I recently discovered this site and it was a pleasure to find a forum to engage with fellow residents of Bengaluru city. While I am not a Kannadiga, or indeed a localite, I have been in Bengaluru (on and off) for a total of about 11 years now.
I woke up this morning to several news items, across India, about the horrendous behavior of men. Eve-teasing… what not…?
It got me thinking… Isn’t Bengaluru too a victim of this? I have never understood why (predominantly) Indian men, do not seem to understand the difference between staring, letching, ogling and looking at a woman. Is it too difficult to understand when you have crossed the line? It is indeed a shame, when men downgrade to this behavior.
In my naivete, I always assumed and thought, that this was symptomatic of the lower socio-economic strata of our society. What has begun shocking me off late, is when I see so-called educated young guys doing the same. I witness this, literally, on a daily basis, standing at bus stops for my company bus, or taking a walk down BTM’s streets (where the “single executive” population seems to be a lot more than in other parts of the city).
A woman/girl walking down the road cannot even wear something comfortable (and I am only alluding to tee-shirts here), without being letched at. A shame… I have absolutely nothing against flirting. Yet I don’t believe, many even understand the meaning of the word. It is irritating to see so-called educated single men working in reputed establishments of the city, parking on the roadsides post-dinner (coincidentally, right in front of a ladies PG), and trying to peek in through open curtains.
The legendary auto mafia of Bengaluru
If there is one thing, that I despise about Bengaluru, apart from the traffic travails of course, it is the auto mafia. I do not remember the last time an auto guy decided to use the meter to drive me from Point A to Point B. Mafia-isation of their unions, ensures that as a citizen, you virtually have no powers to argue or raise your voice at them anyway.
And yet again, the sheer callousness of the city’s cops leaves me dumbfounded. It is the norm, not the exception, to pay the quoted amount by an auto driver, or else you may as well forget about travelling in one. Don’t we all slog hard for the money that we earn? Then why should I part with an extra amount?
The sense of entitlement that they have when it comes to receiving “extra” money on the meter is inexplicable. I always thought that outsiders were subjected to this (one of the by-products of being non-Kannada speaking). But it was a moment of truth, to hear and realise from my local friends, that they too are not spared.
Garbage and the indifference of BBMP
And lastly, now the “garbage” bit, as per the title of my post! I live in BTM, right off Maruthinagar Main Road, one of the busiest roads in the city, by virtue of it connecting BTM to Koramangala and further on. The entire area is virtually completely residential, and smacked with Paying Guest facilities for good measure.
BBMP (in all their outstanding intelligence), has decided to open a garbage collection unit (which spans an area of more than two football fields put together), smack in the MIDDLE of this locality. My morning view consists of tonnes of reeking garbage, along with (more) lecherous garbage truck drivers, which has made living in the area virtually impossible.
Needless to say, BBMP authorities have not even bothered to acknowledge the complaints (let alone, God forbid, act on them), about this. This is becoming a disease haven for us, and yet BBMP seems to be singing “All Is Well” à la Aamir Khan from 3 Idiots.
Look forward to interacting with some of you folks here on this page! Have a lovely day folks… Cheers! 
References
Experiences… And the benefits of keeping my eyes open!
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Her maid called her complaining about an eve teaser. And here’s what she did!
So at what point, according to you, does ‘flirting’ turn to ‘letching’?
Why did you pick on the auto mafia and not all other mafias ruling the country? Would you say that the price you pay for sugar is fair? or local apples? or even guavas? How about One World One Price? Finally, on garbage – check out “1,500 Tons of Waste Goes Uncollected in Nairobi, Kenya Each Day” or even Army deployed to Beirut after street protests – CNN.com or … Whatever it is our rulers are trained in GITMO and are of a very high standard. They will unleash the kannada terrorists if you fight back!