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Belagavi is not just a city. It’s a state of mind

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Have you come across questions from random people visiting Belagavi, like ‘How do you tolerate this mad traffic?’ ‘Why don’t you guys protest that water is available barely once a week?’ ‘Do you wait like this every day at the closed railway gate?’

If you do, then like me, you must have shrugged them off saying ‘we are like that only’. But this damp weather is making us dull, lethargic, and sleepy and a thought comes to mind.

Belagavi is not just a city. It’s an adjective. It’s a state of mind. A state of acceptance of situations and things around us without protesting or demanding.

Packs of stray dogs roam the streets and run after your life when you ride at night. But that’s alright. We take the safe routes and make home safely. I know how to race my bike over dumps and bumps early mornings, to duck these dogs who have followed me many times when I attended law college.

stray dogs

The authorities have simply banished the dustbins from every street and then the garbage collectors rarely visit. It’s alright. We take our garbage on our bikes and search for bins to dispose of it. It’s alright. Two reservoirs supply us with water and yet we get it barely once a week and now we are supposed to get 24×7 water. We’ve bought extra vessels and pots and stored them anyway. It’s alright. We’ve learned to use water judiciously.

lt-water-pieline

L & T takes up digging work for laying new pipelines and the police are not informed. Now the entire stretch is wonderfully dug at several places. We take detours; wait again in the traffic jams. We’re used to it. It’s alright.

From 0 flights to daily 15 flights and now back to 8. We’re used to it. It’s alright.

3-planes-one-sight
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No new industrial areas have been developed even then we contribute the second highest to the State GDP. We’re used to it. It’s alright.

Riding over those Smart roads made of paver and concrete which at many joints are bouncy, we just tolerate it, We’re used to it. It’s alright.

paver raod bad

When other cities are dreaming of bullet trains and monorails, we’re sheepishly looking at our non-entity of buses plying on the roads. I can’t remember the last time I took one. Have you heard anyone saying ‘Oh! The bus is very convenient for me, so I ditch my bike and take the bus?

city-bus

Our city has a great culture and heritage of art, architecture, music, and artists. A similar city elsewhere in the world would have boasted of as many museums. What do we have for a museum? A museum is a community’s Instagram page, something to show and flaunt about. It’s alright.

art-day

If you wake up early, you’ll come across hundreds of morning walkers banging across each other on narrow walking tracks in tiny gardens. Those who shudder to walk round and round, take to the potholed roads. Why don’t we have dedicated jogging tracks and walking spaces in huge parks? So we take our vehicles and go outside the city to walk- to Racecourse road and double roads on the outskirts. What a paradox in the name of health and environmental sensitivity.

We have cycle tracks, but they are so lamely made with trees, manholes and of course parking and encroachment, that no one can ride a cycle on that track.

race-course

Don’t lose heart. Even if we’ve faced these situations, we’ve never complained. We never demand anything vehemently. We never protest. We accept things as they are. The world speaks of learning mindfulness, wakefulness, and a state of constant calm. We live it every day. From as long as we remember.

Should we try to get a Geographical Indication tag for this collective state of mind? Don’t worry. We’re fine, thank you!

Didn’t I say, Belagavi is not just a city? It’s a state of mind.

i love belagavi

3 thoughts on “Belagavi is not just a city. It’s a state of mind”

  1. Beautifully penned. But by the time some leader wakes up and smells coffee, it would be too late for our Belgaum. High time that we start to voice our concerns loud enough to wake up deaf ears.

    Reply
  2. Please visit Hanuman Nagar garden, opposite green garden hall.
    Poorly maintained
    All gym equipment are in poor shape
    Half the lights are not working at night
    Washroom is the dirtiest place.
    Timings not mentioned.

    Needs maintenance urgently

    Reply

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