JOIN USWork has become a common reason for a lot of people to move into the City. Aniket Kulkarni and Nupur Birla also moved to Bengaluru for the same purpose in 2013.
Born and brought up in Mumbai, the couple knew each other from school. Nupur says, “We’ve studied in the same school and class ever since we were young, but never really spoke to each other. It was during junior college that we bumped into each other often and kept in touch thereafter. When we both moved to the City due to our respective jobs, we started to spend more time together.”
Aniket is a product manager at SureWaves Media Tech Pvt Ltd and Nupur is a senior manager, performance marketing, at FreeCharge.
Comparing their life here with that back home, they say, “We are very happy that we stay relatively close to our current workplaces. It was tiring to travel by local trains and then take an auto to reach office. We’d already be so tired by the time we reached.”
Aniket enjoys playing sports, so during the weekends, he heads out with his running or cycling club and keeps himself energised. Nupur, on the other hand, has joined painting classes to keep herself busy.
Aniket says, “This city is great because they have a lot of clubs that one can be part of and pursue their hobby.
Unlike Mumbai, people here like to enjoy life, take things slow and balance their personal and professional life.”
In order to relax, the couple have also travelled outside the City.
While they say that they have plenty of more places to cross off their bucket list, they have been to Munnar, Bandipur, Ooty, Kodaikanal, Chikkamagaluru and Hampi so far.
“We are not among those who like to travel a lot in the City because of the traffic. But if we do make an attempt, it is to visit our friends who live in different corners of the City. However, we would also like to be a part of the breakfast walks here and learn more about old Bangalore,” they share.
While they are getting accustomed to the lifestyle here, they say that celebrating festivals isn’t as much fun here as it is in their hometown. They say, “Festivals present a different outlook of the city there. It’s colourful, vibrant and crowded. Everyone and everything is charged up. It’s a lot mellowed down here; people celebrate in groups and we don’t get to see the unity.”
Aniket and Nupur may miss the different types of ‘chaats’ that are available back home, but South Indian food is definitely winning their hearts. “When we first moved here, it wasn’t much of an adjustment for us with regards to food. We’ve been to the different Udupi joints in Mumbai, but the fare definitely tastes better here and we love it,” exclaims Nupur.
However, they do wish that they didn’t have to struggle with the ‘auto-walas’ here. They explain, “We would always find ‘auto-walas’ going by the meter back home, but here, there is always an argument and we rarely get a pleasant ride.”
Nevertheless, the couple are happy with the quality of life that the City offers.
They say, “Bengaluru is the startup capital and there are plenty of job opportunities here. When we look at it practically, this City is just perfect for settling down and the place we want to be in.”