Life in Bangalore: Why I Love It

There are a lot of things to gripe about in Bangalore - the lack of infrastructure, indiscriminate construction and expansion, the interminable rush hour, the schools, the dust and pollution, etc. But there are an equal number of reasons, if not more, why I love living in this city, my hometown, again. Here are some of them:

• The old familiar places bring back a flood of memories: not from the recent past, but of childhood days; of days spent discovering the city with friends; of me and my brother going off with my dad on Sundays, hopping on the first bus we saw and going wherever it took us; of going on precious dates with V as I hoped nobody that knew my parents would recongnize me.
• The smell of Bangalore's earth after drenching rains is like nowhere else in the world (V's words, and I agree).
• The city makes up for a lot of its shortcomings by nurturing its fantastic treescape and gardens. The old parts of the city are particularly beautiful, with wide tree-lined roads and "lung spaces" (rectangular parks that have walking paths).
• Bangalore may be bursting at its seams and may be growing haphazardly, but if you want your quiet neighborhoods in the middle of all the action (shopping, clubbing, restaurants) there are plenty to choose from.
• N is finally spending time with both sets of grandparents and they are actually watching him grow rather than just hearing about it over the phone.
• After 12 years, I am someone's daughter again, someone's niece, someone's sister, someone to be taken care of (it's just not the same over the phone or on short visits).