Monday, June 05, 2006

Sign of Times?

I am in Bangalore now for an employee town hall meeting of IBM. We all know that Bangalore is booming but I felt the pain ever more this time since my last visit in April.
  1. Long Line to Land: It usually takes around 40 minutes to get to Bangalore, but this time it took over 90 minutes as we had to get in line to land. Our Pilot announced that we are No. 9 in landing sequence and he attributed that to 'Sign Of Times'.
  2. Distant Parking Spot: Once landed, we taxied to a distant parking spot than the usual as all parking slots were taken.
  3. Packed Arrival Hall: I have never seen arrival hall so busy in Bangalore. We simply couldn't move or get out due to heavy arrival.
  4. No Autos: Generally, I just go to the Auto stand, get in one of the waiting Autos and head out. But not this time. There were simply no Autos and there was a long line. I walked to the Main Road to flag one down. These guys must be learning from their Chennai brethren, as they refused to ply by the meter and demanded exorbitant amount. I finally ended up paying INR 100 for a distance less than 5 KMs.
  5. Parking Lot: Bangalore roads are virtual parking lots. I spent lot of time in the Auto inhaling the highly polluted air.
  6. No place to stay: Like last year, I couldn't find a room in any hotel at any rate. Our travel agent finally managed to find a 'service apartment' which is clearly not worth what I am paying.
Despite of all these travails, I simply love the Bangalore weather. It is very plesant out here right now.

Yes, Bangalore is booming and lot of people of benefiting. I only hope Bangalore administration wakes up and does something about all the infrastructure woes plaguing the silicon valley of India.

2 comments:

  1. Ram,

    I was born and brought up in B'lore and I used to love the place for its weather, relaxed life. But now with its infrastucture, i think i prefer chennai. Hope Chennai does not follow

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hari

    Bangalore is growing too fast for its own good..

    ReplyDelete