Just got back from a several week trip to various parts of India, which I am still trying to process. On the whole it was a great trip. From Mumbai we took a direct internal flight to Bangalore International Airport. From the glossy finish and the highly digitalized adverts, it was evident that we  had reached India’s tech hub. The city, which is home to many technology firms is exploding with new urban development projects. Everywhere you look high-rise complexes are taking shape. Demand for housing in this town is immense and there is no shortage of suppliers….but sadly space is quickly dwindling. A city which was once known for its green space and balance of urban greenery has now lost that charm.

Bengaluru has finally reclaimed its old name. The British finding it difficult to pronounce Bengaluru dubbed it Bangalore. It is slowly trying to shed this old name.

At all hours of the day one could see hoards of young professionals zipping in and out of these tech company “campuses”. The spaces they occupy are so large they can really be viewed as campuses. These impeccably dressed employees, usually touting some sort of hand-held gadget (blackberry and iPhones seem to be the most popular) walk around with their company badges even when they have left their work premises. These are most likely staff the occupy the customer care centers that one calls from around the world. I could not help but remember my last encounter when I was at my wit’s end trying to set up a wireless router and had to call customer support services. I was greeted by a technician by the name of “Victor” who in reality is probably Vijay but has changed his name for the purposes of facilitating name pronunciation for a North American audience.

On the culinary side, traveling across Southern India was an absolute pleasure. I don’t think I had one mediocre meal throughout my stay in Karnataka. Delicious, spicy south Indian food was mouth-watering. Thalis, which is a try of assorted dishes served with rice or Idli, you could never go wrong because there was so much to choose from. Oh and the crisp dosas served with every meal…getting hungry just thinking about it.

Although Bengaluru was home base, most of the time was spent visiting various areas around the state of Karnataka. The difference between the highly urbanized Bengaluru and the rural regions surrounding was night and day. Communities outside this tech hub mostly subsides on agriculture and agroprocessing and spending time in rural villages across the state was a real pleasure.