A request
To those residents of Bangalore, who haven't been living here for long, and hence do not consider themselves Bangaloreans,
To those who consider themselves Bangaloreans, but who do not think too high of the "localite" or "Kannadiga".
* I know you have been inconvenienced by the recent riots in Bangalore, and I know that it was unnecessary. The reasons for the riots were many - most of the rioters were just drunken rowdies out to have a good time. Added to it, total mismanagement by the police, resulted in a totally chaotic situation, which caused agony to many. You have every right to bemoan your fate, and discuss about how silly and pointless everything was. But please refrain from making sweeping and unfair generalizations about how "Kannadigas are blind and crazy", "South Indians are movie fanatics", and more than that, please do not bestow rude epithets on the Kannadiga.
* Please note that Bangalore is what it is because of the localites. Bangalore houses you, clothes you, and feeds you, and it houses the concern where you earn your daily bread. The office has been set up here in the first place because of the conducive atmosphere of the city and its (once) salubrious climate, and the welcoming and hospitable attitude of the local populace. If the localites seem hostile to you now, it is because of built up frustrations over a long period, resulting from the hostile and superior attitude that most of you might have displayed.
* Hindi might be one of the most widely spoken languages in India. But the localites need not know Hindi. It is the mother tongue of only a few of you, and you cannot expect everybody to know Hindi for your convenience. Try speaking in English, and if it doesn't help, then learn Kannada. Learning new languages is good for the brain too.
* Bangalore is in India too, but there are cultural differences from place to place. Your natural confidence and open body language is more often than not, construed as arrogance, high-handedness and superiority here. This is not taken too kindly by the localites. Try to be polite. Even if you do not know the language, make sure you use "Thank you" and "Please". The localite is basically a good person. He will respond in kind. [This Thank You and Please will go a long way anywhere. It's called the lubricant that makes the world go round!]
* Do not make fun of the South Indian accent. For your information, the accent you are speaking with, is not too great either. Some English sounds are not present in Indian Languages. Kannada and other South Indian languages do not have the sound "o" as in North. Some of us tend to pronounce it as "Naarth". Some of you cannot say "school", you say "ischool". You think the pronunciation of "bear" is like "beer", but it is not. "Entry" is pronounced as "Entry", not "Antry". Just as some of you cannot speak good English, some of us South Indians do not speak Good English. We are all Indians trying to speak a foreign language. All of us are in the same boat.
* Yes, we speak Hindi with a funny accent. We pronounce "hai" as "hy", because the sound "ai" is not there in Kannada. But we do not know how well you speak Kannada because you do not even try. Even then, try making the "L" sound with your tongue rolled. You will find it very difficult. Because that sound is hardly used in most of your languages.
* Yes, there are rude and greedy localites. There are cheats, there are thieves. Like there are, everywhere. If they seem more rampant here, that is because it is proportional to the population. And because the disparity between the rich and the poor is ever-increasing, this will also increase.
* Yes, the infrastructure is bad in Bangalore. The planners of Bangalore never dreamt of this kind of a population. Even now, enough efforts are not being taken. There is inefficiency, and carelessness in the way things are being dealt with. We are also being as inconvenienced as you are. Stop the ceaseless complaining, or do something. [This applies to the localites too.]
* Bangalore is not a hotel. You are not paying to stay here, and hence there is no point in expecting some kind of special service from the place. It is a place like any other.
* Yes, there are many things wrong with Bangalore. LIke any other place. If you had great expectations from the city, then that is your problem. Try instead, to find out what is right with it, and enjoy your stay here. But also note that most "outsiders" do not return to where they come from, and make this city their home. Warts and all.
We are all Indians, for heavens' sake! Let's not waste our time in demeaning each other, and instead, try to understand, respect and appreciate each other.
NOTE1: You are welcome to comment on this, but let us all refrain from name-calling, and too broad generalizations. Let it not get ugly. Let's have a healthy discussion. Extreme regional or parochial statements will be deleted, whether it is from an "outsider" or a "localite".
NOTE2: If you want me to add anything else, please leave it in the comments. I will update it.
117 comments:
Hi Shruthi,
This was simply one of the most sane posts I've ever come across.
It's a real pleasure and relief to come across rational-minded, well-mannered and sane Kannadigas in Bangalore for a change once in a while. I have several nice and close Kannadiga friends here and they are one of the reasons I'm deeply in love with the city. But they too agree with me on whatever grievances I have about a large section of Bangalorean Kannadigas. In fact, they have seen quite a number of people like me suffer here.
True, I can't speak/understand Kannada well and I know it's my fault that I can't but whenever I converse with a localite in Hindi/English , even if it's with an autorickshaw-driver, I address him as "Sir" first. And "please" and "thank you" are terms present in almost all my sentences. In spite of doing these I many a times have been brutally hurt.
Anyways, sorry for hurting your sentiments. I guess I got a little too carried away with emotions suppressed inside me for years.
Same old Anon: Must agree with you that last week's mob hysteria in Bangalore was totally uncalled for and will have a more lasting and far reaching implication than what the infamous traffic and infrastructure problems put together have been doing to the city for the last year or two.......
Great post!
I would just like to suggest adding one more observation:
What happened was essentially a localized law-and-order problem, that was grossly mismanaged by the Bangalore Police. Well, shit happens. Our police, like police elsewhere (think France), makes mistakes, too. And, don't forget that it's also the same police force that paid the heaviest price (some 100+ hurt, and several dead, and politician's ire).
Hi Shruthi,
First of all a BIG THANKS and CONGRATS to you on putting across the sentiments of localites in general and kannadigas in particular in a well mannered way. I came across your blog around 2 months back while i was reading a blog of one of my friend and i became a regular visitor here.
I certainly agree with most of your points but would like to add my thoughts that whatever happened in our city last week was due to total mismanagement of police and government, they should have visualised before hand that this kind of mob violence will happen as soon as the city got to know of Dr.Rajkumar's death.
All said we lost a versatile actor, a good-simple human (i say this because though this man could have become a CM of the state he didnt venture into politics and does not have any black mark on him till date) and a great person who worked for the cause of Kannada.
Debolin: Thank you for the compliment. I understand your frustration, and there is no need to apologize.
But I would like to reiterate that the people you have come across is hardly a large section of the Bangalorean Kannadigas. They just happen to be the frustrated section. And I am glad that you are polite. If more of you continue this way, I hope to see some difference. As it is, you are paying the price of the behaviour of some of those who came before you.
Same old anon: Yup, thats right. But I hope that people have short memories. I wouldn't want this to come up in every other conversation about Bangalore!
Abi: Thank you! Yes, you are right about the mismanagement by the police.. Sigh - analysis of the riots warrants an entire post/discussion of it's own!
Anon: Thanks a lot! Yes, the police knew this would happen from previous experience, but still they did not take any proactive measures as soon as they heard of his death.
Also, I would appreciate it if you could leave your name :)
Shruthi, Good post kane!
I mirror your feelings. Got really irritated when colleagues in my office started blaming kannadigas for last week's rajkumar's issue.
I tried hard to explain and point out that a similar situation could happen in any city and not to blame the city or it's people.
ciao,
vidya
Shru,
Somehow, every time something happens in Bangalore, this debate heats up.
And turns ugly. While, I compliment you for keeping this post very very balanced, sane and rational, I always wonder how the "mannina maga" and "doorada oorinda banda hammira" are always looking for a reason to spar...
Like the time when an Oracle employee had written a mail denouncing the local kannaDigas, and forwarded it to some friends, and it leaked, and created such a furore.
The IT community rose up in arms over this, and a flurry of emails flew to that person (I will not mention his name). The guy had the cheek to reply back to everyone and justify himself.
That did it. Emails became fouler and the level started falling. Open threats to come and settle it face-tp-face, threats of leaking it to the media. A yahoo group was created for the same, other yahoo groups (again, no names taken) came to their aid. Some more said their area of social service was different and they cant lend their name to this. Last heard, the Oracle employee was given a choice of tendering an apology or putting in his papers.
You would not have forgotten the mall-fiasco as well, where the authorities refused to announce a missing kid in kannaDa.
Or the now famous kannaDa name-boards on branded retail stores.
Coming back, all I want to know is why? Why do we want to disrupt normal life, and make this kannaDa and Bangalore a coffee table discussion? Why do we keep looking for an excuse to denounce each other in all possible manner.
We keep harping on and on about lack of infrastructure, traffic jams and what not? What do we DO about it? Do we walk a few metres to the store to buy milk? No. Do we arrange a car pool? No. All of us have to go and park in style. But we all speak, dont we?
Its not like the government is not doing things. I drove down to Mysore last week, and they have done an exceptional job on the expressway. The road is world-class, in a few stretches and bends it is even better than the Pune-Mumbai expressway, which is considered a benchmark. On completion, I will not be surprised if this becomes one, too.
Instead of hopelessly talking about what is not there in Bangalore yet, and how Bangalore fails to make you happy, it is better we dwell on what it has offered us, and be proud of the fact that in a very small time, it has given us reason and the opportunity to label ourselves "cosmpolitan".
MNCs did not come to Bangalore just like that. All you people, who speak low of it, you did not come here just like that. You came here, saw what it had to offer, liked it, imbibed it, said you love Bangalore, bought a flat here, brought your family here, set up establishments, and now you say Bangalore is like this, Bangalore is like that.
Being in Mysore, Bangalore, Mumbai and Pune, I can give you a whole xls of vis-a-vis comparisons, but I choose not to. Because unlike you who try to put a square peg ina round hole, my upbringing has taught me to align myself to the conditions given.
You will find me on top of the world, rejoicing in the fact that BMTC has the largest fleet of public transport buses, you will see me crowing away to glory that Pune has a youthful culture, you will find me explaining in detail the nightlife of Mumbai, or the tranquil lakes in Mysore, but you will never find me comparing or cribbing. Because unlike you, I dont try to find a Bangalore in Pune, or a Pune in Mysore. Because like sambar powder, each city has its own flavour.
And it wont taste good if you try to make rasam using sambar powder. So let's not make kannaDa and Bangalore a subject of coffee-time cribbing. Instead, its in our interest that we focus on tangible solutions, than pointing fingers at one another.
No offences taken, none given.
Hats off for the excellent post!
A few points:
Infrastructure in Bangalore is bad because there is no will to improve it. Simple as that. Not anticipating the massive growth is a really lame excuse for the simple reason that the growth didn't happen overnight. Defending the locals for this is really defending the indefensible.
Lets not get into the hotel and paying part - I pay my taxes and also one of the highest taxes on fuel in India courtesy this greedy state and there is next to nothing returned for this.
As regards the riots episiode I don't doubt for an instance that some of the reasons for that was also rage and jealousy at the people in the IT sector having it so good (fat salaries, fancy offices and even fancier lifestyles) while the average people having to make do with relatively poorer lifestyles.
For the record, I'm not a local. Neither am I the hated (in Bangalore) North Indian.
A very well articulated post indeed. Many of the points you have mentioned could be applicable to any city for that matter. I say the same things when some 'outsider' criticises and makes generalised coments about Pune, where they finally settle down. This is definitely not a healthy attitude. I can empathise with your anger and frustration.
Count in my support on this issue at all times :)
This is for viky
Bangalore with the largest fleet of BMTC buses is not a cause to rejoice but a cause to cry out with frustration at its services. For e.g., Mumbai does a far better job with lesser buses.
I'm sick and tired of hearing about not complaining - sitting quiet and enduring the pathetic state seems to be the credo.
Vidya: Thank you! Yes, that is what set me off in the first place.
Viky: That's an excellent comment. You should put it up as a post on your own blog. You hit the nail on the head when you talk about people trying to put a square peg in a round hole. You cannot have everything. Wish there were more people who thought like you!
