JOIN USIt didn’t take much effort for Manu Rishi Guptha and wife Geetika Goyal to make Bengaluru their home. Manu, who hails from Chandigarh, and Geetika, who is from Jalandhar, have been living in the city for three years. Manu is the CEO of Niraamaya Business Group while Geetika is the deputy director of CII.
After his schooling in Chandigarh, Manu worked in many places across the country like Shimla, Guwahati, Goa and Mysuru, and even abroad, before moving to Bengaluru. “Chandigarh is the most livable city in India and is known for its quality of life. This can be attributed to its well-planned nature, the people and how they keep the city clean,” says Manu. He adds that Bengaluru was a surprise as it was a lot different in terms of traffic and infrastructure. “One cannot plan to go anywhere as reaching home itself takes time,” says Geetika.
Geetika, who did her primary education in Jalandhar and Dalhousie, says, “After my graduation, I was in Delhi for around 10 years. Then I got married and moved to Goa. Bengaluru was a place I was looking forward to be at. It had better job opportunities.” She observes that the perfect balance of tradition and modernity makes the city charming.
“Bengaluru has lived up to the expectations. The city has its downside, but it isn’t as bad as Delhi. The education level of people is relatively higher here and yet some of them have a bad civic sense. This is a bit baffling,” says Manu.
Manu has also lived in Goa for a while, which according to him is the next best city (after Chandigarh) to be part of. “No one honks there and there is no road rage,” he adds.
The duo thoroughly enjoy the vibrance of the city and love going to concerts and plays. “We get to meet varied people who are intellectually evolved. We love watching plays at the Alliance Francaise, visiting malls and watching movies. A favourite haunt of ours is the Windmills Craftworks. There are a lot of activities to indulge in,” he says.
Though their palate is different, the couple enjoy South Indian cuisine. “Our food is richer. It consists of a variety dishes like ‘aloo gobi’, ‘rajma chawal’, ‘kadi chawal’ and we make a lot of ‘paneer’-based dishes. Here the dishes have a tinge of coconut and the flavours are different,” says Geetika.
However, the couple have happily adapted to the flavours. “We have a lot of ‘ragi’ and unpolished rice now. If we are eating outside, we often opt for ‘ídli’ as it is healthier,” she adds.
The couple have great appreciation for the people here. “As we move towards the south of the country, we find people more culturally and intellectually inclined. They are more respectable. Though I’m from the north, I do not like the aggressive nature of the people there,” says Manu. Geetika also finds Bengalureans soft-natured. “Also, there is no peer pressure. There is no one judging us here. We feel at home here,” sums up Geetika.