'The City is small and accessible'

Half-Rajput and half-Punjabi, Namrata Hazarika has lived across the country and can’t really drop anchor in one place. Her father was in the armed forces and it was only natural for the family to move as and when required.

Namrata shifted to Bengaluru 11 years ago and says that she had no starting trouble and it didn’t take her long to settle here. “To begin with, I love the variations in food here which you don’t really get up North. What’s also interesting is the taste of ‘sambar’ in every household is different and the diversity of the dishes is truly amazing. The ‘dosas’, ‘idilis’ and the many rice dishes... each has a taste of its own,” explains Namrata.

About why she chose Bengaluru, Namrata is quick to answer, “Frankly, it is the food again. The ‘mutton biryani’and ‘chilli chicken’ in Nagarjuna are something to die for. I am a hardcore non-vegetarian but I was open to trying out vegetarian dishes only after I moved here,” she states.    

Namrata is married to Devraj, an Assamese. The two of them worked together and dated for three years before they got married.  “My husband and I wouldn’t dispute the fact that Bengaluru is a truly welcoming city. I’ve lived across the country but I find Bengaluru the only livable city and I wouldn’t know where to go if I were to move out of here,” she adds.

She has lived in Delhi and Mumbai for most part of her growing-up years but she doesn’t have too much to say about the two cities.

 “People in Delhi exude a natural sense of aggression and I find those in Mumbai constantly on the run. Bengaluru has hit the perfect balance when it comes to both these aspects,” she shares. She finds that road rage takes a different character altogether.

“The motorists in Delhi wouldn’t think before getting into a fight on the street but here people just drive off. That action says a lot about the character of the people here. I find them pretty laidback and easy-going,” she says

Namrata found Bengaluru to be a safe city 11 years ago when she first moved in here. But now, as a mother of seven-year-old Navya, she doesn’t feel the same anymore. “I could take an auto or step outside at night much earlier when the roads were empty and there weren’t so many people but it's not the same now. The incidents of violence against women wouldn’t deter me from stepping out. I would still step out at night if need be. You can’t live in fear,” she reasons.

She describes the City as fast, full and interesting and that's precisely why Namrata decided to start her own venture even while holding a full time job as a digital marketing consultant.

“The City is small and accessible. This is the biggest advantage to starting a business here and people are receptive to anything new. People give each other enough space to grow without being intrusive,” she adds.

Namrata is one among the very few people who say the endless traffic jams give her enough “me time.” “I think it helps to look at the brighter aspects of the City rather than get stuck in negativity,” she adds. The couple have done their exploration of the restaurants but when it comes to visiting malls, they say they would rather go on a weekday to stay away from the crowd.