Nagraj: Thanks! :)
Manasi: Thank you! Yes, this is applicable to any city. The problem is that people find it easier to crib, and that gets very irritating.
Scrapsstuffs: The population did grow overnight. Literally. You would not know, because you would not have been here. And there is no connection between the infrastructure and the localites.
Your comment about "greedy" state is unwarranted.
As for your taxes, that you would pay everywhere. My point is that some of you people behave like Bangalore "owes" something to you. For that matter, many of us expect that out of our country too.
And there is next to nothing returned to you? What about your fat salary? Why are you in Bangalore? Because it gives you something that other places have not been able to give you.
And one more thing. And North Indians are not "hated" and "discriminated against". They are basically misunderstood.
And nobody asked you to sit and endure. IF you are so miserable, then why, pray, are you here? Think about it.
And if your further comments, if any, contain uncalled for epithets, I will lose no time in deleting it. I want this discussion to remain clean. Thank you.
No words to express !!!
WONDERFUL POST !!!
Great Shruthi! :-)
Wonderfully written .. I'll fwd it to all those who I always thought, needed to read something like this! And Kudos.. to the balanced, polite, calm and the-true-original-Blorean style sensible retorts to people who disregarded your request to keep the discussion clean.
Love you for taking charge!!
Suyog: Thank you!
Did I sound apologetic? I am not. Why should I be? Bangalore is a wonderful place, despite its faults! :)
"it takes an equal effort from either side to mix into different cultures." - this is very true, Suyog.
Bru: Thank you :)
Anon: Thank you! And which anon are you? :) Is this C?
THIS KIND OF PROBLEM EXISTS IN EVERY CORNER OF INDIA AND NOT JUST IN BANGALORE. SO LIKE SUYOG SAID YOU NEED NOT BE APOLOGETIC FOR THIS AT ALL..
I AGREE IF A FOREIGNER FROM USA OR UK MAKES SOME STATEMENTS (BY COMPARING BANGALORE TO THEIR COUNTRY).
BUT WHEN A PERSON FROM ANY OTHER STATE WITHIN INDIA MAKES SUCH STATEMENTS , I WONDER... BECAUSE IS THEIR NATIVE PLACE IS SO PERFECT ? (IF SO , I NEED TO VISIT THAT PLACE)
Its a well written blog. All of us, being come here to Bangalore and settled here, should not blame the city or the localites for anything we find bad.
We should accept the local culture and try to respect them as much as we can. Its in our best interest not to go too far in calling the local population fanatics. Lets live in harmony with the localites. Localites are there in all the cities and are different from place to place. Lets accept this fact and be a localite of this adopted place, rather than trying to convert all these localites as the localites of our home city. Its good for us and then will we be respected aswell.
Shruthi,
The population did most certainly NOT grow overnight. I have been here long enough to know that. There were plenty of warning signs which were not heeded. And I'm not talking about creating new infrastructure but fixing what is already present.
The favourite argument seems to be "if you are not satisfied with this place you can leave". Nothing about improving the place, just being satisfied with things. I have heard that from so many people, as if that will solve everything and everything will be all right with the city if I were to just go.
This being your blog, go ahead and do what you want (delete posts, edit them, whatever). Your writing something on a blog makes it public and I saw it fit to comment on it (please point where I was rude, comments about a greedy state don't reflect on its inhabitants, BTW)
Hmmm...good post. But prompts me to ask this question - yenayithu?
I guess this is the basic human psyche no matter where one travels to. "My house is better","My galli is better","The gutter in front of my house is better!","My town is better","My State is better" and so on.
I'm sure the same ppl who rant about the shortcomings in Bangalore ("outsider" or "localite") will be proudly declaring it as one of the most progressive cities in the world when they go abroad ("Its the country in question now!").
YES YES YES....The same things(esp the one on infra
Yes, the infrastructure is bad in Bangalore. The planners of Bangalore never dreamt of this kind of a population. Even now, enough efforts are not being taken. There is inefficiency, and carelessness in the way things are being dealt with. We are also being as inconvenienced as you are. Stop the ceaseless complaining, or do something.
I wanted to SHOUT SHOUT and SHOUT and even put forth as decently as possible to anyone who came complaining. But the world is a bad place.
And I got tired and now IGNORE the naysayers. Sadly, many Bloreans themselves are against the city and complain which adds to the list of others like mangloreans, hubbalians and rest of the world outside blore/karnataka who are just too happy to point out a defect and complain.
Hi Shruthi,
Wonderful post. I like learning new languages and make an attempt to learn from any colleague who speaks another tounge...though they welcome my interest, I don't see the same in them, one of my colleagues from a neighbouring state was telling another person from the same state that there was no need to learn Kannada since they had a lot of people speaking his tounge and it felt like HOME!!! The repayment that Kannadigas get for the friendliness and openness is hostility and disdain. To all those who complain that they dont have people speaking their language, my only advice is.....please try living in any of our neighbouring states and try speaking the national language.....let's see how well you get along there. Hopefully you will then realise how easy they have all had it in Bangalore.
that anon is P .. hehehehheh... :))
Anitha: Oh no I am not apologetic. And yup, you are right!
Avinash: Thank you.
Srik: Well said, Srik. Thank you.
Scrapsstuff: Hi again! I was talking about planning, not fixing. I said the planners had not anticipated the population boom. As for the "fixers", which do you think is easier? Writing a new code, or correcting someone else's code? I am not absolving them of the fault. I am as upset with them as you are.
Nope, leaving is not the solution. But nor is incessant cribbing. If ppl keep telling you to leave, it means that they are tired of hearing you crib. They are not satisfied and happy either. It is just that they would prefer to look for the positive side and enjoy life in the meanwhile.
If you want change, then crib to the right people. Or start a movement yourself. Come on, I am game if you are!
Does calling a state greedy not reflect upon the inhabitants? Well, think again. :)
Chitra: Oh nothing, just pent up feelings, aggravated by a discussion on some other blog. Nothing serious :)
Anon: Ha ha that is right :) But with Bangalore, ppl just love to bash it, somehow! No comparing business. Wonder why?
Rk: Yes, you are right. My basic grouse is the non-stop complaining. I ignored everybody all this while, Rk! But today I just had to say it! Also, thanks for the desipundit tip-off!
Anon: Thank you, and well said!
This post was about Bangalore, but I could just as well replace the word with Hyderabad or Chennai and it would still hold good.
Great Post!
Was this post written by a Kannadiga or a Bangaloran?
No, I dont believe they are the same. A kannadiga has as much ''right'' on Bangalore as North Indian has on Delhi. Which in my book means none.
About, IT companies setting up shop in Bangalore, there are various reasons for it including presence of institiutions of higher learning. Let us not exclude that. It was not the alleged ''friendliness'' Of local people which attracted companies. Weather-sure.
So what was my point? My point was while people labelling all Kannadigas as foul-mouthed are stupid, anyone taking cudgels on behalf of Bangalore because he is Kannadiga is parochial. I am not saying you are doing it but I hope you get the drift.
And yes this adulation for film stars is sickening too-not that North Indians are any better when it comes to rioting(oh, we can teach a lesson to anyone in the world!) but this obscene fascination with 2 pence filmstars is a southern phenomenon which I have never understood.
Actually, its scary.
Thanks
True to the spirit of a Bangalorean, I dont see any fingers being pointed, infact issues are being sorted out!
Shruthi, since this is a long post, i think you'd be expecting a lot of comments, as well as comments that happen to be long. I hope I can take liberty to address a few comments as a Bangalorean.
Starting with Bangalore, with its close proximity to Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, the city has the basic advantage of hosting people of various background (presuming we do have more or less same though vibrant culture). Add this up with "The Pensioners' Paradise" Tag, bringing the decent and well mannered elders from various walks of life from all over India, we the Bangaloreans have a good recipe for what can be a true cosmopolitian city.
Coming to the recent riots, here are a few points, the intended readers can pay attention to:
1, Please visit Dr. Rajkumar's page on wikipedia , for a better understanding of the person.
2, The riots though a black spot didnt last more than a day (though not good, it could have been worse)
3, Taking stock of the mayhem.
Localites:
Whatever you(Shruthi) say is correct, I've lived a few years in other cities in India during my school and college days, I feel the localites here are a shade better than the people i have come across elsewhere.
Not much comments about the language aspect, Personally I can help people wo approach me with Kannada, English, Hindi, Tamils and some Telgu and Malayalam. I've seen a lot of uneducated local people also trying to help others who speak english and even some hindi speaking people. (call it my inexperience at this immature comment, but try asking for help in a few neighboring cities in a language other than the local one)
Kannada is a sweet language, if the educated smart intelligent modern indian can speak a couple of words in French why not try to learn something like one kannada word a week! Few years back on a train to Delhi, i was amused to see a group of school children from Himachal Pradesh returning from a tour of Southern India including Bangalore... speak a few sentences in kannada and they seemed to love it. It wouldn't be surprising if a few of them would want to move to Bangalore later in their lives.
Accent if ok, as long as the message is conveyed. Just one point for Shruthi, we in southern India tend to pronounce "M" as "em" and "N" as "en". Its a joke and I can take it with a smile.
In a few years, I think we can be bullish about the infrastructure in indian cities, say in two decades from now a handful of Indian cities would be world-class. Bangalore would be a part of it. Till then a bit patience could make your experience in Bangalore "Memorable". A small warning the traffic could get worse during the construction of Metro as was the case with Delhi.
The Place Bangalore:
"What do you call a congenial, captivating, cosmopolitan confluence of software and shopping malls, electronics and environment friendliness, salubrious climate and cleanliness, modern outlook and old worldliness, precision engineering and pubs? You call it India's best city for business. It is also called Bangalore. "
Opening lines of Business Today's survey on India's best cities for business, December 1998.
Somewhere down the line the hype took over, suddenly Bangalore became the most happening place, all roads started leading to Bangalore and people came under the illusion that Bangalore is a fashionable, modern, western, clean, FREE city which just happens to be located at 12.97°N 77.56°E.
Yes Bangalore has come a long way, but there is still lot to be done! Remember Rome was not built in a day!
A recent poll in a popular news channel shows that 3 in 4 people would still prefer to stay in Bangalore if offered a similar lifestyle in other Indian City.
About Comments
Debolin, wish we come across each other sometime, who knows you may change your opinion,
Anonymous, Please forward me any news that refers to the riots as a reason for damaging Bangalore's reputation in a long run, we all have bad days, What does Mumbai remind you of now? Economic prosperity, modern india, bollywood... or the 1993 blasts.
Abi, though infamous, the french riots pointed to some deep-rooted problem like the difference between the Have's and the Havenot's, Ramchander Guha made a similar observation in an interview recently.
Viky, Bangalore in recent times has been hyped up, things are bound to be hot (or cool) for good reasons and heated for the not so good ones. Personally I like your attitude! you rock!!
scrapsstuffs, hope you take this lightly, this is Bangalore and not B a n g a l o r e ;)
For the record, the city still happens to be in India not Europe!
Supremus, i have no doubt that you are a Bangalorean.
Scrapsstuffs or S c r a p s s t u f f s, ... hmmm ... well I'm too Bangalorean to pick up a verbal fight with you :) , am I being rude Shruthi?
Chitra, yenu illa!
Rk, this is like a strom, we got to ride it!
Anon..at 7.13 PM, I believe you are having a good time in Bangalore. Bangalore is proud of you
Confused, sorry but after going through all these comments, i'm Confused
The views expressed are purely mine, though i happen to share some with Shruthi, and may be i dont share some views.
While I didnt intend to be rude with any commentators, Please feel free to point it out to me here!
- Inspired by a Bangalorean.
