Garden City, AC City, Pensioners Paradise, India’s Silicon Valley, IT City, Aerospace Capital of India, City of Lakes, The Rock Capital of India, Asia’s Fastest Growing City, Pub Capital of India and lately, City of Flyovers, Volvo City and City of Traffic Jams are some of the monikers or nicknames the City Bangalore has been known Over the years. All these factors have defined the city which could be said to be the most friendly, welcoming, pleasant and cosmopolitan city in India. The capital city of the state of Karnataka lay unrecognized to the rest of the World until the early 80s and exploded to unprecedented levels starting in the late 90s and booming ever since thereafter. Today it is home to close to 10 million (1 crore) people from all over the country and abroad. Though largely diluted, the city still manages to retain much of its earlier charm and culture which is simply irresistible, through people who act as ambassadors to the city and continue to love it, despite everything.

And there is no place like Twitter where jobless Bangaloreans can turn to express their love towards the city. The result was the hashtag #YouAreABangaloreanIf which caused an avalanche of Tweets with Bangalore people describing the city and what it is, how life in the city is, what Bangaloreans are and what makes one a Bangalorean. To become a Bangalorean, all you need to do is what Bangaloreans have been doing from time immemorial, which is to “Chill Maadi!”

The hashtag was launched by @pal36 and trended top in India for a long time. Here I present some of the Tweets, grouped together in topics defining Bangalore. The Tweet has been copied in plain text. Click on the handle name at the end of the tweet text to view the original tweet and to Retweet, Reply, Favorite etc.

Traffic!

Traffic jams has become the single most defining factore of Bangalore today, even more than the much celebrated IT City status. People in Bangalore have actually fallen in love with their traffic jams that have taken their life hostage. Stockholm Syndrome, anyone?

#youAreABangaloreanIf You spend more time in traffic than you do with your family. — vadakkus (@vadakkus) January 16, 2013

#youAreABangaloreanIf you can win a race miles ahead by walking against someone who is in car — Jemin PANCHAL (@jemin_p) January 16, 2013

#youAreABangaloreanIf if you tweet a lot when stuck in traffic. — Nivedita (@nievU) January 16, 2013

#youAreABangaloreanIf You consider crossing Silk Board Junction in a single attempt as a major achievement in life. — vadakkus (@vadakkus) January 16, 2013

#youAreABangaloreanIf you spend atleast 1 hour in traffic on the way to office, no matter how near your office is! — Shambhavi Jha (@ShambhaviJha) January 16, 2013

#youAreABangaloreanIf you are in a city where flyovers increase the traffic jams instead of reducing it. — Mocking Now (@mockingnow) January 16, 2013

#youAreABangaloreanIf your time to reach home from airport is greater than the flight duration. — Micro-ambitious (@pal36) January 16, 2013

#YouAreABangaloreanIf you can't stop gushing in office over a surprisingly low traffic day — Girish Unnithan (@girishunnithan) January 17, 2013

BREAKING: Footpath officially announced as the two-wheeler lane in Bangalore http://t.co/3onkX8VZ #youAreABangaloreanIf — Faking News (@fakingnews) January 16, 2013

Autorickshaws!

The pet peeve of Bangaloreans, the overcharging, arrogant, lawless and general “I-don’t-give-a-damn” behavior of Autorickshaw drivers of Bangalore is legendary, and is the most often cited grouse about the city second only to the traffic. So, oneandayaaf?

#YouAreABangaloreanIf you know 18 different ways to get from one place to another. And not surprised when the auto guy takes the 19th route — bhatnaturally  (@bhatnaturally) January 16, 2013

#youAreABangaloreanIf You have succumbed to "oneandayaaf" half of the time. #autorickshaws — vadakkus (@vadakkus) January 16, 2013

#YouAreABangaloreanIf You mentally rehearse your approach before talking to an auto driver. — Ramesh Srivats (@rameshsrivats) January 16, 2013

#youAreABangaloreanIf patiently and optimistically wait for the 26th auto rickshaw after 25 have refused, and u do it every day. — Manoj Thelakkat (@ctmanoj) January 16, 2013

#youAreABangaloreanIf you have atleast paid 'meter pe 20 estraa' once. — ऋचा (@folkmetal) January 16, 2013

Food!

