Nesting in a cosy abode

For many like Milin Jain and wife Neha, moving to the City was about experiencing a new place and exploring better opportunities. Milin Jain from Indore, Madhya Pradesh and wife Neha from Ahmedabad say that Bengaluru has exposed them to new things and a new way of life.

Milin works as a technical architect with Infosys. The couple live here with their twin sons, Soumya and Sparsh.

Milin was in Indore till his graduation days. Ask him how life in Indore was and he says, “Indore is a mini-Mumbai. As soon as the latest styles hit Mumbai, they come to Indore too. Indore is very advanced that way,” he informs adding “I also stayed in Pune for a bit before moving to Bengaluru,”

Now that they are here, the family is absolutely enjoying the weather here. Needless to say the cosmopolitan culture of City is making them at ease here, like most Bengalureans.

It is the prospects of a good life that motivated them to make a home here. “Good job and educational opportunities have been great factors in encouraging us to stay on,” say the couple.

But talk about home and Milin says, “There are a lot of things that I miss about home Milin.  “Food for instance. People from Indore like spicy food,” he says.

‘Chaat’ items like ‘kachori’, ‘pani puri’, ‘samosa’ and ‘aloo tikki’ are a few of his favourites back home and  ‘dal baati’ is quite popular with everyone there.

 Neha adds that compared to South Indian cuisine, “the Gujarati palate has a tinge of sweet in everything”. “The food I miss mainly is  ‘dhokla’,” she says.
“The good thing about Indore is that it is a small city and everything is close by. Traffic and chaos on road don’t exist there.”

There are times when he  misses his family and friends. “In Indore, we have had the same neighbours for the past few decades unlike in Bengaluru, where your neighbours keep moving.”

With the festive season fast approaching, the duo does not forget to talk about the ‘Navaratri’ celebrations back home.

“Here, celebrations are much more commercialised. There anyone can join in the festivities without worrying about the entry ticket,” says Milin.

Neha says that the celebrations here make her nostalgic and she enjoys them thoroughly. “Here in our apartment complex, there are dance classes for people who wish to take part in the festivities.

It’s heartening to see even South Indians enthusiastically participating in these classes.” Neha says that she misses “the freedom of being out on the streets even at night and not being worried about safety. Whatever time it is, one needn’t be tensed about it there,” she says.

Talking more about the festivities, she says one cannot imagine entering a ‘Navratri’ celebration without wearing a proper and elaborate ‘Garba’ attire.”
 
But here, it’s not just the City, but the affable nature of Bengalureans too that has charmed them.

Neha points out that the people are very approachable here. “For instance, if you ask for directions, people are so enthusiastic to help that they even come with you to the place or guide you all the way. In short, we have had only such pleasant experiences here,” she adds.