Urban economics was a part of my Master’s coursework. The subject continues to be an area of interest and harbors my curiosity with every city I visit. It’s only fair that I wonder if Bangalore grew too soon- now that I have moved here. It’s the upcoming metropolis, alongside Pune.
Jayanagar is one of my most favorite areas in the city because of how green and peaceful it is. It’s also the most curious case within a burgeoning metropolis. You see, Bangalore is known for its tech-hub and the youth and the zillion businesses that started here. Yet, in the streets of Jayanagar you see glimpses of the Kannada culture everyday.
Every home entrance is adorned with a new rangoli every morning. It’s the same white rangoli, different designs, in a row along the streets. During Diwali, there was a cut melon and banana leaves at every house and business. It’s lovely to watch some culture be so strongly retained.
In Mumbai, Ganesh Chaturthi is the most widely celebrated festival bringing the entire city to standstill. But the city retains its very business-like atmosphere. There are only apartments and tall buildings. Culture is very obviously constrained within four walls of a small room. During Diwali, buildings are lit up in a mosaic of twinkling lights. On the daily, however, very few signs like the ones in Bangalore. Rangoli, especially, is a strictly vertical affair.
As lame as it might be, Jayanagar feels like the resistance to a metropolis: with its wider roads, the big temples, the many many flowering trees. In other parts, such as the techie’s hub in East Bangalore, there are potholes for roads and extremely limited greenery. That area appears to be more like an Indian metropolis, Mumbai’s narrow roads being a case in point.
I wonder if a city can ever be planned for being a metropolis. Any successful city, world over, has become huge and has attracted numerous migrants. Knowing that Mumbai cannot field this alone- were there signs in Bangalore’s history where pivotal decisions could have been made to foresee the congestion on its roads? Could there have been plans to integrate the existing population better?