If there is one thing that unites Bangaloreans of all kinds, races, caste and DNA, it is food. Every Bangalorean is a foodie. Of all buildings on every street has atleast one is a restaurant, and all of them are packed, all the time.

#youAreABangaloreanIf you have eaten M-Dosa and Steaming Coffee in Vidyarti Bhavan — Suresh En (@surnell) January 16, 2013

#YouAreABangaloreanIf you crave for yummy food of CTR, Tindi Beedi, Vidyarthi Bhavan, MTR, Veena Stores, Churmuri gaadis, Brahmin's cafe…. — Swetha Pai (@swethapai) January 16, 2013

#YouAreaBangaloreanIf you know for a fact that "Brahmins" in Basavangudi serve the best idlis in the world. — Disco Chaman ✨ (@Lvenky73) January 16, 2013

#youareabangaloreanif you drink more filter coffee and beer than water — arvind jain (@Thehigh_roller) January 16, 2013

#YouAreABangaloreanIf your sambhar tastes almost as sweet as your payasam. — K Balakumar (@kbalakumar) January 16, 2013

Weather!

No explanation needed. Lore has it that in olden times, you could not even find a shop where ceiling fans were sold in Bangalore, simply because they were not needed, as it felt like the entire city was Air Conditioned! (Hence the name AC City)

#youAreABangaloreanIf your chest inflates & becomes breasts in pride while talking about the amazing weather of Bangalore. — Vinay (@iamvinays) January 16, 2013

#youAreABangaloreanIf you bore the whole world with stories of how great the weather in your city is… — #CaptainJACK (@Vimaljoshi) January 16, 2013

#youAreABangaloreanIf you say it's hot and outsiders think you're joking. — NumbYaar (@NumbYaar) January 16, 2013

#youAreABangaloreanIf if when pointed out the mess of Bangalore, all you have to offer is “look at the weather” ! @amishra77

#youAreABangaloreanIf Half your tweets are about the amazing weather the city is currently experiencing @iyengirl

Public Transport

BMTC has hit the jackpot with their Volvo bus fleet, heavily subscribed to by the general public. They transformed the city into one of those in India with the best public transport facilities.

#youAreABangaloreanIf You understand why Bus route 201 is called "Bangalore Darshan" :) — vadakkus (@vadakkus) January 16, 2013

#youAreABangaloreanIf You can tell the difference between 500C and 500D. — vadakkus (@vadakkus) January 16, 2013

#youAreABangaloreanIf u use day pass to travel through KSRTC bus & give it to someone on the same day when u r done using it — महेन्द्र (@MahendraSays) January 16, 2013

#youAreABangaloreanIf you travel by bus and never complain about it. — Micro-ambitious (@pal36) January 16, 2013

#youAreABangaloreanIf you take a #BMTC Volvo day pass and go bus-hopping all day to spend your weekends. — vadakkus (@vadakkus) January 16, 2013

#youAreABangaloreanIf you fly from abroad in Business class but take the BMTC bus back home :D :D :D D — Kamesh Bavaratnam (@kameshratnam) January 16, 2013

#youAreABangaloreanIf you don't care about the distance you travel every day as long as there is an AC volvo in the route — KaffeePaste (@kaapipaste) January 16, 2013

IT Industry

IT seems to ingrained in Bangalore’s DNA, with even school kids taking JAVA and C++ classes.

