A tale of two cities

It was the excellent  job opportunity that brought Nitesh Syal and Pallavi   Gambhir Syal to Bengaluru. The city stood as a witness to their love too. Nitesh who hails from Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh and Pallavi from Indore, strongly believe that they have found their second home here.

He works as a consulting engineer with Cisco Systems and she works as a team lead (quality and reliability) with Centre for Development of Telematics.  

They live here with their daughter Advika and pet Dexter. Nitesh and Pallavi, who were classmates from college, gelled well with the people here. "We explored the city together. We learnt a lot about different cultures here," he says. While Nitesh came to work Bengaluru directly, Pallavi requested for a transfer from her workplace in Delhi.

Not knowing much about the city, the duo decided to go with the flow. "My aunt has been living here for decades and I did know how accepting the new city was,"  adds Nitesh. Pallavi says, "All  I knew was that it is a great place to grow professionally. It turned out to be just that. Be it at work or with  cab drivers, professionalism exists in every field here."    

The city  turned out to be a pleasant surprise  for the duo. "The greenery is quite amazing. There are many streets in the city that are aligned with flowering trees. The colours are a great relief for the eye," says Pallavi. What's more impressive is that the people here are sensitive to environmental  causes, she adds. "I've seen many people cycle to work here. There are so many citizen activist groups here which try to do their bit for the society. This is quite encouraging."

The duo vouch that they have met the best people here. "People are always ready to help. We are part of WhatsApp groups, where people reach out to each other if they need some information or are looking for services like a doctor or a maid. Recently, when  we had a family emergency and needed a nebuliser, I posted in one of the groups and within no time, a neighbour brought it to us, despite the late hour," she says.    

Bengaluru is  home to people from across the country. "This helped us  understand the cultural diversity of the country better. It was amazing to understand the variety  of food, festivals and rituals that  exist in the South of the country," she says. Nitesh adds that they have embraced the culture  here and are glad that Bengalureans have accepted them.

When the couple have some time to spare, they like relaxing at Lalbagh Botanical Garden or visiting new restaurants. "When our parents come visiting, we always head to the nursery for plants. Else, we usually hang out at home or visit resorts outside Bengaluru like Wayanad and Coorg. Thankfully, the city has good dog-boarding options. This lets us visit our favourite restaurants like 'Barbeque Nation' and 'Krishna Cafe',"  details Pallavi. Nitesh adds that they love visiting 'darshinis' as 'idli', 'dosa' and other South Indian food options are an intrinsic part of their diet.        

Safety  is a priority and Pallavi says that eve-teasing is less in comparison to any other city. "I have not felt out of place or insecure ever," she adds. "The city has formed the foundation of our lives.  We are thankful to the city for a lot of things," adds Nitesh.