One of the best blogs I have read in recent times. And there are hardly any about Bangalore or Kannadiga. You have given us a good picture of reality. Thank You.
Shruthi,
Really Gud points tht u made here.
I believe the problem of stereotyping a certain state and its people.....by the rest of the country is due to the lack of total & complete integration between the south and the north.
We may wanna deny this....but the fact is that there is still a lot to be done on the national integration thing in India. This problem may not be a serious or a gigantic one in proportions.....but it is there.
And i really disagree with u on u're point tht we South Indians aren't cinema fanatics. The truth is tht we are.....well most of us are.....and we give more than the required importance to the film celebrities. No disrespect intended.
And as for the other points tht u delved upon.....i think tht might have to do with some of the -ve coverage Bangalore might have recieved in the media during the last couple of weeks. Hope i'm not making any rash judgments.
This post in more than one way holds gud for any city/town/village in India.
Peace. :)
interesting :D
@scrapstuffs: 1.Infrastructure, as you say is rightly about fixing the old ones, but even this is being done. We cant get everything done at the snap of a finger, no? Look at some of the older areas in Bangalore, like Hanumanthnagar for example...it has become a model of sorts. Much depends on the people who work for Bangalore's cause at the grass root level.
2. Rage and riots on Rajkumar's death had nothing to do with the IT divide or any such thing. When riots occur, no one gives reasons for burning buses or breaking panes. Its only that the people did not get a glimpse of their much loved hero, who personified their kannaDa naDu (place), nuDi(tongue), and the ghanathe (grandeur).
3. There are people always to cry out, whether you do a service with one bus or ten. You put one bus to an area, and the person who missed it will say "There should be more". Add a few more, and the anti-pollution group will say "Why
are you having three buses, when one can do the job". Naysayers are in plenty, what is required is not comparison to Mumbai, but a gratitude to the services provided. Today when my colleague in Pune says he liked Bangalore better because the public transport was better, I feel elated. Today when I land in Bangalore and ask for an auto, my
friend says "Wait yaar, there's a bus every ten minutes to your place", I'm happy. And I dont care which city does it better with lesser buses. We don't have a efficiency and effectiveness competition here. What I care is whether I am provided for. And I can't ask for more than a bus every ten minutes, can I?
4. Nobody asked you to keep quiet. All we asked was a recognition for the services rendered. We thank the waiter who pours the beer into our glass, and tip him well for a good service. Why do we shy away from thanking the government?
I say thank you to the conductor who gives me a ticket, to the office-boy who wipes my desk, to the maid who cleans my dustbin, to the person who holds out a door to me, to the guy who presses my floor number in the lift, and
believe me, it really makes their day. "Koi bhi desh perfect nahi hota, use perfect banana paDta hai" - Rang de Basanti, 2006.
5. You pay more for fuel here in Bangalore, because the government wants you to reduce your vehicle usage, thereby achieving twin objectives - lesser vehicles on the road, and lesser pollution.
6. Nobody is asking you to leave, my friend. If you don't have anything good to say about the city, no problem at all. If you are so dissatisfied with Bangalore and how it has treated you, do me a favor. Next time anybody asks you "How's Bangalore", just say "No Comments".
@confused: It doesnot matter whether you are a kannaDiga or a bangalorean. Its about the city we love. As someone pointed out earlier, you can swap the Bangalore with Hyderabad or Pune, and it would still hold good. You can take the kannaDiga out of Bangalore, but you can never take Bangalore out of the kannaDiga. (ok, that was borrowed :P). Coming back again, Rajkumar was no 2 pence filmstar, he was a colossus in this part of the world. A doyen, a much acclaimed thespian, who never aspired for any post of power, which is why he was respected, even more. Check out wikipedia link in Jeyavel's post above, or visit http://thoughtraker.com. And this adulation which you say is rampant in the south, is not just here. Don't people up north do the same? I'm not comparing here, but doesn't Amitabh Bachchan command a similar fan-following. Did Mumbai not stop in its tracks recently, when he underwent a stomach operation?
@jeyavel: Good points pal, why not kannaDa when you can spare time and money for French. Wish there were more who shared your views.
@Shru: Thanks for all the kind words.
I believe that all these things must start at the individual level. It hurts when someone just cribs, without making an effort. I mean, we have to start somewhere...how long can we expect to be fed with a spoon.
Being in Pune, I try to align myself to the conditions given. A genuine effort seldom goes unrewarded. It was hard for me, first, with all colleagues speaking Marathi, but now I can speak reasonably too. People are basically good, no one likes harassing a newcomer to their city. Its only that they give back to you, what you offer them.
@Supremus: Thanks, and yes, it takes equal effort from both sides. Hum hi hum hain, to kya hum hain? Tum hi tum ho, to kya tum ho? Hum aur tum agar mil jaayen, to phir baat mein kuch dum ho.
As this particular post has received quite many huge comments I will refrain from pointless repetition and stick to the point.
The main theme of your post seems to be "plz stop screaming hoarse about, whats wrong, whats not, and do something about it. At the end of the day, we all are Indians, work for the common goal, for the betterment of our country".
Its the "Diversity of our Country" which has resulted in loss of a common goal for the local populace to work towards. And another equally main reason being, "the lack of action", being content with the present scenario and putting no efforts towards its betterment.. I think your post brings out both these points from the viewpoint of Bangalore city.
hi .... This is a reply to Vicky
Bro... In Bangalore you pay more for fuel not because the government wants to dissuade u from using vehicles... because as a surcharge rupees 1 goes into the Bangalore Metro Rail project and Rs 2 goes into the Bangalore International Airport... So every time you fuel ur bike remember it becomes your right to demand that the above two projects come up soon....
sathya
Hello:
I have lived 22 years of my life in Pune, and then 5 in Bangalore ... You may call me a migrant, trying to be as local as possible.
As a "local ghaati", a term the "outsiders" use to address Marathi-speaking people in Mumbai or Pune, I know how it feels to be insulted as a host to them. I have been typecasted as "tum marathi log ...". It used to tick me off earlier during my teens, but then I realized that there's no point in reacting to some thought-less comment that has been made.
Sane people, believe me, will never make adverse comments on "locals". Those who do pass comments, don't deserve to be in the city anyways. Eventually, they will get their dues, from their own likes.
Over the last few years, I have learned the Kannada language, and find it pretty nice to hear, though I sometimes do screw-up in the grammar and sentence construction, but it ends there.
I have always considered a local as a generous host. Cities will not be the same if the locals don't give away a share of their own to help other "outsiders" who also want to make their life better.
In the end -- nice post.
@Viky,
seriously, you seem to be enamoured with the govt! What this argument about fuel prices being higher in Bangalore because the govt wants people to reduce usage of fuel. You kididng me right? And hey I wont thank the govt for what it does because its done with my money, your money. Come on dude, I understand you defending Bangalore-fair enough. But if you start defending people like Deva Gowda now, that means you are not really applying your mind! Deva Gowda almost seemed intent on running the software industry in Bangalore to the ground.
About obsession with film stars, dude this gets to me. When people refuse to concede a valid point. How many film stars have become CM in North India? Look at the South, NTR, MGR, Jaya... kind of hysterical following Rajnikant has.
Your point about Dr.Rajkumar is well taken but that does not mean I mourn when he dies. I dont even know him! Peace to the departed soul and all that but thats it!
I am not sure why is this getting into a North India-South India debate. What happened in Bangalore is shameful, that does not mean nothing shameful has ever happened in North India. Hell! We have more than our enough share of idiots here.
I am not criticizing what happened as a North Indian but as an Indian.
Nicely put shruthi.
Well i have to ask a question to the "scraps" here....
if you have so much problems about bangalore, why are you staying here. Why dont you stay at the place where you have "no problems"
End of the day you should like the place you stay. You have the choice to stay where you want.
You should have included Kannadigas who do not consider themselves as Bangaloreans in the begining, i was one among them.
i live in kolkata and am amazed to see people here complain about Bangalore's infrastructure!!!
Anybody who's been to kolkata should feel Bangalore as heaven, but these people complain!!
so my conclusion is they are simply jealous. that's what. they feel some kind of inferior complex or some psycological thing thats what make them complain even on small thing about Bangalore.
"Tanna baleli biddiro katte kanolla, Pakkadavana balleli biddiro nona kansotte"
Anon at 10 13 PM, Nagendra, Harry, Sathya, GG: Thank you for your comments!
Confused: I have a very close non-Kannadiga friend, who has lived in Bangalore all her life, who told me that she could have written this post. Does that answer your question? It just so happens that I am a Kannadiga. And what is parochial in a Kannadiga defending Bangalore? And why is it that I have no right over Bangalore? Confused, I think you are confused.
Jeyavel: Thanks for the very explanatory comment and the links, and thanks for linking to me too. Your comment makes a lot of sense, and you hve some excellent points there.
Harsha No, the other points are not due to negative media coverage. These have been simmering inside me for a very long time, I wanted to express what I felt. I just found a trigger, that is all.
Confused,Harsha: See, I do know how much non-South Indians obsess about their stars. But I know that there tend to be rioting when a star dies in the south, I have seen it happen in other south indian states too. I am not disputing that for a moment. I get irritated with generalizations. But ok, let me concede and say, fine go ahead and generalize. But what's with the name calling? That is what I don't get.
Anoop: Yes, my post is mainly about all of us trying to understand each other instead of calling each other names. There is a lot to be done, and name-calling will only take us backwards.
Viky: Once again, good points!
Anon at 2 16 AM: Very nice of you to try to learn Kannada. So what if you stumble on the grammar, anyone will be forgiving towards someone who is trying to learn their language. Wish there were more people like you. And I am not saying, there should be more people who should learn Kannada. Go to Mumbai, learn Marathi. If you go to Chennai, try to learn Tamil, and so on!
Adi: Yes, I do know some Kannadigas who do not consider themselves Bangaloreans, but I personally haven't heard them crib too much. Yes they keep saying how clean and peaceful their city is (esp. Mysoreans :)) but I haven't heard them speak ill about Bangaloreans!
Jealousy or not, I don't know. But I would sure like to know why they complain!
gg, you seem to be confused.
If someone complains about a place does that mean he or she doesn't like that place? What kind of logic is that?
So if ten people complain about Bangalore are you going to tell them all to leave? I bet you will because that is easier than trying to fix what needs fixing. Plenty of my local friends also complain about the infrastructure - are you going to ask them to leave too?
I'm here because even if a few things are wrong with Bangalore, plenty are right too. As long as the good outweighs the bad people will be happy overall, complaints and all.
Shruthi,
While the post is excellent for the sheer rationalism shown by you as a local, I do not agree with you on the point of locals learning Hindi. While you are right in pointing out that "Learning new languages is good for the brain too." you very happily apply it to the 'outsiders' while happily forgetting to apply the same to Kannadigas in B'lore. It is the South Indians who have an ego problem with Hindi.(Pl note that Hindi is not my mother tongue either) However, as a natioal language (very proud to be Indians, but sorry, no Hindi !!!???) Why cant YOU learn Hindi as a matter of equal prode that yuo learn your mother tongues??? It is just a language which help you gel easily with the rest of India, why not learn it?
Otherwise, I agree with your post completely. Being a Marathi Manus from Mumbai, I know how it feels
:-)
Scrapsstuffs: Feels nice to know that you do like some things in Bangalore :).
Marathi Manus: I have learnt to speak, read and write in Hindi, not because it is the national language, but because I love languages. and Hindi was everywhere and I picked it up quite easily.
But what about the guy on the street? Will he rather feed his family of ten, or enroll in HIndi-speaking classes?
Think about it!
