Coming to a new city, leaving behind familiar faces, culture and food, can be a challenge to many. However, some take it in a positive way, accept the changes and embrace the different city in all its forms. Jatin Gupta from Ghaziabad and his wife Sonam from Bareilly are a perfect example of this. Living in the city from the last one year, they have adjusted well and have been enjoying their stay. The couple is blessed with son Kairav who is two and half year old.
The myriad career options made them shift to Bengaluru and Sonam says the city has accepted them the way they are. “I feel good about the city. When we were planning to shift here, the only worry I had was whether I will be able to mingle with the local people, learn the language and understand the city’s way of life, but I must say, the people here are very helpful and welcoming. It has been a pleasant stay so far. However, the only glitch is the horrendous traffic congestion,” she says.
Like every person who stays away from their home, Sonam too misses her family a lot. She talks about living in a joint family back home and how there was always someone to fall back on. But the scene is different here as she has to look after everything on her own.
“Bengaluru has people coming in from different states who bring along their own culture and traditions. So one can see different traditions and practices clubbed in one state. But it is not the case in Uttar Pradesh — there the majority of people are Hindi-speaking people and it's very rare that one will find a mixed culture,” adds Sonam.
She is in love with the weather here and she enjoys taking a walk through Commercial Street for shopping. She says it is that one place where people can get almost everything they are looking for, the trick is to know where exactly to stop by (and with a little experience, anyone can master the art of shopping here).
“We have visited a few cafes and restaurants in Koramangala and liked each one of them, whenever we feel like going out for dinners or just hanging out, we drop in to ‘Jalsa’, a restaurant located in Marathahalli, ‘Mast Kalandar’ or have a quick bite at the food court in Phoenix MarketCity. But we, as a family, like to spend most of our time at home or at my brother’s place (as Kairav becomes tired being out all day),” says Sonam.
Asked how the food is different in both these places and she promptly says, “The kind of street food you get it Ghaziabad is not available here. The northern touch of flavours in the food is difficult to find and since we are typically from Uttar Pradesh, we just love the ‘aloo puri’ and ‘chole bhature’ kind of food,” she says with a laugh.
Her husband too is not very fond of eating out and quickly chips in “My wife is a great cook and I love everything she makes. We don’t go out to eat unless it is an important occasion.”
The family travels to places like Shivasamudra in the outskirts of Karnataka and Nandi Hills is one of their favourite visits.
“This city has a lot of options when it comes to places for one-day trips. Whenever we get time, we often plan trips to Coorg, Ooty and Mysuru and spend time there.
Bengaluru has been a very favourable city for us; it is a great place with a lot of prospects,” says Jatin.