Showing posts with label Bangalore. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bangalore. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Bangalore
Bangalore's abysmal infrastructure is back in the news. The new airport is scheduled to partially open this weekend...
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Traffic
In Bangalore it is basically impossible to average more than 10 mph on the roads. It takes me 30-45 minutes to go the 3 miles from work to home. Or, if I want to go to the main shopping/business district, it takes at least 45 minutes to go 2 miles, even on the weekends.
I will admit that traffic is a problem many places in the world (Atlanta is a world-class traffic city for sure) but I think Bangalore traffic is exceptional for a few reasons.
The crowding
I almost always get around in an auto-rickshaw (an "auto"). Autos are open air on the sides, which is not unpleasant when the auto is moving, but when sitting in traffic is less ideal. It is also a little unsettling that I can almost always stretch out both my arms and touch a person (even inside their vehicle) on each side of me. My auto will brush up against at least one other person's auto or bike almost every time I go anywhere. Here, you aren't just in traffic in your air-conditioned car, you can actually feel the traffic all around you.
The noise
There are relatively few 4-wheelers (known outside India as cars) here. The traffic is a mishmash of bikes, motorbikes, rickshaws, horse and carts, animals, pedestrians, and cars. Lanes do not matter. Even the center lane rarely matters, as big trucks will often take over a lane from oncoming traffic and a herd of other vehicles will follow along beside. Since lanes don't matter, and since many vehicles do not have rear-view mirrors, whenever one vehicle approaches another, they honk to let them know they are coming. In traffic, this means that there is almost constant honking. Loud, cacophonous honking. The noise is inescapable, even at home or in my office I hear a background of continuous honking. I am sure that I will return from India partially deaf.
The disorganization
Few intersections have lights. I can only think of 3 in Bangalore but there must be more. Those that do have lights also have counters where they count down the time until you get a green light. These counters often start at 180 seconds, which is a long time. Some of the intersections have traffic police, though they are largely ineffective against the over-aggressive drivers. So most intersections people just try to force their way through to wherever they want to go.
The lack of alternatives
Bus service here exists but buses are extremely overcrowded and do not ever seem to go in a direction that can help me. There has been talk of a subway being built, but it has been in the works for five years and is still probably 10 years away. Northeast of the city there are some looming concrete pillars that stand idle, waiting for more of the subway to be built.
The roads
The roads are terrible. Potholes are everywhere. Roads have random bumps, gravel patches, and massive puddles. They make for a bumpy ride.
The danger
I checked the paper this morning and 5 people died in traffic accidents in Bangalore yesterday (including one whose car had "turtled" in an intersection, whatever that means). In Delhi, there are three major bus lines. The Blueline is known as the worst, and a bus on average runs over and kills someone every other day. I am sure many more accidents go unreported.
The smells
Many streets, including mine, have open air sewers lining them. People often stop to use the bathroom in these sewers. Sitting still can be quite pungent. So when a big truck rattles by inches away and spews diesel exhaust all over you, it sometimes improves the smell.
And the best part, when it rains, you are soaking wet and sitting in traffic.
I will admit that traffic is a problem many places in the world (Atlanta is a world-class traffic city for sure) but I think Bangalore traffic is exceptional for a few reasons.
The crowding
I almost always get around in an auto-rickshaw (an "auto"). Autos are open air on the sides, which is not unpleasant when the auto is moving, but when sitting in traffic is less ideal. It is also a little unsettling that I can almost always stretch out both my arms and touch a person (even inside their vehicle) on each side of me. My auto will brush up against at least one other person's auto or bike almost every time I go anywhere. Here, you aren't just in traffic in your air-conditioned car, you can actually feel the traffic all around you.
The noise
There are relatively few 4-wheelers (known outside India as cars) here. The traffic is a mishmash of bikes, motorbikes, rickshaws, horse and carts, animals, pedestrians, and cars. Lanes do not matter. Even the center lane rarely matters, as big trucks will often take over a lane from oncoming traffic and a herd of other vehicles will follow along beside. Since lanes don't matter, and since many vehicles do not have rear-view mirrors, whenever one vehicle approaches another, they honk to let them know they are coming. In traffic, this means that there is almost constant honking. Loud, cacophonous honking. The noise is inescapable, even at home or in my office I hear a background of continuous honking. I am sure that I will return from India partially deaf.