Thanks for the compliment!
by and large, this has been an healthy discussion,
Scrapsstuffs, its just that we have sort of culture here, where the language gets tagged with the geographical location, so any cribbing about the place is not being tolerated by the local people, however the local people (including me) dont have much to say when someone local complains about the infrastructure, we just endup talking the bangalore of the 80's and the Bangalore of our schooldays! Tell me one thing, if the infrastructure is fixed do u have any complaints? try listing the problems in other cities apart form infrastructure
we cant have everything, People in China want democracy more than infrastructure.
yoho Shruthi,
Did you actually read what I said?
I said Bangalore does not belong to a Kannadiga, the same way as Delhi does not belong to North Indians.
I thought this is one country right?
And someone made a very valid piint about Hindi. While I agree that, someone who lives in Bangalore should learn Kannadiga, why has South India shown so much resistance to learning Hindi? DMK to give just one example.
You mentioned about accents- that I accept. The fault lies with Hindi movies.
And no one is genralizing about the kind of adulation movie stars command in South India-one does not need to do that, since it is the truth.
Though, I wil concede even that is better than the kind of leaders we elect in the North.
anyways, I have made my point. Now, I will move on.
Good luck
First of all, Thanks Shruthi for raising your voice, so candidly in such a god platform. Your opinions are very much the same as other 'localites' I would say, including me.
Although the so called 'Outsiders' who vent their feelings against Bangalore are a fraction of the lot, I have seen myself few outsiders making Bangalore their home in a very quick time including learning Kannada and proudly proclaiming that they are Bangaloreans!
But the other lot according to me is only those who are in Bangalore, away from their friends and familes possibly, and vent this frustration out by cribbing about the city. But let me tell you even after this, they dont want to leave the city, no way! That itself shows they dont hate the city.
And for the infrastructure, you're absolutely right about Bangalore's growth. Bangalroe for many years now has been the second fastest growing city 'in the World'. With such a growth rate, even the best of the best countries would have suffered by maintaining the infrastructure.
I wish the day comes when Bangalore does not have any 'Outsiders', meaning anyone who lives here from any part of the world, says Bangalore belongs to them!
Chaitanya
Confused: Of course it's one country! And just as India belongs to me, so does Bangalore :) Ok I know what you mean, and I am not saying that Bangalore does not belong to you! If you feel it belongs to you, then great! It all depends on the feeling.
About south Indians rejecting Hindi, I hope you saw my reply to that!
Thanks for your inputs, good luck to you too.
Jeyavel; Yes its been a healthy discussion. I hope it stays this way :)
Chaitanya: Beautifully put. Especially the last paragraph!
USA v/s Bangalore
Kannadigas vs Tams
Bangloreans v/s Non Bangaloreans
South India v/s North India
Techies v/s Non Techies
Reservation v/s Anti Reservation
Our Nation is already so Divided, lets stop now.
No city is a perfect city.. and every localite is bound to have problems with the influx of outsiders and fear job loss or inflation,unless more opportunities & cities are created in other parts of the country (North India & East India)
As for Bombay I definitely know that unfortunately if Thackeray dies there is chaos & destruction in a bigger magnitude than Bangalore..
Jeyavel: We spoke too soon :D Here is a rude comment :)
Manoj: Since you are so fond of points, I will follow the same thing.
1) I am not blaming anyone here, I am trying to analyze the reasons.
2) I don't want to point fingers, but if you read the comments above, you will know how many people feel that this place is much more hospitable than many other places. As for India, I have no doubt that "Atithi devo bhava" is ingrained in our culture, and I am proud to say that it is followed to the T in some places like this.
3) The same applies to you. First understand one thing. Hindi is NOT our language. It might be yours. If we learn it, it is because of our own interest and convenience. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. IF you come down here, then learn our language. It is purely logical. Unfortunately, some of you can never get this in your heads..
4) If you come down from your pedestal and learn a few words of Kannada, this will not happen to you.
5) Oh no you are wrong. I specially picked this point, from a discussion on another blog.
6) At least we try to speak it. If narrow-minded people like you think we are deliberately making fun of it, its your loss. You dont even try to speak other languages.
7) I never said disparity does not exist in Mumbai or Delhi. And I am not even going into the crime rates there.
8) It is better than electing criminals as your ministers.
9) You either have not understood my point, or you are off in a tangent, I am not replying to this.
10) Surprising isn't it, after wasting so much of your precious time, you go through all the trouble to write ten more points and waste more time.
Phew!
That was some amazing defences by someone who was deeply hurt.. :)
When someone demeans your city/state/country, we all try to get defensive! I myself have gone through it many times..
Having spent my whole life in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, it pains me when people call up from other parts to ask, "is it safe to live there?" (this is post riots in 2002) And most of the people who ask this absurd question are the ones who have spent most of thier lives in the city, and since past few years only they're living elsewhere!
The reasons for us defending our cities are different, but the essence is the same.. no city is bad or no state is unsafe.. its all about prejudice we have for other place..
In gujarati, it is said, "ek hathe taali na vage" (ek haath se taali nahin bajti) it means.. both the parties have to make equal efforts to accomodate themselves! :)
Nice analysis you have put forward!!:)
Nirwa
Shruthi, I think we need to get some yankees outsourced to Bangalore, they can get add to the culture of Bangalore and at the same take care of a lot of rude people, Wonder how it would be if someone like Maureen Dowd was for Bangalore!
I don't know how to put this, Manoj, but if you are interested, i can suggest some english teachers in Bangalore to improve you grammer, I'd even pay for the fees.
Bombayite: Sad, right? Too many disagreements, too many arguments... when all one needs is empathy!
Akshay: Ha ha, thanks :)
Nirwa: Thank you! Yes, it takes two to tango, to put it in a different way :)
Hi Sruti,
Nice Blog. And even better are the comments.
But I do not understand one thing. How did u come to the conclusion that Hindi is the national language? This is another huge brain wash that we Indians have had. Hindi is the official language and the official link language and not the only national language(Art 343 of the Indian Constitution). There are 22 national languages of India and most of them are recognised as official languages of one or more states with the exception of Sanskrit, Sindhi and santali, which have also been included to represent our vast culture, heritage and tradition.
So simply, no one is obligated to learn a language as long as it is not the local langage. Accdg to article 29,
"29. Protection of interests of minorities.-(1) Any section of the
citizens residing in the territory of India or any part thereof having
a distinct language, script or culture of its own shall have the right
to conserve the same."
which very clearly shows that while in Rome, one needs to be a Roman and not a Greek.
For the list of all national languages please visit this link
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_national_languages_of_India
PS: I know a hell lot of people will come back to me saying that Hindi is the only national language and what not. Please give me an official link or the corresponding article/schedule/Part number in the constitution. In this regard I did not believe wiki when I first saw it. Hence I referred to the Constitution itself. One can show a collossal number of sites which say Hindi is the national language of India, but that does not make it true.
Sorry, Shruthi, you need to excuse me on this!
Response to, Manoj's comments:
Point 1..You are right, I agree with you. But how is this relevant enough to be the first point here? Please help me!
Point 2..Mother Nature has be really generous to us Bangaloreans, not just Kannadigas, the Kannadigas have inturn been generous to people from outside. And the outside people have generously reciprocrated by becoming Bangaloreans. Its got a lot to do with Bangalore's nature and also her people's nature, something like its in our blood.
Coming to the pride we take in hosting guests, here is a sarcastic look at our reputation abroad. --- posted by US DESI Bloggers.
Point 3..I'd love to reply to that in our national language, wish i had a WYSIWYG editor in other languages. Manoj can you please help me find one or creat one! Also this is a feminine thing, we Bangaloreans tend do better with sister languages!
Not sure about others, but i know New Delhi better than New York (we could improve the reputation online by devoloping official sites of our cities, yes the link is to the official city of New York!)
Point 4..In a strange way, I'd prefer to pay INR 50 and reach home than to be stranded in the middle of nowhere. But then my beloved Kannada always comes to my rescue!
Trust me its worse in other cities. The Bangalorean Rickshaw walas atleast undertand words like please/ thank you. Wait a minute did you say the Bangalorean Rickshaw walas? wow i feel proud, they Bangaloreans and not just Kannadigas or localites.
Point 5.. I'd echo Shruthi's words.
Point 6.. Isn't it ok if the message is conveyed ? no wonder people in Mizoram feel so alienated, thats why they speak english and their local language (Miroram hapens to have the higest litracy in India, even surpassing Kerala)
Point 7.. or should this be Point 6.1, anyways we salute the spirit of Mumbaikars! again a sister language thing ;).
Point 8..Aamir Khan would not like what you are saying Manoj, and I happen to be a fan of Aamir. You've got a Big Point Shruthi.
Point 9..Bangalore happens to have just 6% of its population in slums and small huts, compare that with other cities in double digits or something like 40-50%. We even have a magazine called Slum Jagattu. Try this link to see how Bangalore compares with cities around the world.
Point 10.. No thank you, I enjoyed every bit of this!
The resoponse to Manoj's comments was intended to be a sarcastic remark of how we see each other, the same 10 points would hold good for any city incliding New Delhi and New York!
Thank you, Arun, you have finally got in some substance and truth
@confused: I am not taking names here. I am speaking for the government, whether it is Deve gowda or somebody else. Its always like that in politics, everyone feels his votebank is right. We dont have a utopian situation at hand, where what is sauce for the goose, is sauce for the gander. On the contrary, we too, tend to support those who implement with a flourish, what we expect. Tomorrow, if someone says he will make a exclusive expressway to access ITPL, we all will tip our hats towards him. Where does that leave the other strata of society?
Again, what is it with us that we expect so much from the government, but when it comes to paying taxes, we shy away? To save a few thousands of Income tax, we invest lakhs in insurance and equities. Again, this is subjective, but let me tell you, taxes are reasonable here.
In Europe, you are taxed 40-50% flat on your income. It is a different case that they get it back from hte govt in the sense that they dont have to pay for power and water. In Germany, if you have less than 2 kids, you have to pay 45% as tax, which is used to feed, clothe and provide means of transport to the unemployed. This has become a dangerous demographic trend in Germany, because unemployed people are not searching for jobs, as the govt pays for their food, rent and petrol for their cars. Dont believe me? Ask any of your friends there.
I am not enamoured by the government, its only that I dont understand how people can talk about its lacunae without doing their bit for it. Get my point?
As far as Rajkumar's mourning is concerned, you dont have to know a person to mourn him. Did you know Mother Teresa? Did you not grieve when she died? Did you know any of the tsunami victims? Did you not feel sad? Again, its subjective, it may not have pricked your heart as much as it pricked mine, but somewhere it did a difference to your persona, didn't it?
@Sathya: Thanks for the info, bro. I will rejoice when they are up and running. But if I am not wrong, the "dissuading" was also one of the reasons.
@scrapstuffs: Nobody is asking you to leave, dear pal. I know that is coming up as one of the conclusions to this topic, but trust me, that is neither the intention, nor the solution. Stop knocking on that door.
@Marathi Manus: Kay sangtoy tumhi? Mi Mysorechya mulga, pan mi marathi boltoy. "What are you saying? I'm from Mysore but I can speak this much Marathi". See, its not that we south indians have some ego with Hindi. Maine jahan bhi Hindi boli hai, log poochte hain ki tumhari hindi itni sahi kaise hai? Zaahir hai itna agar woh poochte hain, to meri hindi mein kuch to baat hogi. If I had that ego and stuff, I would not have learnt it so well. Nobody tutored me Marathi, I have picked it up seeing my colleagues speak to each other. "Kay Viky, kasa aahes tu?", "ZevaN zhaale kay?" "Basa ikDe", "Chahala veL lagel kay" "Ho, mala vaTta vel Lagel", and this one I picked up from the Idea billboard -- "Shoor amhi, amhala kay koNachi bheeti"
For others who couldn't understand it, I was just trying to do small talk with Marathi Manus. :)
well, i don't know what triggered this rant (you mention reading something on some blog). I guess everybody needs to let off steam once in a while and better to do it on a blog than on the streets I guess! :)
I hope Bangalore solves its infra and pollution problems soon and comes back as the best city to live in in India.
