Today, in Bangalore, we found the first cup of coffee that met with Darren and Steve’s approval – or at least came close. Up to this point, they had encountered disappointment after disappointment and were a bit downtrodden by the fact that Starbucks has not made it to India yet. But, today, we came one step closer to the real thing.
I’m sure there are many explanations for this (we finally found a good chain, we had a stronger cup, we were all desperate for caffeine in any form whatsoever), but I think a lot of it has to do with the city itself. As someone said to me earlier today, “Bangalore is a coffee city.” Whereas the most frequently served beverage in Delhi was a hot cup of tea (usually Masala chai), I’ve noticed that here we’ve been served coffee more often than tea.
That certainly fits with the character of the city I’ve seen so far. Bangalore strikes me as a city filled mostly with young professionals, rushing off to work at one of the tech or BPO (business processing outsourcing) companies here. Years ago, Bangalore was referred to as a “pensioners paradise,” where retirees or near-retirees would move once they had made a decent living. But, now, the city is filled with young, recent college graduates who have moved here to take advantage of all the employment opportunities – opportunities at companies like Infosys, where we found this caffeinated holy grail.
People aren’t kidding when they say Bangalore is the Silicon Valley of India. As we toured Infosys’ sprawling 80-acre campus, I was struck by how “West Coast” it all looked. The lawns were manicured and green, golf carts and bicycles traversed the campus, and immaculate facilities – ranging from an outdoor swimming pool to a French restaurant – peppered the campus. It’s no surprise that we’d find a more “American” style of coffee here.
We found out that the style is very intentional. When Infosys, which offers IT services to companies overseas, moved to this campus in 1994; management decided Western companies would feel more comfortable working with them if the Infosys facilities looked more familiar, like what overseas companies would be used to at home. So the campus looks like a slice of California in the middle of an Indian city; and given the company’s impressive fourth quarter results, the approach seems to be working.
But don’t let my Silicon Valley analogies and talk of decent coffee fool you into believing that Bangalore resembles a Western city more than an Indian one. Just outside the driveway to “Electronics City,” where Infosys is located, cows graze along the road, Indian buses blare their exceptionally musical horns, and street vendors sell Indian snacks and drinks. 
From the road, you can see a row of shanties directly in front of the company’s glass pyramid. And, last night, when we visited a local Bangalorean woman, she served us chai shortly after we arrived. So although it may seem Western compared to Delhi, Bangalore -- with its pubs and greenery and booming tech sector -- is a decidedly Indian city.
Dana Greenspon is part of the NBR team traveling India to report for the upcoming NBR series and special, "India's Promise." For more info, check out the India's Promise Travelog.