The disorganization
Few intersections have lights. I can only think of 3 in Bangalore but there must be more. Those that do have lights also have counters where they count down the time until you get a green light. These counters often start at 180 seconds, which is a long time. Some of the intersections have traffic police, though they are largely ineffective against the over-aggressive drivers. So most intersections people just try to force their way through to wherever they want to go.
The lack of alternatives
Bus service here exists but buses are extremely overcrowded and do not ever seem to go in a direction that can help me. There has been talk of a subway being built, but it has been in the works for five years and is still probably 10 years away. Northeast of the city there are some looming concrete pillars that stand idle, waiting for more of the subway to be built.
The roads
The roads are terrible. Potholes are everywhere. Roads have random bumps, gravel patches, and massive puddles. They make for a bumpy ride.
The danger
I checked the paper this morning and 5 people died in traffic accidents in Bangalore yesterday (including one whose car had "turtled" in an intersection, whatever that means). In Delhi, there are three major bus lines. The Blueline is known as the worst, and a bus on average runs over and kills someone every other day. I am sure many more accidents go unreported.
The smells
Many streets, including mine, have open air sewers lining them. People often stop to use the bathroom in these sewers. Sitting still can be quite pungent. So when a big truck rattles by inches away and spews diesel exhaust all over you, it sometimes improves the smell.
And the best part, when it rains, you are soaking wet and sitting in traffic.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Weekend plans
Bangalore is not the most happening town. There are some good shops and restaurants. Lots of movie theaters. A few bars that stay open until 11:30. But that's about it.
Last weekend, I had a nice, relaxing weekend. I went out to a couple great restaurants with some MIT business-school guys I have become friends with. We played golf at the "#1 golf course in India". I made a clutch birdie to win two Kingfisher beers (don't worry though, I still had 4 or 5 three-putts). I walked around town some, saw a movie, and did some shopping. But I think I have seen what there is to see in Bangalore.
I decided yesterday that I am going to Kerala for the weekend. This region in the southwest corner of India is known for its "backwaters". This weekend they are having the annual Snake Boat Race and Festival on one of the lakes. My first question, of course, was, "Does a snake boat race involve actual snakes?" Luckily, the answer is no, much like Chinese Dragon Boats do not involve actual dragons. So I decided to go check it out.
I do not know much about the backwaters, Kerala, or snake boats, but I am sure by the end of the weekend I will.
Last weekend, I had a nice, relaxing weekend. I went out to a couple great restaurants with some MIT business-school guys I have become friends with. We played golf at the "#1 golf course in India". I made a clutch birdie to win two Kingfisher beers (don't worry though, I still had 4 or 5 three-putts). I walked around town some, saw a movie, and did some shopping. But I think I have seen what there is to see in Bangalore.
I decided yesterday that I am going to Kerala for the weekend. This region in the southwest corner of India is known for its "backwaters". This weekend they are having the annual Snake Boat Race and Festival on one of the lakes. My first question, of course, was, "Does a snake boat race involve actual snakes?" Luckily, the answer is no, much like Chinese Dragon Boats do not involve actual dragons. So I decided to go check it out.
I do not know much about the backwaters, Kerala, or snake boats, but I am sure by the end of the weekend I will.
Monday, August 6, 2007
Southern India
I guess it should not have surprised me that Bangalore is entirely different from everywhere that I have been in Northern India. But somehow, it has.
I wrote in a previously post about how China should be thought of more like Europe than the US because the differences among provinces in China are of similar magnitude to the differences among European countries than that of US states. I also recently read an article discussing how Europe has been vastly over-emphasized by Western society and should be thought of as a sub-continent along the same lines as China, India, and the rest of Asia. This article suggested that there should be 5 traditional continents (Antartica, North and South America, Africa, and Australia) and a 6th continent of Eurasia. Eurasia would consist of 4 sub-continents - Europe, China, the Indian sub-continent, and everything else.
While I am not sure what the practical purpose of this argument is, I think it further reinforces the idea that Westerners need to remember the political, economic, cultural, geophysical, and linguistic diversity within India and China.
Yet still, when I got off the plane in Bangalore, I was surprised at how big of a change it was going from Northern to Southern India.
Here, there are palm trees instead of deserts, a wet climate, and especially noticable - a vague semblance of order in the streets (there are occasional traffic signals) and somewhat less visible poverty. This factor may be less of a North vs South difference and more because this is the "Silicon Valley of India" but the difference remains.
There is also much less livestock in the streets (though it is definitely still prevalent - this morning a cow came up and started to drink from a puddle inches away from my feet as I waited to catch an auto-rickshaw to take me to the office).
