Reality check..

ANACHRONISM- refers to a chronological misplacement of a person or events/customs. I have at many times felt that I am one. Last Saturday in Bangalore confirmed it for sure. My interest and love for all that is old and nice about the city, Indian culture and customs, music etc definitely got a rude jerk when I came face to face with the 'new and hip' Bangalore crowd. The city has been known as the pub capital and parties galore take place. Yet, somehow I feel blessed that I lived a lovely and simple life in the good old,uncorrupted and dare I say pristine garden city. The actions and events that brought joy those days were very simple. High school and early college days were still very simple. All that mattered was a movie on weekends with friends and the cricket/football. The very idea of pubs, bars and clubs was absent. Frankly I should say there were hardly any around then. Then came the IT boom which signified Bangalore's growth and tremendous prosperity. Lucrative jobs were in and real estate was burgeoning. But on the flip side, this also heralded the beginning of the end of the simplicity associated with the lovely city. Trees made way for high rises and apartments aplenty. The IT industry came to town and brought with it innumerable pubs and clubs which seemed to be the new idea of relaxation. I was at the heart of all this too through my engineering years. But I never once developed an affinity for all this.

I went to the US and got back after three years. The Bangalore I faced left me pretty shocked. Let alone the modernization which took out all the charm (read METRO and MG ROAD)..The pub culture and party scene just didn't seem to appeal to me..maybe I was just too stuck up, unwilling to budge, rather unable to adapt..The kids these days spoke stuff that we guys in college dreaded to..house parties were in vogue among school and college going guys and girls..Definitions of morality, ethics were modified and in general tradition and culture had taken a whole new paradigm shift..Finally all this made perfect sense last week..The party not just proved how inept I was at dancing, but clearly showed I didn't belong there..The in-your-face brash talk and approach left me astounded..I was witnessing episodes and people I hardly ever thought existed in Bangalore..People around me had changed and managed to adapt and even like this life..It is hard to battle change around you..but it does feel good now that I managed to live a life so uncomplicated yet thoroughly enjoyable in the lovely city of Bangalore. Those were surely the years when we had the space, simpler ways and biggest of all- the luxury of time to spend with dear ones..