Bengaluru: Hot, Crowded, and Kind of Amazing (I Think)
so i ended up in bengaluru after a 12-hour journey that felt like it lasted three days. my legs are still complaining. the flight was fine until we hit this weird patch of turbulence that made my coffee jump out of its cup and onto my poor laptop. great start, right? but anyway, here i am.
someone told me this city was founded way back in 1537 by some chieftain named kempe gowda. he built a mud fort that they later upgraded to stone in 1761. can you imagine how many forts they must've had back then? seems like everyone was building forts left and right. the british came later, made it their regional headquarters from 1831 to 1881, which i guess explains why some parts of the city feel a bit... colonial?
the terrain here is mostly flat, which is a relief after all those mountains i've been climbing recently. but there are some hills in the south made of granite and gneiss, with the highest point being doddabettahalli at 962 meters. quite impressive, actually. the city sits on this east-west ridge in the southeastern part of karnataka, at a cultural crossroads of kannada, telugu, and tamil-speaking regions. which explains why i keep hearing different languages everywhere i go.
i just checked and it's 15.91 degrees celsius right now, feels like 15.72, with a humidity of 83%. hope you like that kind of thing. it's actually pretty nice, cooler than most indian cities, which is a blessing because my travel wardrobe is definitely not built for extreme heat. the city earned the 'garden city' tag back in 1927 because of all these parks like lalbagh and cubbon. they try to keep green spaces around even as everything gets built up, which is something i appreciate.
the food here is... interesting. someone told me that the rava idli was invented right here in bengaluru, which is cool because i've had it before but never knew its origin. there's this massive microbrewery scene too, led by kingfisher, which is surprising since india isn't exactly known for its beer culture. though i guess that's changing. the street food is incredible - masala dosa, regular idli, and filter coffee that tastes nothing like what i'm used to back home.
if you get bored, tumakuru is just a short drive away to the north, and mysuru is southwest. there's also hosur to the southeast in tamil nadu, which seems to be part of this growing commuter belt because of all the it expansion. i haven't visited any of them yet, but i've heard mysuru is worth the trip.
the traffic here is insane. like, really, really bad. i think it's india's highest density or something. i've been using the metro when i can, but it's still crowded and hot. someone told me that bengaluru is the second-fastest growing major indian city, which explains why everything feels so... rushed? the infrastructure can't keep up with how fast things are changing.
what's really strange is that despite being called the 'silicon valley of india,' with all these companies like infosys and wipro, there are still over 1,000 temples, 400 mosques, and 100 churches here. it's this weird mix of ancient spirituality and modern technology that you don't find in many places. they even call it the 'godly city' sometimes, which i find funny because of all the tech stuff.
the population is around 11 million in the city itself, over 20 million in the metro area. everyone's young and working in it, which makes sense since that's where the jobs are. the culture is this weird blend of traditional sandalwood film industry and classical arts with modern nightlife and art scenes. i'm still trying to figure it out.
oh, and the water situation here is... concerning. someone told me there are real scarcity issues, which is weird because it's been raining almost every day since i got here. but i guess that's urban problems for you - too much concrete, not enough storage.
i think that's about all i've noticed so far. my brain's a bit fuzzy from all the travel and trying to navigate this city. maybe tomorrow i'll actually visit some of those tourist spots instead of just getting lost. or maybe i'll just find a nice café with good coffee and wifi. decisions, decisions.
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