Bengaluru’s Saving Grace…

I often say that if Bangalore had the public transport system of Bombay, it would be pretty close to my ideal Indian city. The weather is generally great… Although, usually Decembers are usually SO cold but it barely feels like winter this year. Are we still pretending like Global Warming doesn’t exist? Anyway, that aside, it is definitely not as hot and sticky as Bombay is all year round so that’s a major plus point. It’s small enough and it’s safe enough. Add a little of Bombay’s street food culture and social scene and you have the perfect city!

That’s probably not going to happen in the next hundred years but in the meantime, Bangalore has at least one more saving grace about it. The metro. So far it is pretty limited in its reach but I love it! It is clean, organised and fast. It is the redeeming factor for Bangalore’s awful public transport system. The auto-drivers single-handedly have ruined that for me. Hate is a harsh word, but I do hate them. I understand that there may be reasons for their nakhras and life is hard and expensive but what really gets to me is their conniving and cheating. I don’t care anymore if they demand extra. I know to expect it and I simply walk away. I love to walk so another few steps to find a different auto is not a problem (as long as I’m not in a hurry!) but what really gets to me is when they agree, make me sit in the auto and then make their demands. Oh, they’d be lucky if I don’t scream bloody murder and hurtle some comments at them about their lack of decency at that point. Of course, I will also demand that they stop the auto immediately and I walk away. I’ve even had the urge to whack them but it hasn’t (thank God) gotten to that yet. Yeah, I’m pretty ‘hard-core’ when it comes to dealing with wayward auto drivers :P They bring out the worst in me.

So you see why I am such a fan of the metro? I love the idea of public transport and this is Bangalore’s best option so far! So I’m sitting in the imaginary bleachers, cheering very loudly for this project to reach its completion! Let’s hope it doesn’t take another ten years in coming…