Hailing from Patna, Abhilasha Singh and Pratyush Sahay find Bengaluru to be a sea of opportunities. While Pratyush has been in the city for around four years now, Abhilasha moved here from Delhi, where she was working, only a few months back.
"This is the only city where both of us managed to get jobs together!" exclaims Abhilasha. Pratyush happily agrees, "Bengaluru is the perfect city that provided wonderful opportunities related to both our careers."
Abhilasha is an advocate working with Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas as a senior associate in the indirect tax practice. Meanwhile, Pratyush is an R&D software engineer working with HARMAN International Industries, focussing on the areas of computer vision and deep learning.
The couple are charmed by the greenery and the weather of the city but there is another aspect that they say is worth admiring.
"There is a great emphasis on cultural activities here, a quality that is largely prevalent in the South. It's impressive seeing kids and adults alike practising vocals, music and traditional dance forms," state the two in unison. Apart from the obvious traffic ordeal, Pratyush is quick to point out an environmental concern in the city, that bothers him.
"I find the rapid disappearance of the city's lakes and the rampant pollution of the existing ones, like Bellandur and Varthur Lake, as the most disheartening aspect of Bengaluru. This is something that needs to be tackled on an immediate basis," he says.
Coming to what they miss from back home, each of them has their own list to mention. "Home-cooked Bihari style food has to be on the top. Then it's just the familiar feel, the people and the language of my native place that I end up missing here," says Abhilasha.
For Pratyush, it is, "the Ganges, the festivity of Durga Puja and Chhath Puja and the fog and chill of the winter months."
The two lead hectic lives, given their busy work schedules. However, they like indulging in adventure sports, going on drives and catching up on "much-needed sleep" over the weekends. "I usually have very hectic work hours, so I look forward to resting over the weekend. We also have friends and relatives here so sometimes we meet them as well," says Abhilasha.
"I call her 'Sleeping Beauty' on the weekends," says Pratyush with a chuckle. "Going on drives over the weekend is a pleasure. The lesser frantic pace allows one to absorb the city's warmth and variety," he adds.
The couple also likes visiting a small eatery in Marathahalli called 'Puchka's'. "It serves tasty snacks like 'golgappas', 'chaats' and 'jalebis'. It's our hot favourite!" they say. Summing up her experiences in Bengaluru, Abhilasha says, "The city is still very new for me. But I feel it is much calmer and the people are also more composed compared to that in Delhi. The mad rush that one finds in Mumbai and Delhi is missing, thankfully. I am also trying to imbibe that sense of calmness in me now."
"In fact, in my first week here, I happened to leave one of my phones behind in a cab on the way to office. After a while, my office guard called me to say that the cab driver had come back to drop my phone. I was quite surprised and grateful at the same time. This incident spoke a lot about the city's people and their ethics," she adds.
"It's humbling to see the city accepting people from all corners of the country, providing everyone with opportunities to grow in their individual lives. The presence of a multi-cultural and multi-lingual society has made our stay here very enriching," expresses Pratyush.
"This is the only city where both of us managed to get jobs together!" exclaims Abhilasha. Pratyush happily agrees, "Bengaluru is the perfect city that provided wonderful opportunities related to both our careers."
Abhilasha is an advocate working with Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas as a senior associate in the indirect tax practice. Meanwhile, Pratyush is an R&D software engineer working with HARMAN International Industries, focussing on the areas of computer vision and deep learning.
The couple are charmed by the greenery and the weather of the city but there is another aspect that they say is worth admiring.
"There is a great emphasis on cultural activities here, a quality that is largely prevalent in the South. It's impressive seeing kids and adults alike practising vocals, music and traditional dance forms," state the two in unison. Apart from the obvious traffic ordeal, Pratyush is quick to point out an environmental concern in the city, that bothers him.
"I find the rapid disappearance of the city's lakes and the rampant pollution of the existing ones, like Bellandur and Varthur Lake, as the most disheartening aspect of Bengaluru. This is something that needs to be tackled on an immediate basis," he says.
Coming to what they miss from back home, each of them has their own list to mention. "Home-cooked Bihari style food has to be on the top. Then it's just the familiar feel, the people and the language of my native place that I end up missing here," says Abhilasha.
For Pratyush, it is, "the Ganges, the festivity of Durga Puja and Chhath Puja and the fog and chill of the winter months."
The two lead hectic lives, given their busy work schedules. However, they like indulging in adventure sports, going on drives and catching up on "much-needed sleep" over the weekends. "I usually have very hectic work hours, so I look forward to resting over the weekend. We also have friends and relatives here so sometimes we meet them as well," says Abhilasha.
"I call her 'Sleeping Beauty' on the weekends," says Pratyush with a chuckle. "Going on drives over the weekend is a pleasure. The lesser frantic pace allows one to absorb the city's warmth and variety," he adds.
The couple also likes visiting a small eatery in Marathahalli called 'Puchka's'. "It serves tasty snacks like 'golgappas', 'chaats' and 'jalebis'. It's our hot favourite!" they say. Summing up her experiences in Bengaluru, Abhilasha says, "The city is still very new for me. But I feel it is much calmer and the people are also more composed compared to that in Delhi. The mad rush that one finds in Mumbai and Delhi is missing, thankfully. I am also trying to imbibe that sense of calmness in me now."
"In fact, in my first week here, I happened to leave one of my phones behind in a cab on the way to office. After a while, my office guard called me to say that the cab driver had come back to drop my phone. I was quite surprised and grateful at the same time. This incident spoke a lot about the city's people and their ethics," she adds.
"It's humbling to see the city accepting people from all corners of the country, providing everyone with opportunities to grow in their individual lives. The presence of a multi-cultural and multi-lingual society has made our stay here very enriching," expresses Pratyush.