The food is different - much spicier here, and with different breads and less rice than the north.
People speak different languages. In the north, Hindi is spoken by about 200 milion people. Here in Karnataka state (where Bangalore is), the three most widely spoken languages are - you guessed it - Kannada, Urdu and Tegalu.
And while I go most days without seeing a white person, they are more common here. Or at least nobody has tried to take a photo with me yet here.
I wrote in a previously post about how China should be thought of more like Europe than the US because the differences among provinces in China are of similar magnitude to the differences among European countries than that of US states. I also recently read an article discussing how Europe has been vastly over-emphasized by Western society and should be thought of as a sub-continent along the same lines as China, India, and the rest of Asia. This article suggested that there should be 5 traditional continents (Antartica, North and South America, Africa, and Australia) and a 6th continent of Eurasia. Eurasia would consist of 4 sub-continents - Europe, China, the Indian sub-continent, and everything else.
While I am not sure what the practical purpose of this argument is, I think it further reinforces the idea that Westerners need to remember the political, economic, cultural, geophysical, and linguistic diversity within India and China.
Yet still, when I got off the plane in Bangalore, I was surprised at how big of a change it was going from Northern to Southern India.
Here, there are palm trees instead of deserts, a wet climate, and especially noticable - a vague semblance of order in the streets (there are occasional traffic signals) and somewhat less visible poverty. This factor may be less of a North vs South difference and more because this is the "Silicon Valley of India" but the difference remains.
There is also much less livestock in the streets (though it is definitely still prevalent - this morning a cow came up and started to drink from a puddle inches away from my feet as I waited to catch an auto-rickshaw to take me to the office).
The food is different - much spicier here, and with different breads and less rice than the north.
People speak different languages. In the north, Hindi is spoken by about 200 milion people. Here in Karnataka state (where Bangalore is), the three most widely spoken languages are - you guessed it - Kannada, Urdu and Tegalu.
And while I go most days without seeing a white person, they are more common here. Or at least nobody has tried to take a photo with me yet here.
Saturday, August 4, 2007
The Malls of Bangalore
One of the biggest malls in India is not far from my house. Not much else interesting is near my house, so I have already made two trips there.
I wrote some about the amazing economic dichotomy in China. This is the first real place that I have found it here. In fact, in northern India, there was much less dichotomy than I expected. Maybe this was just circumstantial, but during my two weeks in northern India, I was not able to find any upper class areas. Almost everyone I met was in poverty or at most in the lower middle class. There was little dichotomy - everyone was poor.
Supporting my crude impression, McKinsey divides India today into five economic classes. The lowest two buckets - the "Deprived" and the "Aspirers" make up 94% of society. The Middle Class equivalent bucket makes up only 4%, while the top 2 buckets (upper middle, and upper class) each only make up 1% of society.
But here in Bangalore, that small middle class makes its presence felt, at least a little. And the mall by my house is one example of this. The mall has nice depatment stores, medium-high end brand stores (Tommy Hilfiger, Nike, Adidas, to name a few), an Apple reseller store, and a nice bookstore. No Prada or Gucci or super-premium brands, but still some pretty nice stores. There is also a Pizza Hut, McDonalds, and a food court with lots of fast Indian food and other Asian food. I had some chicken and rice from a place called Yo!China for dinner. Not great, but it sort of satisfied my first Chinese craving in a while. I also got a US$3 gelato from a pretty good ice cream place.
The mall does have a few weird aspects though:
To enter the mall, everyone has to walk through a metal detector. This metal detector is about 3 feet wide, and everyone tries to squeeze through it as fast as possible. So there are always multiple people going through it at the same time. And you do not have to take the metal detectors out of your pockets or take metal out of your bags. But the detector never, ever beeps. So there is a huge 30ft wide glass entrance to the mall, a line of people squeezing through a tiny metal detector under the watchful eye of security, and absolutely no point to any of it.
After dinner one night, I headed to walk home. But outside, it had started pouring. I asked a guy where I could get an umbrella. He pointed to a store on the second floor. I trudged up there, and asked where the umbrellas were. The clerk said that they did not have any. I asked where in the mall I could get one. He said he did not think anyone in the mall sold umbrellas, but maybe I could go to a few blocks down the street. How does a mall not sell umbrellas in a city where they have a monsoon season?
