3 posts tagged “bangalore”
For those who don't understand Kannada - the local language in Bangalore, India - the translation is "Our Bangalore".
Just got back from a trip to Bengaluru. I have been making annual trips back and changes are perceptible every time – mainly in infrastructure (new underpasses, airport, flyovers…). First, let me talk about what has NOT changed – and just as well: Vidyarthi Bhavan – that timeless eatery on Gandhi Bazar which serves heavenly masala dosas. Actually, it has changed a little – they have made it a little roomier but have not changed the décor. Cool joint on Jayanagar 4th block doesn’t appear to have dimmed in popularity and 4th block itself is as choc-a-bloc as ever.
The traffic situation hasn’t changed much either. The effect of new underpasses or widened roads is offset by the metro related excavations. At least the situation hasn’t worsened and hopefully the metro will be a long term fix. Tree felling because of the metro is another hot button issue in Bangalore right now. Looks like a lot of pain to be borne before there can be gain. Metro excavations seem to be everywhere and the green metro barriers have become a fixture.
The garden that we used to go for walks in hasn’t changed much – and the little change that there has been is for the better. Caught up with some of the regulars over there.
Now for what has changed. There is a spanking new airport. It’s been there for about a year but this is the first time I used it. It is pretty good and well run and quite up to international standards though on the smaller side.
Volvo buses run by the local metropolitian transport agency (BMTC) appear to be fairly popular now.
There are some transportation hubs are coming in various parts of the city – which integrate parking, bus stops, shops etc. It’ll be good if a strong public transport based foundation takes shape. My guess is that Bengaluru circa 2013 will be a much more pleasant place to live in as a lot of the transportation projects would be completed. But then the city has defied pundits before (and I don't profess to be one) - so fingers crossed.
Am in Singapore for a 2+ week trip. I thought I'll share my thoughts on the 4.5 hr flight from Bangalore to Singapore.
I arrived at Bangalore Intl airport at 8.45 pm for my first eastbound international flight (and first flight with SQ) from India. This is, of course, the old BLR airport. I was hoping to write a review of the new airport, but that isn’t opening until May 11 (instead of Mar 31 as originally planned). So the old, hopelessly inadequate airport is being flogged for an extra month or so. Internet Check-in This was a business trip but less than 6 hours (4.5 hours to be precise), so I had to fly coach as per corporate policy. Internet check in on the SQ website (seat selection really) was a smooth process. As I realized later, the large number of empty seats didn’t mean a light flight – it only meant that a large no. of passengers hadn’t used internet check in. This is misleading and SQ should think about this. Can they not assign default seats to those who do not select seats? I think CO does that and I found the CO experience better in that respect. Airport Experience The airport check-in was relatively smooth. SQ staff didn’t seem to mind the extra 5 kg of my check in baggage. I declined any changes to seat selection as I thought I had selected an aisle seat with no one in the window and middle seats. That was not to be, though. Immigration was very quick and sec-check didn’t take too much time. The waiting area had enough vacant seats as only Thai (22.45) and SQ (23.05) were scheduled to leave around then. The coke vendor refused to give a receipt so I refused to buy. The ‘courtesy’ phone that the Airports Authority of India (AAI) provides was non-functional. There were a few flies that some concerned passengers were trying to swat. Boarding SQ started boarding at about 22.35 almost immediately after Thai closed boarding. Boarding for economy was as per rows and was not too disorderly. The 777-200 was clean and cheerful as were the cabin crew. The stewards did help a few passengers with the stowing of their cabin baggage. My hopes of having no neighbors were dashed and both the window and aisle seats were taken. The economy cabins were over 90% full and a bawling baby in our cabin was causing considerable disturbance. The captain came on air at about 23.00 and announced a delay of 10-15 min because of delays in cargo loading. Very lukewarm towels were handed out and amenity kits given. The flight pushed back well after 23.40 and took off about 15 minutes later. The flight Headsets were handed out. I didn’t bother with the Audio-Video on demand (AVOD) as I was desperate to catch a few winks. The bawling baby wasn’t quieting down and the mother was frantic. Cabin crew tried to help. The seat pocket in front was groaning with the weight of a pillow, blanket, amenity kit, Silver Kris magazine, the KrisWorld quide to AVOD, Kris Shopping catalog, a 777-200 safety guide and a healthy flying pamphlet. As if this weren’t enough, menu booklets were handed out which had the dinner and supper selections in English and Kannada (local language in Bangalore). I thought the booklet and the 2nd meal were both unnecessary for a 4.5 hr flight. For the beverage service, the air hostesses walked around with a tray containing glasses of white wine, beer and orange juice (instead of lugging the trolley in the aisle). They offered to get other drinks for passengers who didn’t want any of these. For the meal service, the trolleys did materialize. The Indian veg meal was hot and tasty. The rest of the flight was uneventful. There was turbulence off and on. The toilets were clean and I slept through the 2nd meal service. We arrived at about 6.25 – about 20 minutes later. Immigration, customs and baggage retrieval at Changi was super quick and I was in a cab by 7.10.
