A pissed off Reddit person’s candid outburst on Bengaluru’s “soulless” tradition has struck a nerve on-line, sparking a heated dialog round class stress, regional identification, and on a regular basis hostility in one in all India’s most celebrated tech hubs. Figuring out as a Kannadiga from a tier-2 Karnataka city, the person stated they’ve hit a breaking level after enduring six years of indifference, passive aggression, and class-coded judgment within the metropolis.
“I’m a Kannadiga and I’m accomplished defending Bengaluru. This metropolis deserves the hate it’s getting,” the publish started starkly.
The person recounted a latest incident that pushed them over the sting. Whereas operating late and on an essential name, they knocked on a stationary BMTC bus at a sign, asking to board. The conductor gestured to the entrance, opened the door — after which mocked them. “‘Trendy agi telephone maintain maadi door knock maadthidiya?’” he jeered, ridiculing them for merely holding a telephone whereas requesting entry. “It felt unnecessarily humiliating,” they wrote.
However that wasn’t an remoted expertise. Based on the person, impolite remedy from public-facing employees like auto drivers and metro workers is all too widespread. “Loads of them behave like they hate their jobs and are continually irritated — like they’re ready for an opportunity to lash out.”
Class bias, too, seems to affect behaviour. “Paradoxically, the extra well-dressed or ‘put collectively’ I look, the more serious the angle turns into,” the person famous. Easier apparel and a “calm physique language” resulted in additional respectful remedy. “It’s onerous to disregard the resentment,” they added. “Particularly fellow Kannadigas who are actually doing properly financially.”
One explicit sample stood out: responses softened considerably as soon as it turned clear the person spoke Kannada. “It’s like they hesitate to maintain up the hostility,” they noticed.
The publish ended with a jarring distinction. “If you wish to see how totally different Kannadigas might be… simply go to the airport. The individuals there are so well mannered and welcoming, it genuinely makes you marvel in the event that they’re even from the identical metropolis.”
The publish rapidly gathered traction, with others chiming in. “The extra properly dressed, the more serious the angle… These idiots have began preventing with their very own individuals,” one person shared, citing an incident of street rage.
One other added, “Persons are more and more pissed off as important amenities proceed to deteriorate… As an alternative of addressing actual points like poor roads or open sewage… it’s simpler to focus on strangers or migrants.”
A 3rd commenter, now based mostly in Pune after a decade in Bengaluru, accused over 90% of Kannadigas of fostering an “entitlement, and inferiority advanced blended with superiority angle.” They added, “The unions in Karnataka aren’t useful… Everybody simply needs a bit of the cake.”
