Life is all about decisions. Yes almost. And yet it is not so always. The career we chose might be our decision but the city we settled in might not be. More often than not, it’s make-do. The worst is, some live in an illusion of misery being unaware that they are better off in comparison to the rest reigned to their fate since they had no other way but to face it. Sometimes the decisions we take under constraints turn out to be blessings in disguise in future.
We often hear some professionals, young entrepreneurs, start-ups, and IT pros deploring for having chosen Bangalore as the city to dwell in. Monsoon mayhem is enough for them to flood their social media with posts berating the city of their choice. They proclaim Bangalore is the worst city on the planet and choosing Bangalore was the most stupid decision they took in their life. The irony is they hardly ever think of leaving the city and that’s another matter.
In reality, these Bangalore baiters are blind to the havoc climate change has wrought in the world over. In recent times, rain fury has not spared even the developed nations such as the US, Japan and China, leave alone the third world. Every nation is realizing that the infrastructure it built ages ago, can hardly meet the challenges climate change poses today. Bangalore is no exception. Yet, Bangalore remains the punching bag. That way, Mumbai still surpasses Bangalore in the record of deaths flooding claimed in a single day! What’s more, Bangalore is not under the threat of an alarming rise in the sea level that is looming large over Mumbai, our Commercial Capital.
Coming to pollution, Bangalore hardly makes headlines for the fall, if any, of its Air Quality Index unlike New Delhi which does so every year invariably. Being weighed down by the rise in population, migration, population of vehicles and unbridled construction works with a crumbling infrastructure in tandem; Bangalore might have ceased to be the legacy its founder Nadaprabhu Kempe Gowda envisioned centuries ago. Still, the city is one of the best places in terms of greenery, clean air, facilities, connectivity and infrastructure. Take Malleswaram, Basavanagudi etc. These are some pockets in Bangalore still brimming and beaming with old-worldly charm.
Otherwise, what is it that made Bangalore
1. The only Indian city to rank among the 25 global cities of the future 2021/22 report by fDi Intelligence, a UK-based provider of industry insight and cross-border expansion. (An earlier report by the same organisation had placed Bengaluru third in the list of top 10 aerospace cities in the world). – ‘The Economic Times’ Feb 12, 2021
2. Home to 400 Fortune 500 companies
3. Home to 40 unicorns (startup companies valued at $1 billion) out of 104 in India and & home to more than 3,777 startups.
4. House 30% of India’s IT professionals
5. Contribute 38% to India’s IT exports
6. Rank amongst the top five technology clusters in the world.
And here’s more! Following the signing of MOUs worth Rs 5.20 lakh crore during the Global Investors Meet 2022, of which most of the industries would be based in Bangalore only, the city is poised for a quantum leap in industrialization that would translate into an economic boom. With a whopping Rs 45,000 crore being pumped into the development of Brand Bangalore in the State Budget 2023-24, the city would be rallying among coveted international cities soon.
With the Metro train boosting connectivity within Bangalore following its expansion every time, and the Bangalore Suburban Rail Project connecting the outskirts of the city to the downtown with ease once it is operational, the density of population in Bangalore is sure to diffuse. Moreover, the city traffic would be more orderly and free from frequent snarls.
To sum up, Bangalore is the best city where heritage meets modernity and hi-tech is in sync with nature. Hence Bangalore, forever, is the best choice for a happy family life. Hope this will prove an eye-opener to those who suffer from their myopic views.
