Oh! Bangalore! - Part II

In Oh! Bangalore! (Part 1 of this series), Ajay took us on a fascinating time-travel trip into Bangalore's past. Fasten your seat belts and get ready to journey with him through modern Bangalore in Oh! Bangalore! - Part 2.

Sundance Short-Stay Service Apartments - Perfect for Exploring Modern Bangalore

                                 
                      Oh! Bangalore - Part II  
                By Ajay Sachdev  (midasinvone@yahoo.co.in) 
I was back home and relaxing with my favorite PG Wodehouse book when I heard a voice speaking to me - “Get up Ajay! You have much to do.”

Was it the Angel again? Or my brother playing a prank on me? Or a friend? No one around....I shrugged , prepared to delve back into the misadventures of Bertie Wooster and his  gentleman’s personal gentleman, Reginald Jeeves, of “Uncle Fred in the Springtime” and of “Young Men in Spats” fame, when a tingle of static electricity went through me and I felt the same overwhelming presence. An all encompassing feeling of excitement swept over me.

“Get up Ajay,” the voice gently repeated, “You have only begun your odyssey.”  

Suddenly, the hum was back in the room....the room shook about its axis, and everything blurred. The air parted once more, revealing the gaping time warp in the center of the room.

Confidently, I stepped through and it promptly closed up behind me. I waited expectantly. What wonderful adventures lay ahead of me? Where was the horse and chariot? The sound of hooves? I listened with a hand cupped to one ear...nothing. Expectantly, I looked around. Then I began to feel a slight movement as the air around me began to swirl, until it became a rushing sound. With a screech of brakes, a shiny futuristic blue car that was like no car I had ever seen before skidded to stop in front of me, and the door swung open.  I felt a strong urge to get inside, so I did, and as if on cue, the door clicked shut. The car began to move slowly at first and then gathering speed, I felt it rising higher and higher. The familiar digital LCD screen suddenly popped up in front of me. As in the Golden Chariot, there were no controls in the car, no steering wheel, and no brakes.  No brakes? I frowned, as I looked around...suppose we crashed? Just then, a warm feeling of reassurance enveloped me. Reassured that I was safe, I sat back waiting for my amazing adventure to continue...

                         The Ghost of Bangalore Present

The digital meter read 2011, so I guessed we were going to voyage through Bangalore Present. But then, why did I need a time traveler, I asked myself? After all, I was in ‘Bangalore Present’ and could travel through the city on my own. As if reading my thoughts, a soft voice caressed my ear. “Ajay, do you know how big Bangalore is? It’s spread across 741 sq kilometers (460 miles). Do you know how long it will take you to cover it on your own?  It’s far better we do things my way........”

“Yes sir!”  I said enthusiastically as my body tingled with the familiar feeling of static electricity, whenever the angel came close to me.

What’s that below me?  It’s the MG Road boulevard - a large concrete gash runs on its left side:  it has been torn up to make way for the upcoming elevated Metro Rail, and the historic ‘Plaza Theatre’ on its right has been torn down for a metro station.  I frowned at the wanton destruction of historic landmarks.  But then the government has promised to restore the boulevard after the metro is complete. 

Full of nostalgia, I looked around for Bangalore’s other lovely English movie theaters– only the ‘Rex’ still stands in its original form – ‘Bluemoon’ and ‘Bluediamond’ (where the movie ‘ABBA’ ran for 25 whole weeks), ‘Galaxy’ and ‘Imperial’ have made way for commercial complexes. I remembered nostalgically the frenzy “Enter the Dragon” created when it ran at the ‘Galaxy’ for 60 whole weeks! – a record for an English film in Bangalore. I have fond memories of the “Imperial” theater which screened the classic Peter Sellers movie “The Party” and Readers Digest’s musical “Tom Sawyer” and of the ‘Lido’ which ran a succession of James Bond movies. It has now metamorphosed into a multiplex with several theaters and a commercial complex with the regulation food court.  I distinctly remember the sensation ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’ created at the ‘Lido’, notching up a silver jubilee.  I recall two auto drivers coming out of the theater discussing the movie amongst themselves “kyun je – scooter pani me chalata hai je!” (“What man! He’s driving a scooter in the water!”)