Hi Shruthi,
As you said Hindi is national language I to agree to you but please remember that Hindi is not the only national language in India.
There are around 22 recognized national languages in India & Hindi is one among them. But Hindi is also given an additional status of Official language in Central.
Please don’t be in misconception that only HINDI is National language of India.
http://indiaimage.nic.in/languages.htm
Praveen
Arun, Praveen: Thank you. I have made the correction in the blog. I remember having learnt in school about all the national languages. But somewhere along the way, it probably slipped into my head, somehow, that Hindi is the national language among the national languages, so to say. For sure, it is one of the most widely spoken ones, and used at the Centre for official purposes, along with English.
dazedandconfused: LIke I told somebody else, I always wanted to speak out, but just received a trigger yday! And for your last statement - Amen :)
Viky, Jeyavel: Good clarifications!
hmm..things getting heated here.
ellaru swalpa adjust maadi :-)
Shruthi,
Share the same feeling with what you penned this article. I feel sad ,that we need to write all these addressing the most educated people.
-thej
Oh man, this thread is getting huge.
Shruthi, jeyavel, of course infrastructure chaos is the only thing about this city that really pisses me off but I'm learning to adjust to even this! Just goes to show you that endless adjustment is possible :-)
Viky, I don't get offended when I'm asked to leave as I don't take that literally. Sometimes I just like to argue :-), what to do we are like this only.
Let me start with saying that this was an excellent verbiage. It was a forceful way to put your point across. The point I got was:-
Those who cursed Bangalore were parochial, insular and borderline racist and regionalist. But you wrote nothing different. You came across as one of them but with a different allegiance.
Need I say anything more. The opposite of bad is not bad, the oppposite of racism is not racism.
Anon: Madkotha iddivi :D
Thejesh: Those were very good writeups!
Scrapsstuffs: Glad to know that :)
Green: I did not quite understand your comment, but I understood enough to realise that you think I am branding people who crib about Bangalore as regional, parochial, etc. correct me if I am wrong. If this is what you meant, then I think you have not read the post at all. Please go back and read it once again if you really want to, and/or read the comments and my responses to them.
@scrapstuffs: That's great. Dil pe mat le yaar, *&^%$ pe le :D
@shru: Tagged this thread to my blog.
When Anand Dighe of Shiv Sena had died in Thane(Mumbai) hospital, fans and fanatics had completely destroyed the hospital and there was a Maharashtra bandh. Violence on the streets and everywhere else, needless to say was at its peak.
I am not a Kannadiga, I have lived in Mumbai all my life and Bangalore happens to be one of my favourite cities (I visit the place at least every alternate years) Its a great place to spend substantial years in life :-)
cheers!!
finally something that makes sense...regardless of north or south where ever this kind of things happen it's despicable..one can't possibly term a whole city as bad for a bunch of rowdies..
Shruti dear, u better post a new post quickly. Else this is goin' to go on.........
:)
Viky: Flogging an undying horse huh? :D
Surya: Hmm... different people react to different stimuli. Anyway.. nice to hear that you think so highly of Bangalore!
Ss: Precisely!
Harsha: Ha ha :)
Hi Shruti,
Came accross your blog following your comments from Arnab's blog. This seems to be one of the most sensible post's i've come across on the Rajkumar issue. kudos!
Being someone born and brought up in Bangalore, I do have a confession to make. My kannada was pathetic till about 5 years ago (till I was 17) and thats because, well, my mother tongue was urdu (due to which my hindi is quite good for a 'southie') and also, all my friends in school speak in english at all times. Hence, the only kannada i ever came accross was while travelling in buses and autos.
Yet, I never had any trouble communicating with anyone all these years.
The true metropolitan spirit of bangalore can be reflected here. And this was all way before the IT boon and other associated phenomenona. This particularly awesome part of bangalore actually hit me when i was visiting chennai and had a really bad time because i knew hoot of tamil. Nevertheless, I somehow managed to fine tune my basic kannada grammer ever since, with a little help from my friends. Also, my friend Prithvi, a bengali, has mastered kannada in the last 10 years and speak more fluently than most kannadigas.
Well, like you said, its home for those who want to make it their home.
Shruthi, first of all: Whew!!!!!! This was one helluva post!!!!!!
Sorely tempted though I am to reply to Manoj's interesting 10-point analysis I'll play "mature" and keep shut on it. But I will not hold back on his point 6. Practice what you preach buddy, if you think South Indians have a "funny" accent while speaking English, I guess you'd be better off improving your Queen's English as well. I could go on here but I won't.
Just for the record, I think the accent a true-blue South Indian has while speaking English is delightfully sing-song and pleasant to the ears. Ever wondered why their English is so correct???
Shruthi, I totally stand by you, although it is an individual's right to protest or complain about things that may cause mental, physical or any other kind of distress, to regionalize it is not done at all. Not restricting this Bangalore, be it any other place; every place has its own pros and cons. And people who live there have to learn not only to adjust with them but also enjoy them.
I visit places away from home with relish but even as the plane coasts in over the countless slums in Kurla to land at Mumbai, I can't help grin with glee and think "Its sure good to be back home!". Am sure even if, in the future I somehow land up living in Bangalore, I'd still feel the same way about that place. The place is what we make of it. We're all Indians here and the more we discriminate, the more we have to fight about.
Its all very well to criticize all and sundry but what do most of us do about it anyway? In fact, there are a few (won't take names) who'd do all they can to put a spanner in. Take Shruthi's post, for instance, agreed she was vehement but she was forthright, honest and very much in her league saying what she did. I'd have thought the 71 comments before mine would have been appreciative. I was actually surprised to see as many brickbats as flowers!!
A tentative list of "city" thoughts:
Mumbai - The common man rocks!! Wherever and whoever you may be, help is on hand, 24 x 7! As for the infrastructure (though most people would not admit it) is improving. Only wish they would speed it up.
Bangalore - Beautiful city!! Always come back with a sense of wanting to stay longer. Good planning is evident with those huge "ring" roads and the umpteen routes you can use to navigate from one of the city to another. Though I do not speak Kannada, I am South Indian enough to know that most people there are well-meaning in times of need. This place will always be special for me.
Hyderabad - Rapidly climbing up the ladder of IT commerce in addition to being a beautiful old city that still retains the charm of AP. The common man here with their own brand of spoken Hindi is always ready to speak to you.
Pune - Great weather!!! The essence of the Maratha empire abounds. Most people, though introverted, are inclined to be oriented towards the arts and if you also are such a patron, its likely that some good friendships would be forged.
Delhi - Our capital!!! A historic city, one that has had several Delhis built over time each one bigger and better right since the time of the Mughals! Home to so many of the great monuments in Indian history. Accessiblity to the great and beautiful Northern tip of India.
Am sorry to say I have not been to Chennai and Kolkata as yet so I cannot comment on them with the same feeling. But other than that, when we have so many things to cheer about in the major metros of our country, I fail to see why some people choose to degrade the same, discriminate between regions of the same vast beautiful peninsula we all are a part of, generally hurt one another's sentiments by class-less comments or even throwing blame. Instead, if you real feel that badly, why not constructively think of something to better the situation, anything small within the reach of your position and situation. Isn't it such smaller efforts that will lead to the good of the whole? Why do we have to be so judgemental, so biased, so damn inhuman, always ready to castigate without real reason?
Shruthi, again, great post, keep it up!!!! May your writing always be this honest and forthcoming!
Lalbadshah:That's lovely! Just goes to show that it is definitely possible, if only you make up your mind. I also know many people who have learnt Kannada, and speak it so fluently that you just cannot believe that he is not a native speaker.
And thanks! :)
Sachin: Wow thanks for all the compliments :)
Very good comment. And good points too.
Also, what a refreshing attitude! You actually listed out what you liked about all the places you have been in, and nowhere could I see negativity. Actually that's the secret. You can choose to be happy, or you can choose not to be.
Great going!
Shruthi: Thank you! Actually the secret is just that... Sometimes I wonder why people don't realize that after all the raving and ranting and complaining, the most harm created is within them. They become cynical, ill at ease, tense, and above all unhappy. All of this could easily be prevented just by appreciating the nicer things around rather than dwelling on the unpleasant.
Hi Shruthi,
You expressed many of my views in a polite way that makes everyone to get the message without getting agitated and making things worse. I am from one of the South India. I love Bangalore, the localites and their qualities and polite, calm and nature loving. I had many moments of surprise, joy, and overwhelmed when I happen to visit the many parks over here that too they are in a high valued areas. For ex. whhich city you would find an entire half of it's prestigeous road was made as a park kind of structure? I am referring to M.G.Road. Had it been in my place people would have robbed by the place and occupied with benamies. I do at times had my supreme thoughts came in and I want to apologize for that in this forum.
^Siva
@Shru: So to speak, yes. Spare the horse now, and post something new. :D
Sachin: So true!
Sivakumar: Thank you!
Viky: Ah, if post-generating was that easy! ;)
Madam,
I *bow*.
This was an awesome post. Linking it.
Regards
Nikhil
I will go with confused, I thought every city in India belong to me, though I live in just one, and no I do not 'belong' to the same state where I live. How does that matter?
The Freak Speaks --
I went to see Anniyan in Tamil - in a hall..although I do not understand one word - except for the swear words :D
I have seen the great Mr.Vijaykanth's current saak scene - I even have it on my comp...
I do follow the antics of Mr.Balayya - son of the great NTR..
and, courtesy, my ex roomie at Infy - Kannada for me begins and ends with - Thoo nimma ajji !!
I am a North Indian by regional classification, a Kumaoni - Uttranchali by birth, a descendant from a long lost Maharashtrian Brahmin lineage, a Lucknowite by upbringing. I love mishti, must have it after food..I love khakras and dhoklas..and I want to see the whole of the country before I die..
So, am I an endagered specie ? Am I an anachronism ? Am I relic from some bygone era, who believed that this was one country ? Who thought that this is the twenty first century ? Who could not imagine that people like that Oracle employee exist ? And that we could still be so bigoted in the same country, after 200 years of foreign rule and 60 odd years of Independence ?
Perhaps..I am all of those..but wait..I've got it - I am a freak...though I still think that I am an Indian :(
I despairingly hope that there are more freaks like me..and I pray that this tribe increases...
Nikhil: Ha ha :) Thank you!
Mridula: Of course it doesn't matter! I am not sure if you got what I was trying to say, I have even reiterated it in my comments - If you want to belong to Bangalore, and if you want Bangalore to belong to you, it's entirely your choice! Similarly, if you want to belong to India, and if you want India to belong to you, its your choice!
The sense of belongingness comes when there is "apnapan" and love.
If you think Bangalore belongs to you, and then you say "These Bangaloreans are that and this", then what does it mean?
I hope I made myself clear!
Janus: Ha ha!! Janus, we need more people like you :) Maybe we can make you the mascot for national integration or something :)
Except for the fact that I am a Kannadiga and have been brought up in Karnataka, I am a freak too :)
Besides Kannada, English and Hindi, I can speak a little of Tamil, Bengali, can understand Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi, and I enjoy the cuisine of North India, the chaats of Mumbai, the snacks of Gujarat and the sweets of Bengal. Not to mention the varieties of South Indian dishes.
Hi Shruthi!
As always, your writing is lucid, clear and well-defined! But, reading your post and, many of the comments that followed it, left me worried and scared. There is an undercurrent of xenophobia that is present in your views, though I know not whether it is intentional or not!
