An Affair of a Lifetime - Bangalore

It is not easy to forget a city where you have lived for a couple of years. You tend to absorb its colours, the vibes it evokes, start moving with the rhythm of its mundane cycle, becoming a speck in the vein of the heartbeats of the city.

My relation with the city of Bengaluru is of the same kind. Spending the three years of my graduate life there, I have celebrated the joys, discovered the beauty and cried away the sorrows of the city.

So when the Diwali vacations in my Mumbai life was scheduled, I made a quick plan of travelling to my second home- Namma Bengaluru. My journey started on the 11th of November with my scheduled flight being late by more than half and hour, which only added to my impatience, coupled by irritation.

After waiting for more than an hour, I was finally on my way to Bangalore and in a matter of two hours, as I saw from the window of the flight, soon the concrete buildings and clusters houses of Mumbai changed to a sea of greenery, marked by fire modern infrastructure.I arrived in Bangelore, to find a chilly weather welcoming my warm infused ‘Bombaiya’ senses. An hour drive from the airport and I was in RT Nagar- my area of accommodation, where I was supposed to stay over with a friend and her sister.

After a refreshing bath, followed by late lunch, I started for my favourite place of the city- Brigade Road and Church Street. Brigade Road being a popular hub for all the college crowd of the city, nurtures all the energetic youthfulness of the city and so it happened that nostalgia took over me as I came across these streets where I had spent most of my time, of my college days.

To savour one of the best cup of hot chocolate, I moved to the uber popular and my favourite Matteo Coffea on Church Street. The lanes of Brigade Road and Church Street also provided an excellent my hands on some thrift jewellery and other accessories, which were cheap yet trendy. I did not spare the chance and shy away from the idea of shopping on the of my trip itself.

For dinner, we moved to the quaint little Korean delicacy restaurant at Ashok Nagar, Hae Kum Gang, which is at a walking distance from the Brigade Road market. The place is a warm, cozy eatery that boasts of lip smacking non vegetarian dishes, of which I take the guarantee. A little later our ‘awe inspiring’ dinner arrived in the form of a plate of vegetarian kimbap, kung pao chicken, completed with side dishes of vinegar infused cabbage leaves and potatoes, sticky local Korean rice, a bowl of steamed veggies and a brinjal dish. I had a good sleep that night.

The next day,12th of November was Diwali, and like they say no Diwali is complete without the lightning of diyas, similarly no visit to Bangalore is complete without a trip to Nandi hills. Situated at a distance of 55km from the main city, Nandi Hills is the symbolic spot for enjoying the beautiful rising of the sun, something like the Kanyakumari of Bangalore. The heavenly sight of the clouds over the hills filled me with awe and I realised how the beauty of nature can never be measured.

We had reserved the evening for the long awaited and postponed “all girls shopping spree” and what better place was to fulfil these place than the enticing Orion Mall at Rajajinagar. The mall boasts of some of the most popular fashion brands like Zara, Mango, Vero Moda, and the recently launched, GAP, which is the first branch of the brand to open in the country.

The city opened its skies to a sunny morning the next day, which called for some fun activity and speaking of that, my heart wandered towards trying out a hand in something creative. So I hopped to Bistro Claytopia, an artistic cafe in Koromangala that offers art and food together. The customers can paint a clay article of their choice while enjoying a sandwich and a drink. So there I was, bringing out my inner Picaso by weaving my colours on a coffee mug, which turned out to be a perfect return gift for my friend, as a gesture of having me as her guest.

After wandering around the interesting lanes of Koromangala, the evening bought with it the urge to have some time for good, loud, music. Putting our dance shoes on, we went to the newly opened pub Hangover and then to Black Rabbit in Indiranagar.

The hardcore dancing in the heels was killing my feet when I even woke up to a growling stomach the next day. My cravings bought me to Deserted Cafe which is a newly opened eatery near my graduation college, Mount Carmel College at Vasanth Nagar. Coming back to the place bought memories of college but the waffles with maple syrup didn't make it feel like its been a year. My afternoon was marked by wandering around the city where I tried to gather all of the bits and pieces of it - from Commercial road to Maleshwaram, as that it is my last day to do it all. The evening was spent in a lovely company in a dinner with some friends, which marked the end to quite a fulfilling trip.

Finally on the 15th, I packed my bags to returned back to Mumbai, with fond memories of a trip that not only fed my nostalgic emotions but also enriched my happiness and made me realise the value of my nurtured friendships and relation with this soul city.