Also, for a while I got stuck behind three women trying to get on the escalator. They were stopped at the bottom of an up-moving escalator, giggling and not moving. A little confused, I tried first to get around them, couldn't, then stepped back to watch. A few other people came up and tried to get by but couldn't either. After a bit, it became clear that these women (or at least 2 of the 3) had never ridden an escalator before. They were dressed in their "sunday best" sarees for the trip to the mall. They seemed to be in their 40s or 50s. All seemed to be having the best time. Finally, two of them bit the bullet and did a small leap on to the escalator. The third did not jump. The first two shriked with joy. The third smiled, shrugged, turned, and walked up the stairs next to the escalator. All three hugged at the top.
Finally, I bought the new Harry Potter book today. It cost R975, or about US$25. For perspective, I spent R300 / night in Leh for my hotel. But the Harry Potter phenomenon is amazing. India's infrastructure and logistics capabilities are incredibly bad. There are few good roads, almost no runnning water, and the power goes out every few hours. In Jaipur, for a specific example, residents have running water for 15-20 minutes per day. Yet somehow, in every city and town of any size that I went to, you could find the new Harry Potter book. Today, I caved and bought it. Somehow, it seemed necessary.
I wrote some about the amazing economic dichotomy in China. This is the first real place that I have found it here. In fact, in northern India, there was much less dichotomy than I expected. Maybe this was just circumstantial, but during my two weeks in northern India, I was not able to find any upper class areas. Almost everyone I met was in poverty or at most in the lower middle class. There was little dichotomy - everyone was poor.
Supporting my crude impression, McKinsey divides India today into five economic classes. The lowest two buckets - the "Deprived" and the "Aspirers" make up 94% of society. The Middle Class equivalent bucket makes up only 4%, while the top 2 buckets (upper middle, and upper class) each only make up 1% of society.
But here in Bangalore, that small middle class makes its presence felt, at least a little. And the mall by my house is one example of this. The mall has nice depatment stores, medium-high end brand stores (Tommy Hilfiger, Nike, Adidas, to name a few), an Apple reseller store, and a nice bookstore. No Prada or Gucci or super-premium brands, but still some pretty nice stores. There is also a Pizza Hut, McDonalds, and a food court with lots of fast Indian food and other Asian food. I had some chicken and rice from a place called Yo!China for dinner. Not great, but it sort of satisfied my first Chinese craving in a while. I also got a US$3 gelato from a pretty good ice cream place.
The mall does have a few weird aspects though:
To enter the mall, everyone has to walk through a metal detector. This metal detector is about 3 feet wide, and everyone tries to squeeze through it as fast as possible. So there are always multiple people going through it at the same time. And you do not have to take the metal detectors out of your pockets or take metal out of your bags. But the detector never, ever beeps. So there is a huge 30ft wide glass entrance to the mall, a line of people squeezing through a tiny metal detector under the watchful eye of security, and absolutely no point to any of it.
After dinner one night, I headed to walk home. But outside, it had started pouring. I asked a guy where I could get an umbrella. He pointed to a store on the second floor. I trudged up there, and asked where the umbrellas were. The clerk said that they did not have any. I asked where in the mall I could get one. He said he did not think anyone in the mall sold umbrellas, but maybe I could go to a few blocks down the street. How does a mall not sell umbrellas in a city where they have a monsoon season?
Also, for a while I got stuck behind three women trying to get on the escalator. They were stopped at the bottom of an up-moving escalator, giggling and not moving. A little confused, I tried first to get around them, couldn't, then stepped back to watch. A few other people came up and tried to get by but couldn't either. After a bit, it became clear that these women (or at least 2 of the 3) had never ridden an escalator before. They were dressed in their "sunday best" sarees for the trip to the mall. They seemed to be in their 40s or 50s. All seemed to be having the best time. Finally, two of them bit the bullet and did a small leap on to the escalator. The third did not jump. The first two shriked with joy. The third smiled, shrugged, turned, and walked up the stairs next to the escalator. All three hugged at the top.
Finally, I bought the new Harry Potter book today. It cost R975, or about US$25. For perspective, I spent R300 / night in Leh for my hotel. But the Harry Potter phenomenon is amazing. India's infrastructure and logistics capabilities are incredibly bad. There are few good roads, almost no runnning water, and the power goes out every few hours. In Jaipur, for a specific example, residents have running water for 15-20 minutes per day. Yet somehow, in every city and town of any size that I went to, you could find the new Harry Potter book. Today, I caved and bought it. Somehow, it seemed necessary.
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