Five years ago, I'd have probably killed my past self if I knew that my future self was going to make a statement as sacrilegious as "Chennai is better than Bangalore".
Here's why Chennai is better than Bangalore.
Reason 1 (Traffic):
The traffic is far far better. While the Bangalore traffic makes you want to generally commit "self-suicide" or multiple first degree homicides, the Chennai traffic only makes you want to pull your hair out. Gently.
Reason 3 (Weather):
Amazing weather. I went there in June last year and it was pleasant and chilly most of the time. I only had to carry light woolens with me.
Reason 4 (The beach): Need I say more?
Reason 5 (Cultural Identity):
And this is my main rant. I'm not a permanent resident of Chennai but I'm here every two months at least. I can't tell you how refreshing it is to walk into a mall and still hear Tamil being spoken everywhere. The last time I heard Kannada spoken in forum was; well... never. I'm just happy that there's a place, that's proud of it's identity. One that's very distinct from mainstream India.
Ten years ago Bangalore was an amazing city to live in. And don't for one moment think that I have a problem with "outsiders" coming in and messing up "my" city. Technically I'm an "outsider" myself (Though I don't consider myself one). All Indians have the right to live and work here. I welcome them. No "buts" here. This is not even a "learn kannada if you want to live here" kind of rant.
I'm saddened however that Bangalore is slowly losing it's cultural identity.
This is my general lament but I offer no solution. I used to be of the opinion, that cultures merging is generally a good thing. Take Hyderabad for example; an amazing meeting point of Hindu-Muslim and North-South cultures. It evolved it's own language and cuisine. But that was essentially a gradual process.
And when people feel a loss of identity, someone comes along and exploits this. I think this is exactly what's happening in Mumbai with the rise of the MNS. Right wing jingoism is deplorable. But the destruction of a centuries old culture through linguistic hegemony is worse.
At the outset, the idea of an India where everyone speaks one language might sound nice. However, it's not a practical idea. Take what happened in China for instance. China was equally, if not more diverse than India. Mao came along and destroyed all that. Most local cultures and languages have been disposed with. And this kind of destruction of culture is unpardonable. Sure all Chinese speak Mandarin now and superficially this idea of a "unified" country seems appealing. The facade of unity and a homogenized culture is attractive at the outset, but is an entirely useless goal. It doesn't work. People still hate each other as much.
"Proud" is a very strong word to use, but I'm damn glad I get to live in a country where language, culture, cuisine change every twenty kilometers. I hope that never changes. But with the coming of globalization and a more dominant culture, I know it will. I just hope something better comes out of it. Let's wait and watch.
I've realized that this post has become about something else entirely. It's just something I've wanted to say for a while.
PS: I'm kidding in Reason 3. But you knew that.
