Bangalore has been great to us

Bangalore has been great to us. After our whirlwind trip through Israel and Palestine its been really great to get to India. I’ve spent many years studying music in India and it always makes me happy to get back. Bangalore is a crazy and congested place like all the large cities of India but the folks here in the south of India have a more laid back attitude than up north. Nothing makes me happier than to hit the road in an auto rikshaw cart and cruise the town. Granted air pollution is heavy and the experience is similar to putting your face up to the back end of a tailpipe and inhaling deeply but the chance to see India up close and personal is second to none. Streets teem with people, carts, vendors, food stalls and cows. You could be at the busiest intersection in town and see cows lazily sauntering across 8 lanes of traffic. The weather is warm but compared to north India there’s lots of trees so it’s easy to find shade.

We have been spending time with Han’s friend Tenzin and local business owner Praveen. They both work in the “new” Bangalore business world of the large American corporate presence. Tenzin is a team leader of online customer support for Monster.Com and Praveen’s company does market research of the American consumer for Microsoft. We took a drive the other day to the “International Tech Park” and saw firsthand the huge American corporate influx. All the big players are here, Dell, AOL, MIcrosoft, SunMicroSystems, Apple, GE, and many more. Clearly this has brought many jobs to the region and spurred a steady migration of educated people from all over the sub-continent to Bangalore searching for their piece of pie. Today we are visiting with a local environmental group who are concerned with the growing environmental costs of this massive shift in the Indian economy.

Filed under Journals, India, Dominic Howes.

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