While the term 'Bangalored' is in contemporary vocabulary - referring to the phenomenon of software jobs moving to Bangalore, India - the city of Bangalore itself is struggling to cope with the inevitable pressure on its infrastructure. While the advent of IT was celebrated as a welcome, labour intensive, non polluting employment generator in the 90's, it is now being seen as the root of all ills plaguing the city. Baffling as it may seem at first, the transition in perception has definite underlying reasons. The left leaning Outlook magazine did a good job in raising this issue though not quite treating it with sufficient balance.
http://outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20071217&fname=Cover+Story+%28F%29&sid=1
The IT industry is suddenly perceived to be a self-serving monster that will brook no interference in its quest for ever greater profits and IT professionals are perceived as overpaid, arrogant, snooty brats by many sections of the host society. Worse, both are perceived as parasites on the host. Needless to say, much of this is based on incomplete and often incorrect information and lack of understanding.
IT as an industry is not understood the way manufacturing or banking or medicine is. The city, state and country have showered subsidies, tax sops, grants etc. to a host of industries over several decades. These industries, at best, had modest success (and, in many cases, outright failure), employed modest numbers of people, built modest campuses and paid modestly. This, in spite of several other forms of protectionism, captive markets, negligible attrition (where will you jump to?) etc. In other words, they never really stood out. Many institutions were built and run at tax payers expense with little or no pressure to show returns on it. Some have done reasonably well with flashes of brilliance. Many others wallow in mediocrity burning taxpayer money. But they are ‘under the radar’.
Most employees were locals – well integrated in the host society – and did not have the means or the options to consume conspicuously (limited housing loans, no vehicle loans, and even if they could afford - two models of cars to choose from!). Few people monetized the perks that went with many of the old economy jobs – the subsidized housing in residential colonies, subsidized medical care (sometimes stretching into retirement), sometimes subsidized education, subsidized food and transport and so on. They were taken for granted and were not cash – and hence ‘below the radar’ again.
Whatever pressure they generated in the real estate market or on general infrastructure was incremental spread over time and mostly within the buffer capacity of the city to absorb. The city incrementally improved infrastructure and the buffer was again restored. The negligence and incompetence of city planners never got exposed. IMO – Bangalore anyway has less buffer capacity than other metros due to various structural reasons I do not fully understand at this point – and thus less margin for error or delay in infrastructure development.
And, last bit not the least, there were no 24 hour TV channels, a few staid magazines and newspapers and few incisive journalists.
Needless to say, the expansion of the IT industry has been more non linear and less incremental. Many IT employees are ‘outsiders’, most are young, fairly well paid and conspicuous consumers. I say ‘fairly’ well paid because there are far too many misconceptions about IT pay. Yes – a few people made it really big. But most others are doing well but not outrageously so. An economic and cultural gap opened up. The numbers employed by IT are far more and growing at a very healthy clip. Their contribution in engendering economic activity, providing employment of all sorts, generating revenue (indirectly via income taxes if not directly via corporate taxes) and putting the city on the global map was far greater. But that got drowned in the very visible ‘problems’ in infrastructure – mostly because of city administration not increasing the buffer capacity of the city in a timely fashion. When the IT industry asked the city to step up, it was perceived as arm-twisting and riding ‘free’ on taxpayers money.
I am really interested in knowing how this gap can be bridged - which, I believe, is necessary for the long term sustenance of the city and industry.