As I began to post a reply to your blog post, I realized I had much more to say and blogged it on my own site. But, let me quote from there to voice my response to what you have said:
(since I am comfortable with points, I will use the same system here :) )
1. If someone is guilty of making a generalization, so is the post by clubbing all Bangaloreans who haven't lived there for long, as one group! That apart, why be defensive about what drunken rowdies do? If some hooligans cause trouble and someone chooses to generalize, I think it is his/her stupidity at display.
2. Tit for Tat. Since they display 'hostile and superior attitudes', so will we. How more childish can it get? The fact you have used the word attitude means it is individualistic. So if someone is acting superior, you put him in place then and there. Not start an outlash against the entire community. Does this mean that no Bangalorean has ever acted hostile? There are all kinds of people in any community.
3. I read somewhere that parking attendants, auto-drivers and cab-drivers speak in Hindi, even with localites in Bangalore. If the businesses that serve the city are willing to not talk in the local language, why will an outsider make an effort? The point I am trying to make here is not many resident Bangaloreans themselves give Kannada the importance they demand from others. I came to Mumbai a year back and no one has asked me to learn Mumbaiyya. I have had to learn it because that is what is spoken everywhere. Imposition of any rule that goes like - Thou shalt speak only in this language, is never going to work.
4. Again, why take this shit from anyone? I would be outraged if anyone was being arrogant with me, outsider or otherwise!
5. Ah! The sense of humour. How sorely so many of us lack it! They make fun of how we pronounce 'H'. We make fun of how they pronounce 'O'. Big Deal! We all really need to loosen up.
6. A totally unnecessary defence again. As it is stated in the post, the baddies are everywhere.
7. Do something? Do what? Do tell me as a city-resident who pays thousands in taxes, what should I do to improve the infrastructure? It is a question I want to ask not just of Bangalore. But of Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad. All of them. And well, cribbing is a human trait. Ignore them!
The feeling I got from the entire post was that individual traits and behaviour was super-imposed on an entire community/class of people. Most of the points reside on a fairly personal level. And, most of the others, seemed too obvious to be stated. Really, why the need for this defence at all? A person who is going to crib here is going to crib elsewhere too. A person who is going to generalize about A will generalize about B as well. Do you really think everyone outside Bangalore thinks all Bangaloreans are violent-prone based on a lone incident?
@Janus: You are neither an endangered species, nor an anachronistic misfit. You are just a part of the rare minority which has been to places, and hence knows the 'weight' of a comparison, unlike others who go on ranting like a rooster on a compound wall.
I have been in Mysore for almost a decade before moving on to Pune for occupational reasons. But before that, I have had glimpses of Mumbai, Vapi (Gujarat), Mehboobnagar (Andhra), Rewari (Haryana), Alwar (Rajasthan), Nagpur (Maharashtra) and Kerala.
This, along with doing engineering in Karnataka, has helped me with my languages. The biggest advantage of doing engg around Bangalore is that you learn Telugu and Tamil with ease.
Two years in Pune has added Marathi as well into my list of lingos.
Oye, tussi fikr na kari, you are a part of the few around here, who can see the sane part of an argument. :D
Shreyas: Thank you for your compliment!
Xenophobia and me? Either I am a bad writer, or you got the wrong signals :)
Bangalore is a metro. It is what it is due to the influx of what is called "outsiders". AS for me, I have loads of friends of all languages. In fact my closest friend, if that word can be used, is a Bengali. Well, enough of defence, I am not xenophobic. Period.
1) I made two groups - one which thinks that they are not Bangaloreans, and one which thinks low of the localite! These are the groups which like to stand aside and crib about Bangalore! This post was addressed to them, and not to you! :) Simple!
And no, I was not getting defensive. I was just trying to prove a point, analyzing what happened. This was prompted by a phrase "Bloody Kannadigas" used by a commenter on another blog (Greatbong's blog).
2) Arrey, I know there are hostile people everywhere! SEe, I have seen the metamorphosis over the years. In the beginning, there was mutual respect, but somewhere later the balance tilted, and due to personal experience, I know in which direction it tilted.
And this is NOT an outlash. If you see my last statement, you will know what I mean. I am just asking for some patience and understanding.
3) Scene 1 - ever-hospitable localites tried to be extremely hospitable, "adjusted" and learnt Hindi, and pampered the "outsider" by speaking in their language.
SCene 2 - Poor outsider thought this was the norm, and did not realize that they were trying to go out of their way to be helpful. So they started EXPECTING this from everybody
Scene 3 - The localite realizes his "mistake". He starts pretending not to know Hindi(some of them really don't know), and he intends making them speak in the local language.
I have lived here long enough to know that this is what happened.
4) Could not be sure how you have interpreted this point, so I will not reply to this.
5) Buddy, a sense of humour is different, and being insulted is different. I hope you know the difference!
6) Unnecessary? Go tell this to the people who say that bangalore has the highest crime rate in India. The problem comes with high expectations. Defence? I am not taking a stand on behalf of Bangalore. I am trying to clarify some points, trying to act as a mediator. If I come out biased towards Bangalore, you might call it the injuries of a quarter of a century. Well that sounds too serious.. but could not find a better way of putting it.
7) Do something - I am not asking you to go and build infrastructure. See, what can you do? Raise your voice? AT the right levels? Make an effort to be heard? To collect enough people so that you can be heard? All these are small things, which might make a difference. But cribbing to ME is going to get you nowhere.. and that is what I mean.
I hate generalization, and so I would not generalize either. If you notice, everywhere, I have written, "some of you", "few of you", "many of you", etc. And I would never demean myself by getting into personal accusations.
My post was an outpouring of feelings, which were brought forth by constant complaining and cribbing by a few people. I had had enough. I thought, if people read this, then maybe, just maybe, someone else will realize that what I am saying is valid, and will hold his comments within himself.
See, I am not saying that you are not allowed to talk about or discuss problems. It just gets to me when there is mindless bashing. Its a kind of a sport! And I cannot sit down and take it!!
I would never go to Mumbai and indulge in Mumbai-bashing.. If I dont' like something about it, I will keep quiet, coz I think that otherwise, its a great city. And so, I would expect the same from others too.
@shreyas: I agree to that imposition point. When I alighted at Bangalore recently, the auto driver cae up to me asking "Kidhar jaana tumhe". I replied in Kannada "Hanumanthnagarakke hogbeku", upon which he says "Hanumanthnagara jaana, return ka lagta hai , meter pe 20 rs". If this is the scene, then an outsider, will never make an effort to learn the language. But then, there are those of us who will argue that we make the visitors comfortable by speaking to them in their language. Well, yes, is that not why they are flocking here by the dozens?
And to think see how disillusioned a guy can get with IT, see the comments for http://punebloggers.blogspot.com/2006/04/madness-in-bangalore.html
@shru: Gives me an idea to build a "easy-post-generator" He he :D
Nice post Shruthi. I've commented about the same incident taking a different view on my blog which can be read at:
Myriad mirages and more
Quoting from it:
How to bring a city to it’s knees!
Last Wednesday was a fateful day for Kannadigas & Bangaloreans. Dr.Rajkumar, the ever-green super star of Kannada filmdom (Sandalwood!) passed away peacefully. But the rest of the story was far from peaceful. People turned up in large numbers to bid adieu to their idol and on the way decided to have some sadistic fun. What followed was total chaos, death and destruction. The sense of security of people used to living in cocoons was shattered. The entire incident is just a huge magnification of the chaos and destruction that happens daily in the city, though not in a collected fashion. While the barbaric acts are certainly not to be condoned, it is time the causes are understood more clearly, rather than focusing entirely on the trigger. There will be more such incidents in the future since the causes lie dormant, like a volcano waiting for a small fissure to erupt in all it’s fury.
The city of Bangalore is like a huge system that needs many functional sub-units to keep it going. It is similar to a living being, albeit one diseased in body & depressed in mind. Imagine snatching a favorite toy permanently away from a possessive & depressed child of great strength. Toys come and go & snatching keeps happening, but a permanent cure is to uproot the disease itself! What ails the city? That’s the easiest question that the auto-driver can answer as well as the Harvard educated businessman! There is deep-rooted simmering discontent about what the unplanned growth (IT or otherwise) has done to the city. The quality of life has decayed terribly. There is a wide chasm between the haves and the have-nots. The haves take home tens of thousands of rupees every month & are rarely exposed to the atmosphere, while the have-nots take home tens of thousands of rupees over the course of a decade & toil from the mid-day sun to the midnight moon for a simple meal. Kannada has taken a back seat so much so that speaking the language is considered shameful in many posh settings. There is also the larger issue of lack of public idols. The masses rarely have an individual in a position of power that they can look up to and aspire to emulate. This is a direct fallout of the corrupt system entrenched with money laundering politicians.
Well, what can be done then? Proactive and wise developmental plans have to be set in motion and completed on time. Reservation and such hare-brained ideas have to be shelved. Judicial system with corrupt rotten judges has to be revamped. Focus has to shift on improving the life of common people without neglecting high-end development. There is a long wish list that’s easier said than done. While my complete sympathies rest with the people affected adversely, this sort of thing will continue to happen. The system gets what it gives. The law of karma is brutal and operates collectively too. As such, I have no sympathies for the system, of which I too am a part, but not in a position of influence or power to do much about it!
@Shru: Point No 3 hits the bulls eye. (Not that the others dont). In fact the situation is so worse that those of us who know kannaDa, and are based here are being spoken to in Hindi/English in public places.
I know doing it works both ways. The guy gets his "giraak" and the "giraak" is happy he found someone who spoke his language, but it sometimes gets to you when you are given the same treatment.
Yay, good for you. It was a very well thought-out post.Yet, I perceived an undercurrent of angst.I'm completely in sync with the points you've made.Most of our cities, not only Bangalore, are reeling under the strain of fast expansion, which the infrastructure has not been able to keep up with.I have always enjoyed my stays in Bangalore. The only thing which strikes me about Bangaloreans is the shopkeepers--not meaning to generalise---but one gets the feeling that they don't care whether you buy their wares or not.Whereas, in Delhi especially, the shopkeepers almost inveigle you into buying! But I put it down to the wonderful weather in Bangalore which makes you feel so much at peace that you don't feel like doing anything.This can be construed as laziness!
Hi Shruthi
Hats off to you for a very well written blog.... straightforward yet not bitter.
I guess what you've said goes for every major Indian city, but may i add, especially the south indian ones. Am a southie myself, and I can smile at jokes about our names, pronunciations etc... but I'd draw the line when somebody tries to degrade others on this basis.
It's high time we put aside these north-south issues. After all Indians are known for their ability to fit in anywhere in the world...why not in India then?
Hey
Jus came back to you post to read the long list of comments.
The feeling of localites being stupids,insenible,and not all that great prevails across the nation.
Having done my enineering in REC Warangal, there was a major divison of the junta as AP(Andhra Pradesh) and NOn-AP, one 'coz half the seats were for AP students.Further the non AP junta were classified into various states according to their home state.
The whole non AP junta was unified in telling,"saala Gulti" or "unka kuch dimaag nahin hain yaar","bus pathayee he kartha hain","they can't speak proper English" against the AP, guys.
Yours truly was also involved in such behaviour(which now I find extremely kiddish and immature) and went along with the flow. Thats one story.
This feeling against localites do exist atleast among a minority among my batchmates in my B School in Pune.
The same feeling is there amomg non Marathi Mumbaikaar friends of mine, who have told me that,"Marathis are only worth doing menial chores in MUmbai,they can't do anything worthwhile"
My northee friends doing summers in Chennai currently, keep saying "Kaisi public hain yaar"....
