Time Square, NY
(Picture courtesy: Google image search - that's all I noticed)
Don't get me wrong, much as I like to crib about Bangalore (and that's no different from any other city I have lived in), I quite like this place. Maybe not so much right now, but a couple of months and with the monsoons, the love story will begin again. But I always get this nagging feeling that there's something about the modern architecture of this city, some new restaurants and malls, Brigade Road, and a huge bunch of people that can only be defined as the "Worship the West" syndrome. A whole lot of places (e.g. Forum Value Mall) look like they were built keeping the "onsite returns" and their withdrawal symptoms in mind. Like they say, imitation is the best form of flattery. But all this comes at a price - horrible service in places you would least expect it. And gross everyday inconvenience like traffic jams. The sensibilities in this country are a little different, and the infrastructure is far from being good enough for this kind of blatant copying. Someone needs to understand this.
Don't get me wrong, much as I like to crib about Bangalore (and that's no different from any other city I have lived in), I quite like this place. Maybe not so much right now, but a couple of months and with the monsoons, the love story will begin again. But I always get this nagging feeling that there's something about the modern architecture of this city, some new restaurants and malls, Brigade Road, and a huge bunch of people that can only be defined as the "Worship the West" syndrome. A whole lot of places (e.g. Forum Value Mall) look like they were built keeping the "onsite returns" and their withdrawal symptoms in mind. Like they say, imitation is the best form of flattery. But all this comes at a price - horrible service in places you would least expect it. And gross everyday inconvenience like traffic jams. The sensibilities in this country are a little different, and the infrastructure is far from being good enough for this kind of blatant copying. Someone needs to understand this.
P.S. What brought this on? I walk for about 5 minutes on Brigade Road every morning and evening during my daily commute. Evenings are in bad taste, especially on weekdays. Too crowded and somehow a gross misfit. But mornings are nice - like Bill Bryson says, "watching a city wake up is the best way to see it" or something to that effect... That Bangalore wakes up not before 9:30 am is another matter altogether :-)
1 comment:
Well, in the pics it does seem a clear copy.
Loved that "onsite returns".
May Forum value milch this ilk.
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