It’s been 4 months since I came to Bangalore. Honestly, I have never called a city outside of Pune my home. But Bangalore has a strange homeliness to it that other cities which I have lived in don’t seem to have. I realised this slowly, through quiet mornings and unplanned walks, through small routines that started to feel familiar without me noticing.
My mind starts to draw analogies with everything. When I walk through Cubbon Park, I am reminded of mornings at ARAI tekdi, the same kind of quiet, the same kind of nature, the same feeling that you can take a slow breath and just be there for a while. Vidyarthi Bhavan in Bangalore sits in my memory the way BSM Durga used to in Pune, crowded, a little chaotic, but full of comfort once you finally get your plate.
Surprisingly calm morning at Cubbon Park
I catch myself comparing small things too, like the way people talk, the way cafes fill up in the mornings, the way certain streets make you feel like you have been there much longer than you actually have. None of these comparisons are exact, but they help me make sense of why this city feels familiar so quickly.
In my head, it feels less like I moved somewhere new and more like I shifted from one set of routines to another, just with different names, different roads, and different food waiting at the end of the day.
My secret place is a quite cafe in Jayanagar. It had a calm and slightly polished vibe, but still felt grounded and relaxed. As I walk around that area, I could not help thinking of Prabhat Road in Pune. The same quiet streets, old houses, tree cover, and a sense that people have been living their lives here in the same steady way for years. Jayanagar feels like that to me, not loud, not trying to impress, just peaceful and familiar in its own way.
Overlooking nature. Beanlore cafe, Jayanagar
By the end of the day, it feels less like I am exploring something new and more like I am stitching together small pieces of Pune and Bangalore in my head, one park, one street, and one plate at a time.