Click to play videoThe history of south India can be traced back to over 2,000 years. However, it was only 50 years ago when the four southern states were created along linguistic lines.
CNN-IBN unveils the changing face of south India and celebrates the Dravidian spirit in a special series The Golden South.
Bangalore; Her dance is one of the few things that's kept her in Bangalore. A former marketing professional, Preeti Sunderajan, has been living in Malleswaram 18th cross, one of Bangalore's oldest areas, for nearly three decades. But Preeti is now giving it all up to move to Mysore.
“I’m not able to fit into this society. What's happening in Bangalore? I would rather have a peaceful place, where there is less stress, pollution, noise. I don't see myself living here for long,” Preeti says.
Her husband, Mahadev Prasad, has already bought land in Mysore to grow paddy and is slowly giving up his IT networking business in Bangalore.
But Preeti and Mahadev aren't alone in their disillusionment.
Thirty-five-year-old businessman Dinesh Malavaiah's family migrated to Bangalore from Mandya two generations ago. Business for him is good, but the city's incessant growth has got him worried.
“The originality of Bangalore is lost. People from all over the world are coming in and it's overexposed. I'm worried about what kind of environment my son will grow up in tomorrow. It's irritating the way Bangalore is moving today. But I should forcibly be here,” Dinesh says.
Once the choice of the native Kannadiga, Bangalore is no longer an inevitable destination. You have to live here because work here, but you always crave for what the city once used to be.
Urban researchers say no other state has seen as much urbanisation as Karnataka, making Bangalore India's fastest growing city. But it's brought problems with it.
“Four hundred per cent growth is not a small number. The future looks exciting. There are huge opportunities, but large infrastructure challenges are there and that are daunting. If there's 50 per cent more population, we'll be among top five cities in the world, which is not an exciting prospect if you consider the infrastructure,” says director, Urban Research Centre, K V Narendra.
There is a fear that the same unplanned story will play out in Mysore, Mangalore and other cities.
“Mysore was once a heritage city, but it is now growing fast,” says a resident of Bangalore.
Another resident adds, “There are a lot of people blocking properties for future developments. The government should be careful."
Bangalore's growth has made it a city that we love to hate and hate to love. But thanks to the vast spaces in Mysore and Mangalore, there's hope they won't go the Bangalore way.
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