The metro never sleeps

It used to be a sleepy city where we shortened our stride and dawdled over our by-two coffee in the neighbourhood restaurant. Now, we rush headlong to nowhere, iPod plugged into our ears and finger twitching on our E71 cellphones, desperately making conversation with people who're doing pretty much the same thing. From a sleepy city to a sleepless metro, the transition of Bangalore is complete.Wake up to the new reality.
And, the signs are everywhere, not to forget the sounds. And, more people like Kailash Bawankar are there everywhere. Work has taken this 28-year-old IT professional and Mumbaikar to New York, Singapore and other cities, and to Bangalore too.
"Bangalore is the New York of India," he exclaims, adding, "And, if I had to relocate anywhere in the world, I'd like come to Bangalore."
He brings that youthful energy which fuels a city's economy, which is plugged into the global economy, and as a consequence has to remain awake 24/7. Watchful and on red alert, like a tender mother taking care of her ailing child, checking if the little one is breathing in and out with metronomic regularity, ready to intervene at the slightest hint of trouble.
Twentyfive years ago, such concerns were the exclusive preserve of the Big Apple, San Francisco, London, and maybe Mumbai. Global cities which worked hard and partied hard. Bangalore did neither, and quite revelled in its reputation of being a laidback city. So laidback that when Mumbaikars, mainly, came here, they were fascinated by the lack of time consciousness of Bangaloreans, and cringed as to how they'd ever get anything done here. But, they soon realised that this was part of the charm of Being Bangalorean - a complete disdain for speed. (In fact, this was even manifested in the kind of bowlers that Bangalore contributed those days to the Test team - B S Chandrashekar and Erapalli Prasanna, spin bowlers who banked on slow guile rather than sheer speed. Before Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad came along to reflect the increasing pace of life).
But the somnolence couldn't last forever. Along came Information Technology and everyone here woke up to the fact that there was a big bad world out there, and if you abided by the code, dollars could be milked from the cash cow. If we had to sacrifice sleep, so be it, we could always catch up during the day. Or, so we thought. What we didn't bargain for, was that as time went by, we became round-the-clock watchers, tuned into the Australian sunrise, and as the day slipped by, kept pace with Singapore, London and then US time zones.
We could, with some ��lan and great pride, tell startled visitors what the time in Des Moines was, as if that was the acme of knowledge. Young people spoke in faux American accents and slumbered in Qualises on their way to and back from their call centres. Their sleep cycles were shot, but they were such an integral part of the global economy. The ultimate tribute was that when you told some you were from Bangalore, you didn't have to add "in India".
Everybody knew where it was, even American kids who are so geographically challenged that one wonders if they know at least where they are. So, the city never sleeps. Everyone, those who work like sentinels of the dark, keeping the money rolling in. Those who ensure they stay awake, those who are forced to stay awake by those working late, and those who stay awake bemoaning the end of those days when all shops closed at 8 pm and streets were deserted by 9. Those who flourish in this hothouse of wakefulness, like Kailash, don't worry about darkness stealing into the city. For, it's morning in New York, and it's yet another day has dawned.
t25@timesgroup.com