kmgpost: Impressions of Going Home IX.
pa...@issoln.com
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Impressions of Going Home - IX.
I reached Bangalore in the middle of a dusty hot afternoon. Someone I =
knew from America came to pick me up. Bangalore looked pretty much the =
same. Just a little darker, maybe that was pollution. Our company had a =
branch in Koramangala and that's where we went.=20
Koramangala main claim to fame used to be the fact that St. Johns, the =
medical college of some repute, was situated there. In fact I had =
attended a rock concert perhaps the group was Shiva, its at the edge of =
my memory. I know they played "Smoke on the water" - What decent self =
respecting rock group in India doesn't play that song :) Deep Purple is =
huge in India. That and Pink Floyd. I vaguely recall much alcohol and =
rowdiness. The alcohol smuggled in under tee shirts and mostly composed =
of cheap rum. The music was loud and the crowd shocked by the behavior =
of the miscreants. There was a stall selling sugared water so people =
could be make sure they lost their mind.
The rest of Koramangala in 1984 was pretty much urban debris, besides a =
MICO factory. The rock concert I mention was in 1990 or 1991. Even then =
the scene was pretty much the same, although I do recall a Indian =
Institute of astrophysics there. A very close friend of mine went to St. =
Johns and I had stayed there for several days, hence the familiarity.
In 1997, Koramangala was the new Corporate Haven. A new yuppie hideout. =
We went to a restaurant called Jacaranda, which looked every part a =
sophisticated American restaurant, with prices appropriately located on =
the astronomical scale. The big corporate software chains were moving to =
Koramangala. Cash flush kids.. prowled about in Cars - where did those =
Bikes go ? A lot of this had to do with the change in the value of the =
Rupee. And also the new wealthy created by Computer Technology. =
Bangalore is considered the second largest concentration of Software =
professionals after Silicon Valley. And there is no doubt in my mind =
that at some point of time if nothing catastrophic happens it will =
become *the* largest concentration.=20
Life for a new graduate had changed. When I worked for Wipro Systems in =
1990, I made a decent [ at the time ] 4500 rupees per month, with 2 year =
of experience. Now fresh graduates were being hired at 10,000 and above. =
Sure things have gone up in price but still 10K in Bangalore for one =
person is a lot of money.
That had to find some outlet. Hence the set of new outlets: Video =
arcades, Designer Jeans, Designer Fast Food, Designer Ice Cream ..=20
Jacaranda charged us 500 rupees for lunch for three. Now I could see =
why you need 10,000 a month :)
I was excited because I was back in Bangalore after such a long wait.
There didn't seem to be much change on the main storefronts on MG Road. =
The same symphony theatre hmm wait, symphony had become some fan club =
theatre hmm cant recall the name. =20
Perhaps what is true about the so called American Dream is that it makes =
material objects seem within reach. I remember waiting for a bus, =
opposite the tandoor restaurant on MG road and watching enviously as =
Mercedes Benz picked up really spoilt kids after dinner or lunch. In =
America, where the Mercedes Benz is still a luxury and a status symbol, =
it is somehow not beyond reach atleast it doesn't seem so in mid-career. =
In India it seemed the Benz was a symbol of all those people who were =
socially in a completely different universe, one an average person had =
little chance of breaking into. In America it seems as if a Benz is just =
another reward for converting Blood, Sweat and Tears into Money. Perhaps =
this is just a matter of scale. I am sure a Ferrari would seem out of =
reach of most people in America. :), but I think it involves something =
deeper. Something about oppurtunity and lack of stigma attached to =
wealth.=20
I checked into Central Park Hotel just off MG Road, in the Manipal =
Center complex.
[ ....to be continued ....]
comments to ica...@access.digex.net=20
- - Paul Chemmanoor.
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We shall not cease from exploration, And the end of all our exploring,
Will be to arrive where we started, And know the place for the first =
time.
-- T. S. Eliot (1888-1965)
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