Well, Trippin Traveller works from multiple locations- Bangalore and Dublin – but we like to call ourselves a Bangalore-based company. We love this city – it may not be the paradise of yesteryear, but it is still Namma Bengaluru. It is a city that has many monikers, but it is a city that has just one for Stanley Carvalho – it is a city called Home.
Stanley has edited an anthology of stories on Bangalore called Bangalore Blue and written another book on Bangalore comprising of his own musings. Although he works now for Reuters and is based in the Middle East, Bangalore lives in his soul, just as the city’s creaking history lives in all of us.
A writer who lives in the UAE, but makes Bangalore the place for his heart. Where is home for you, Stanley? And what makes it home?
Undoubtedly, home for me is Bangalore. I had never in my heart left Bangalore. I may be working overseas, but like a homing pigeon, I keep coming back to Bangalore ever so often.
Bangalore is where I was born, ‘bread & buttered’! I had my education in Bangalore and worked in the city for some years before I moved abroad. I still have the emotional resonance with the city as I had earlier despite the changes that have taken place. It is family, friends, the old landmarks; just breathing the air in Richards/Cooke Town is exhilarating. In short, I feel at home in Bangalore!
Your love for Bangalore is well known. Yet, we all know that Bangalore’s growth over the years has been unsustainable. Do you agree with a popular estimate that Bangalore would be unlivable by 2020? How did we reach this point?
Three years hence I don’t think it would be unlivable; we will still exist in a soulless city! But life would be hard, painful with the strain on infrastructure and basic amenities such as water, electricity etc.
Just how did Garden City turn into Garbage City? Clearly, such mindless development and growth of a small city at a dizzying pace is indicative of a lack of vision, myopic planning, greed and ambition to make a quick buck by selling land and property, and worse of all, a lack of love, pride, and feeling for preserving the beauty and natural riches of the city – lakes, gardens and parks, trees, iconic homes, and buildings and the rich heritage of Bangalore.
What do you think we can do to revive Bangalore? To erase the nostalgia and make it reality?
[su_pullquote]A beautiful past must be loved, celebrated, and remembered.[/su_pullquote]
It’s a bit like closing the stable door after the horse has bolted. Paradise lost! At the way things are going, there’s precious little that can be done. Realistically speaking, only an active and vigilant citizens’ movement to oppose anything that harms or degrades the city further can help. Citizens’ groups at all levels can play a vital role in preserving what’s left of the character of the city and simply to ensure sustainable living. All big companies/manufacturing units should perforce be pushed outside the city and apartment blocks should be prevented from coming up within the city to lessen the pressure on the existing infrastructure.
That said, the past cannot be forgotten, especially when it was a glorious one.
[su_quote]Old-timers cannot help but think of Bangalore’s past with more than a twinge of nostalgia – a cool, green, peaceful & less polluted city, a certain lifestyle.[/su_quote]
When we travel, we make memories. What are your favorite memories of Bangalore? And going outside Bangalore, your favorite travel memory?
There are so many to talk of but if I have to single out one it would be cycling merrily on the traffic free roads without a care in the world, something one just cannot dream of today; Or, being woken up in the morning by bird song.
I still vividly remember the taxi driver in Valetta, Malta singing Christmas carols in early December as he drove me around, getting me into the festive mood.
We are all travelers here on this site. We love making a list. Knowing your own urge to travel, which country has fascinated you the most? And why?
The lush greenery around the river Severn in Shropshire, U.K
There’s something enchanting about Britain – its history, literature, global influence, and its link with India. Nature has blessed it with abundant greenery; it has so many charming little towns, each having its quaint history. The capital, London, is lovable for all reasons and seasons, offering so much through the year.
We are sure you read when you travel. Do you carry 10 books with you or has the Kindle cast its spell on you?
I don’t carry books to read on my travels and I’m resistant to read a book on the Kindle. I like to make the most of my travels by taking in as much as is on offer. I do try and peek into book shops for some rare books. I read the local newspapers and mags wherever I am. I carry a diary to make notes and of course my camera, which is part of my phone and does a pretty good job.
Do you keep a bucket list? Is there a place you have been dreaming of traveling to, but you haven’t made it there yet?
No bucket list because what if you kick the bucket!! On a serious note, I have several places in mind and plan to make trips as and when I can.
Something that might be less serious compared to our earlier questions. Your favorite quote?
[su_quote]“Nostalgia is like a grammar lesson: you find the present tense and the past perfect.”[/su_quote]
At Trippin Traveller, we believe that travel is more than just sightseeing. It’s about exploring the nuances of life itself. How do you think travel shapes our understanding of life?
Indeed, when you travel you set your life in motion, you learn, you experience and you live life, an enriched life.
Has there ever been a place that you wouldn’t want to go back to?
I think I’m done with Nepal and Kenya.
Quick Facts!
[su_table]
| The last book you read | A Village Dies by Ivan Arthur |
| The last quote you remember | “It is not true that people stop pursuing dreams because they grow old, they grow old because they stop pursuing dreams.” – Marquez. |
| The last picture you took | The Titanic Museum, Belfast |
| The last thing you wrote | A story on the nuclear power program of Pakistan and Bangladesh |
| The last place you traveled to | Dublin, Ireland |
[/su_table]
Stanley’s books can be found online here and here on Amazon. You can catch him on Twitter at:
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