Bangalore's changing lifestyle

Bangalore's changing lifestyle
The Hindu

A FEW years ago, reading a book, catching up with sleep, relishing food at a near by restaurant defined a holiday for most of the Bangaloreans. The times have changed drastically and so has the lifestyle. We asked a few people about their idea of a perfect holiday in Garden City.

Sahana S. Rao, a call centre executive from M-Source, believes in partying with friends and splurges on food during a holiday. On the other hand, Harsha Vardhan, team leader 24/7, prefers to sleep and watch classics on a holiday. Since the busy life style has facilitated packed and ready-to-eat food, people enjoy eating home-cooked food. This enables the numerous nuclear families to spend quality time with each other. B. Phanindra firmly believes that holidays are meant for families and a time to be together. Thanuja B. Singh promptly helps her daughter with homework and school projects on Sundays. "Being a lecturer, I am busy during the work days but I make sure my daughter's studies is on the right track," she added.

K. Nagaraj, a retired government official, had a different opinion. "For me everyday is a holiday, Sunday or any other holiday makes no difference." Nagaraj's companion Mrinal Ghosh nodded in agreement. The Central Library, British Council and various local libraries are still a treasured destination for book lovers. The new ones such as Landmark and Crosswords have increased the charm.

Conrad Dias, principal of a school, said, "I still prefer books to Internet. Relaxing with a good book is my idea of an ideal holiday."

Yashpal Gupta, military personnel, enjoys repairing household gadgets on a holiday and insists that all repair works must be scheduled for the Sunday.

For the youth of Bangalore, coffee shops, pubs and shopping dominate their holiday. An excited group of students from Sri Cauvery College, Indiranagar, exclaimed: "Brigade Road is the other name for a weekend."

For some other students dancing, yoga, music and painting classes kept them engaged. The opinions of Bangalore children cannot be ignored. Mojo and Morish, both aged 12, enjoy computer games such as Unreal Tournament and Quake III. "That's the coolest stuff to do on a holiday," they said in their new accent.