'Bengaluru is a vibrant city'

Melting Pot

Those who come from different parts of the country enjoy their stay in the City due to its alluring cosmopolitan nature and the fantastic weather.

Dr Biranchi Narayan Jena is one such person who came to Bengaluru because of work and loves living here.

Jena, who is the director of Institute of Health Management Research, is from Puri in Orissa while his wife Pratibha is from Mumbai. They have been in the City with their daughter Shravanee for two years now.

Jena did his schooling and graduation in Puri. “The culture is different. I have worked in Mumbai and Hyderabad before this. Bengaluru is a vibrant city. A lot of things are happening here. It has a developing health industry and is known for its IT sector. The marriage of these sectors is essential for the progress of any city,” says Jena.

The work environment is different here, says Jena. “In Mumbai, people are too professional. When they work, they don’t think about their personal lives; their day begins and ends with work. Everyone also discusses work a lot over there. But Bengaluru is the perfect blend of both professional and personal lives. Comparing the three cities I have worked in, Bengaluru is the perfect place to be at,” Jena says.

He and Pratibha love the food here. “There are many varieties of rice here. There is the ‘tomato bath’ and coconut rice. In other places, one can only find plain rice,” he says. In Orissa, a lot of fish is consumed as part of their daily diet.

“In vegetarian options, we prepare plain rice and dal with vegetables, which is called ‘dalma’. This is why I love ‘bisi bele bath’, in which everything is cooked together,” he says. He says he doesn’t miss much from back from home because there are a lot of restaurants which offer Orissa cuisine.

The family agrees in unison that there weren’t many adjustments that they had to make. Jena says, “Getting a house was a difficult task. We have to pay an exorbitant amount in the form of advance here.” Traffic is another issue. “Though I stay three kilometres away from work, I’m stuck in traffic for almost an hour. This is another daily battle which is unpredictable,” he adds.

His wife Pratibha says that the people here are warm-hearted. “People are really nice and always rush to help,” she says. Jena recollects how once while he was travelling in a bus, he had requested the conductor to inform him when his stop came. “The conductor kept updating me every two minutes and I was genuinely impressed by his kind heart,” Jena says with a smile.

Their daughter Shravanee, a student of Whitefield Global School, says that she likes the City as it is very fashionable. “Things aren’t very different from Hyderabad. But Bengaluru is very trendy. I like the fashion trends people follow here,” says Shravanee.

Pratibha feels that the City is very welcoming. “Bengaluru is a very nice City. Everything is organised here. I have a good circle of friends here,” she sums up.