Bustling Bangalore, center of the flat world

If there is any place where the old India meets the new, it is Bangalore. Thomas Friedman wrote extensively about the city in his 2005 book as typifying the new “flat world.” Bangalore has been called the outsourcing capital of the planet and is full of IT companies and BPOs (business process outsourcing firms). It is home to the legendary campus of Infosys, a computer company started with $250 by seven individuals in 1981. It is now worth $20 billion and employs over 90,000 people. According to Lonely Planet, when you enter the campus (which isn’t accessible to the public) “it’s as if you’ve slipped through a wormhole into an alternative India, where neatly trimmed lawns sprout shiny glass and steel structures. The workforce (average age 26) cycle or use electric golf carts to get around the 32-hectare campus, passing five food courts (serving 14 types of cuisine), banks, a supermarket, basketball court, putting green, and state-of-the-art gyms. There’s even a hotel! The point of all this is to prove that Infosys (and by extension India) can compete on equal terms with the developed world—the level playing field of Friedman’s ‘flat world.’ And with bumper-to-bumper traffic crawling along the highway outside, nowhere seems to sum up the contradictions of modern India so succinctly.”

I visited Bangalore on November 15-18, 2008. The official name of the city is now Bengaluru, but unlike the Madras to Chennai and the Bombay to Mumbai name changes, Bengaluru hasn’t really caught on and everyone still calls the city by its colonial name, Bangalore.

This marked my first time flying within India and I was somewhat surprised by the lax airport security (compared to the U.S.). Not only did my shoes and belt remain on my body, but I didn’t even have to empty my pockets or take my laptop out of its case (on the return trip I did actually have to dis-encase my laptop but my shoes remained on my feet). I was also allowed to carry any liquids I wanted right onto the plane. While this was pleasant and convenient for me, it does make one a little nervous traveling in a country where terrorist attacks are not infrequent (as was recently tragically demonstrated in Mumbai). A substantial snack (bordering on a meal) served on the short one-hour flight was another pleasant surprise.

The beautiful, recently constructed international airport is a testament to Bangalore’s rise and new-found wealth. About an hour bus ride from the main part of the city, the airport is adorned with beautiful fountains, art sculptures, and meticulously manicured lawns. Although there is not much of historical interest in Bangalore, I’ve been told that it is a great place to live as you can find anything from anywhere in the world in the city’s trendy shops and restaurants. There is also an active social scene catering to the many young working professionals. I saw the city’s transformation firsthand as I wandered down a dilapidated old street and stumbled upon a beautiful new mall. The white granite structure housed several high-end brand stores which were much too expensive for me. An escalator led to the roof of the building where a terrace, populated with elegant restaurants and a beautiful multicolored fountain, overlooked the city.

The rise of the Indian economy is attributed, almost universally here, to the deregulation and government reforms of the early 1990s. These changes, coupled with a large, educated, English-speaking population, have unleashed Indian’s entrepreneurial potential. With starting salaries higher than those of their long-employed parents, young IT professionals and “call center yuppies” are fueling the rise of a large Indian middle class. The best IT firms now wield so much power that some have dubbed them the ITocracy. Jobs viewed with disdain in the U.S. confer substantial status and are highly sought here. With so many people in the country, competition for jobs at top companies is fierce; many applicants have special training in “American” English and advanced degrees from top universities.On the other side of the world, many Americans are increasingly frustrated as they try, unsuccessfully, to communicate with their credit card’s back-office support team in India. Next time you find yourself in this situation, struggling to make yourself understood, take a moment to reflect on the fact that the person on the other end of the line likely speaks three or four languages in addition to English, is probably more highly educated than you, and is working many, many hours each day to provide a better life for himself and his family. This may not decrease the level of your annoyance (I myself try to avoid using the phone here), but at least it will provide some perspective.

Iconic symbol of the West.


The beautiful Lalbagh Botanical Garden.


Temple within the garden.


Glass house at Lalbagh.






I found a family of monkeys in urban Bangalore near the LDS church.


View from the top of UB City. Unfortunately, you can't see the fountain so well.


City view from another roof-top restaurant.

More pictures.