Better education and job opportunities often make people shift base and settle in entirely different locations.
This is what brought this Bengali family of three to the Silicon Valley of India a few months back. Debopam Datta, from Nagpur, moved to Bengaluru six months back with his wife Usasi Datta, from Kolkata, because of a change in jobs. They are blessed with a daughter who completes the family.
Usasi says, “Our 10-year-old daughter Deboshree completes our family. We call her Mukta at home. My husband works with a company called Fowler Westrup in Malur. We shifted to the City about six months back from Pune and are currently put up at Kannamangala near Kadugodi.” From adapting to a different culture to adjusting to weather conditions, food habits and learning a new language, everything seemed like a difficult task to accomplish in the initial days of their stay here.
However, once one accepts the differences in lifestyles, it becomes a much easier
transition.
Usasi adds, “The weather in Bengaluru is totally different from my hometown Kolkata. It is better here as Kolkata is always hot and humid. However, I miss the constant noise. Of course, when I say ‘noise’, I mean it in a positive way. Where we reside now is comparatively quieter than my hometown. In Kolkata, one can find themselves in localities that are always bustling.”
A Post-Graduate in History, Usasi loves to visit the historical places in the City. “I love visiting historical places like Tipu Sultan’s Summer Palace and Bangalore Fort to name a few.
Otherwise, we usually hang out in malls during weekends.”
The couple mention that they also love to travel. Adds Debopam, “We enjoy travelling. And we make sure we explore a new place every holiday or during a long vacation. We have been to Nandi Hills, Mysuru, Srirangapatnam, Lalbagh, the Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium, Government Aquarium, Dodda Ganapathi Temple and Bull Temple.” Talking about the two opposing cultures, Usasi says, “Bengali culture has its own aspects. We (Bengalis) are very fond of watching football, travelling, having many kinds of food and of course, chatting! We swear by non-vegetarian delicacies especially fish. ‘Ilish paturi’ (hilsa fish prepared with mustard), ‘Aloo posto’ (potato curry with ‘khaskhas’), ‘machh’ (fish) fry, mutton ‘kosha’ (curry) with ‘luchi’ (deep fried flatbread) and ‘payesh’ (rice pudding) are some of the most popular dishes back home.”
Debopam adds, “Here, we have accustomed ourselves to South Indian food. ‘Dosa’, ‘vada’ and filter coffee are the favourites.”
On whether they have faced any challenges or difficulties settling down, Usasi says, “The City has accepted us in a good way. We are pretty much settled here. Since we stayed in Pune for so long, the only difficulty is the traffic.”
Debopam adds, “I like the people here. They are helpful, friendly and lively. Honestly, I do not find anything to dislike about Bengaluru. I love this City for its liveliness, numerous
meet-ups and activities held every week and definitely, its weather.”
