A Year in Bengaluru/Bangalore

I cannot believe it has already been a year since I moved back to Bangalore. How time just flew!! It feels like just yesterday that we moved back to this city. I thought it would be a good idea to reflect on how the one year in Bangalore has been.

I must say the city has changed a lot and not always for the best. It has become extremely populous compared to when I left it in 2012. This has also contributed to an unmanageable traffic situation in most parts of the city. In a way I am not surprised by this as the city still presents itself as an attractive hub for jobs and start-up that people from a big part of the country migrate here every year. My brother told me that every year, the city's population grows by 38%!! Now that is really huge! I am surprised that the city, being completely unprepared for this unplanned growth, is still surviving.
This being said, now that the Government and city administration has noted this, the efforts made to improve the infrastructure of the city to cope with this kind of growth is not catching up or able to keep pace with the growth. I hope they are doing something in the background to prevent the city from crumbling under the gigantic growth.

When I left the city, it was clean and green. While there is still quite a bit of green cover in the city, it is rapidly depleting to make way for growth. It is nice to see the citizens coming together to save the greenery. So, the administration is working towards translocating the trees. I just wish all the green is just within the city so that people living in the city can benefit from it. Due to the growth, there are a lot of vehicles on the street contributing to some heavy pollution. I think the increase in greenery would serve to benefit the city massively.

I do not know how many remember that in 2014-2015, Bangalore was the cleanest capital in the country and raked 7th in the list of cleanest cities in the country. Don't believe me, read this. However, in 2018, it is probably right in the bottom of the list. The garbage disposal system is currently not meeting the city's needs. Though a lot of initiatives have been introduced like waste segregation, ban on plastics etc, their implementation is not effective. Also, I have come to understand the city's administration has some budget and resource issues due to which the garbage pick-up is not regular and there is open dumping in several places in the city. I think this is something the city administration really needs to work on and really fast.

The other area of focus would be provision of clean and safe water to the citizens. The amount of water supplied to the city is not enough, increasing the dependency on water tankers. I do not want to talk much about how important water is and why there is a shortage. I think we all know by now, why.

What I love about the city is the vibrant vibe it still possesses. There are so many interesting and unique events all across the city all through the city. People love going to these and so do I. There are so many affordable food joints in almost every nook and corner of most localities and they offer a large variety too.

The other thing that I like is, each locality is quite self contained. Vegetable shops, groceries, schools, hospitals, parks etc are present in all localities and are easily accessible, usually by a short walk. Fortunately, this aspect of the city has not undergone any change and has in fact, improved for the better.

A big change in the transport sector is the introduction of fast and reliable Metro in the city. Though a bigger network is required for this rapidly becoming massive city, it is work in progress and hope all the other lines are ready soon. In most of my metro journeys so far, there have been tremendous crowds in the train. Sometimes it surprises me that there is still enough oxygen inside the trains to keep everyone from fainting.

The well-loved mild weather of Bangalore is still in tact. Though it has become slightly warmer than before, it is still quite cool and amazing. It has been raining on most days in this last year, keeping the temperature under control.

The city seems to believe in early to bed and early to rise. While most shops are open until 10pm, many close by 8pm. In the mornings, if you are in the neighbourhood park around 5am, you will find it bustling with walkers and joggers and you can see the same in the gyms. When I was in Hyderabad, the newspaper and milk delivery seldom happened before 7:45-8:00 am, but here, it is available by 6:00-6:30am in the morning. Only after moving to Hyderabad, did I realise that Bangalore is a city of early risers. The pace of life may not be comparable to that of cities like Mumbai, but is definitely fast paced compared to Hyderabad, which comes across as a very laid back city.

These are my initial thoughts about the year that went by. If I think of anything else later on, I will update the same in the comments section. As you may have noticed, it is a mixed bag of experiences so far. Whatever the experience maybe, I love living in the city, despite its flaws and only a Bangalorean would understand what I mean!

