Bangalore
Bangalore is a completely different city than we think it is. Moved to Padmanabhanagar from Varthur recently and now I am in complete cultural and societal shock.
I just joined Reddit few days ago and this is my very first post - I am originally from Haryana. I spent my childhood in Gurgaon, pursued my education in Mumbai, and completed my master’s and worked in the US. I moved to Bangalore four years ago and initially lived in Varthur. During that time, I fell in love with a localite who was my colleague. We got married, and six months ago, I moved to his house in Padmanabhanagar.
During my stay in Varthur, I often felt that Bangalore was overrated. Although it is marketed as a tech hub, my experience was limited to its proximity to the tech park. The area lacked proper roads, infrastructure, amenities, and—most importantly for me—culture. It felt non-existent. People were rude, disconnected from each other, and the place resembled a lifeless concrete jungle—more like a concrete immigrant asylum.
Fast forward to today, I now live in Padmanabhanagar, which is probably deep in the heart of Bengaluru towards south west. It’s a place where someone like me, a "North" techie would least expect to venture, because there is no point living there unless you are a localite, tech parks are far away from that place, but I shifted to complete WFH now.
I was shocked and baffled by this place. The infrastructure is top-notch—though not quite like the US, it is far above the standards of a typical Indian city. There are beautiful parks, trees that almost touch the streets, and no water issues, all the footpaths and roads are very well maintained, though there are few potholes here and there (this is probably the de-facto standard of India). It is on par with the posh areas of Mumbai that I used to visit during my college days.
More importantly, I want to talk about the people. They are completely different from those in Varthur. I initially thought my inability to speak Kannada would be a problem here, but guess what—almost everyone knows English, and I didn’t face any issues at all. The South Indian culture we often see on TV or read about in books is very much alive here. My husband was born and bought up here, so he knows the entire block we live in and he has introduced me already to everyone lol. The people here seem educated and come from well-to-do families, they are culturally rooted - yet they seem progressive. Many of their children are pursuing master’s degrees in the US or working in some tech companies or non-tech in Bangalore. I was pleasantly surprised by how accepting they are. For example, I would wear short clothes while going for a walk, and unlike in Varthur, nobody stared at me angrily.
The temples here are also incredibly beautiful. There are several popular places nearby, like the Banashankari 2nd Stage market complex, Gandhi Bazaar, and Basavanagudi.
I’m amazed at how different the cultures and vibes can be within the same city. When I lived in Varthur, I never imagined Bangalore could be so beautiful and welcoming. Now that I’m here, I feel incredibly lucky, and I don’t ever want to leave this place. I want to explore the city more and more.
During my stay in Varthur, I often felt that Bangalore was overrated. Although it is marketed as a tech hub, my experience was limited to its proximity to the tech park. The area lacked proper roads, infrastructure, amenities, and—most importantly for me—culture. It felt non-existent. People were rude, disconnected from each other, and the place resembled a lifeless concrete jungle—more like a concrete immigrant asylum.
Fast forward to today, I now live in Padmanabhanagar, which is probably deep in the heart of Bengaluru towards south west. It’s a place where someone like me, a "North" techie would least expect to venture, because there is no point living there unless you are a localite, tech parks are far away from that place, but I shifted to complete WFH now.
I was shocked and baffled by this place. The infrastructure is top-notch—though not quite like the US, it is far above the standards of a typical Indian city. There are beautiful parks, trees that almost touch the streets, and no water issues, all the footpaths and roads are very well maintained, though there are few potholes here and there (this is probably the de-facto standard of India). It is on par with the posh areas of Mumbai that I used to visit during my college days.
More importantly, I want to talk about the people. They are completely different from those in Varthur. I initially thought my inability to speak Kannada would be a problem here, but guess what—almost everyone knows English, and I didn’t face any issues at all. The South Indian culture we often see on TV or read about in books is very much alive here. My husband was born and bought up here, so he knows the entire block we live in and he has introduced me already to everyone lol. The people here seem educated and come from well-to-do families, they are culturally rooted - yet they seem progressive. Many of their children are pursuing master’s degrees in the US or working in some tech companies or non-tech in Bangalore. I was pleasantly surprised by how accepting they are. For example, I would wear short clothes while going for a walk, and unlike in Varthur, nobody stared at me angrily.
The temples here are also incredibly beautiful. There are several popular places nearby, like the Banashankari 2nd Stage market complex, Gandhi Bazaar, and Basavanagudi.
I’m amazed at how different the cultures and vibes can be within the same city. When I lived in Varthur, I never imagined Bangalore could be so beautiful and welcoming. Now that I’m here, I feel incredibly lucky, and I don’t ever want to leave this place. I want to explore the city more and more.
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