A second home

Melting Pot

Bengaluru seems to be the perfect place for most; be it in terms of the weather or the many opportunities one gets here.

For Anand, a Rajasthani who grew up in Dimapur in Nagaland and wife Niki from Assam and daughter Tanvi, the City is now home.

Anand, who is an engineering manager with GT Nexus, did his schooling in Dimapur and came to Bengaluru for his PU and engineering course at Bangalore Institute of Technology.

“I decided to come here because the education and environment are much better here. Dimapur is a small place and not as developed. And Bengaluru is considered as the education hub of India. So I preferred to come here despite the city being 4,000 kilometres away from home,” says Anand. Though the other choices were Delhi and Jaipur, he says that he was convinced about Bengaluru.

When he came here, of the few things that he had to adjust to, was the standard of education.

“It was higher than what I was used to, in terms of the command on English. So I struggled a bit in the beginning. Also, it wasn’t that easy to mingle with the people as there weren’t many North Indians then,” says Anand. But he slowly got adjusted to the City and fell in love with it. “We have settled in now. I consider myself more of a Bengalurean now.”

Language did prove to be a challenge in the past but Anand is able to manage with his broken Kannada now. “People here are from everywhere. The City has a cosmopolitan nature, which makes it easier to settle in,” he says.

Though Bengaluru is the only place Anand has worked in, he travels for work to the US. “The work culture here is similar to that of America. We have a very professional team,” says Anand.

Niki, who has also worked in the City, says that she loves the fact that there are people from everywhere here.

He says that people at work didn’t know much about his native place. “Not many are aware of Nagaland,” says Anand. He adds that most people have a general perception of the North-East being a scenic place.

“Most of them are not aware about the tensions and problems there. Often, people who haven’t ever left Bengaluru complain about the City and its traffic. If they go visit any North and North-East part of the country, they would realise how blessed they are to be living in Bengaluru.”

Niki and Anand say the people here make it easier to stay in Bengaluru. “People here are very warm-hearted. They are always ready to help,” says Niki. Anand adds that people like ending conflicts peacefully. “Bengalureans are not aggressive. People here have a big element of honesty,” he says.

Anand misses the typical Rajasthani food. “In Dimapur, there are many Rajasthanis and thus our culture is alive there. I miss the ‘chaat’, ‘samosa’ and ‘kachori’ and other food that is typical North Indian. Most North Indian food available here has a South Indian touch to it.” Niki adds that she misses the beauty of nature back home.

“Here, one can mostly see only buildings and traffic,” she says. Safety is the top priority of anyone who is settled away from home. “I feel very safe here compared to any other city in the country. People respect women and eve-teasing isn’t an issue here,” Niki sums up.