutdown of nightspots, which reminds me of a utilitarian society right out of 1984. I dont see any live bands or any indication of the city nurturing local talent. The unhindered growth of private colleges and call centers mean that you’ll find more mizos in bangalore than in Kohima. The state of the electrical infrastructure is as fragile as the indiscretion of pre-pubescent vigins and the auto drivers make it their lifes mission to rip-off non-Kannada speaking commuters, as a means to vent their frustrations against the great IT – Non-IT divide.
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Debranjan-
………..and thats exactly the reason why you should stay put in Kolkata my pretentious bong friend
btw it is Bengaluru not Bangalore
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completely agree with debranjan. thanks sir for that clear headed analysis.
having read glories of kolkatta i am now totally ashamed. i will shun all that i have and strive to reduce my beloved bengaLooru to kolkatta levels.
debranjan saar just let me know where do i sign up to be a true blue kolkattan. these south indian gurls are way too dominant for my taste. especially these gurls from the bayaluseeme.
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I would like to request all the people who read this post and all those who have left comments before this, to put their money where their opinion is….if Bangalore has no soul, infrastructure, etc please leave…..go live where you find all this more……then maybe my city might regain some space it had when I was growing up…….we don’t want our beloved city to become a metro…..please leave…..you can visit for old times sake but why should you live in a place that so wrong for you…..
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@rohith: get a life man..!! (can the admins delete his comment please…..?? its quite obviously offensive….I take offense to it)
@Sushma: well said…
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@Sushma: +1
If its so tough to be in Bangalore…. answer is plain and simple. “Go back” to your respective villages.
We dont have to, cause our beautiful city gives us everything we need, including jobs and entertainment. Infact much more than we need. we are proud of what we are and where we live. We dont need an x,y or z to come to our home and comment about our beautiful home.
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There are many places in bangalore with their soul intact…but does the visitor even know how to recognise that? The basic requirement is that you should be on your two feet instead of buzzing past in a AC taxi which is what Adam Russ is likely to have done.
Are market places a representative of the city’s soul? If so, visit the Malleswaram vegetable market, the KR Market one, or even the Jayanagar one. What about VV Puram and it’s food street? Or N R Colony? Basavanagudi and Banashankari market? Visit Ulsoor on the day of the Rathotsava at someshwara temple. Or St. Mary’s Bascillica on St.Mary’s feast? Russell Market and the surrounding areas. Are these areas visitor friendly? The answer is “It depends!”. Why? Because it is linked to your expectations.
Anyone who grew up or visited Bangalore upto the late 80’s knows that the city was known for HAL, BEL, BHEL, BEML, NAL, ITI…and possibly a few more public sector companies. To say that the city now is known only for call centres is just indicating the author’s ignorance.
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C’mon people what’s wrong with you all?? what’s up with the ” you guys are crowding my city”?? Is this kannadigaru hospitality?? You guys just raise a hue and cry over every issue. Instead, why can’t we just try to salvage the issue?? And you guys blame the teenagers of this generation for the disintegration of our cultural values!! Shame shame:(
Oh and by the way, before you guys are up in arms, I must add that I’am a pure kannadiga staying in this city for quite a long time.
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May, 2010: went to Mayo Hall for a bit of work. Went too early and decided to have a bit of coffee from one of the stalls inside Mayo Hall to while away time. Steaming hot tumbler of coffee, that was too hot to touch. Coffee uncle sees my discomfort, he takes my coffee and cools it down for me before giving it back…
I think, when you are searching for Bangalore’s soul, you shouldn’t be looking for super-historic architecture or traffic-free roads. The soul of Bangalore is in the Bangalorean, in his simplicity and gentle concern that reflects in the little things that he does for you.
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