In good company

It has been a decade since Deepankar Bhattacharya and his family came to the City.

The quartet, which includes his wife Indrani, and two sons, Maharshi and Satyam, moved to Bengaluru from Hyderabad after Deepankar got a job offer from Autodesk.

Deepankar says he was more than happy to relocate to the City when the opportunity presented itself. “This job meant I was moving into an American multinational company, which is definitely better. Ever since we moved to the City, I have grown in terms of my career. And Bengaluru is a nice place to stay in; it is very cosmopolitan.”

Originally from Assam, the family has travelled a long way to get to where they are, and they say they have settled right in.

“I’m doing good here, professionally and socially. I have many friends, family and acquaintances. There is a large Assamese community that makes you feel like you are back home,” says Deepankar.

He adds, “I feel like I’m at home because the people are very good and nice to outsiders.”
Indrani, who used be a legal practitioner, says, “It is very good here — the climate, the locals — the kids enjoy themselves here. People are very helpful as well. Overall, it has been a smooth ride for us.”

The family adds that they had no problem adjusting to the food when they first came. “We have never had an issue finding the kind of food we want. You get all types of cuisines in Bengaluru, whether it’s North or South Indian, or even Assamese and Bengali food. We enjoy good food so we try and explore new cuisines and restaurants. But we usually like going to places like Mainland China, Oh! Calcutta, MTR and A2B,” says Deepankar.

When asked how they like to spend their holidays, they say, “We enjoy travelling but don’t get the time. But we have made short trips to Mysuru, Ooty, Mangaluru, Tirupathi, Vellore and more.”

Their weekends, however, are a little less hectic. “I come home late from work so we have time to go out only on weekends. When we do go out, we usually socialise with people, or we stay at home and watch television. My sons and I like to watch sports, usually football and cricket,” says Deepankar.

Talking about his sons, Maharshi, who is in 10th standard, and Satyam, who is in 8th standard, Deepankar says, “I usually watch sports with my younger son, and my older one likes to read. Right now, his mother spends a lot of time mentoring him because he needs to prepare for his Board exams.”

Although they have been here for a decade, Deepankar says he isn’t very impressed with the City’s public transport system.

“It can be better, just like the overall infrastructure. But I’m confident that once the Metro construction is completed, the infrastructure will be better.” He has nothing to say about the horrendous traffic.

“It’s bad but you get used to it after some time, and then you stop complaining.”