'We have always felt at home'

For Neelesh Bothra, wife Khushboo and eight-year-old son Arav, from Guwahati, Assam, the move to Bengaluru was a welcome change. Though the geographical shift happened because Neelesh was transferred, he says that moving to the City was one of the best decisions of their lives. Neelesh works as General Manager (Finance) with Landmark Group and Khushboo works as Senior Specialist at Accenture. The two say that they feel at home here.

The duo only has the best of words to describe the City and say that the weather is one of its biggest highlights. While Neelesh feels that “Bengaluru is the perfect place for education and work opportunities”, Khushboo points out that “the people add to the warm and accepting character” of the City.

“People are very friendly, which adds to the whole experience. Whoever we have interacted with has been very nice,” says the couple together.

Khushboo says that something that stands out about the people here is that “they do not interfere too much into others’ lives, but also know exactly when to step in.”
The duo agree that the cosmopolitan nature of the City “has made it more than easy” for them to settle in. “We have never felt out of place here,” says Khushboo, to which Neelesh adds, “Since the day we came, we have always felt at home. It was love at first sight! The City matched up to whatever we had hoped for.”

Khushboo says that “there could be other places too, which are good, but everything falls together in Bengaluru”. “The social setup and the way of living, all worked well for us,” she says.

It is Khushboo’s first time outside their hometown and she says that it was easy to adjust to the City. “Though my family and friends are not here, it wasn’t that hard to get into the flow. Things are different here, but everything from the apartment to the medical facilities were sorted out which also helped,” she says. Despite working in the corporate field back home, Khushboo says that it is different here  as “in smaller cities, everything is more close-knit”. “The travel time is more on the road here, but otherwise it is all the same,” she says with a smile. Safety is another advantage, vouches Neelesh. He says, “Compared to other cities like Gurgaon that I have been to, I feel that the City is definitely safer for my family and my parents who are also here.”

The cultural differences are many compared to their home state, says Khushboo. “The towns back home have many more trees. But we were aware of these changes and it wasn’t hard.” Neelesh adds, “The transition was more than easy. Frankly, I can’t remember anything that we had to adapt ourselves to.”

The food is different too, but Khushboo says that she doesn’t miss it much. “We have typical dishes like ‘pita’ (which is prepared during ‘Bihu’ time) and ‘laadu’ (‘ladoos’ made out of white and black til). But we get them when we go home,” she says. Neelesh is a fan of South Indian food, which made it easy to adjust. “Since we both have Rajasthani roots, we love indulging into the cuisine and there are places like ‘Rajdhani’ which offer the authentic food,” she says.

Their son Arav is also deeply impressed by the City and says that he loves going to Wonderla, Cubbon Park and Bannerghatta National Park. “There are many places to visit and enjoy,” he says. Arav says that if there was something he could add to the pleasant City, it would be more trees.