Arun’s Bangalore

Namaste, city-lovers! Arun Bhat writes to us from Bangalore, India, and tells us why his city is the best.

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Bangalore is My City

The first place I take a visitor from out of town is for a walk through Cubbon Park. It is a quiet place in the center of the city and it’s surrounded by beautiful buildings that are more than one hundred years old. Pink and yellow Tabebuia trees loaded with flowers add colour to the park in winter.

When I crave ice cream, I always go to Corner House.

To escape the city, I head to Nandi Hills.

If I want to watch a play I go to Rangashankara. They have plays running six days a week.

For complete quiet, I can hide away Lalbagh. The park is big enough to provide solitude for everyone.

If you come to my city, get your picture taken at Vidhana Soudha (left). It is the most well-known landmark in the city.

Landmark Book Store is my one-stop shop for great collection of books, music, and videos.

When I’m feeling cash-strapped I go and eat in a Darshini, the quick-eat places you can see everywhere in the city.

For a huge splurge I go to Mynt restaurant in Hotel Taj West End and take a garden side table. Not to miss are the excellent Tortellini and Chocolate pudding.

Photo ops in my city include the Cubbon Park area and the Gandhi Bazaar (below). The best vantage point is Ebony Restaurant.

The most random thing about my city is the rain. Unlike the rest of India where it rains just three months, rain in Bangalore is completely unpredictable and arrives at any time of the year.

My city has the most geeky men.

In my city, an active day outdoors involves cycling to Nandi Hills (right).

My favorite jogging/walking route is around Lalbagh Lake.

Empire in Church Street is the spot for late-night eats.

To find out what’s going on at night and on the weekends, read TimeOut Bangalore.

You can tell a lot about my city from the way its people take to new technologies.

You can tell if someone is from my city if they use multiple languages in just one sentence.

In the summer you should travel to the hills in Chikmagalur and Coorg.

In the fall you should head to the beaches in Goa.

In the winter you should go bird watching near the city’s lakes around its green areas.

A hidden gem in my city is the green campus of Indian Institute of Science.

For a great breakfast joint try MTR (left).

Don’t miss the Ram Navami music festival in Kote High School.

Just outside my city, you can visit the hills of Skandagiri.

The best way to see my city is by taking a tour with Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporatin Ltd. (KSTDC).

If my city were a pet it would be a kangaroo. The city keeps hopping forward and keeping pace with change.

If I didn’t live in a city, I’d live in the green and beautiful hills of Chikmagalur.

If you have kids, you won’t want to miss Wonder La.

People meeting up for coffee to chat about geeky tech stuff could only happen in my city.

My city should be featured on your cover or website because it showcases the vibrant spirit of the emerging world.

Photos by Zolivier (Cubbon Park), vandan desai (Vidhana Soudha), pcsjith (Gandhi Bazaar), rajeshvj (Nandi Hills), nozomiiqel (MTR), Powru (city scape), peevee@ds (flower seller) via Flickr