Brisbane: A city that Bengaluru could have been.

If you are one of those 80’s born, seen beautiful Bangalore of the 90s and have experienced the city wander off the path you thought it would naturally take, you might find this interesting.

I had to visit Brisbane over work. And this is my second visit. On my first visit, Brisbane took me back to the good ol’ Bengaluru. Sparingly populated, small compared to Australia’s Sydney, Melbourne; many business establishments but not too many, mostly banks and a few manufacturing facilities; parks and kids running about; safe even when streets are empty; and more importantly great infrastructure aided with good weather.

Compare that to 90’s Bangalore (it was Bangalore in English then, Bengaluru in Kannada / Telugu), it too was sparingly populated, smaller compared to Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata (Calcutta, then); many business establishments but not too many, mostly banks (Canara bank, Syndicate bank, Corporation bank, Karnataka bank, et al) and a few manufacturing facilities (HAL, BHEL, BPL, et al); parks and kids running about (I was one among them); safe even when streets were empty; and more importantly great infrastructure aided with good weather (weather part is still almost intact).

If you are an immigrant to Bengaluru and wondering or struggling to imagine good infrastructure in Bangalore, I have taken a screenshot from a Telugu movie and Hindi movie song to show its infra. Yes. Some movie industries used to shoot movies on Bengaluru streets.

A still from a Telugu movie released in 1991, shot on the streets of Bangalore.

A still from a Hindi movie released in 1995, shot on the streets of Bangalore.

Why do I make this comparison between Brisbane and Bengaluru, and mention present day Bengaluru could have been Brisbane? Having traveled to some cities outside India, I always felt many (if not most) places had better living conditions than India. But none of those cities ever made me feel nostalgic about Bangalore or strike me to make this comparison. I always felt those cities and the countries they were nestled in, were blessed with more money (and some with lesser population too) which enabled them to build cities which offer vastly superior quality of living.

On my first visit to Brisbane, on a nondescript day I walk out of my office building, a tad late compared to local standards, it was 7:30 PM; about two hours after what an average office goer in Australia ends his work. And as I stepped outside, I see empty streets with almost no traffic. A one odd individual walking at the other end of the block, a couple of homeless individuals hanging around a bus stop and that’s about it. Many would have gone to post work dinner dates or a pub for a drink or two to beat the stress (which is nothing compared to what a typical Bengaluru resident experiences'). It was at that precise moment, I felt the city reminded me of the good ol’ Bangalore. Where in by 8 PM, shops would pull their shutters down, families would be busy serving themselves food on their plates to sit around the television to watch a fast paced Kannada serial on national television channel. But then, I ignored that thought and went about my usual chores. Traveled back home after about a three week stay in Brisbane. As I land in Bengaluru and take the cab home (drivers of which like to roll down their windows to save fuel by not switching on AC); a bus zooms past a pothole ridden road raising dust in the air. And then I realize, yet again. What Bangalore used to be, and what has it become.

A couple months later, I had to visit Brisbane again for work. This time for a couple of weeks only. I was curious if I would feel the same way, the good ol’ Bangalore charm mesmerizing me. And it did. Thus, I begin to make this comparison.

Over here, I share a few pictures from Brisbane to make my point that Bengaluru could have been present day Brisbane and has lost its way. It is important to note, that none of the below pictures point to items that need humongous investments that the city cannot afford, nor does it involve the need for technology that is beyond India’s reach.
Typical pavement in Brisbane. Picture clicked on a Sunday. And thus thinly populated.

Above is a picture of a typical pavement / foot path in Brisbane. If you observe carefully, it is nothing but stone slabs neatly put in and well cemented. Compare this to non-existent, or broken pavements of Bengaluru. Is it very difficult for Begnaluru to achieve this? No.
Say Hello! to the joker on the pavement. Again, simple concrete slabs on the pavement. Nothing fancy. Nothing expensive. But tastefully done.

Some pavements have design patterns elevating the ambience of public spaces and giving them a character. India, home to rich cultures and architectural designs should not be looking elsewhere to achieve something like this. Wait.. lets just get simple pavements first, you say?
A pair of dustbins you regularly encounter all over the city.

Along most pavements, you find two (jodi) dustbins at regular intervals. One for waste that goes to landfills and the other that could be recycled. Again, as a city can’t we have dustbins at regular intervals on pavements? Too much to ask? No!
A local community of residents and commercial establishments have set up their own composting units.
Some local communities have composting machines set up to try and reduce waste. Yes, large apartment societies can adopt this. But, where would motivation for this come, if government agencies do not even get basics right. Government agencies, having imposed large fines on private apartments in the recent past, only seem to be efficient at enforcing private players to adhere to rules. What about themselves failing to provide basic facilities to its citizens, thus failing on its own duties?
A small garden next to a walkway.


Many pavements have gardens next to them, if there is available an empty space. Contrast this to hawkers setting up eateries and selling chai. I do not have anything against them. I just do not want public spaces being occupied without adequate permissions in setting up small scale roadside businesses selling food and beverages. This affects general movement of people and traffic and also poses public health risk.


A cool looking Brisbane moniker on a public park. This, Bangalore will be ready to copy. Its easy, isn’t it!
Brisbane is a cool city. And claim to be a cool city. They have worked towards it. Overcome natural disasters such as floods. Give this idea to Bengaluru city council member, he would put up a shoddily done job of such a moniker. Because it is easy and needs very little work.
Advance notice to public of an upcoming marathons. Bangalore has marathons too. Because it is easy to copy such concepts. Have you seen such public notices ever?
Just as how private players, gladly obliged by government agencies (needs little work), provide permissions to western ideas of Marathons.
Random click of a typical road in Brisbane. Good roads elevate public spaces, enable free flow of traffic. Is it really very hard to asphalt Bangalore's roads periodically? Or do we lack the technology to do so?

Typical roads and also a flyover in this case. Compare this to Bengaluru’s roads and flyovers. Does it take a lot to asphalt and clearly mark roads? The rumble strips on Bengaluru’s flyovers are larger than speed breakers of Brisbane (which are rare to find), and speed breakers of Bengaluru are mountains of the Himalayas. The point is simple, good roads, we had them, can’t we constantly upgrade and maintain them. Or is it too much to ask?

All the above examples are achievable, in fact should have been achieved by now. Bengaluru has drifted away, being cursed with bad politicians, inconsiderate government agencies filled with individuals who lack the vision / motivation / desire to take the city to greater heights.

Contrast this with Brisbane city officials' attitude of being accountable to its people. In the picture below, the city administration has put up boards depicting tasks taken to protect the city from one of the risks it faces - floods from the river. Again, putting up such things needs something to be done and maintained periodically.
Authorities have put up boards at places indicating tasks performed. This improves trust between citizen and the city council. Also, you can call a number for any questions. Something we hopefully can achieve.

As I write this, I hope I do see a day, where as I walk the streets of Bengaluru, I start clicking impromptu pictures as I did in Brisbane, just like many other residents and visitors of Brisbane did. And some of those pictures turn out to be as good as the one below, if not even better, even when clicked by an amateur photographer. 


Storey bridge - Brisbane river - CBD skyline - all come together to make Brisbane beautiful. Contrast this with Bengaluru - a city of disappearing lakes.











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