unITing Bangalore...

when i first came to this city, i was so impressed with it in the first month, i posted this. i titled it bangalored, meaning i was floored by this city. was flattered by the city which was and is so beautiful, it had and has so much to offer.

over a period of time i met many who called them selves bangaloreans, people who had lived here for long, for whom this city was their's by default, by birth. people who used to talk about the old bangalore, the garden city, the pub city, the city which had a small town charm, the city which had amazing weather, and nice people.

and the city which now has been corrupted by us 'the outsiders'

by nature i never defend, but i always used to sarcastically joke about it, thinking in my mind, why are we being blamed???

and today i understand...

we, the outsiders, never adopt the city, we only consume all that the city has to give, never giving anything back. we are not concerned about the environment of the city, not about the social cultural issues the city is facing, about how our loudness has degraded the calm of the city,

all most of us do is complain...there are so many power cuts, the weather is changing, the traffic polices targets vehicles with out of state registrations, the rickshawallas favour the locals and on and on...

well why should we, we have come to a city and are changing the city as per our requirements, but not the other way round, we don't adopt the ways of the city, we don't learn the local language for the sake of fitting in, only a few words here and there which get us by, we don't understand the traditions and the culture, we either ignore it, living our own lives, or we change it a bit to suit us.

we break rules, traffic lights, no parking, and then when our vehicles are towed, we complain, trying to find the holes in the system...but we are the one's who broke the rules in the first place. we litter the place, talk in the IT fashion...call elders by first names, shout at public places, roam around drunk...and then we complain. (btw i don't do all of these, some for sure, but surely have seen people doing it)

forget giving back, we are not even thankful about what the city is giving us.

at a hospital, in front of an ICU, a doctor gave me half an hour sermon about how the IT crowd is not respectful, does not know how to talk, doesn't know how to live in a city. they live in a cocoon of their own, as long as it doesn't affect their lives, they don't really care. and at the point i was offended, but today i am apologetic.

imagine what would happen, if we, the outsiders conquer all cities in the country, every city will have just one culture, the culture of 'i don't care', 'chalta hai', and the culture of everyone complaining. the original culture of the city will be lost, and then there will be no identity of the city.

why are we like this, i surely was not like this when i arrived. i used to care, never used to litter, wouldn't break rules unless required, but after two years here, my attitude has become casual, easy money or no one to question me, don't know the reason, but i have.

well we are a always in a transient state, never knowing how long will we be here, and then move there...so whats the point of giving back. just come, use and leave. and more then anything, we, with our fat paychecks, and easy money, are very materialistic. as long as our paychecks are arriving, we don't really care.

time to change, if we can't give back, atleast lets not destroy what is present. lets respect the city, the culture of the city, adopt it as it has adopted us.

no more littering, or breaking rules for me. and trying to give back. i still won't learn the language, because i am not good at it, but i surely want to now.

take care.

PS - unITing - for the lack of a better word, reducing the bad effects of IT crowd on Bangalore.