Photographed by: Sayan Hazra
Shirley (48) notes, “Bangalore was kind of a suburb; one could see only green lands everywhere. One could enjoy a pleasant climate. But now it is a concrete jungle consisting of housing complexes, technology parks, villas and shopping malls. The climate is also changing.”
The city has been successful in drawing high levels of foreign direct investment, along with structural reforms. This encourages foreign real estate investors who are interested in the India’s favourable growth dynamics.
Bengaluru has emerged as a shining spot for real estate investors, with the city offering a sound return on investment and assured rental income.
Lokendra (37), who resides in a Villa community, “A sense of community is better when you stay in Villa-Society than that of apartment. Villas are expensive though. One can even have his own small garden and individual Villa”.
The influx of people from other countries, and a rise in wealth, have contributed to a metropolitan city culture.
Mariam (43), who has done modelling for the last 20 years, and is now a health and nutrition coach says; “I do workshops and talks on how to use easy health hacks to navigate and manage our busy, stressful urban lives.I do raw food and plant based cooking workshops as well as organic tours and clean eating management sessions.”
International retail establishment outlets sell a wide range of products and goods to meet the needs of the city’s growing population.
“Physical exercise is important for a healthy life when you work the whole day in front of a computer,” says Balakrishna (28). Balakrishna was the winner of the Mr.Universe World Championship (WABBA) and Mr Asia championship in 2016. He is proud to see the growing consciousness about fitness among the youth.
Bengaluru has a huge population of 85 Lakhs. This is due to both inter- and intra-state migration, which is majorly triggered by the rise of the IT job market, and other businesses related to the economic and socio-cultural growth that accompanied it.
“I prefer to work remotely as it gives me the flexibility to work from anywhere in the world. I left my stable MNC job because it did not give me enough monetary growth within a short span, unlike start-up companies” says Pragyan (30), a software engineer who migrated to Bengaluru after graduating from an engineering college in Orissa.