So the cause has to be deep rooted that what we think....
PS:Moi cant blog now, blogger showing an error, first time encountering such a thingie
I was born and brought up in Bangalore.
Coming to the issue, there are a hell lot of discussions but no solution.
1) Riots due to death of Dr.Rajkumar - First of all, Dr.Rajkumar was a great actor and is an icon for Kannadigas. Without even trying to know about him/his talents/his movies, outsiders (sorry to have used this word..please don't take it in the wrong sense) speak deprecatingly of him. First of all, you are in a different city. Try to appreciate the sentiments of the people of that city. When I visit somebody's place (even though I may have every right to stay there), respecting the feelings of the people of that household is fundamental. Coming to the riots part, I agree completely that it is unfortunate. As far as I feel, it is not the fans who are to be blamed for this. Maybe it is a political game as Kumaraswamy suggested...
However, one has to accept that there is a widening gap between the rich and the poor in Bangalore (which was not there earlier). Blame it on the software boom. Anybody who is not a s/w engineer is considered a bloody moron in Bangalore. While it has definitely made a certain percentage of people very happy (a real number which tends to zero), there is an unhappy group of people for whom the government is not doing anything. Many people in Bangalore can only see Forum, Garuda Mall, Bangalore Central on their radar screens. What happens to the age-old Bangaloreans who are suffering due to this onslaught? There is a lot of hidden frustration in every Bangalorean who is seeing the city change against his wishes every second. And, occasions like these provide an opportunity for these people to vent their feelings.. (I am not validating their actions..mind you. If you see photographs, videos etc...they are not mournful fans..are they? They are just a frustrated bunch of youth enjoying their destructive power).
2) But Bangalore is developing because of software and software engineers from outside - I disagree. Bangalore was a beautiful city before the advent of software too. We had premier institutes like IISc, ISRO etc. in Bangalore and it was at the forefront of development. I completely agree with the fact that software is earning foreign exchange for India which is beneficial, no doubt. But, it has only catered to only a small section of people while pushing the rest to the brink of non-existence. Rich Bangaloreans/software engineers now see their English/Hindi movies at PVR, drink coffee at Coffee day and buy their consumables at Bangalore Central (Statistically speaking...it is wrong to generalize the above statement, there are exceptions). In what way is it helping the local Bangalorean? What happens to thousands of localites running Kannada movies at old theaters/ having darshinis/selling consumables in small sheds? What happens to the small farmer whose land was acquired by the govt and given to an MNC on a subsidy and 0% tax rate. They are being eliminated slowly as the city develops to explosion point. Is wealth being shared properly according to economic theories in Bangalore? Is it reaching the localite? It is not..and that is a worrying factor.
3)The solution - The onus lies on the government. Karnataka is not only Bangalore. Who has bothered about North Karnataka where thousands of farmers kill their families and commit suicide every year? Let the development spread. Improve other cities too. Not necessarily only in Karnataka..let other states improve too. First of all, they should cut down on the permissions for software companies. The government should try to improve infrastructure in other major cities and push the companies there rather than improving in Bangalore (which is quite meaningless, Bangalore was never designed to take so much load). The government has to bring in the concepts of satellite towns to decongest the city. Kengeri started out like that, but was unfortunately gobbled up by the city due to mismanagement. Unless, the government takes it up firmly to move the focus out of Bangalore, things are only going to get worse.
Anand: Very well-written!
Viky: Yes, its happened to me too sometimes, where they speak in Hindi when I speak in Kannada. Then I wonder, why is it that I get these kind of autowalas, and the Hindi-speaking population get the I-will-speak-only-Kannada autowalas :)
Lak: Thanks :) About angst - well I will not deny it!
Anon: Thank you! Wish more people thought like you :)
Nikhil: Yup, that's unfortunate. I have noticed that too. I wonder why, though. Like you said, deep-rooted issues?
Raghu: You have brought up a few good points. Thanks!
Hi Shruthi!
So it is not intentional then! Which is even more worrisome. I know that you have stayed away from Bangalore (from your earlier posts) and hence, it is even more surprising that you decided to write this post.
Shruthi, just imagine what someone at whom you have directed this 'request' at feels. He is being told he is welcome, only if he does such-and-such things. I know it is just a request, but the just the fact that you seek to separate them out for bad behaviour, will alienate them. The outsiders' perspective is always different. If I was in Mumbai and I got to read such a well-intentioned post about things-to-do in Mumbai, I would be more than worried.
I agree with your need to voice your feelings, but just give a moment to think about what exactly is causing all this. As Janus brilliantly states in his comment, we are just losing the bigger picture in the flurry of emotions.
Your Pt. 3 wonderfully illustrates the point I was trying to make. No one asked the localite to "adjust", did they? It is how Bangaloreans are. If we have been and are like that, can you suddenly blame the non-Bangaloreans for the way they behave? Anyway, why do you want to alter it? Will Kannada disappear if someone who does not belong to Karnataka not speak it? The problem is, we think things need to be changed and forced. The cultural image of a city/state/country evolves naturally ,not due to the rules and laws followed!
Humour? Oh! Come on now! If Sardars start protesting that there are too many insults against their intelligence, where would we go?
About Pt. 4, I was just saying instead of issuing request, just give it to the person whoever is being impolite (you were asking people to be polite), right then and there! Does this really need to be told? I mean, if am impolite to you, you would be bugged and vice versa!
As I pointed out on my blog, the frustration and anger we all feel has its roots altogether elsewhere! We have enough worms in the existing cans as it is , to be opening newer ones, no matter how pressing or relevant or unintentional it may appear! What such sentiments spawn is for another mindless politician to take advantage of such latent sentiments.
I know that you think I am getting overtly worried and emotional. But we have had enough examples from our history and I am not going to sit back and ignore, even if a sembelance of such a sentiment arises anywhere!
PS: Where should I raise a voice? BATF, with its high-powered panel, was snuffed without a reason. Janaagraha was ignored and pushed to oblivion. Infrastructure is the governments prerogative and all I hope is for the statesmanship required to champion this urgent cause! But, yes I get your point - Cribbing will not make a difference! So ignore the ones who do :)
Hai,
Very well written and I must say you come across as some one who is very soft spoken. I just wanted to say that I do'nt see the need to explain ourselves (the natives-be it any country, city, town or village). It is the migrants who need to understand the natives. I am not sure if any amount of explanation helps either for people who are so closed in the first place. It is a very self-regulated process i guess; being open to new experiences etc.
I also felt another reason could be the one I wrote about on my blog-http://kanuka.livejournal.com/
TC
hey! bangalore sucks for outsiders! thats the plain truth! the localites just cant get over it! :)
and whenever such topic comes up ppl get into the aryans and dravidians and what not!
in a bid to promote ur local kannada , there was a plan for theatres to show hindi movies only after a period of seven weeks! wow! first we dont know kannada! its not that easy to learn! and then you go on to deprive ppl of hindi movies!
what you southies dont realize is that policitians have brainwashed you for ages! all these differences are nothing but your prejudices! come to bombay and see! ppl just dont care! whoever you are! ppl dont ahve time to worry about such stupid stuff about which language should be the national language and what not!
i feel the entire south has been max brainwashed and even educated ppl continue to brainwash there kids! this will never end!
Shreyas: Yes, I get your point. And I can now understand why you are so worried. But tell me, do you really think that the collective local psyche is being influenced to such an extent that it is tending towards fanatical? I perceive certain changes, certainly, but nothing worrisome. Anyway, if you are right, it is a dangerous trend indeed. But for the sake of Bangalore, I hope you are not right.
My list was not supposed to be a do-this-or-else list. I am not sure if it has really come out like that, but if it looks like that to you, then I am horrified. Because I wouldn't want the "outsider" to feel unwelcome. I mean, he has as much right to be here as you and I do! I just wanted to set some things straight, so that we can all live in harmony. And I think I got my point across with this post.
As for the accents issue, I see we don't agree! So let's stop at that.
Ah one more thing, why do you think that because I stayed outside, it is surprising that I wrote this post? IN fact it should not be surprising. I did not see mindless Mumbai-bashing in Mumbai.. and I see it here. that is all the more reason why I felt i had to speak out!
Shreyas, if I knew what can be done instead of cribbing, I would have done it. I claim to be helpless in that area. Suggestions, of course, are welcome. But yes, you got my point right - there is no use in cribbing either.
Kanuka: Thanks for your comment. The issue you have raised about the riots being because of the rich-poor disparity, might be one of the factors. But you know, we will never know the real reasons. My take is that it is a very complex mixture of everything.
Anon: Oops, I think you are being unfair! If Bangalore sucks for outsiders, then why, why, why do so many come in?? I AM NOT SAYING THEY SHOULD NOT COME IN :)) - Lots of ppl seem to be accusing me of this stand now, not reading the post carefully ;) - But I am saying that if it was bad, then why do they come? It must be good, something about it must appeal to them!
And I have been in Mumbai... Mumbai has had lots of these issues for a long time... it is not that it doesn't exist. I have seen and heard it happening there also, but it has been happening for a long time. IN bangalore it is a relatively new phenomenon, and that's why all the hype.
There is no brainwashing. And that too by politicians?? Gimme a break!! We have our own brains intact. And nowhre have I brought up the aryan dravidian divide. If you realize I am trying to bridge the differences and harmonize!
Anon 5:29 PM has displayed the true spirit of the people the author of this post is trying to put sense into !! Absolute Narrow-mindedness and single-track thinking. This Anon is the one who's actually got brainwashed against southies for ages.. Man man "YOU SOUTHIES" HE SAYS!! WHILE WE'RE TRYING TO SAY "WE INDIANS".. he's truly shown his attitude!! :-D
Hey
Since this discussion is going somewhere else thanks to guys not reading the text properly..lemmme to digress.. a bit
On a recent visit to a dealer with a Sales executive and an ASM(Me doing summer internship in Mumbai)...a dealer asked my name after I introduced myself...he asked..poora naaam" I said Nikhil Narayanan"..I had told my name as Nikhil earlier..he asked "South Indian???" I said "haan"...so even in doing business these differences come into picture...This dealer was not a Marathi..a Northee...
Hi,
Well written post. Somehow, I feel like there is pent-up anger against non-balgaloreans just because they complained about the localites who rioted. I do not know if you think the same way as posted in your blog if rioters were non-localite poor against well-off localites. I live in US and what do I say to my american colleagues who ask, "What the heck is going on"? Do I tell them that it happened in Bangalore and I am not a Bangalorean? I was watching south indian filmfare awards a couple of months ago and Mammooty came to the dias for accepting his award and he started his speech with this sentence. "I have a sincere request to Filmfare, please do not divide india by giving awards based on region. There is only one India, not South India and North India. And there is only one cinema, not South Indian cinema and North Indian Cinema." We all can keep making execuses for bad things that happen in our soceity. Until we accept that it is bad, we cannot collectively solve it. Hope I made some sense in this post. If not, please ignore.
JK
Amazingly simple and piercingly accurate . Loved it Girl…!!..And this is one reason some of us do love B’lore and its people :)
Whoa, I missed this party, and by 48 hours+ :(
Shruti, absolutely awesome post. If only for the sense of sanity and rationality, this post was an absolute joy to read.
Thanks Shruthi for your reply! :)
The roots of the worst conflicts reside in unintentional expression of emotions! I myself have not been guilty of the same. A few months back I wrote an emotionally-charged post, claiming Dravid was a Bangalorean and suchlike! Now when I go back to read that post, I realize how pointless that argument was! All that matters is he plays for the team I like and I want him to do well.
