Bangalore, my darling at night

21 December,2010 06:29 AM IST |   |  Manjunath Hanji

Sorry, she is not hot. You could describe her as cool and pretty though. People desire her, but she never refuses


Sorry, she is not hot. You could describe her as cool and pretty though. People desire her, but she never refuses. She takes them in her arms and even if they cheat on her, she still loves them. I am also one of them.

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My love affair with Bangalore continues. Those who love her also give her loads of trouble, complain about her and dirty her. I am guilty as charged but she is my darling, I want her badly. Forget the day's grime and traffic, my Bangalore shines at night. Though, I am not from Bangalore, I have read about and admired this city since my childhood days. Work brought me to my darling but unfortunately I never got time to indulge in the city's beauty.

Now I am a part and parcel of this city. For the last 14 months I am in Bangalore and have explored every inch of this city from dawn to dusk as a journalist. I have seen grime, road widening, metro constructions, lavish villas, criminals, corporate honchos, ladies of the night, eunuchs and people who are struggling to get their daily bread as well as those who will think nothing of blowing up a wad of cash in a single night. Then I begin to wonder, why is Bangalore so special? I was put on the night shift a couple of months back and I found my city once again. Now I can claim that this city has two faces, a city buzzing like a bee during the day and as calm and silent as it might be inside a womb, at night.

If you want to see the real Bangalore then step out for a stroll at night and you will be amazed. Of course, there are traps and other seamier seductions. But what is a city without its underbelly and a few tragedies? At night, there are no traffic snarls, the roads are wide and empty, mercury bulbs, yellow traffic signal lights, shut shops, yawning security guards and lots of stray dogs.

If you walk from Cunningham Road to Corporation Circle, your perception of Bangalore might change. The majestically constructed Vidhana Soudha (seat of the Karnataka State Legislature) is lit up and looks like a bride. If you want go on a drive, head straight to Electronic City where you can glide at not less than 150 km speed per hour. To sip the city's real tea and coffee, walk on to MG Road and pay only Rs 5 for it. Any amount of fancy tea or coffee during the day cannot beat the experience of drinking tea from tiny plastic cups and puffing away on your favourite cancer stick.

After nine weeks of the night shift, I really admire this city and probably understand why people end up liking this city despite so many infrastructural and developmental problems.u00a0

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