     ‘Enough of movies’, the car seemed to say, as it sped away to the sprawling campuses of the software giants headquartered in Bangalore. How they’ve changed the face of Bangalore – from a sleepy pensioners paradise to the third most populous city in India, and one among a select group of global cities alongside Dallas, Miami, Boston, Kuwait City, Lima, Brasilia and Munich. The IT professionals - who man the IT Industry in Bangalore, with their high disposable incomes, have changed the face of Bangalore - making real estate prices zoom to the stratosphere. They’ve also spawned quite a pub culture in Bangalore.

     The car then zoomed to Bangalore’s famous malls; there’s the Forum Mall in Koramangala, taking Bangalore by storm when it first opened, with its glitzy shops, multilevel parking and a first time Food Court, besides Bangalore’s very first multiplex.  That the multiplex - the PVR Cinemas - succeeded in jacking up movie ticket rates to astronomical levels is another story altogether.The Forum was quickly followed by the Garuda Mall, off Brigade Road, and Mantri Mall in Malleswaram, both with Food Courts. Garuda with its multiplex, continues to be immensely popular to this day.  In the evenings, the malls are filled with shoppers, moviegoers, snackers, or people just hanging out to have a good time.

    Let’s look at the food scene, the car seemed to say.  Gosh!  There are so many restaurants in Bangalore!  From Fine Dining to Casual and Fast Food, from Italian to French, from Chinese to Korean to Thai to Iranian to North Indian to South Indian, from Oriya to Punjabi to Vietnamese to Japanese.....drool! You name it...there’s a dedicated restaurant for each cuisine in Bangalore.  Of course, the old faithfuls such as  ‘Koshys’, Tiffany’s, “Casa Piccola’,  ‘MTR’ ,  ‘Woodlands’ and Vidyarthi Bhawan continue to serve up their gastronomic delights to this day. Budget foods?  There are the ever present darshinis and Udupi restaurants at virtually every street corner.....economical, fast South Indian and North Indian food in a jiffy; not to mention the dhabas on major highways offering classical truck-stop food. Bangalore is truly a gastronomic paradise, and a gourmet’s Holy Grail!

    The car suddenly spun away from the gastronomic scene. Where was I going now?  Wow! There’s “Fun World” below me, Bangalore’s premier amusement park in the heart of the city with several heart stopping rides, a toy train, bumper cars, and a video game gallery.  It has a Water World section too, a recent addition, where children and adults can enjoy several thrilling water rides.

     And Oh! There’s the ultra modern amusement park “Wonder La’ on the outskirts of Bangalore at Bidadi - with several breathtaking and super-fun rides.  A day at Wonder La makes your wanna go there again and again!

    The car suddenly pulled up high above Bangalore, with a whoosh!  -  it was a little like going up in a high speed elevator: you know you are up there, but your insides have been left behind!  I had a glorious overview of Bangalore. Underneath me was a pulsating city full of life and drive; with ultra modern shopping centers, the latest glitzy cars, movie multiplexes, a thriving IT industry and an upcoming biotech industry.....in short the tech capital of India, perhaps of the continent, and who knows, one day of the world!

    What’s that? Gosh!  It’s my editor Minoo, frowning and tapping her feet impatiently, looking at her watch - I’m long overdue ...way past my deadline, and as if the Angel had read my the thoughts, the car suddenly vanished and I felt myself slipping, falling through time and space, until I fell back through the time warp and into my chair with a soft ‘plop’.

     With a strong sense of ‘déjà vu’, I looked around for the Angel and the sleek car. What model was it?  I couldn’t recall..... my memory faded and my eye fell on my computer.  Aha! I told myself....there’s work to do.  I fed paper in the printer and began typing....

   

     So dosvidanya , dear reader.......until next week!

P.S. Terrific tour of present-day Bangalore, Ajay. I was spell-bound - everything was so new to me. Will be counting the days to Oh! Bangalore! - Part III due next Saturday, with the enthusiasm of a teenager waiting for the follow-ups to Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse. You are probably busy with your time-travels of Future Bangalore as we speak.

P.S. 2: Aarathi, Uday, Deepa....looking forward to lively comments from you and other readers who are amazed by what a terrific writer and a love for Bangalore can do.

P.S. 3: While we are on the subject of Bangalore, you may want to check out Things that remind me of my childhood - India in the 80's and 90's - a panoramic Pinterest board of Divya Silbermann and help her add to it.

P.S. 4: As always, thanks for reading.