Oh, Bangalore!

 

As I sit on my couch with a throw warming up my cold feet, I can’t help thinking about doing the same in my little apartment in Indiranagar, with the sun shining through the open window and a light breeze springing my Ladakhi windchime to life. I didn’t think it would take me so long to write this and reminisce about my lovely Bangalore, but for most parts I’d tucked those memories somewhere in the deepest recesses to avoid thinking of the home I’d built there; the people I knew, the places I’d go to and the life that I’d painted for myself in a city that helped me find myself.

The first day I was in Bangalore in 2012 was for a job interview. Kartik picked me up from the bus stand and we ended up in Indiranagar for that interview later in the day, after which, we had lunch at the McDonald’s on CMH Road. That interview was more of a formality as I was handed my offer letter and it was my first job in cricket.  Obviously over the moon, I was more than just excited to move to the city. Months turned to years, as did my association with Indiranagar; not just didn’t my love wane, but it became home and if I was to ever leave Bangalore, I knew it would be from there.

With Sneha I found what I called my ‘studio’ where I would be living by myself for the first time. The excitement of setting up my house was extraordinary. It was a little room with a cute kitchenette where most of my experiments with cooking began. It began my love affair with food – and to date, I enjoy my meals and trials with them. These were the days before the luxury of Swiggy, Dunzo and Zomato. Grocery shopping was a chore I truly enjoyed; I’d walk to MK Retail every other day, which was next to a Costa Coffee back then, and splurge. Costa soon became a place I’d frequent almost every other day given Roshan’s constant need for caffeine. Third Wave eventually became our new Costa and maybe our third home, after the second one called Toit. (Oh, and the Chinnaswamy Stadium too…it’s hard not to fall in love with it!)

It's funny how much at home I felt at Toit. Frequenting the same bar, with the same people (mostly), new friends, old ones, for almost a decade… experiencing highs and lows, expression of love and rejection, deep conversations and connections without any trepidation; I’d built a second home there, a family. I was never a beer person before I moved to Bangalore, but Toit changed my mind and palette. That Rajeev and Anupam shared a similar love for beer, we’d land up there almost every week after our workout sessions at Tribe. It was fitting that it was where I spent my last birthday before moving to London with their delectable Blueberry Cheesecake and my Weiss.    

Indiranagar, though, was more than just its breweries, bars and cocktail of people. The quaint little lanes of Defence Colony called on me every other day to just meander aimlessly whilst stumbling upon some hidden gems. The little parks, stores, coffee shops, cafés and, oh, sugarcane juice carts… Ant’s café was one of my favourite discoveries back then. Adorned with rain trees (Albizia Saman) creating a canopy of shade, I walked beneath exploring and discovering Indiranagar on foot one lane at a time. Walking soon became my favourite pastime with my music player for company. One of my main motivations to go to my Crossfit Box on 12^th main was the walk through Defence Colony and the dogs that it housed. That little Dalmatian that sat by the gate every evening, the Irish Setter in that corner bungalow, the twin Spaniel Doxies and the black Great Dane became part of my routine as I sauntered through the ascents and descents.

I moved to a bigger place six years later just before COVID since Rohan was eventually going to move to Bangalore. It was by chance that I stumbled across that apartment on double road, then still under construction. Ten cab rides with filling and emptying suitcases from one house to another, I was in a different part of Indiranagar. It couldn’t have been better! I could now walk to Nagarjuna for their special meals or mutton biryani. COVID changed everything and we were stuck indoors for months, but at least we had a lovely neighbour. He was our only company, and we, his. We’d go for long walks around the area to get some fresh air once lockdown was lifted and it started to feel familiar. Defence Colony had officially been replaced. CMH Third Wave was replaced by the 12^th main one for catch-ups, but I knew I had to make the long walk on days I needed to get some writing done or needed motivation. That corner table just off the bakery shelf was my spot (in case you care). Multifit replaced Volt, and hopped over to Citi Nest for badminton sessions every week. Ratnadeep replaced MK Retail on days when we didn’t exploit the expediency of Swiggy and Dunzo. Rohan and I loved Bohemians for a strong, quick-fix LIIT. Rameshwaram and Udupi Park substituted MTR. Suryawanshi’s mutton sukka, Moti’s Kitchen’s erachi ghee roast and Anjappar’s mutton bone soup suddenly became staple. What moving from one side of 100ft road to the other can do!

The day we were vacating our apartment, we walked. Just strolled all around Indiranagar for a while, soaking it all in for one last time, as a lump welled in my throat. It hit me then that I was leaving my home – not Hyderabad, not Pune, but Bangalore. I knew nostalgia would hit me some day. It did, after five months, when a reel on Instagram played this morning titled “That’s why we love Bangalore” with glimpses of the impending cherry blossom season. It was time to dig out those memories and reflect upon the ‘home’ I’d built. 

A couple of months ago the gentle, yet steady patter of rain in London, reminded me of Bangalore given the similarities in the weather; rain was replaced by bright sunshine in minutes. Contrary to popular opinion, it is very charming, and over the years, I’ve begun to enjoy the eccentricity. At least it gives me the feeling of home. Chasing sunsets may have been replaced by chasing sunrises here, and while I may be thousands of miles away, I left a piece of my heart, somewhere in Bangalore. Pieces even, perhaps...in the alleys of Indiranagar, the multiple levels at Toit, in CMH’s Third Wave and in that little studio that I once called home. It was where I transcended from being a girl yearning to find her feet to one that found herself.