Bangalore Rage!

The Rage of Bangalore



By Harish Bijoor


Bangalore is an attitude.

A city is really an attitude. A reflection of the collective attitude of its people. In many ways Bangalore is not about this now sprawling BBMP area of 740 sq km. It is not about the eclectic mix of its people. It is not about the ethnographic mix. It is not about its varied food habits. Not about its varied dressing habits. Not about its many languages. Not about the 10,000 plus expatriates who have adopted the city as their own. Remember, the city boasts a third of the expatriate population in India. The highest single cluster of expatriates anywhere in India.

A city is really the aggregate of the attitude of its people. What is the mindset of the Bangalorean at large? What is her world-view? What is her civic-view? Is she inclusive in her mindset or exclusive? What is her social attitude? How is her economic attitude fashioned? And what of his Religious attitude? How is his political attitude?

It is therefore all about attitude. A city is defined by the attitude of its people. Attitude as reflected in behavior. Attitude as portrayed by the actions of its peoples. Attitude as displayed on the sleeves of the people who make up this city.

Who makes this city then? An eclectic mix of the haves and have-nots. Bangalore boasts of a large population of industrial workers. Textile workers even. Auto-rickshaw drivers (1, 21,000 at last count), drivers of every kind who make for the travel comfort of this city. Servants and cooks and home comfort-enablers of every kind. Sweepers in the formal sector, and indeed a whole host of rag-pickers and beggars and street-singers and street-acrobats in the informal sectors.

The city ticks on with its complement of tech-workers. A big chunk of the 16 lakh population of tech-workers in the country have made Bangalore their home. Add to this people from every part of the country who work within the confines of the many enterprises in end-to-end-services, the BPO industry, retail, marketing, manufacturing, aviation and more. Name a business vertical of significance, and we have it here in Bangalore.





If you speak a region, we have them all here. Literally every one of our many States is represented in this microcosm that is Bangalore. The languages are multifarious today. From the biggest non-local chunk contribution of Telugu (12% plus), every language that is spoken in India is here. As is the food of these many regions. Add to it the many foreign languages and cuisines. Sushi is now found in as many as 19 different restaurants in Bangalore. And Korean cuisine in as many as 11.

We are a mixed city then. A healthy mix from everywhere. A mix that has found Bangalore a pleasant place to be, sans the jingoism that mars many a city elsewhere. The Kannadiga is the most hospitable and inclusive person there is. Embracing everyone into the myriad folds of the city. Bangalore is a ‘bisi-bele-baath’ all of its own. A very tasty one at that.

As I write, the city remains what it was, inclusive. What worries me though are incidents that seem to come up every now and then on our roads. Road-rage for a start. These incidents are small in number but deep in the anguish they cause among those exposed to it.

If the city is an attitude, road-rage is a stress-induced manifestation of the attitude of a city as well. There was a time when road-rage manifested itself rather politely in this city. I have personally seen instances where people have gotten out of their cars with folded hands and apologized to those who they have upset. Gone are those days. This is getting to be an angrier city. Why?

Road-rage seems to be inversely proportional to the education of its peoples. We are a reasonably well-educated city. The most educated seem to get the most angry on our roads. And road-rage seems to be a vent-point. A point where the issue of the “outsider” and the “insider” seems to manifest itself suddenly. When someone gets angry, very angry, the first shout that seems to emerge is in the mother-tongue of choice. And this is where it all starts. This is where language comes in, one opposing the other. And this is where the status of the “insider” and “outsider” comes in. And this is precisely where the government machinery and its possible biases come in as well. To the chagrin of the affected.

The attitude of the city needs a balm on the roads, particularly as our traffic-snarls increase. The snarl is really in us. We need to very consciously control this animal. Shall we make a conscious effort? And let’s educate one other person on this. Just for a start.

We need a public program that educates us about road rage. Any takers?
Harish Bijoor is a brand-expert & CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults Inc.
Email: ceo@harishbijoorconsults.com