I am confused before even I start writing this post. Ok let me think,
Movie for a family of four?
Difficult. Considering that family would like to goto a PVR or INOX or the dreaded Innovative (I hate calling it a Multiplex) almost impossible. Around 250 for ticket, 400 for refreshments, definitely the budget overshoots.
You have the option of theaters but who goes for them anyway.
Lunch for Two?
Half the so called good restaurants in Bangalore will overshoot the budget for a decent enough meal with a drink.
I have always felt that restaurants in Bangalore work on simple principle- “Overpricing makes one popular.”
Monthly Rent for a Room (some sort of thing you can call home)?
Ummmff….forget it.
Why all of a sudden I started discussing this? First of all nothing meant against all the restaurants or the Cinemas in the city. You offer a service and most of us pay for it. So don’t take anything personally.
Couple of days back a guy visited my home to fit mosquito repellent mesh. I started having a nice chat with this guy who spoke broken Hindi on topics like Mungaru Male and Uppi, and also some conversation on his studies which he wanted to do. I asked him what his room rent is and that guy answered Rs.1000.
Room Details: 1 Room (that’s it), Common Bathroom outside with no proper Sanitation facility and mostly no Water (and during rains lots of it)
Another thing 2 people share the room which is located in a slum on Tumkur Road. All that in a Rs. 2000 salary (from which this guy also saves and sends to Tumkur where he comes from). According to him in the past few years Bangalore has become unaffordable for people with a similar economic background like him. Consider comment by Shrisha on her post on Taking a stand on child-labour.
Poverty seems like never-ending, or a circle w/o a neat exit
Poverty is inherent to any urban structure. A rich poor divide exists in all the cities, but visibly I feel the poor in Bangalore are much more crunched than in other cities. Problems like Water, Electricity and Public transport are the main chores. It is not like they don’t exist in other cities but a culture of living with poverty binds them to the urban culture of the respective city. I may sound senseless but visiting a Slum in Mumbai may clear that the line between Poverty, development and happiness is thin or the visit may confuse you further more that does it exist at all. In case of Bangalore the development has lead to large scale migration on all economic levels. But for the pinnacle of Pyramid to rise the base has to increase.
In a way what the poor in city need are some basic amenities and then they will try to enjoy everything else in whatever they have. Maybe my post is inconclusive and maybe it is misleading. But again poverty is like that a circle, you will always come back to the starting point.
Iow, Blr has a higher cost of living than Mumbai or kolkata or even Delhi. Poor ppl can afford basic amenities more easily in those cities…
And whats more, the costly basic amenities in Blr are not upto the mark even!