I am not one who is born in one place lived in one place. My life is spread over many places.I am one who lived in south & north Bangalore for over 25 years. In 1949 -50, I was a student of Ganapathi Middle School at Arcot Srinivasachar Street studying 5th standard.
What a taste & how much I used to relish when I chewed raw mango pieces with salt & chilly powder purchased from roadside vendors in front of my school. Everything appears tasty in boyhood. Hygienic unhygienic words won't be there in dictionary at that time.Boyhood is one when one would feel they could digest even a stone.The taste, energy, carefree, worriless days which one would have in it can be only a remembrance. Those were days when rupee ana & pai coins were in vogue & they had value unlike these days.
In those days traffic wasn't heavy in Bangalore. Bangalore had a population of only a few lakhs. There were no either auto rickshaws, scooters or B.M. T.C. busses at that time. Jatakas were mode of transport. My father had given me full liberty. I was a free bird. I was roaming freely from A.S. Street, to Chickpet, K.G. Road Majestic & where not. I never left any area uncovered. I was well acquainted with K.R. Market, Mysore rd, Balepet areas.I was taking round Bangalore our relatives who used to visit us from Bombay & Dakshina Kannada.
One of the advantages of being in a city is that we could have a glimpse of great personalities from proximity. It was between, 1949- 1950 I had the privilege of seeing our first president Babu Rajendra Prasad at Subhash Nagar. It's now Kempe Gowda Bus Stand, Namma Metro station & Sangolli Rayanna Railway Station. One of the busiest part of Bangalore & commercial center. It's heart of city now. Nowadays we don't come across a single tree in this area.Old buildings are disappearing & new one are appearing. In those days it was only a barren land where we used to play football. Gubbi Veeranna, & Hiriyannaiah used to play dramas there.Today, it's a sea of humanity. Ocean of BMTC & KSRTC buses & autos . No more Bangalore a calm & quiet city at all. This summer temperature of it exceeded 40 degrees. Man has to pay always a price for development.Growth of a city must be well planned . It mustn't be haphazard at all. It isn't enough if a place is good to look at it must be comfortable to live in too.
Today, how many flyovers, how many metro paths how many underpaths, how many skywalks & how many signals. It has become a concrete jungle. Doubt arises whether this is the same old Bangalore I lived arises in me.Kempe Gowda Talkies, Geetha Talkies , Prabhat talkies & even Majestic Talkies because of it the area has been known as Majestic have been demolished . Most of them have been converted into shopping complexes.Today Bangalore is flooded with educational institutions. They are rather commercial institutions than educational institutions engaged in minting money.Day by day more & more additions & deletions are taking place in it.Art living center, UB city, Iskcon temple, Wonderla Amusement park,Phoenix Market city, Mantri Mall Orion Mall are some of the new additions.
The city is a place full of opportunities. It is the source of numerous success stories. Coming there barefooted many thrive in one way or another.People laugh at me when I say we used to have a housing site at Malleswaram for a few thousands & Jayanagar was not born.In fact, one of my Corp banker secured more from sale of Malleswaram site than superannuation emoluments. Those were the days when milk revolution hadn't taken place & milkmen used to come to our door & milch the cattle. Morning & evening we used to come across cattle herds on the roads.
Bangalore, is one of the largest cities in India today. It has been classified as 'A' class city.It is situated at an elevation of 900m above sea level with a varied terrain collecting rain water at several spots as water tanks. Kempe Gowda's boundaries are no more boundaries.Today, concepts old Bangalore & New Bangalore are coming into vogue. Jayanagar, Hanumantha Nagar, Indiranagar, Vijaynagar, Rajajinagar, R.T. Nagar, J.P. Nagar are new extensions.Hebbal, Yelahanka etc which were beyond Bangalore City limits are now within.Days aren't far off when nearby Doddaballapur,Chickballapur etc. become part of it.
Everywhere we find traffic jams.Time is traffic today. More than Karnataka people, people from various states are found. With 25% Tamilians, 14% Telugites, 10% Keralites, 8% Europeans, and 6% a mixture of all races, Bangalore has all attributes of a true cosmopolitan city.Bangalore rains are peculiar. Sometimes when rains are there in Hebbal there would be no rains in Sahakar Nagar. Flooding of streets & causing of havoc is a common sight.
One compound one house is a rare sight to-day in many areas in Bangalore these days. Apartment culture is spreading. Real Estate business is booming. Infrastructure is excellent. It is well connected to all other cities in India by road, rail & air. It has international airport today.
To-day , Bangalore is not only famous for idli sambar, masala dosa , ragi mudde , jowar roti & sumptuous meals, but also it is famous for north Indian chats, western food comprising of pizza ,burgers etc. A few people wear lungis & dhotis, majority wear pants, jeans, & bermudas in it. We see a sea of change in culture. A few ladies wear saris, majority wear jeans, maxis, skirts, & churidhars etc. Bangalore has become global. There are as many beauty parlors as many hair cutting saloons. More a city expands more good & bad expands too. Bangalore is no more pensioner's paradise today.Yet, nobody can deny the fact that it is one of the most beautiful cities in India.Day by day man changes as such there's no astonishment in a place changing. Better change wherever it may be, be it always progressive.
Bangalore, which was once nicknamed ‘The Garden City of India, today an influx of IT companies and foreign investment meant that the city began to be referred to as the ‘The Silicon Valley of India. Similarly, Bangalore was once considered a safe city. But today the growing influx of migrants, increasing urbanization, and a major part of the BPO workforce that work in night shifts are considered some of the concern areas for the increasing crime trend in it.