#youAreABangaloreanIf you are an immigrant working in IT industry :-P #okbye — Micro-ambitious (@pal36) January 16, 2013

#youAreABangaloreanIf there are more IT companies in the city than hair on your head — Dips (@stille_wensen) January 16, 2013

#youAreABangaloreanIf You have seen more tech companies on your way than the Bananas hanging from tea stalls. — Not Monika (@blahfamous) January 16, 2013

#youAreABangaloreanIf everyone in ur hometown blindly think you are a software Engineer :-) — Tirunelveli Halwa ! (@subramanianaras) January 16, 2013

#YouAreaBangaloreanIf You call the Infosys HQ building in Electronic City as "Washing Machine Building" :D — vadakkus (@vadakkus) January 16, 2013

#youAreABangaloreanIf you are looked down upon if you are not working for a IT firm — Avinash (@avinashbhat01) January 16, 2013

Language

I have known people in Bangalore who can fluently handle NINE languages, 8 of them Indian. Unlike other Indian cities, almost everyone here speaks atleast four languages! Language defines the culture of the accommodating nature of Bangalore!

#youAreABangaloreanIf You can reply to a question in any language instead of giving strange looks ;) — Suresh En (@surnell) January 16, 2013

#youAreABangaloreanIf you can speak atleast Four languages and understand a couple more! — vadakkus (@vadakkus) January 16, 2013

#YouAreABangaloreanIf you speak languages like C, C++, C#, ASP, Java, etc better than any other Language. — It wasn't me who (@gupta_kaushal) January 17, 2013

#youAreABangaloreanIf you learned kannada just to haggle with the stupid auto rickshaw guys. — Dr. SKD (@OyePhotographer) January 16, 2013

#youareabangaloreanif You punctuate verbs with 'off'. Eat off da, come off, have off, fuck off! — Not Monika (@blahfamous) January 16, 2013

#YouAreABangaloreanIf while giving directions, if it's nearby you say, "Straight hogu" and if it's far away, you say "Straaaaaaaaight hogu." — Ramesh Srivats (@rameshsrivats) January 16, 2013

#YouAreaBangaloreanIf if names like "boobsandra" , "dickenson road" , "Lingarajpuram" and "cockstown" are not funny to you anymore. — Not Monika (@blahfamous) January 16, 2013

#youAreABangaloreanIf u talk Tamil with tamilians, Malayalam Mallus, Hindi with northies, telugu with andhraites& English with Kannadigas — Shreeharsha Perla (@harshaperla) January 16, 2013

#youAreABangaloreanif after living in the city for decades you are proud that the only Kannada you know is 'Kannada gotThiLla'. Sigh. — bhatnaturally  (@bhatnaturally) January 16, 2013

#youAreABangaloreanIf you add the suffix -maadi to every English verb to get more impact. E.g. Dance maadi, walk maadi, switch-on maadi etc @james_priya

How We Are and What We Do in Bangalore

Bangalore is the most laidback and informal city in India, where it is quite difficult actually to spot people walking around in suits and corporate attire. We are more California than New York, baby! And of course, we have our own ways of partying and doing things to have fun, only if we manage to reach there after epic traffic battles.

#YouAreABangaloreanIf like me you're too laid back to even tweet anything on this & get this hashtag to trend. Ok bye. — pracchannAstrin (@WordOfTheFree) January 16, 2013

#youAreABangaloreanIf you can walk into any restaurant in any attire and people will not blink an eye. — vadakkus (@vadakkus) January 16, 2013

#YouareaBangaloreanif you have only two things to discuss: Traffic and Weather. — ᴀʙɴᴠ (@abnvx) January 16, 2013

#YouAreABangaloreanIf you have been instructing people to take left turns at dead ends. — Alex N. Jose (@4×13) January 16, 2013

#youAreABangaloreanIf you travel from MG road to Byrappanhalli with no reason ;-) #Metro — Arshad (@CoorgRocker) January 16, 2013

#YouAreaBangaloreanIf you take visitors to Koshy's/The Egg factory/MTR/Peco's and take immense pride in it! — Not Monika (@blahfamous) January 16, 2013

#youAreABangaloreanIf you can attend live shows of any type of music in your city, right from Ghazals to Heavy Metal — vadakkus (@vadakkus) January 16, 2013

#YouAreABangaloreanIf you start drinking at 6.00pm because pubs close early, and then at 11.30pm, hit someone's house and continue drinking. — Ramesh Srivats (@rameshsrivats) January 16, 2013

#youAreABangaloreanIf Brigade road is your Times' Square :P — Not Monika (@blahfamous) January 16, 2013

#YouAreABangaloreanIf you know what these words mean. Sakkath. By-two coffee. Chow-chow bhath. Bevarsi. Majestic. Set dosa. Symphony. Uppi. — Goddess V (@vforvelvetta) January 16, 2013

Funny Facts and Figures :)

Some quirky facts that Bangalore and Bangaloreans are uniquely known for!

