AESTHETIC VIBRANCY OF COLOURS AND STREET LIFE: MELBOURNE AND BANGALORE

OPINION PIECE

Let’s imagine life to be a game with the option to choose the character’s mindset and energy by the chosen city. There, you shall find the same person but in very different modes, like multiple personalities. The way they walk, talk and think changes in a glimpse, and you will wonder if it is the same person.

From a country of hundreds of cultures with the same origin to a country with the most international crowds, my journey from Bangalore, India, to Melbourne, Australia was quite challenging. Bangalore is the third most populous city in India. The city varies in its aesthetics in accordance with the area. Some are extremely modern, and some areas are colonial British style. The weather in Bangalore is considered most amazing throughout the year, mostly spring-like. Since living in one of the most populated and crowded cities of India, coming to an international city like Melbourne carried a lot of expected habits. Surprisingly, I was stunned to notice the well-organised traffic and the trams and cars side by side in the City of Melbourne. That was the first thing I found astonishing during the drive from the airport to my apartment. The thirty-minute drive drew an amazing picture of Melbourne. Most of the houses are single-storied, which is quite the opposite of the case in India. The alleys and roads in Bangalore are jammed with all sorts of vehicles in hundreds, and there are even small temples in the middle of the road forming an eye-shaped traffic jam. You will find some of the autorickshaw drivers climbing over their rickshaws and taking up the role of traffic police. He will try to clear the traffic and actually manage to clear it through. Some stop their vehicle right in the middle of the road to pray at the temple on the side, which creates chaos. Having all these normalised in my lifestyle, on the contrary, I could see the vehicles patiently waiting for hook-turns and nearly zero sound of horns in Melbourne city.

Discovering and contrasting the creative culture of both cities was another exciting activity. The walls of Melbourne are covered with graffiti, while the walls of Bangalore promote all sorts of advertisements, such as local clinics and astrologers. Melbourne’s street art is mostly murals and sometimes the stencil kind. The artists express social or political insights through these crafts. This ‘cultural attraction’ was voted as Melbourne’s finest in the 2008 Lonely Planet Poll. The crowd of Melbourne are more free-spoken and expressive. I saw the pride parade for the first time within the first week of my arrival in the city, which in India is highly unlikely to see, or I can say virtually impossible. A walk through the alleys of Bangalore displays primarily promotions. Posters of movies, political parties, and all sorts of advertisements for products from footwear to jewellery are gummed all over the small tea stalls as well as the most prominent fences with white flour used as the gum. While the Bangalorean way of announcements and branding is old-fashioned, huge screens of digitalised posters all over the city and stickers on trams and tram stations carry the purpose in Melbourne.

The authenticity of Masala Chai, along with classic Indian music and newspaper, is one of the most original portrayals of Indian evenings. There are a few stalls that open just for the sunrises and make only Masala Chai. The best part about this is that having the same tea, the same biscuit and watching the sunrise from the same spot never gets old, which I can say I clearly miss in Melbourne. Trying to find a similar atmosphere, the smell of freshly brewed coffee and baked croissants with slow English music is the most vintage-like aesthetic that pleased me in Melbourne. Perfect venues for perfect dates with unbelievable silence, even in the centre of the city, are incredible. Mornings in Bangalore woke me up with loud devotional songs from temples nearby, and Melbourne mornings are as quiet as always. The alleys during the day smell like dosas and sarbath (a fruit-flavoured soda juice) in Bangalore. By the evening, the small tea stalls start to appear in all spots where people can watch sunsets and enjoy the tea.

The way of life balance in Melbourne is something that I admire the most. Coming from a city that never sleeps to a city where everything is shut down by nine o'clock at night took a huge turn in my lifestyle. In Bangalore, there are several dosas and biriyani stalls that open only at midnight and close around four o'clock in the morning. Even after a long, tiring day, people rush to these stalls at midnight and enjoy the food. Sacrificing proper sleep for activities like these is normalised there, and at times, not doing such things might lead to an introverted life. These adventures were a part of my everyday life until I started settling in Melbourne. The nights are nights, and the days are days here, which is quite the opposite in Bangalore or any other major city in India. So, it took a while for me to get along with this style of living.

Bangalore, the ‘bucket list spot’ for all teenagers and the hang-out space for people from all over India, is considered one of the safest places to settle for longer periods. All the major tech companies and brand showrooms are situated in Bangalore. Therefore, along with the people from different parts of India, there is a considerable number of international audiences as well. And occasionally, I found people from different countries choosing Indian dressing and cultural practices to blend in, which I appreciated the most. Melbourne mostly welcomes international crowds and forms a collaboration of all cultures, providing a comfort zone for everyone. I believe Melbourne provides a much easier and freer mode of living. Everything goes in accordance with time and planning. You can find people enjoying their own company and living in a world of their own, even in the crowd in Melbourne city, while it is super rare to find people roaming around all by themselves in Bangalore. I personally enjoy this freedom the most. I consider this an opportunity to concentrate on myself and feel the growth to its fullest.

Even though both cities are very different, there are several challenges that are similar and remain unsolved. The troubles of homelessness and the difficulty of maintaining the standard of living are the most noticeable ones. In both cities, I could find people struggling to make a living and have shelter. Something that disturbed me the most was that there are more young homeless people in Melbourne. I have heard stories of drugs and attacks from several of my acquaintances. The reason for such situations varies from city to city. In Melbourne, the crisis of housing and affordability is the biggest challenge, while in Bangalore, poverty and large-scale migration constitute the difficulties. Melbourne City is much more expensive to live in compared to the suburbs. The rent has been increasing over the years, making it impossible for ‘everyone’ to afford apartments. A huge number of public housing units remain empty, with the waiting list loading up. There is a huge difference in affordability with regard to the area or the location. Unlike in the case of Bangalore, there is no such separation. India’s poor infrastructure and large-scale corruption in political parties affected people of the lower middle class in finding jobs and establishing themselves in cities like Bangalore. When ambitions are shattered, some cannot find the way back. Child labour is one of the worst parts of Bangalore, which is unbearable to watch. Small girls and boys roam around the roads with stationary items and flowers and beg the passengers in all sorts of vehicles while being held back by the traffic. In almost every small food stall, all the labourers are underage, and they are paid nearly nothing. The power to change these situations in both cities lies with the government. Even with social and charity donations, only a very small scale of problems is solved, while the biggest part remains unattended and leads to the worst.

Understanding and experiencing both cities and all the aspects of them, the most intimate and identical essence I found was that whatever or however a city conducts itself, when it comes to human beings, they all reach the same destination, that is, building a life worth living. Some reach there faster than others, and some lose track during the journey. That is the way of life, is it not?