“Wow, we are living in Bengaluru, the most liveable city in India,” I told my wife after reading a report on the wonderful news.
“How did that happen? It was at the bottom of the list when we first arrived here three years ago,” said my wife.
“It must be because of people like us, who have made this “Garden City of India” into a heaven on earth. It is society that makes cities, not vice versa” I said, trying to sound profound.
Since that did not sound very erudite, I quoted Jane Jacobs an American-Canadian journo, activist and critique of urban planning, who had remarked: “People make cities and it is to them, not buildings, that we must fit our plans.”
“So, what exactly did you do to make Bengaluru liveable again?” asked my wife.
“Erm, I don’t go out much nowadays and that has helped reduce traffic a great deal. Do you remember how it was when it took nearly two hours to reach your relative’s home? Most of the time, it was like a parking lot on the Hebbal Flyover.”
Everybody loved the Hebbal Flyover when it was first built. It even bagged the first prize in 9th Outstanding Bridge National Awards Competition (Yes, there is such a competition). It was given by the Indian Institution of Bridge Engineers in 2005. In other words, they gave the prize to themselves.
Bengaluru’s population has surged since then and ever since it turned into an IT hub and the international companies moved in here.
Useful bells and whistles
According to a study, the vehicle speed on the Bengaluru flyovers today is roughly between 5 to 20kph, which means if a cow ambling slowly by while munching its cud, would pass by you in a jiffy while you stew and simmer quietly in your brand-new, five-gear vehicle with useful bells and whistles such as a door-open alarm, and cabin lights that switch off when the door opens.
The other reason why the traffic is sort-of bearable nowadays, and it has nothing to do with me, is because of the daily hikes in petrol prices.
“What?”, I said, shaken to the core, when the boy at the pump told me what a full tank cost. I held on to the credit card, refusing to let go, and my wife had to pry it loose out of my fingers and hand it over.
“Do you remember the good old days when we first came here? I asked my wife. “Petrol was so cheap and we could travel 15 kilometres per litre, within the city, and 20 kilometre/litre outside city limits, ” I said.
“You sound like those people who have lived in one place for years and years and turned into fossils, ” said my wife. “They always talk about the past that has sadly gone by. I remember when I first came here 100 years ago, there was no street here,” she mimicked a long-timer.
So, what makes a city liveable as per the government’s “Ease of Living” Index? The Index had measured the livability among the 111 cities in India.
To be honest, I don’t know since none of the newspapers and agencies explained what makes a city liveable, only which cities with more than one million population, got which rank.
I looked elsewhere on the Web and found liveable cities integrate new migrants seamlessly; that planners have long-term vision of the cities they built; the cities are prepared for future risks such as climate change and they offer dwellers green lungs such as parks and also offer something for culture lovers.
Lastly and most importantly the liveable city offers ease of transport and makes owning a vehicle a joy.
Mahmood Saberi is a storyteller and blogger based in Bengaluru, India. Twitter: @mahmood_saberi
