Experiences from Bhubaneswar — A fast growing modern city
I went to Bhubaneswar this week on personal work. For my onward and return journey I booked Indigo flight. During my stay in Bhubaneswar, to go around town, I used Ola Bike service. Now a days, I travel very rarely because of my health and also because of my dislike for Bangalore traffic and the pollution that comes with it. This is something every Bangalorean has to face living in one of the biggest Metropolitan cities of India. But this time around when I went to Bhubaneswar and looking at the traffic it was very less than what I am use to in Bangalore. In Bhubaneswar I can reach my destination within an hour which I can not think of in Bangalore.
It has been on my mind for quite some time, living in Bangalore I am thinking if it’s worth to spend the amount and time that we do spend on travelling. The lifestyle in Bangalore very expensive than many metropolitan cities in India. Tier 2 cities are also having similar facilities and also are improving their Infrastructure and have much less traffic and also quality of life I feel is much better than living in a Tier 1 cities or metropolitan city.
What makes Bhubaneswar unique is that it is one of the best places to get your education because higher education is very good in Bhubaneswar also infrastructure is quite developed and also Bhubaneswar is not as crowded like other cities. I always keep on thinking of move back to Bhubaneswar because there it is growing not only financially but also the kind of brands are also the outlook the city is very progressive. Grown up in Bhubaneswar I can surely say that it’s a very good city and clean city and also it being my native,I feel at home than being anywhere else.
We want to have some kind of root, any City or any place will live, we should have friends, we should have family and should find a way where we can gel with our surrounding, the only few places that I have been so comfortable has been Bhubaneswar or Chennai. Right now all my friends have left Chennai. Though Bangalore has been a major phase of my life but I have never felt myself at home in Bangalore and confused if I would buy a home here, and I don’t think Bengaluru be a place where I can see myself living in next 20 years.
Being always On The Run first from my family then from my loved ones and then from jobs that I had, I want to decide where I want to settle down because somewhere I want to build my home, my life and also probably some kind of business that can help me in future.
Travelling to Bhubaneswar this time around I found flights cheaper than train and thought travelling by train was not worth it until absolutely necessary or if you have some kind of problem flying. Trains are more expensive now a days and they also take lot of time hence I prefer air travel.This time I travelled with Indigo Airlines and it was a great experience and it a pleasure to fly with them. I have been flying with Indigo for last few years and their service has improved and their overall service has been very good and at par with some of the best I have seen so far . Their comfortable seats and their air hostess were quite courteous, I had good overall experience of the check in boarding and during the filght, while Air Asia is also their but any time given a chance I would prefer Indigo over others.
The second best experience that I had in Bhubaneswar was driving in Ola Bikes, this is a feature that you would find in select cities in India, when I opened the ola app to find out of options like Ola Mini, Ola micro & Ola Auto, in Bhubaneswar I also found this feature of ola bike now when checking with one of these drivers I found that it has been there for one year. In a city like Bhubaneswar where getting taxis can be difficult and also sometimes if you are stuck in traffic finding the shortcut may be the best way, ola bike was definitely a great experience for me. I don’t carry so much luggage and ola bike was safe for me. On the travel expenses, had gone through taxi I would have paid 175 Rs but with Ola Bike I just paid 100 rs. I liked the business model of Ola Bike and it was great because it actually gives some extra money to the youth who may have no jobs and thanks to the ola bike they are getting some extra money and also it’s a great way to commute, I liked that and also the drivers were driving slowly and were not rash and very professional.
In Bangalore is it difficult getting a cab or taxi or auto during peak hours.But in Bhubaneswar any time I was able to get a taxi or bike and that’s why I feel that is where lies the benefit of growing Tier 2 cities with the advent of modern technologies and business opportunities and improving quality of living and commuting.
The gap between Tier 1 cities and Metropolitan cities and is slowly decreasing, for anybody who is looking out to move to a lesser crowded city and want to build their own property to the native places I think this is time to explore smaller cities and also it is a great way to decongest our Metropolitan cities which is densely populated and also highly polluted and the quality of life health wise and also with respect to the value for the money that you get is no more. I feel it is a great opportunity for employees and companies should also think of moving to these cities or allow the employees to take remote work and work from smaller cities, wherever possible I know it is possible for IT sector but I strongly feel cities like Bhubaneswar or other capital cities should also be developed and I feel we should develop more tier 2 cities so that load on Metropolitan cities goes down and these cities are able to develop and have a sustainable economic running for them and also is beneficial for the local population. For others its an opportunity to migrate to these cities and contribute to the economic powerhouse of India.
