Life in the Speed Zone in Bangalore
Its been now just over 3 months since we moved back to Bangalore and boy ! has it been blazing away or what. Looking back, life at Hyderabad appears to be much more docile and nicely slow-paced. Bangalore is just too fast a life.
Personal obligations have increased multi-fold. Necessity to meet people who come to Bangalore absorb weekends. Friends getting married necessitates a visit to the marriage or reception - in Hyderabad, that was rarer. And the distance to Chennai used to act as a valid excuse for not attending functions. Now, with travel to Chennai so much easier, that excuse sounds lame.
Then there is the whole pattern of a day. A typical work day used to start at 10AM and I used to return home by 8 in the night. The morning used to be relaxed and free while the nights used to be longer. I am a morning sleeper - I dont mind just 6 hours of sleep as long as I can sleep till 8.30 or 9. But in Bangalore, I have to be in office by that time ! Why ? Because I need to leave office by 5. Why ? Because driving in Bangalore after 5.30-6 is.. something not to be even attempted if you value time. A 10 minute drive becomes a 1 hour one. Most time is spent just standing and staring at nothing. Traffic jams are the order of that time. Its a pain ! So the whole day appears to be much shorter and much less productive.
With such apparent hecticness, the thought of doing anything beyond was unimaginable. But Amma's continued insistence made us succumb to the idea of a gym. So finally, we are back to the gym. We started yesterday in fact, So thats another item in the daily schedule - I am not certain how we are going to manage it. Time will tell.
Its not that I dont like Bangalore. I love the city. But I just wish for a slower and less speedy life so that smaller moments can be enjoyed to the hilt. Life is not worth spending in traffic jams every day..
Personal obligations have increased multi-fold. Necessity to meet people who come to Bangalore absorb weekends. Friends getting married necessitates a visit to the marriage or reception - in Hyderabad, that was rarer. And the distance to Chennai used to act as a valid excuse for not attending functions. Now, with travel to Chennai so much easier, that excuse sounds lame.
Then there is the whole pattern of a day. A typical work day used to start at 10AM and I used to return home by 8 in the night. The morning used to be relaxed and free while the nights used to be longer. I am a morning sleeper - I dont mind just 6 hours of sleep as long as I can sleep till 8.30 or 9. But in Bangalore, I have to be in office by that time ! Why ? Because I need to leave office by 5. Why ? Because driving in Bangalore after 5.30-6 is.. something not to be even attempted if you value time. A 10 minute drive becomes a 1 hour one. Most time is spent just standing and staring at nothing. Traffic jams are the order of that time. Its a pain ! So the whole day appears to be much shorter and much less productive.
With such apparent hecticness, the thought of doing anything beyond was unimaginable. But Amma's continued insistence made us succumb to the idea of a gym. So finally, we are back to the gym. We started yesterday in fact, So thats another item in the daily schedule - I am not certain how we are going to manage it. Time will tell.
Its not that I dont like Bangalore. I love the city. But I just wish for a slower and less speedy life so that smaller moments can be enjoyed to the hilt. Life is not worth spending in traffic jams every day..
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