The Gripe of the Cynic

It's the same city. Yet it's different. The monuments are the same alright - of course some have given way to others and some have adapted to survive - but the men aren't. Stepping back into Bangalore after a decade and I'm yet to find my feet and call it my home again. I'm not the one who bellows, "oh, the place has changed so much! I can't believe it". I was a part of Bangalore when the city began its journey towards change. Along the way there are many changes that surely weren't planned, weren't welcome too. But then every place changes. Bangalore has NOT changed much and that's why I find it such a pain. 

 Those that haven't change include:

* Kannada movie stars - they look as pathetic as they were in the '90s. I guess the local population secretly admires the ordinary looking or even the downright unpresentable (I'm being politically correct by not calling anyone '****'). Else how could you explain the success of a Ganesh or a Vijay or even a Darshan (I've watched ONLY Ganesh in a movie, will come to that later). The lesser said the better about the heroines. It seems BAR Girls are having a field day as heroines (Beyond ANY Redemption/Repair) - example, Sanjana Gandhi. Yikes!

* Roads - The same old ones with more traffic. They weren't bad when they were first laid. But nothing has been done after that. Probably the incidence of flyovers in a city is the lowest in Bangalore (as compared to any other metro). One must however laud the growth of the city still. It has hardly received any help from any governmental quarter. But yet it's made it to the TOP in the sunshine sectors. No roads lead to Bangalore. People fly into this place! Everyone who enters this city is greeted with HORNS by a street-ful of madmen.

* Shopping - It was bad in the '90s and it's worse now (at best). With the advent of Factory Price Outlets everyone sports a brand today (and that's the ONLY good thing, though lesser said the better of the brands sported). Despite the new and extremely crowded (hyped and not hyper) malls. The worst is the parking fee one has to pay at these claustrophobic dungeons! One has to pay to experience horror! The only decent shopping area I've discovered is 100ft Road of Indiranagar/Domlur. 

 *Partying and Police - The deadlines stay firmly in place. The Police is as hungry for the quickbuck as ever. Night shows have almost disappeared from the minds and memories of families. 

 *Kannada - Conspicuous by its absence. It was the same then and now. But I might be one of the few mourners. Others don't seem to remember anything like it existed.