Bengaluru channagideeni!

Naanu Channagideeni, the Kannada equivalent for I am fine! One of 3 Kannada phrases I have picked up in 4 months of stay in Bengaluru... Channagideera? - the equivalent of Are you fine?/How are you?

At this point of time Bengaluru is not so fine... it is tense. The city has had 9 low intensity blasts across different parts and the atmosphere is understandably tense. People in the streets are constantly on their mobiles, informing their loved ones that they would be home for dinner so keep it warm.

Bengaluru seems to have some reason or the other to be in the news. Its not in the league of Mumbai or Delhi in this regard but it does seem to have more news happening than Chennai. My phone got flooded with calls and SMS and that does not happen too often. The city makes news ( although bomb blasts is certainly not good news) and I like that about Bengaluru.

There are a few other things I like about the city as well, and this seems like a good time to blog about it. There are so many book fairs happening and you get some amazing titles for dirt cheap prices. The second hand book stores on Church Street are worth the trip for any bibliophile.

And it was during one of those book browsing sessions in Church Street that I realised that Bengaluru women dress up far better than their Chennai counterparts. Chennai women are certainly getting there though and I always have a soft corner for Chennai girls in my heart, but my eyes seem to prefer Bengaluru gals.

Maybe its the weather that lets the Bengaluru girls dress up, cos its absolutely gorgeous. For the past 4 months the only time I have rekindled my acquaintance with sweat has been during my monthly trips to Chennai. The weather in Bengaluru can get you lazy at times but it still rocks!

The best way I enjoy the weather - Walking. Strolls through crowded Sivaji Nagar market, through the swarm of spoilt western wannabes on MG Road, through Cubbon Park glancing at the Vidhan Soudha and through the tree lined roads. Walking in Bengaluru is bliss when compared to the sweltering heat and concrete of Chennai. But I must say walking in Chennai has its own charm thanks to the sheer number of tea stalls and short eats you find on the road. Also in Chennai my walks would mostly be with the company of friends and friends tend to make most things in life more interesting.

But what makes up for the lack of company is the Radio and boy does it do a good job. There is a lot more variety on Bengaluru airwaves. You get English, Hindi and Kannada but unfortunately no Tamil and from the small number of Kannada songs I have heard so far Tamil songs seem to be of a higher quality than Kannada.

Listening to radio and walking in the rain. Just dont get to do that too often in Chennai. The thought of a worried mother waiting at home wondering how much dirt and slush her son will bring home always, always, tends to make me avoid walks in the Chennai rain. In Bengaluru, no mom and all ayes to rainy walks.

This post seems to be too Vanilla for my liking. Lets make this more grey. The Public transport system in Bengaluru is not a patch on Chennai, and there are one too many powercuts in Bengalooru for a leading metropolitan city and not to mention the lack of decent tea kadais and the traffic jams and the high price of movie tickets... but all in all, I have grown to like Bengaluru... its been great, these last 4 months...

Ironically, the more I like Bengaluru, the more I seem to miss Chennai... I am not sure how you say that in Kannada... all I have is 3 phrases for now... Channagideera? - Channagideeni and last but not the least - Tikka Muchkondiru!