Nanna Bengaluru

I remember the first time I started this blog—with a friend of mine. We wrote a piece called Nanna Bengaluru vs Ninna Bengaluru. It was about how Bengaluru was new to me and how I was open to exploring it, ready to make this city my home. She, on the other hand, wrote about how “at home” she already felt here.

Back then, I was new to Bengaluru, and that’s exactly how I felt about the city—curious, hopeful, ready. But it doesn’t feel that way anymore. That’s why I’m writing this, to tell you how differently I see this city now, after being here for over four years.

Moving to a new city always feels like a fresh start. You know those reels that say, “I just want to leave everything behind and start over in a new city”?

Life gave me that chance four years ago. At that point, I badly needed a reset. I wanted to run away—from people, from problems, from the version of myself that my hometown had defined. Bengaluru gave me that chance. A chance to do over, to correct my mistakes, to rebuild myself.

To be someone new. To be anyone I wanted to be.

On one side, I wanted to explore Bengaluru, which is so strikingly different from Mysuru. On the other, I wanted to explore myself. I wanted to know who I could become if I truly had a do-over. So yes, stick with me as I take you through how this adventure has unfolded over the last four years.

If I had to speak personally then yes, I used that do-over well. I feel like a completely different person now, nothing like the girl from Mysuru. For example, I used to be someone who needed to be part of the popular crowd.

It didn’t matter whether they were real friends or not, I just wanted to be the “cool girl.” That changed here. I became more mindful about the people I got close to. I made fewer friends, but friends I can rely on blindly.

Friends who now feel like family.

I also met so many different kinds of people, each with their own spark. I admired them deeply. Some were better than me at almost everything, and instead of feeling small, I felt inspired. They pushed me to become a better version of myself.

I tried so many new things—joined an NGO, took part in college clubs, started running, went on countless treks, even joined a classical dance team (despite not being a classical dancer—yes, my coordination suffered, but my enthusiasm didn’t).

Bengaluru gives you a million chances to try something new, and I'm glad I grabbed as many of them as I could.

Bengaluru is, of course, famous for its traffic. I remember ranting endlessly about it in my earlier blog. I hated it. But now? I kind of love it. It’s funny, but it teaches you patience like nothing else.

You can literally finish an entire podcast, a self-help audiobook, and a life crisis at one signal.You think you’re a calm person until you’re at Silk Board on a Monday morning—then you meet your real self.

I travel a lot (and yes, it is traveling when you go from one area to another, here), but I don’t complain anymore. I’ve made peace with the fact that you need spend a lot of time commuting on a daily basis—it’s part of the Bengaluru experience.

Honestly, traffic here isn’t a nuisance anymore; it’s a lifestyle. You don’t fight it—you just schedule your emotions around it.

I never thought this city would feel like home. But now, honestly, it does. I went to Mysuru recently. It made me feel nostalgic, almost hysterical, but it didn’t feel like home anymore. It felt like a former home—one I’ve lovingly moved on from. It’s like an ex-boyfriend, honestly.

Mysuru is where my innocence lived and probably still does, paying cheaper rent. But Bengaluru?

Bengaluru is home to the better version of me.

A version of me that the Mysuru girl could never imagine and would be super proud of. (Sorry Mysuru, it’s not you, it’s me.)

I can’t talk about this city without getting emotional. It’s taught me so much, some lessons the hard way, some the easy way, and I’m forever grateful. Bengaluru has made me more mature, more grounded, and maybe, a little more adult.

Running in Lalbagh or Cubbon instead of Kukkarahalli Lake, getting mesmerized by the lights of Vidhana Soudha instead of Mysuru Palace on Sundays, exploring Church Street, Koramangala, or Indiranagar—everything now feels like mine.

And the best part? No matter how much you explore here, there’s always something new to discover. Bengaluru is an endless sea. You think you’ve seen it all, and then—bam—a new café opens with 17 types of avocado toast and zero parking.

As a kid growing up in Mysuru,Bengaluru always felt like the "city of dreams". Now that I'm here, it truly feels that way. And I can proudly say, it's helped me achieve a few of those dreams already… and many more are yet to come.

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Thank you, Bengaluru, for being so hospitable, for shaping me, for helping me dream bigger, and for making me one of your own. I love you <3