Book Haul from Blossom Book House

My husband and I were bored one Sunday evening and had not been out shopping for books for sometime. We decided to head out to Blossoms'. They earlier had just 1 store on Church Street but now have 2 big shops on either ends of Church Street. We went there on 2 subsequent weekends, which means, there were 2 hauls this month. I bought more books in my 1st haul and just a couple in my 2nd haul. My husband bought a couple of books during our 1st visit this month. During the 2nd visit, I actually took some of the books I was not too keen on keeping with me- about 20 of them. They kept 12 of them and returned 8 to me as they already had enough unsold copies of those. In return, I could buy books of my choice for that amount. I still have about Rs.180 of the unspent amount, for which they gave me a voucher, for use in future purchases.


Coming to the 1st haul, I bought 5 books.

1. The House on the Strand by Daphne DuMaurier

During my recent vacation, my aunt recommended this book to me. She is a big fan of DuMaurier's writing and we found that we shared a liking for similar kinds of books. This book is about time travel. I will write more, after I read the book.

2. Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang

My aunt and I were discussing Pear Buck's The Good Earth (one of my favourites). We were actually discussing about books about China and these two books were discussed. I bought Wild Swans as it was highly recommended by her.

3. The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande

During my visit to my Aunt's, she had several books my Atul Gawande. I actually partially read Atul Gawande's "Complications" and liked whatever little I read. So, decided to get this book.

4. Dancing in Cambodia and Other Essays by Amitav Ghosh

I have never read a book by Amitav Ghosh but have heard good reviews of his books, which are usually pretty bulky. I thought a smallish book like this would be a good start.

5. Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll

I was watching a quiz show, in which one of the questions was- which of these characters in not a character of Lewis Carroll's books. I realised I had forgotten about all the characters in Alice in Wonderland. I only remembered the gist of the story but could not really recall anyone other than Alice of course. I thought this book would help me in refreshing my memory.

Books from the 2nd Haul

1. Complications by Atul Gawande

As mentioned above, I have partially read this book- about 80 pages or so and wanted to finish reading this book.  I would love to finish reading it, so, got this book.

2. All Things Wise and Wonderful by James Herriot

I have read a couple of books by James Herriot in my school days and his account of different experiences with animals, being a vet, were quite engaging- sometimes sad and sometimes amusing. I have not read this one though and saw a James Herriot after a long time, so thought of getting it.

When Mathematics Came to My Rescue

Baking is one of my greatest joys. I do not bake as often as I used to once upon a time anymore but it is truly one of my greatest joys. I find it intense yet relaxing and it allows my creativity to flow. It is a great way to express myself though several times what I have on my mind is not necessarily what the end result is. I usually like to bake only for my family but occasionally I do bake for others and rarely ever take it outside home.

Today, I would like to share an experience I had when I baked for my colleagues for an office potluck and had to transport it the hot weather of Hyderabad. I decided to bake an eggless chocolate cake with ganache frosting with chocolate coated strawberries. Before I delve in to the details, I would like to apologise upfront for the poor quality of the images that have been drawn. They are just representations and not drawn to scale.

Usually when I bake a cake for my family, I never bother too much about the size of the cake and the container I have to keep it in as it never leaves the house and gives me the flexibility that I need. However, since I had to carry it to work, I had to bake according to the size of the container. This is when I thanked my stars for paying a bit of attention to my Geometry lessons back in school.

I did not want to carry the fancy cake box. I wanted to give it a homely feel. So, I chose a round steel container, but would it hold the cake? I measured the diameter of the container and that of the cake pan and the cake would fit in perfectly. Now, I cannot just drop the cake directly into the container as it would have the frosting and I cannot frost when the cake is inside the container as the sides/walls of the container would come in the way. I had to choose a plate which is slightly bigger than the cake and slightly smaller than the container and would give me enough space to lift the cake out of the container without disturbing the frosting on the cake. Geometry to the rescue again...after spending about 10-15 min on this I came up with the exact diameter of the plate I needed to do the job. After rummaging through my utensils, I finally and fortunately found such a plate.

