CULTURE & LIFESTYLE

Bengaluru has become a melting pot for many cultures transforming it into a rich cosmopolitan character. The city has something to offer for everyone. Recreation areas, pubs, vibrant nightlife, big shopping malls, thriving arts and entertainment are guaranteed to charm one. It has now become the style capital of the country. Bangalore's rich cultural heritage is a combination of its technological and industrial achievements. Truly, Bangalore has become one of India's most happening cities.

Truly, Bengaluru is the face of contemporary India. The city bustles with young, elite techies, skilled executives and students from across the globe making it one of the top cities to live in India. These young minds with their liberal mindset and proper exposure have given a facelift to this city once known as the 'sleeping city' and went on to bag the title of the Silicon Valley of India.

Bengaluru is purely cosmopolitan in nature because of the coalition of diverse cultures from various parts of India and also abroad. The fusion of various cultures has made it a true mirror of modern India where people have stopped feeding to prejudices and radical views. Bangaloreans are fairly liberal in their social attitudes and the lifestyle is modeled after cosmopolitan cities like Mumbai and New York City, rather than the other cities in the State. The city also boasts of the largest number of pubs in the country and rightly called the 'Pub capital of India'.

When it comes to language or communication, one can get by with English.  Although it is helpful to know Hindi and/or Kannada (the main language of the people of Karnataka), most of the locals either speak or understand English, and this makes getting around the city fairly easy.  

The other beauty of Bengaluru is that one can choose to live a typical Indian lifestyle or a contemporary western one, and be fine with either one. It is a city where one can walk down a street and find a Domino’s Pizza and a dosa or biryani place side by side.  As far as shopping is concerned, there are a number of malls to choose from and world class stores on Brigade Road, MG Road, Church Street and Commercial Street.

Although the city has a good number of public transportation, the best mode of transport for the newcomer or tourist is the auto rickshaw which is available in plenty.  Unlike other Indian cities where one can count on arguing with taxi or rickshaw drivers, people of Bangalore including rickshaw drivers are fairly honest and don’t cheat customers.  The locals are gracious and peaceful and this is another great factor, which makes Bengaluru a great place to live.