First Impressions of Bangalore: By Sven van Mourik

After my many experiences these past few days (the first days of my life in Bangalore), it seems right to pause for a moment and write down my impressions of this city, its people and its beauty. Having taken a long flight from Amsterdam to Delhi, and then from Delhi a transfer flight south, I arrived in Bangalore, exactly twenty-four hours after I’d left my front door in the Netherlands. On my first morning in India since a long time, I stepped into a taxi from the airport towards Bangalore’s city center and realized that this would be my new home for the next two months.

Having been to India two years earlier, I knew Bangalore and its many sights would not give me that famous ‘culture shock’ some travelers get when they first come into contact with the Indian way of life. In fact, it was because of those fond memories of the friendly people in Delhi and my travels to the Taj Mahal in Agra that I applied for an internship at Leave UR Mark: I was longing to go back again. And indeed, much seemed the same during my cab ride from the airport. There was the pleasantly warm temperature of course, and that particular spicy smell of India, but also my conversations with the driver, who reminded me of the people of Delhi, and who, despite my best efforts, still managed to overcharge me for my ride.

Upon arriving in the green city of Bangalore, the many beautiful sights made it unmistakable that I was in India again: elegant women walking on dusty paths in their colorful sarongs, groups of children

                                         View from the Leave UR Mark apartment

playing the ever so popular game of cricket, and of course the many Indian billboards and construction sites that mark Bangalore as the rising IT city of India. Unfortunately, however, my arrival in the city coincided with a case of tonsillitis.  The disease kept me bed-bound for a few days (during which I took many photos of the splendid view from the apartment), but it also forced me to go out and see Bangalore’s medical face: figuring out my medication with a doctor at home, I soon found myself visiting not some temples or landmarks, but rather nine different pharmacies across the neighborhood. Surprisingly, this was quite a good way of getting a first impression of Bangalore’s population: it showed me that the city’s people were quite different than the people of Delhi, where it was a challenge to avoid the many salesmen, rickshaw drivers and beggars that continuously addressed you as you walked through the city. In Bangalore I didn’t once have this feeling of slight harassment (which, of course, is all part of the game for a real backpacker in India), but I rather felt a gentle patience from the people, and a respect that still surprises me. In all, these first sights and experiences – even having gained them while looking for medication – made for a very inviting introduction to Bangalore’s center, and I cannot wait to start investigating and documenting the many projects that interns from across the globe are getting into, here in Bangalore.