If there's one thing common amongst new-comers to this place, it is HighExpectations.com! Even before one steps into this place, you probably visualise a city that has the teeming millions, that is part of any Indian city, but, that all of them carry laptops and hold Blackberries! One assumes that with the high concentration of educated people that was always true for the Southern states of India, the atmosphere in this city must be one of the most intellectually charged!
Even before one steps in, one dreams of the glitzy malls where one can only wish to afford to shop, the reference for the expected urban facade being, none other than the Times Square, NY! One is told to prepare for the cultural shock as soon as one comes here, as this would be the most cosmopolitan city at least in India, because here, as they say, "The night never ends!" One hears of a place which will be the ultimate amalgam of the urban landscape with nature. The "City of Gardens" they call it!
For a place where the government itself left no stone unturned to invite the finest examples of entrepreneurial spirit along with the biggest establishments in the fields of engineering and technology, it would be natural to expect to see mega-projects like the "Namma Metro" coming up! A world class international airport would be the best way of inviting a new-comer, giving the impression that the city one has reached is second to none in the international arena!
From being a "Pensioner's Paradise", it has evolved to become a city were millions earn their daily bread, the city with more Engineering colleges than most lesser countries have in all! One can imagine an almost university like atmosphere wherever one goes, simply because of the sheer numbers of the educated minds present!
A city proud of its nightlife! A city proud of its ever ready-to-help citizens! A city proud of the number of highly educated professionals it churns out! A city proud of the fact that people from all walks of life and every cultural background can settle and assimilate here as one of their own! A city proud of the ever-pleasant weather! A foodie's dream city! A city with the finest multiplexes in the country! A city with the most swanky malls! A city with the highest penetration of Information Technology, in the form of cellular phones, Wimax, high-speed internet connections, computers, etc.
If one has seen a lot of "Monster car madness" on the streets (they call their 100-feet "roads" streets!!) of the (road-rage) capital of India, one might be delightfully smacking their steering wheels in the expectation of finally being on roads with sane drivers who know what a lane looks like! (Its straight, and with a white line for demarcation for you outsiders!)
And, above all, one looks forward to a life-time of living in a weather that doesn't make you melt as soon as you step out! Also, gone are the days of killing yourself under tonnes of woollens when the mercury is low enough to send the last shudder of your life down your spine if you step out without them on! One can already smell the fresh air filtered aromatically through the flowers of the myriad gardens in this "Garden City" of our country!!
Hail B'lore, I am coming...
