Goodbye, Bangalore. I hardly knew you! ... Or, "Hello, Goodbye"
Monday, September 20, 2010 at 8:20AM As you may have heard, I'm moving to London to start a new job. It's been an interesting year: losing jobs, moving from one coast of the US to another, moving to India, and now (finally) moving back to the UK. Given the anguish of the last several months, it's incredible that the situation managed to resolve itself in a matter of a few months!
Bangalore's certainly changed though. The traffic is terrible, the people all the more desperate to get ahead - be it drivers trying to edge out others on the roads, autorickshaw drivers trying to fleece the pants off of hapless riders, or even HR recruitment agencies. It's a deplorable state, and seriously: patriotism aside, family ties aside, I am glad to be leaving Bangalore. It's the first time in my life I've ever said that, and it makes me extremely sad.
That said, the definite upside was hanging out with Malz & Omer almost every weekend. I had company that was always ready to watch a movie, catch a quick bite ... or in the case of Malz (and most definitely NOT Omer), watch Firefly, or debate the merits of Batman vs. Spider-man as a good role model for kids. They also introduced me to what good Indian non-vegetarian food was. I started regularly eating non-vegetarian food only after moving to NYC, and the Indian were the invariable chicken tikka masala, tandoori chicken, seafood stews, and so on. I HATED them - they were all single-flavored brute-force spice mixes. I've discovered just how much better - and spicier - the food can be here in India. I've tasted biryanis that were sublime in their mix of spices with meats that would melt in my mouth, slowly releasing spicy gravies that would bring me to tears (partly from the spice, to be perfectly honest).
I'm going to miss hanging out with them, just as much as I'm going to miss hanging out with friends in NYC, or with cousins in SF.
Ah well, time to make some new memories!
Reader Comments (1)
Gosh!
I thought bangalore was a lovely place. Well I guess it is, if you've spent all your time in Chennai! Lol.
Hope for the best for you from now! Good Luck!
Arun