My fears appear as what they do because of what I have been reading on various forums - one guy wants to distribute t-shirts that will shout, "OUTSIDERS GO HOME" and another wants to start torching "their" homes :O! Mindless, stupid bigots who just want to express their pent-up frustrations arising out from not asserting themselves when required! That is why it is important that not more of us start getting carried away.
I said it was surprising because I thought an outsider's perspective changes one's own thinking! The point was not whether there is Mumbai-bashing or not, it is what the a non-resident feels when he reads that he is being (at the risk of repeition, I say again) clubbed as a common group!
A clarification - I did not label you as xenophobic. It is only what appeared in this post seemed to reflect that! Just read the comments, Shruthi - There are enough clarifications you have needed to issue on so many misinterpretations. More than one person has thought you hate outsiders. If such a well-thought out post can appear like that to a reader, imagine what it must be appear to a newcomer in Bangalore!
Hey, I seem to have missed this interesting discussion.
As far as the riots are concerned, I refuse to beleive that those people were the "fans". They were not. As I said in my post, they were just a bunch of losers n rowdies.
And I think this debate on "true bangalorean" and "outsiders" is ridiculous and useless. The city sure has few problems and if one plans to live here than he/she must try to become a part of the solution rather than just complain and blame others. A little harmless complaining and blaming the authorities is okay tho!
But I dont get why people who claim to be "locals" must blame the "outsiders". I have been living here for the past 2 yrs now and I consider myself a bangalorean. :)
I can understand the desperation any level headed Banglorean would feel if someone blames him for the filthy show put by some mad people on Rajumar's death. But on the whole I seriously disagree to the rest of your arguments.
While I understand the above desperatedness, I feel its perfectly normal for anyone (anyone) to make a comment about the people of the city. People do generalise, and for educated it comes with a disclaimer "It does not brand everyone, those who have done it really deserved this"
I don't buy that if the city starts expanding, it cannot be planned. There are hiccups but you don't even see the starting steps. And that is since 3 years when I came here and even I could see it (and I don't consider myself too organised)
I feel this debate of north or south should be left to people with miopia. We are indians and we all benefit the most with more intermingling.
Excellent work shruthi....
I completely agree with you.
Couple of dayz back, i stumbled on ur blog, after reading "A mountain out of a molehill?", am a regular visitor to ur blog... Keep up the gud work...
-Shruthi
I understand what u say. But, let me tell you, a South Indian behaves in a similar way, when he comes to n.India. instead of adopting to the culture here, he teases the driving sense, the language, the pronounciation etc Take my parents and others of the previous generation, despite living in Delhi for more than 20 years, they refuse to learn the local language.
We all should learn from Sardajis, who are real sports and laugh at their own jokes. I wish all of us are as broad minded .
raj, Thats the beauty of this place, one calles himself a Bangalorean from his heart, others dont brand people here. This division of locals and outsiders is sort of a narrow-minded approach.
Bangalorean on the other had happens to be something above this, a local might call you an outsider, but there is no doubt that you are a Bangalorean! and the better part is that its not related to years one has been in Bangalore. A Bangalorean could be staying in Bangalore for weeks or decades!
Shruthi, dont you think the discussion at some point is going beyond the limits set by your post.
And yes did you happen to see the post, itni si jaan... from the links to your post?
Shreyas, yes there is an undercurrent of xenophobia growing, even i feel that, Also i i've also witnessed educated people illtreating the local language and culture, the other day in a Bangalore centeric blog, Someone asks what the yellow and red flag stands for? People can take a cue form the flags prevalent in UK.
Raghu, Viky enjoyed reading you. Others were great too!
Here is what I think, a Bangalorean! would be like, any takers?
Shruthi: I am late in visiting your blog ,and it already has 110 comments, so firstly, have to say that I have not been able to read all the comments. But I did read your blog and agree with everything you say. In fact, I'd say, substitute Chennai for Bangalore and your article would make sense even then. Even my relatives from Pune and Bangalore use Chennai when they need the city and then bitch about how huge and dirty and hot the place is. I feel strongly about that. For, I try to pick up the positives when I visit their cities and feel they should do the same. Well done for putting all this down in a sane and reasonable manner.
Anon: Unfortunately, a few people still do think that way, and it is difficult to change that perception!
Nikhil: There are a few people like that everywhere - but did that hamper your business in any way?
Mayur: I am not disagreeing with you totally, because this can happen anywhere.... but so much anger?
JK: On the contrary, there is no anger- there is only a feeling of helplessness. And the reason is not just them complaining about the riots.. that's only a small part of the whole story.
Aparna: Thank you! :)
Ambar: Thank you! :)
Shreyas: First of all, thank you for the clarifications, here and on your post ;)
I think the reason there are so many people who are reading my post wrong is because they come expecting it. If there is a "rant" or an "outpouring", the common opinion is that it must smack of hatred. I tend to think that you came expecting that too :) Oh no i am not defending myself or my writing, but I am so clear that there was no hatred in the post, that I am trying to look for reasons why people might have seen it in my post. Anyway, thanks for your perspective :)
Raj: Well spoken. The discussion about true Bangalorean and outsiders, and those terms, are quite silly. It is what you feel about the place. Thanks for your comment.
Aps: You have assumed that the only reason I wrote this post is the desperation I felt when people blamed all Bangaloreans for the riots. It is much deeper.
The point of my entire post is to encourage intermingling and understanding. I was trying to do my little bit in that direction.
Shruthi: Thank you!
Chitra: Hey hey, I am not levelling blame at anybody. If I had been in Delhi, and seen this happening there, trust me, I would have written a similar post requesting non-Delhiites.
I know such things happen everywhere, its only that I happened to be in Bangalore when I wrote it.
Jeyavel: You are right, it is going beyond control, but then such a post tends to make people a wee bit emotional, right? :)
Kiwimyl: Thank you! Yes, the best approach is to pick the positives, and keep quiet about the negatives, that is unless you intend to do something concrete about it. It is better for everybody!
Shruti,
Thanks for dropping by. In my post the "put up or shut up" was a summed up total of what you'd mentioned:
To the non-localites, Don't blame all kannadigas for rowdy acts; don't be hostile, be polite; don't expect us to know Hindi or speak it; don't make fun of the south indian accent or our hindi;bad apples exist everywhere, don't paint us with a broad brush; and do your bit, you belong here as well.
When I said "put up", the above paragraph is what I thought you said - just a clarification. No offense meant.
Now, there are parts of your post I take umbrage with. The mention that the localites are hostile because of their frustrations - that is inherently wrong, because localites have benefited immensely from this boom. "Outsiders" have not been any more hostile or superior than anywhere else - I've seen kannadigas band together in Delhi and Mumbai, Indians being parochial in San Jose, doing what would be construed as "hostile". I'm not talking tourists, but regular working population.
A small incident: Nandan Nilekani was desperately trying to sell INFY shares at Rs. 80 in 1992 - the few bangaloreans that bought are smiling today but he largely got refused politely. What came to their rescue then was the "outsiders" and today at least three "localites" - Narayan Murthy, Nandan Nilekani, Mohandas Pai - are immensely rich. Locals need them outsiders just as much!
Trade is only enhanced when you embrace foreign (read: non local) talent. And greater trade results in greater opportunity and greater money on the whole - this gets shared across the hierarchy. Today my car cleaner sends his children to a good school. Ten years ago, the money he would've got was so less he couldn't afford even public schools.
The way we embrace foreign talent should not be like a boa-constrictor. Take a little, give a little.
Your post over-generalizes. The "outsider" is not always the most unaccomodating - some are, and they're more vocal, but we shouldn't paint them all with the same brush.
Deepak: Thank you for your comment! I hate generalizations - I would not consciously resort to it myself.
A section of the "local" ppl have been definitely benefited by the bom, but tehre is a section who hasn't been, either. And, nowhere have I said that localites are hostile because of their frustrations. It is a complex combination of a lot of factors.
And nowehre am I saying that outsiders are not welcome. There will be no progress if that's the case.
Guru: From your own definition, you are most definitely a Bangalorean :)
A few points might have been directed to the Hindi-speaking crowd, but most of them were very general. I do know that many South Indians do not like Bangalore, and it is entirely their wish! :) I only wish they would not speak demeaningly about anythnig and everything, and that is all!
Thank you for the compliments, and thanks for being such a nice neo-Bangalorean :)
This is a good post Shruthi. I am from Mumbai and was in Bangalore for 3-4 months. I know kannada also. So I did not have any issues with anything in city. But still I will make few points here.
Bangalore or for that matter any city in India should be a free place to live for citizens without any inihibitions. I think there is too much resentment towards non kannada IT people in city which is not justified. Well as you expect people to learn kannada, other expect bangalore kannadingas to learn hindi. Finally it is our national language and as u say learning a langauage is good for brain. But learning hindi is not only good for brain but good for nation too!
I am from Mumbai and I am maharashtrian. I too some time feel that people should learn marathi if they are staying here. But Then I know no city can force anything. Else it will stop to develop. Remember Chennai is still suffering from this image. What we need is a multi cultural and tolerant society to build the cities and nation. I think Mumbai is a good if not best example of that.
I would like to share something which I believe. There is an old quote in Tamil that goes, 'Yaadhum oore, Yaavarum kelir', meaning 'Every place is our place, every people are our people'.
You mentioned that, "Please note that Bangalore is what it is because of the localites." I don't understand what localites did so special to make Bangalore what it is today. Please explain. "Bangalore houses you, clothes you, and feeds you, and it houses the concern where you earn your daily bread." I think all cities do the same, which makes Bangalore no different. "Try speaking in English, and if it doesn't help, then learn Kannada. Learning new languages is good for the brain too." If learning new languages is good for the brain, I would rather learn Hindi due to its usability.
What are these borders and boundaries? Just imaginary lines like latitudes and longitudes. Either side of the line there are human beings. And what are these cultures and civilizations? Just ways of living based on the evolution of people, geographic conditions and food habitats in a particular region. What are languages? Just a tool for communicating and sharing your thoughts and ideas. It is the thoughts and ideas which matter, not the language. It is how efficiently people adopt to their geographic conditions that matters, not the conditions. It is the people who matter, not the boundaries which lie between them.
So, don't have a narrow vision and just keep talking about local culture and local community. Every village, every town, every city, every district, every state and every country, every continent has its own culture, language and community.
Try to be a citizen of the Universe, not just a city or a state or a country.
Good post Srihari!! I'd have said the same things you did (just not as well as you did :)
Great Blog!!!!!
Anon at 2 24 PM: Anon, that was extremely well put. And you are right, it happens due to the very high expectations. Thank you.
Vishal: A correction, Hindi is not the only national language. There are 22 national languages. It is a false perception that we have. If you see my prev comments, you will see that I have learned Hindi for my own interest but you cannot expect a poor man to learn Hindi when he doesn't even know Kannada perfectly.
Whoever it is, should understand and empathize with that. Yup, Mumbai is a great example, but it's been like that for ages!
Srihari, Anon at 11 16: Its obvious you have not read my post properly, nor the previous comments.
We have a term in Kannada called "Vishwamanava". I am a citizen of the world.
I did not mention Bangalore was different anywhere in the post. I don't want to explain further.
Satish: Thank you!
Mayur: Oh nothing wrong in calling a spade a spade. But when you call the spade a rusted, broken, inferior, dirty spade, and keep doing that constantly, that is when it becomes tiring.
To all: I am closing the comments on this post.
People who are coming in to comment now, do not read the prev comments ;) and are making the same kind of comments, and are asking me the same questions, the answers to which I have already given in previous comments. :) And I do not have the time nor the patience to repeat myself! :D
Also, it is going beyond the scope of the point of my post.
Thank you all for your comments!
Also, though the discussion was pretty heated at times, there was very little of ugliness and name-calling. Thank you for keeping the discussion clean :)
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