The Metro means more than just the comfort of commuting across the city quickly and easily.It is about a more inclusive society.Harish Bijoor,a brand expert,elaborates on what the Metro also means,apart from a mass rapid transit system.
Bangalore has many tags - IT city,Garden City... now what after the Metro
The first big tag was that of Bangalore being a Garden City.The British did this and every Dewan took care to nurture it right.It then moved on to the extrinsic Pensioner's Paradise where it lingered for a long,long while.Bangalore was called a Pensioner's Paradise more by outsiders than those who lived in it.This image then morphed to Pub City rather fast with Bangalore's record number of 406 public drinking places.It lingered there awhile and then morphed to IT City.We should have really been called an End-to-end IT Services City,but it shortened conveniently to IT City.We even nearly got called India's Silicon City,though we did not have too much of silicon in the city.I do believe we are still there.
What next With the Metro hitting the city,we will hopefully be called a true-blue Metro City.The Metro in many ways signals the growing up of a city.The Metro adds a new life-line and with it a whole new zesty life-style to the city.Namma Metro signals the growing up of Bangalore.It is growing up from a sleepy old Pensioner's Paradise to a true-blue big city,with big city needs and desires,and aspirations to boot.
I think Bangalore has gone places in its imagery with people internal and external.The dominant images of 'gardens','sleep'and 'drinking places' gave way to an image of 'technology'.This was a move up.Some would of course say it was a move down,but then it is a matter of perspective.But then,technology is a niche representation of Bangalore.Bangalore is much more.
Namma Metro in many ways will knit the diverse niches with the masses.In many ways,the Metro will knit the diverse differences of this city into one-ness.You will see the high-end tech worker traveling together with the mason in a hurry to reach his workplace.In many ways,the Metro will bring in inclusiveness - something missing in Bangalore.Bangalore is unfortunately polarised between those who have too much and those who have too little.The Metro will in many ways be the common cocoon of both,shattering the several other specific and class-oriented cocoons we have built for ourselves over all these decades as Bangalore morphed in its image and income stances.
Here's to the common cocoon of all then - Namma Metro.If it brings the Bangalore populace that much closer than before,knitting together the discomfiting diversity of Bangalore into one common tapestry of comfort,I do believe the Metro would have served a purpose much larger than that of common comfort commute.I see Namma Metro as a large knitting needle that is going to knit together the future tapestry of Bangalore into a city comfortable with its diversity and happy in its polarities lying at distant ends.
How important is a Metro Rail for any city What will it mean for Brand Bangalore
The Metro Rail adds the image of comfortable commute to any city.It adds the dimension of a planned city to the resume of the city.If the airport and railway stations are visiting cards of the city that tell a visitor what to expect in a the city,the Metro is the real nuts and bolts image of the city.It represents,in many ways,the urge of the city to be that much more ready for the future.
The Metro Rail means reaching adolescence for a city.It also means cutting down transit time.Time thus saved could be used to spend with family,at a gym,with friends,or helping out at an NGO.
For Brand Bangalore,Namma Metro will represent two dominant issues.One is the cosmetic image issue.Here,the Metro adds positive strokes to the image of Bangalore as a city that has arrived.This is largely specific to those who do not live in Bangalore.At the other end is the functional image of brand Bangalore.Here,it will add the dimension of comfort to the city and the users of the Metro.These positive strokes of actual usage are far greater than the cosmetic image strokes.This image is specific to those who live in Bangalore.
I am excited about Brand Bangalore.Look at the old image of the city - a completely crowded airport where you had to stand in long queues to even enter the building,the image of over-crowded buses which no one wanted to board but were forced to.Now look at the new city: A swank new airport,a comfortable railway station (Bangalore Cantonment in particular),swanky air conditioned buses on the roads,and now Namma Metro.
Isn't this enough to be excited about
What sort of selling point will the Metro be for the city to draw more entrepreneurs
Comfort commute,speed of commute and the image of a more inclusive city are all strong magnets of positivism.Namma Metro brings all this.Bangalore is already known to be a tolerant,secular and 'adjusting' city.The Metro will add to this.Entrepreneurs love peaceful and inclusive cities.Bangalore can be one.
Look at the brand name of the Metro Rail system itself - Namma Metro.I remember being invited to be part of the jury to decide on the logo and brand image for the Metro Rail system many years ago by the BMRCL.After poring through hundreds of entries,what excited me personally was the 'rangoli' design that we finally picked as the logo for the Metro Rail system.The rangoli design excites me as this is a dominant symbol that we draw in front of our homes in Karnataka,and indeed in large parts of the country,with rice powder.
This entire device is all about intricacy,design,inclusiveness and indeed circuitous commute.It is largely an inclusive design,as the idea of drawing this design in front of our houses with rice powder is not really for the cosmetic purpose one generally assumes.The idea is to ensure that the small little insects and ants that live around our houses also feed well.And that is as inclusive as it all gets.
The brand name 'Namma Metro' excites me equally.'Namma'in Kannada means 'ours'.I have looked at many names of Metros across the world,but have not come across a single one that is as ownership-driven and inclusive as 'Namma Metro'.
Therefore,cheers to Namma Metro.It belongs to us all.
How do you use the Metro to its optimum level as a tool to brand Bangalore as an efficient city
We need to exhibit pride in this new symbol of new Bangalore.In many ways,this symbol belongs to Karnataka at large as well.We have proudly showcased it at the recently-concluded Dasara celebrations in Mysore as a tableau of much impact.We need to take ownership of this new property and that will do it all.The more we keep it clean and the more we own it,and the more we use it,will tell it all.
I do believe this new symbol of Namma Metro will figure prominently in all literature and websites,and everything that is put out about Bangalore.The Metro will therefore be a symbol of new Bangalore.
Will the Metro help the city's trade and commerce
It will.People will be able to commute that much faster,at least on the stretch of first availability.Faster commute means a quicker ability to reach places and get work done.Bangaloreans will be able to stop postponing meetings because of long commute times.
Impulse-commutes will also be possible,where you decide quickly to meet someone,and head out and meet them for sure,without planning for days,and without waiting to club all sets of meetings in the same direction and location.This is good for both commerce and personal lives at large.The Metro Rail will improve the quality of life and living in the city.
Will the Metro Rail be a value-add for tourism
Yes it will.It is important for the Metro Rail to offer tourists day and weekly passes.Most tourists love to explore cities across the world on the Metro Rail system.The Metro is normally seen to be comfortable,safe,predictable,easy-to-use and inexpensive.The Metro Rail system will make the city and its delights in terms of places to see,places to eat at,and places to entertain themselves at,that much more accessible.
Across the stations of the Metro,you can expect to see a larger number of visitors exploring the nook and cranny of what is on offer.Businesses of every kind around each of these 17 stations are poised to see a brisk growth.For all the discomfort these businesses faced while the Metro was coming up,this is the time to reap rich dividends.
That little handicrafts place on Magadi Road and that little idli joint at Baiyappanahalli is going to get onto the map of easilyaccessible Bangalore at last.
Have the Metro Rail systems abroad in major cities played a role in their development
Absolutely.The track record of business growth is impressive across Metro station locales.There is specific data available from Kuala Lumpur.A small little Momo restaurant saw a growth of 1,200 percent in revenues in just four months of the Metro opening up some 200 yards away.A foot-reflexology centre there also reports a growth of 320 percent in terms of walk-ins.A cafe reports a walk-in increase of 170 percent.
The Metro means progress,ease of commute,better access into the gut of a city,better business and a lot of savings in terms of commute time.Let's look forward to this and make the best of it.
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