Imagine if this was your office everyday, this chaotic. It wouldn’t be boring, that’s for sure.
Hi, I'm Tom. I'm traveling through one of the most colorful and vibrant countries in the world
and with the help of local knowledge, I’ll be trying to find out what makes this place so special.
Join me on my journey through India.
Bengaluru, still commonly referred to as Bangalore, is the state capital of Karnataka.
Blessed with a mild climate, this cosmopolitan and progressive city is widely recognized
as one of the biggest tech hubs of India.
So we’ve arrived in Bangalore, that was quite a long night.
A lot of stops, a lot of people came on and went off.
But we’re here and looking forward to exploring the city.
Bangalore was once seen as a favorite destination for retirees.
Now it’s India’s fourth most populated city and in the last 40 years has
undergone rapid development which has contributed to traffic congestion and rising pollution levels.
Away from the busy streets however there are several parks dotted across the city.
We’re walking through one of the green spaces in the heart of the city, it’s called Cubbon Park.
It doesn’t really feel like you’re in the city, it’s very quiet and it’s almost like a jungle back there.
A short walk from Cubbon Park is KR Market.
Established in 1921, it’s home to one of India’s major wholesale flower markets.
At the crack of dawn hundreds of delivery trucks, vendors and their fresh flowers
descend on the centre of Bangalore to create this colourful chaos.
Slightly different vibe than in the park, a bit busier.
This is one of the flower markets in the city, it happens every day. Beautiful flowers but very busy.
With my senses charged I want to find out why this bustling city,
for many westerners, is known as the silicon valley of India.
Showered and changed, feel a lot fresher now.
And I’m on my way to meet someone to discuss Bangalore’s thriving tech industry.
Divya? Hi, Tom. Nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you as well.
Divya Hegde is co-founder of NammaLore, a gaming company that creates interactive stories
to help tackle social issues such as gender inequality.
We realise that business is important to fund personal projects,
so we started a company that does gaming, AR and VR.
We’re coming up with a game called Reality Check where we’re trying to target school kids and youngsters
and teach them the importance of treating all genders right, not just women.
The idea of Reality Check is that each player has a character whose social choices and interactions
with other characters determines how they progress in the game.
We can’t be screaming for more laws and you can’t hide women indoors in order to protect them.
But what if you started young?
Have the schools been receptive?
Initially there was a bit of friction because you are essentially telling them,
"We have to change the thought process." But there have been schools that are very open
to us coming and interviewing the kids.
There have been teachers who are very forthcoming with the problems that they face.
Do you see a positive influence with all these new businesses, new tech start-ups?
Yeah it’s definitely a positive influence.
Say for example, a tech startup manages to solve the traffic problem. That’s a great thing, right?
But I do hope that it’s not just hype and that some of it comes to fruition.
From Divya’s start-up to large international corporations, technology is part of the fabric of this city.
But there is another industry which Bangalore has become famous for.
Kingfisher is one of the most famous beers in India
and its holding company United Breweries is headquartered here in Bangalore.
But the big beer brands are facing stiff competition from microbreweries.
To learn more I’m heading to ToiT. Opened eight years ago, it was one of Bangalore’s first microbreweries.
Hi, Tom. Nice to meet you man.
Nice to meet you.
Arun George is Toit’s co-founder.
Today the brewery is one of roughly 40 microbreweries operating in the city
but for Arun the growth in craft beer wasn’t a total surprise.
So, Bangalore’s always had a very strong beer drinking culture so it seemed like the natural progression
to move from commercial, mass-produced beers to something that’s crafted in-house,
with a bit more character. Now it’s kind of mushroomed all over the city.
And does that mean that competition is a good thing or is that a bad thing?
It’s a good thing, it keeps us all on our toes. The novelty factor was there the first couple of years,
but now with so many other places opening up, it’s just good beer that gets people coming back to your place.
What is this city like to live in for young people?
Bangalore’s where I’ve grown up so obviously I’m going to be a little biased.
The weather is great, people are very friendly. Typically a very laid back, chilled out city
compared to a lot of other cities. Definitely the start-up culture is huge here
So it’s become a lot more vibrant, a lot more cosmopolitan than it probably was 10 years ago,
which is good for business, it’s good for everybody.
And there is a market for craft beer now growing beyond Bangalore?
So you'll see places like Kolkata having breweries now and
I keep hearing everyday of new states opening up so it’s good.
This is like our engine room so to speak. You have all the malts here.
You get a real smell in here as well of the malt.
Yeah, almost like a bakery.
So, this is where the magic happens, this is where the beer gets brewed.
People get to see the beers being made pretty much. It’s like a live kitchen.
So this is where the yeast gets added in, sugars get converted into alcohol and beer gets made.
Once fermentation is done, it’s cooled down.
So you make sure you get a cold beer?
Absolutely.
Most important thing.
Absolutely.
Having seen how the beers are made, now it’s time to try some.
So that’s the Bavarian Hefeweizen, it’s a typical German wheat beer.
Oh, I’m not sure about that one.
Maybe not for your taste.
Not my taste.
This is are stout. We call it the Dark Knight.
Really good, that’s really nice.
Thank you so much.
Saving the beers till later, I’m heading to the southern end of the city.
But before our final stop, I get to experience just a fraction
of what locals across southern India endure over a four month-long monsoon season.
If you come in monsoon season chances are it’s going to rain,
but fear not in Bangalore there’s plenty still to do inside.
A lot of young Indian comedians actually come from Bangalore.
So I’ve come to a comedy night to see what all the fuss is about.
Guitar is so cool people pretend to play it. You go to a concert everybody’s just like…
Have you seen for the keyboard anybody doing this?
Aamer Peeran has been a comedian for seven years.
Born in Saudi Arabia to a Pakistani mother and an Indian father,
he uses his heritage as a source for comic material.
Tell me about your comedy.
I talk about home a lot. The stuff I was writing earlier in life was about my family and where I grew up.
But right now I’m recognised as that guy who does a lot of controversial humour.
Because recently I just wrote this stuff which I tried on stage and it was working,
and then now people are like, "Hey, he’s that guy."
Why is Bangalore seen as a place for comedians?
There’s a lot of comedians who started over here and they became really good
and they could get really good, really quickly. The second time I ever got up on stage was here in Bangalore.
They’ll let you just like mess around on stage, it’s a very pressure free sort of performance.
If you see a show you’d be surprised at how different the comics are.
Is there something in the culture?
I think it’s the immigrant sort of vibe. most of them are Indians, but they come from such different cultures.
So everybody is in like a unique space but we’re still like rooting each other on.
Comedy, beer and technology. What’s not to like about Bangalore?
This is a modern city attracting both Indians from across the country and expats from around the world.
While it’s still working out how to manage this influx, it’s the talented and ambitious workforce
that will help it continue to grow into a dynamic and forward-looking city.
What a young, vibrant and busy city Bangalore is. I’ve absolutely loved my time here.
Hi guys, thanks for watching a Journey Through India,
as you can see the monsoon season has returned to Bangalore.
If you want to see our previous trip in Goa, then click here.
And our next stop, which is in Kolkata, click here.
And if you have any of your favorite destinations you’d like to let us know then
comment below and don’t forget to subscribe.