JOIN USFor many, moving to a new place can be an exhausting experience, with its share of adjustments and surprises. This was not the case for Jamie Walker, from Glasgow, Scotland, who loves exploring new sights and sounds and experiencing varied cultures.
Jamie is a USL Diageo Reserve Brand Ambassador for the South Region and has been in Bengaluru since 2015.
“I worked in Sydney for 5 years. When a recruitment agency informed me about this opportunity, I jumped at it as I love learning about new places and travelling,” he says.
He knew that Bengaluru housed many technology-based companies, but he didn’t know that it was such a big city.
“This is the most amazing part about India — one can never understand how big the places are and how many people stay here. The number of people Scotland has is lesser than the people in this city,” he adds, laughing.
Jamie proudly says that he comes from a place known for its live music and sports. “It’s a melting pot of cultures. There are a lot of Italians, Indians and Pakistanis there. It’s a fantastic place to live in. The weather is great with a lot of rains.”
He describes Glasgow as a very friendly city and a central point to many other places.
Seafood is commonly consumed back home, he says, and laughingly adds that their diet also includes a lot of deep-fried items along with other unhealthy ones.
“Food was a different experience here. It’s quite unique. Though I’ve been to Asia before I had never come to India. Even in Bengaluru, there are different kinds of food one can have at any given time.”
He says that he loves experimenting with flavours and trying out new things. “I like to walk into places and check out their specialties,” he says.
Jamie loves the weather here like most Bengalureans. “I have friends who live in Mumbai and Delhi and talk about those places being amazing cities but in India I wouldn’t opt to live anywhere else.”
Bengaluru’s multi-cultural character fascinates Jamie. “I feel lucky to be here. I have travelled quite a lot in this country and this city has many advantages over others. There is a mix of people here and that adds to its character.”
Before coming here, Jamie had worked in the UK, Melbourne and in Asia besides Sydney. “Of the things that surprised me here, was the language barrier. There are so many languages spoken in the city itself — be it Hindi, Kannada or Tamil. By the time I begin to learn a bit of a particular language, someone else talks in another and I’m left baffled,” he laughs.
Another issue Jamie faced is not being able to find the ingredients required for his job. “Sometimes some ingredients that I would commonly use elsewhere are missing and that was a surprise. But the country also has spices and flavours that I’ve never tasted before,” he adds.
He also recollects the first time he tried ‘paan’ and found it to be an intense experience.
Unlike many, he finds the traffic here amusing as one has to plan a lot in advance, but he accepts it as a part of a growing city. “It’s just about getting one’s head around certain things. I didn’t find it very difficult to gel with it.”
Having been a bartender, he finds the city vibrant with all the life it encapsulates. “The scene is changing now. With new restaurants opening up, there is a lot happening. Bartending is growing and people have been looking at it with more passion. The very fact that a world class event was held here recently and that there were Bengalureans who qualified to the finals explains the growing interest,” Jamie details.
He adds that the interest levels are on par with other cities. “There is interesting and efficient training given to many bartenders here and it will be exciting to see Bengaluru grow not only on the national but international map.”
Jamie likes hanging out at Shangri-La Hotel, The Ritz-Carlton and Sheraton Grand Bangalore Hotel at Brigade Gateway, when he has some time to spare.
“When it comes to bars, I like visiting ‘Bootlegger’ which is compact and nice. Other microbreweries. like ‘Arbor Brewing Company’, are where I like spending an evening at. There is just so much to explore in Bengaluru, including areas like Indiranagar and Koramangala that I can’t even keep up with the new places that keep mushrooming up.”
The flavours in food; the friendly, kind and warm-hearted people and the ethos of the city have impressed Jamie well. “I would recommend anyone to come to this country as
well as spend some time in this city. There is so much to do here and so many places like Mysuru, Hampi and more that one can easily travel to,” he says with a wide smile.