'We feel very safe here'

Melting pot

Bengaluru has time and again emerged as the best Indian city when it comes to the quality of living. A lot of young couples relocate to Bengaluru with dreams in their eyes given the opportunities they see in the job market.

Lavina Durgani and husband Krishna Agarwal moved here from Dhar, near Indore in Madhya Pradesh, three years ago. It was their jobs that brought them here.
Lavina is working with IBM as a data specialist and Krishna is with Intel as a design engineer.

The couple work long hours through the week. During the weekends, they try to explore the city. “We both work in different streams and the city offers a umpteen opportunities in our areas of specialisation. If you are ambitious and career-oriented, then Bengaluru is the place to be,” says Lavina. She also feels that their circle of friends and relatives here make them feel at home. 

The couple say there could not have been a better place than Bengaluru to settle down. They have no complaints and have adapted to its culture and ethos pretty well.

“There were a few teething troubles but those were  things that we could handle. We also learnt a lot of new things during our initial days here. It took me a while to get a break here with respect to my work but with the support of  family and friends, we managed to overcome the hiccups,” reasons Lavina.

The couple love the open spaces that the city is blessed with like Cubbon Park.
Krishna adds, “The Cubbon Park is a very well-maintained space.”

As far as learning about the city is concerned, he says, “It was a challenge to remember the names of some of the roads in the beginning but we’ve got used to that now and our pronunciation of the names have also improved.”

Everybody loves the food culture here and Lavina and Krishna are no different. They spend their spare time discovering new eateries and shopping. They try not to miss a chance to eat at restaurants that offer traditional fare.

“We have colleagues and friends from different parts of the country who have settled down here. They always introduce us to the authentic dishes from their respective states. So, we end up trying out different kinds of cuisines like Andhra, Kerala, Bengali and Kashmiri among others. The city has a lot of restaurants to satiate one’s craving for good food,” shares Krishna.

He adds that they also keep looking for places that offer authentic Indore food, especially the ‘chaat’. 

Bengaluru doesn’t lack when it comes to places of entertainment. “One can either go clubbing or dine out at a great place with good music. Sometimes, traffic jams make it tough to move around the city, but now, we’ve got used to that as well,” they say. 

They also find the people in the city very proactive when it comes to proposing measures to improve various aspects of the city.

It could be   offering solutions to ease the traffic congestion or tackling the garbage problem.

“We are eager to see some of the city’s problems solved at the earliest. If the
authorities and people work together, I am sure there will be a change,” says Krishna.

He also adds that the city is very safe. “We feel very safe here. You can walk around at 1 am in the morning and still not worry about your safety. This is also one aspect that makes us feel welcome here,” says Lavina.

So do they miss home?

Lavina says “Bengaluru is a huge city when compared to our hometown but there are so many aspects here that we feel connected to. We are happy that we have made this city our second home.”