The other day, at a railway station, I read a quote, in red capital
letters on a yellow-colored t-shirt losing color due to repeated washing
- "Life is like a bicycle. In order to keep balance, you must keep
moving", with "Life", "Bicycle" and "Moving" in bigger font for effect.
This holds true not just in the life of men, but in the life of a city as well.
Vadodara, succinctly described as "big city in a small package" in a branding campaign, too is a city on the move.
The changes that I observed on my recent trip to Vadodara are not the changes that can happen in the span of a few months that I have been away. The changes have been gradual and were very much in process when I lived here. But, the nature of change is its nature cannot be identified by the one witnessing it every single day, by one who is a part of it. And therefore, the changes, and their significance, dawned on me only after being away for a considerable period.
At the exit of Vadodara railway station, lied the first telltale sign of growing economic prosperity of the city - auto rickshaw guys quoting astronomical rates, auto rickshaw guys behaving as if they are doing you a favor by ferrying you at unearthly hours, and that you are morally and legally bound to pay a premium for his services at 6 am in the morning.
The new eateries coming up in the city are indicators of an increasing diversity and cosmopolitan culture. In a city where a large part of the population would shudder at the prospect of eating at a place that isn't strictly "pure veg" for the fear that cooks might be using the same spoons and vessels for Veg and Non-Veg dishes, it is great to see an eatery called "The Great Chicken Hub". In a city where sev usal has traditionally been the staple food, challenging the might of farsan and gaathiya heavyweights, there has come up a "Soups, Salads and Subs only" eatery called Quiznos.
And the growing urbanization is underscored by the growing physical infrastructure. Tall, modern-looking, glass-paneled buildings are shooting up at numerous places. Residential colonies and apartments are being constructed in areas that not long ago were considered to be outskirts. Their names too have changed. Disowning that vast source of names for apartments and societies - the Hindu mythology - builders are giving their projects names like "Pacifica" and "Madrid County", names that are meant signify modernity and luxury by the sole virtue of being in English. The area where I live, in the neighborhood of Nand, Pitambar, Kailash and Mathuranagri have come up "Orchid Bungalows" and "Venus apartments".
From sev usal to subs, from mathuranagri to madrid county, Vadodara is changing. I like to think for the better.
This holds true not just in the life of men, but in the life of a city as well.
Vadodara, succinctly described as "big city in a small package" in a branding campaign, too is a city on the move.
The changes that I observed on my recent trip to Vadodara are not the changes that can happen in the span of a few months that I have been away. The changes have been gradual and were very much in process when I lived here. But, the nature of change is its nature cannot be identified by the one witnessing it every single day, by one who is a part of it. And therefore, the changes, and their significance, dawned on me only after being away for a considerable period.
At the exit of Vadodara railway station, lied the first telltale sign of growing economic prosperity of the city - auto rickshaw guys quoting astronomical rates, auto rickshaw guys behaving as if they are doing you a favor by ferrying you at unearthly hours, and that you are morally and legally bound to pay a premium for his services at 6 am in the morning.
The new eateries coming up in the city are indicators of an increasing diversity and cosmopolitan culture. In a city where a large part of the population would shudder at the prospect of eating at a place that isn't strictly "pure veg" for the fear that cooks might be using the same spoons and vessels for Veg and Non-Veg dishes, it is great to see an eatery called "The Great Chicken Hub". In a city where sev usal has traditionally been the staple food, challenging the might of farsan and gaathiya heavyweights, there has come up a "Soups, Salads and Subs only" eatery called Quiznos.
And the growing urbanization is underscored by the growing physical infrastructure. Tall, modern-looking, glass-paneled buildings are shooting up at numerous places. Residential colonies and apartments are being constructed in areas that not long ago were considered to be outskirts. Their names too have changed. Disowning that vast source of names for apartments and societies - the Hindu mythology - builders are giving their projects names like "Pacifica" and "Madrid County", names that are meant signify modernity and luxury by the sole virtue of being in English. The area where I live, in the neighborhood of Nand, Pitambar, Kailash and Mathuranagri have come up "Orchid Bungalows" and "Venus apartments".
From sev usal to subs, from mathuranagri to madrid county, Vadodara is changing. I like to think for the better.
