'It's easy to make friends here'

For Rajesh Singh, who has roots in Muzaffarpur, Bihar and grew up in Dimapur, Assam and Eshita Bagchi, who hails from Kolkata and grew up in Gujarat, it is the mix of cultures and experiences they saw here that makes them stay on in this city.

Rajesh, who came to the city by the end of 2012, works as a fitness trainer with Medifit and a dance trainer at Dreamz Dance Academy. Eshita came to the city in search of better job opportunities in 2013. She now works as a change manager with DXC Technologies.

“I came here for a dance workshop with Shiamak Davar and stayed on as I believed that Bengaluru was the place where I could follow my passion. Gradually I realised that the fitness and dance circuit here is very vibrant,” Rajesh says.

Eshita always knew that the city had better job prospects for her.

“My brother lived here too which made settling in easier,” she says.

Apart from the weather that charmed both of them, the mixed culture made it an interesting ride.

“Though everything from the food to the language was different, I found it to be an enjoyable experience,” she says.

The fun factor is compounded by the fact that the couple has seen all festivals from ‘Lohri’ to ‘Pongal’ celebrated with much gaiety at all the places they have stayed in so far.

“This is the best part of living in such a cohesive society; one gets to experience different slices of our diverse culture,” says Eshita.  

This inclusive nature of the city has led to the duo making many friends here. “It’s easy to make friends here. After a few months of my arrival, I had friends who hailed from across the country and whose company I really enjoyed, despite all the differences,” Rajesh adds.     

The duo believe that Bengaluru was destiny waiting to happen to the two of them.

They met at a dance class, where Eshita used to accompany her niece. They started talking and eventually Eshita joined the dance class and they became friends.

“It took me more than a year to express my feelings to her and she took quite a while to reciprocate too. We faced a lot of pressure from our families but eventually everything came together,” he narrates.

The couple admire the fast-paced nature of the city.

“I love the energy of the city. It keeps you on your toes,” says Rajesh, though Eshita adds that this does cut down on their time together.

“We rarely get to spend time with each other as we are forever trying to shift work around, so that our Saturday is undisturbed,” she says.

Food has been a delicious experience so far.

“I have always loved ‘masala dosa’ and the coconut chutney though Eshita loves them more now. ‘Idli’ has become our staple diet now. We also love our regular dose of coffee,” Rajesh says.
“I can’t go a week without having ‘idli’,” Eshita adds.

Apart from heading out of the city for a drive and visiting places like Nandi Hills and Mysuru or trekking at Shivagange and Savandurga when the duo have some free time together, they love visiting restaurants like ‘A2B’, ‘Punjabi Dhaba’ and ‘Hyderabadi Spice’.

“When we want to have some fun together, we go to either ‘Snow City’ or ‘Wonder La’. We also love the green spaces like Bannerghatta National Park and Lalbagh Botanical Garden,” he adds. 

The duo claim that the city has also boosted their confidence levels.

“There is so much to learn here and it adds to one’s character. Bengaluru has a certain magic to it,” says Rajesh.

“The city blessed us with many things including our lives together,” he adds, to which Eshita chips in, “This is our happily ever after”.