Bangalored! ( May 10, 2006 )

I am currently reading this book - Bangalored! - by Eshwar Sundaresan, and it is quite engrossing. I have been through around a hundred pages so far, and it has been mostly about people who have adopted Bangalore as their new home... expats, first-generation Americans whose parents have Indian roots... It feels good to know that some of these folk are giving something back to this (once) amazing city !

Of late, all I hear from the people around me is complaints about the city's infrastructure or its lack of a cultural life ( unlike NewYork )... etc etc. I feel annoyed when people criticise my city, but I usually let it go. The very fact that these folks have quit their homes and have adopted this apparently "screwed-up city" , makes any riposte superfluous.

But the rising percentage of immigrant population in Bangalore is adding to the already existing mess in Bangalore. Since people do not percieve this place as their long-term home, their behavioural patterns are biased towards short-term gains, which is not good for the long-term well-being of the city, such as not participating in civic causes, buying or living in low-quality houses/apartments ( Its a temporary home, right ? ), not integrating with the local populace.

The last point especially, is a very critical shortcoming in my opinion. By staying disconnected from the local culture/people, immigrants further alienate themselves from the locals. This, coupled with the fact that most of the immigrants are salaried middle-class or upper middle-class folk, propogates the perception that - "Outsiders have come to Bangalore and are taking away our jobs" - leading to social unrest and eventually to crime.
Unless the powers-that-be take notice and start doing something to arrest this trend, Bangalore is on the fast-lane to being another Mumbai - a ruthless urban jungle, each one to herself/himself.