#YouAreABangaloreanIf the number of cups of coffee you order, and the number of people drinking it, have no connection whatsoever. e.g 4/7 — Ramesh Srivats (@rameshsrivats) January 16, 2013

#youAreABangaloreanIf You measure distance in minutes and hours and not in Kilometers. — vadakkus (@vadakkus) January 16, 2013

#YouAreABangaloreanIf U an see "SLV" Bakery, Garage, Restauarant, Cycle Shop, Signboard Shop, Provision Store and Wine Store — Suresh En (@surnell) January 16, 2013

#YouAreABangaloreanIf Out of 10 people you meet, 4 are from Kerala, 3 from Andhra Pradesh, 2 from North India & 1 from Karnataka #TrueStory — ♛ ലോർഡ് പഴംപൊരി ♛ (@vada_po_che) January 16, 2013

#YouAreABangaloreanIf you can not guess auto fare and weather of Bangalore. — Allergic to Dumb (@AllergicTo_Dumb) January 16, 2013

#YouAreABangaloreanIf 4th block automatically implies Jaynagar 4th block — Tolerant Metikurke (@dankchikidang) January 16, 2013

#youareabangaloreanif 1 cup of coffee costs as much as a bottle of cold drink. 12 bucks. — Anirudh (@ikumbhakarna) January 16, 2013

#youAreABangaloreanif you know that the street parallel to 7th Main is 13th Cross, 2nd Main. — bhatnaturally  (@bhatnaturally) January 16, 2013

#youAreABangaloreanIf you go to a tea stall and say "Saar, 3 Tea, 2 kaapi, 4 King, onDhu Mild, Regular" and get it all delivered correctly. — vadakkus (@vadakkus) January 16, 2013

#Youareabangaloreanif your city doesn't have an airport, but a village outside your city has. — Jalandar (@scriblng) January 16, 2013

#youAreABangaloreanIf you’re not even surprised that a road barely 25 ft wide is called a 100 ft road! @james_priya

#youAreABangaloreanIf Your home address sounds something like 4322. XYZ Layout, IInd Stage, 6th Main, 14th ‘C’ cross ! @james_priya

Last Order!

Bangalore is well known for another thing: The 1130 pm Cinderella hour rule, which is the most rued fact about the city. This, and some other disappointing facts about Bangloreans and Bangalore.

or empire/imperial/paramount hotels ;) RT @pal36: #youAreABangaloreanIf the only option you have for food after 11:30pm is maggi. — Hrish Thota (@dhempe) January 16, 2013

#youAreABangaloreanIf you constantly talk about once-upon-a-time-the-city-that-bangalore-was before the IT revolution. — Kapil Rautela (@kapilrautela) January 16, 2013

#youAreABangaloreanIf you have a weekend but no where to go. — Pritam Sharma (@VanDiablo) January 16, 2013

#youAreABangaloreanIf the waiter tells you that it’s your last order at 10.30 pm @james_priya

#YouAreABangaloreanif you’re not from Bangalore. @abvan

But in the end, Bangalore is still the best city for most people to live in. As @dshenoy says, the ultimate truth when it comes to Bangaloreans:

#YouAreABangaloreanIf you crib about everything in the City but don't want to leave the City. — Dhruv Shenoy (@dshenoy) January 16, 2013

And of course, this, when you tell others where you are from:

#youAreABangaloreanIf all others are feeling jealous of you ;) — Suresh En (@surnell) January 16, 2013

The Garden City grows on you like a charm, you can crib all day, but even with its own set of problems, you can make the maximum of the city where you live if you could just open your eyes and look around you!

As always, Bengaluru Rocks!