Bangalore

Bangalore

Bangalore is ideally situated on the plateau in southern India. The weather is perfect eight months of the year (the summers are scorching hot and then wet). This led to the military setting up a facility there, which was sort of the last stop towards retirement. Many stayed there, and the place flourished with parks.

A few decades ago, Texas Instruments set up a software development facility in Bangalore, the first of its kind. Since then, the top software developers in India have migrated to Bangalore, and most major companies now have large facilities, including Microsoft, HP, IBM, and everyone else. Four years ago I first visited Bangalore in connection with the software development facility of Tektronix. Software is a leading export in India now, and Bangalore still dominates the country.

The combination of natural beauty, a retirement atmosphere, and the prosperity and western leanings of the high tech industry makes for an unusual Indian town. Sure, there are still the rickshaws and cows in the street, and monkeys in the trees. But after the extensive travels that we have done in poorer areas of India and China, Bangalore looks like a city in the USA!

Unlike elsewhere, many Bangalore residents own cars, and the city is developing highways as fast as possible to connect the new suburbs. Very comfortable housing is being built rapidly, much with a very American feel. Many of the software engineers have been in the USA, either for school or a stint of employment, and combine an appreciation for some of the elements of the USA with a desire to live in their home country. Bangalore is the natural result of this fusion.

We stayed downtown, near MG (Mahatma Gandhi) Road so everything we needed was within walking distance. This area has Indian hotels and restaurants intermixed with western fashion outlets and Pizza Hut! We stayed at a Muslim hotel, rumored to have some of the best Muslim dinners in town. (We didn't manage to eat any dinners there, but a couple of breakfasts were great!).

To the south of MG Road lies Lal Bagh gardens. Just the week before we arrived was the annual floral show, famous throughout the country. We missed that, but enjoyed the peaceful solitude of the botanical gardens. We walked back through Cubbon Park, which is sort of the city's playground and lungs. It is filled with families, children, and young couples.

At one point during our walking, I recognized a street corner from my prior trip four years ago. After another turn or two, poof --I was back at the office! It still has the Tektronix sign on the door. (The group I worked for has since been sold to Xerox, and the development lab has been spun off as a new company, Celstream, and relocated.)

While Bangalore is a lovely place, the real reason we came here was to see old friends. And, boy, were we busy on the weekend! Starting Saturday morning and lasting through Sunday evening, we only had 5.75 hours that we weren't with someone, doing something. It was great! Shunu served us an authentic Indian breakfast in his home, then Anant had a large dinner party where we could see old friends again, then Aparna took us to a late-night dance festival, Murali took us to his Ashram and home on Sunday morning, and Nithi served us a great home-cooked dinner. The generosity was amazing! Thank you everyone!

The Nrithyagram dance festival deserves special mention. Just north of Bangalore, the late Gauri Maa started a dance school to preserve the Indian culture and make it available to everyone, not just the privileged class. A remarkable woman, she established a center with such love and devotion that people still adore her today. http://www.evesindia.com/bold-beauty/skindeep/protima.html She started a tradition of an annual festival, Vasantahabba, and because she was held in such high esteem the best performers in India would come. Even now, after her death, the top performers consider it an honor to her memory to come to the festival.

We arrived too late to see the dancers. But we arrived just as the musicians took over, and they were amazing. Unfortunately I do not have any program notes from the session. The first performance was of an exceptional flutist and percussion. The second was a modified Hawaiian guitar and percussion. I am too ignorant to describe it more, other than to say I just found the performances to be staggering. Wow!