Nammuru Bengaluru

Corporate & IT offices have the same music playing across floors, lobby, cabins, conference rooms, including restrooms. Across buildings, centralized AC has its rhythm. It is a widespread belief that ACs are for the people who work in these offices. Little do they know; it is to keep the computers cool. No matter time of the year or the weather, ACs do their jobs diligently.

AC duct let out freshly chilled recycled air right over Kanika’s head. She raised her head to the false ceiling. She muttered under her breath, "Who even sets such low temperature in Bangalore? That too in November!" She pulled out an orange sweatshirt from her bag. She wore it & pulled the hood over her head. She looked at her monitor & stared at the technical issue. The issue returned the same courtesy. She had been working on this issue for 2 hours & no resolution at sight. She glanced at the corner of the monitor & the clock showed 3:45 PM. Another 15mins, she rubbed her forehead with her left palm.

After 15 agonizing minutes, she sighed in relief, locked her computer & rose from her desk. She rubbed her palms together & looked around. She said, "Chai, Coffee?" Her teammates were waiting for her. The team swiped their access cards & walked thru the glass door. All of them boarded an elevator to ride down to the cafeteria. Rajesh looked at Kanika & asked, "Are you feeling cold?" She nodded yes. He asked, "You are from Bangalore & feel cold?" She already had a headache & the question irritated her. She replied, "What's feeling cold, got to do with being from here?" He said, "You must have got used to the weather by now." She replied, "It's the AC. Unfortunately, I’m not thick-skinned.” A few of her teammates giggled; they had heard this statement before.

The cafeteria was a busy place at this time of the day & tables were unavailable. Kanika's team picked up hot beverages & walked to the lawn. Kanika felt the warmth of hot coffee on her numb palms. Recently, Rajesh had been to Mysore for a vacation. He was impressed with the city. Kanika said, "It was the capital city, so it was well planned." Rajesh spoke about the locations he had visited. When he mentioned Mysore Palace, Kanika jumped in & said, "Mysore palace is beautiful; I wish we could visit Bangalore palace." Rajesh curtly replied, "There is no palace in Bangalore." Kanika said, "No. We do have a palace in Bangalore; it is not open for the public." Rajesh said, "You are confused; it's Mysore palace & not Bangalore." The proud Bangalorean did not give up, it was her city & she knew better than him. She said, "Bangalore is a hill station; Mysore Maharaja would visit Bangalore in Summer." Rajesh confidently said, "Nandi hills is a hill station & not Bangalore. You don't know Bangalore." Now Kanika lost it. She narrowed her eyes & looked at her teammates. Then it dawned to her, none of them were from here.

Kanika's headache seemed to have disappeared. She calmly asked, "Have you heard of palace grounds?" Rajesh grinned, "Yeah, I have bought firecrackers from palace grounds." Kanika took a deep breath & asked, "Do you know why it's called palace grounds?" Rajesh's eyebrows knotted & he thought for a while. He had no answer. Kanika tilted her head left & said, "Grounds around, Bangalore palace is called Palace Grounds. When you get back to your desk, please Google it".

Kanika was back to her desk & pulled the hood over her head. She looked at the monitor with renewed energy. She cracked the issue & thought, "I broke my head for 2hours over this silly issue?" Later in the day, Rajesh walked up to her & said, "Yeah, I Googled there is a palace in Bangalore." She gave him a look that said, “I told you so….”

Kanika casually brought up the conversation of Bangalore palace with college friend Kriti. Kriti said, "I had a similar discussion at my office too.” Kanika eagerly asked, "And?" Kriti replied in a sad tone, "I couldn't think of a way to convince them." Kanika sharply replied, “What? Being born & brought up in Bangalore, you couldn’t convince?” Kriti replied, “No one believed me.” Kanika said, “Oh come on, your aunt lives at Palace Guttahalli & you couldn’t think of it?” She closed her eyes, pressed her right palm to her forehead.

A few years later, Bangalore palace was thrown open for the public.

Take Away:

• Bangalore is a hill station & has a palace. In case one hasn’t seen it, scroll up.

• A tea or coffee break can solve most problems.