So now the cake was baked and out of the oven and the aroma of vanilla wafted through the air at home and filled my home with the aroma of chocolatey goodness (I am reliving that time and oh how my mouth is watering at the mere thought of the fragrance). Anyway, when the cake cooled, I decided to add the filling, for which, I cut the cake into half horizontally. Somehow, something struck me to check if I can put the lid on the container without disturbing the frosting. On adding the filling, the height of the cake would increase and so would the addition of frosting. It was really late in the night and I did not want go looking for another container. I measured the wall of the container with the lid on and, without the lid on, measured the height of plate on which I would place the cake and calculated the optimal height of the cake, considering that strawberries would go on top. I also checked the maximum allowable circumference of the cake that would enable it to sit pretty in the container which led to the calculation of the maximum allowable frosting on the cake.

After all these calculations, I placed the cake on the plate, carefully frosted the cake constantly measuring its dimensions so that it fits in absolutely perfectly into the container. I could not add the filling as even a measly amount of it would increase the height of cake. I just frosted it externally and put in chocolate coated strawberries on top and sprinkled some coloured sugar on top.

I saw it as a personal victory when the all those crazy measurements and calculations paid off and the plate with the cake on it, smoothly made it into the container in a way that would ensure that the frosting would not be effected. It rested in the refrigerator all night.

The next challenge was to make sure the cake made it to the office without melting of the ganache frosting during transport on a motorbike. Now those who tell me that ganache does not melt easily, try Hyderabad's heat and also that the fact that it was in a steel container would not have helped too much. I covered the cake in a thick cloth cover and a bag on the outside. I made it to work with only the coloured sugar melting but the rest was intact. I put the cake in the refrigerator and breathed a sigh of relief.

The Actual End Product on the plate

When my colleagues enjoyed the cake and appreciated it, all the hard work put behind the cake between 10pm and 3am (yes, started a little late due to a crazy day at work) seemed worth it and made my day. It was one of the very very few times that the cake left home and I made me realise that though I was a little dull when it came to mathematics, when it is time for application, I can recall things I did not know that I knew and apply it as though I use that knowledge every single day. I am sure it is the same with everyone- no knowledge is really lost, just temporarily forgotten.

Teachers' Day Tribute to All My Teachers

A Happy Teachers' Day to all my teachers. In every walk of life, we all have had teachers of different kinds- some of them who teach us to function as human beings, some formally educate us and some teach us how to not be a bad teacher. We have different labels for every kind of teacher- parents, teacher, coach, trainer, friend etc.

This Teachers' Day, I would like to extend my gratitude to my parents and family for teaching me everything from my first step to my first word, for giving me the values I cherish and the guidance provided to me whenever I needed it and not to forget the innumerable recipes and quick tips and hacks to make life easy. You gave me the survival skills needed to fend the world- thank you!

I would like to thank my mentor and coaches for enabling a satisfying professional life, for bringing me out of my shell and developing me not only into a trained resource but also a confident human being.

Today I would specifically like to thank my English teacher in middle school in New Delhi for making me love literature and inculcating a habit of reading and writing in me. This teacher (let us call her Mrs. RT in this blog), was really special. I loved attending her classes and never liked to miss them. I specifically remember her taking us through Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy. The book was a part of our curriculum. Mrs. RT had tremendous story telling skills and when she took us through the book, it felt like we were amidst the characters in the book and very much a part of the story. I never wanted her classes to end. On lazy days, it was knowing that we had her class, motivated me to go to school. She encouraged us to read and write about what we read. She also encouraged us to write biographies and autobiographies by pretending to be someone else- a gardener, a porter, a potter etc.  I genuinely found my love for reading and writing from her. She encouraged us to be creative.

I think about what a wonderful teacher she was quite often and yesterday, I ended up googling for her name after all these years. Turns out, she became the principal of the same school and won an award from the Government for Education Excellence and Educationist of the Year, a few years back. She truly deserved those accolades. I did write to the school to convey my message to her. Thank you Ma'am for being a terrific teacher.