Originally written on 04.02.2019
Bangalore has been great to me. There’s something about the city that gives it this air of friendliness, something about the city that’s welcoming to all sorts of people. There have been times when I’ve been surrounded by people speaking a language alien to me, and yet not felt out of place. To me, what stands out to me is the fact that the city can simultaneously be modern as well as old fashioned simultaneously, be it in terms of the people or even in terms of what you find in the city itself. Unlike the weather here, the city itself can sometimes be a city of extremes, with people varying across the spectrum. You could be sitting in one of the prettiest cafes you’ve ever seen, only to travel back in a public bus shoulder to shoulder with people who are trying their best to stay upright.
That being said, the things I’ll be missing the most about Bangalore is the time I’ve spent here with the people I’ve known for years. I’ve spent just upwards of half a year here, and yet for some reason it feels like I’ve been roaming around Bangalore with these people since forever. Whether it be petting the most adorable yet ferocious pair of dogs you’ve seen (belonging to a friend of mine), or admiring the quaint beauty of a another friend’s place, laughing out loud at our school days, to doing batshit crazy things with some of my college mates, or even meeting a face from my chilhood after 12 years and being surprised at how vivid our memories really are, to roaming around Church Street, wondering which bookstore to enter (hint: it’s always Blossoms), Bangalore has been great to me. It’s made me change in ways I probably never fathomed before coming here. I’ll be missing it more than I could say. With that, this chapter of my life comes to a close.
On to the next one. Onwards to Kolkata.
