Many people come to Bengaluru with heavy luggage that is filled with hopes and expectations, but when Glen Attewell, from the UK, was appointed as the CEO of Tesco, he travelled light and let the City speak for itself.
Thrilled about his new adventure, he says, “I came to Bengaluru without any expectations (aside from work). I didn’t expect the City to be in a certain way; all I knew was that I had to explore the place on my own as much as I could.”
Glen and his wife Ruth have been living in Bengaluru for almost 18 months now. “The City definitely has a lot of interesting people. It’s very different from the UK. I found the people to be very friendly and nice. The vibrant economy and go-get attitude of the people is just marvellous,” he explains.
Although Ruth stays at home and “takes care of him”, she also keeps herself busy with club activities conducted in the City, shops for various Indian handicrafts and volunteers for charity work.
“It’s difficult for her to work here, but I think taking care of me is a career on its own. But I do often wonder what she does all day at home,” he says, chuckling.
The couple who hail from Nottingham live in Whitefield, which is close to work.
“I’m quiet happy with the place because it has a countryside lifestyle. It’s just about five km from work, which is a great saviour given the traffic everyone complains about.” When other expatriates complain about the spice and taste of Indian cuisines, Glen can’t help but remark on the popularity of Indian food in the UK.
He says, “There are tons of Indian restaurants in the UK and a lot of people love going there. It’s usually a mix of Punjabi food and the English taste, so it’s very appetising. When I came here, there wasn’t that much of an adjustment issue for me.”
The couple like going to Sunny’s for their exquisite menu, and enjoy a hot bowl of ‘fish curry’ and ‘chicken tikka’ otherwise.
They are also happy that there are a few familiar dishes such as ‘fish and chips’ served at almost all the restaurants here.
Due to Glen’s work, he travels back to UK often. Though he’s fairly happy with the City, he says that it would have been nicer if it was “more green like the UK”.
He also wishes the roads would be in better conditions. “It’s not just about me being disturbed; I think it creates a problem for all the other commuters as well.”
In their time here so far, they have vacationed to North India, when their children visited.
They explored the Taj Mahal and Jaipur in brief. When one of their friends from the UK visited, they also went to Kerala and spent time in one of the house boats.
“During my time here, I think I’ve become fairly familiar with Bengaluru. But I have few other places on my bucket list that I’d like to explore, such as Kolkata, Kashmir, the Western Ghats and North East India. In South India, I’d like to specifically visit Puducherry and Hampi. Hopefully I can plan these trips soon and add more places to my list,” he says.
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