Bangalore and Around

Why House Hunting in Bangalore is Like Going to Battle

In April 2024, the company I worked for asked all its remote employees to return to the office (RTO). They gave us a deadline of two months for this. I had moved to a tier 2 city two years ago, because the same company said remote work is the future.

Moving out was one of the best decisions of my life. Having lived in Bangalore since 2003, I have witnessed the city deteriorate to a point where only a fat paycheck or a misplaced sense of regionalism can make you love what the once Garden City has now become. Locals blame outsiders. The current government blames the previous one. The left wing and right wing blame each other. But is this really the reason for the high rent, dug-up roads, lack of water, and unsolvable traffic jams? Let’s look deeper.

So where does one start when looking for a rental property in Bangalore? Let me list the options first. And then, in Part 2 of this blog post, talk about why each option is worse than the other.

House Hunting Options

You have the following ways of finding a house in Bangalore:

Approaching a broker
Approaching a rental management company
Browsing the plethora of Facebook groups
Signing up for a paid account on Magicbricks
Signing up for a paid account on NoBroker
Looking up free websites like 99Acres, Housing.com, or Makaan
Scanning your preferred neighborhood for To-Let boards
Looking for options on your company’s internal messaging groups

Having tried all of these options, I can safely say that there is not one guaranteed approach to land a house. You have to try multiple options and be prepared to go into battle. Why?

The Topology of the Battleground

In any battle, there are a minimum of two sides. Generally, battles are fought because one of the two parties has something to gain, but every battle has a facilitator. A cunning general or statesman who creates the necessary situation for two parties to fight (USA?).

In the landscape of the rental market, the house owner and house seeker are the two parties in the battle. The broker, the politician, and the gossiping neighborhood uncle/aunty are the scheming facilitators of this battle.

For a house owner, renting a house is a simple act of finding a tenant, fixing a price, the terms of tenancy, and sitting back to watch money come into the bank every month.

For a house seeker, renting a house is a simple act of finding a beautiful house in a preferred location and slogging away because house rent is the black hole into which a bulk of your salary disappears.

So who are these cunning people making this difficult?

The Broker

A broker (agent or dealer) makes money from a rental sale from two parties – the house owner and tenant. It is in the broker’s best interest to price the property 5-10% more than the going rate. After all, neither the land, nor the responsibility of owning it, is on the broker. All they have to do is connect two interested parties – and voila, they gets paid 1 months rental from two parties. Why would they make it better for anyone but themselves?

If you see insane house rents in Bangalore, blame it on these brokers. They have no ethics, professionalism, or love for you. They don’t even bother to share good photos/videos of the properties to save you a visit. In my own experience, I have been asked to come to a location by a broker, only to be ghosted. I have been yelled at for not mentioning my requirements clearly. I have watched the same property being priced higher by a broker than the owner on the same rental website. I have read stories how they take an advance and stop returning calls. They will do anything to make a killing.

The Gossiping Aunty/Uncle

These people, usually retired or nearing retirement, have the privileged responsibility of spreading information about who is receiving how much rent in the neighbourhood. Imagine this scenario – it is morning time in a local park. A bunch of senior citizens, who have supposed to have come for a walk – are sitting and talking.

One starts by saying how his property, which he bought for 3 lakhs in 1990, is now worth 3 crores. Another uncle, who is jealous, makes up a story of how he is receiving a rent of 40k per month for his house (which, by the way, has no woodwork, has no car park, and is facing seepage issues). Now it is the turn of another uncle. He has no property of his own. So he makes up a story of how these bachelors living in a house nearby are behaving in an uncivil manner. They party every night. Mixing of genders is common, he says. Uncle seeks pleasure in inducing fear in the mind of his park friends. Yet another uncle – whose kids are well settled abroad and who has no use for rental money – is feeling very left out. So he narrates a story of how his neighbour tenant’s dog is creating a menace in the neighbourhood. He speaks in a baritone about how it barked at a child the other day, and the child ended up with a fever. He, of course, does not brings up the small detail that the same child used a toy water gun to torment the poor dog.

If you think I am making up stuff – you are much out of touch with reality. Because these are situations from life – only rearranged to make it sound like it happened in a park the other day.

After this session of gossip, Uncle X wants to raise the rent of his house by 50%. Uncle Y wants to kick out his bachelor tenant. And Uncle Z vows never to rent to anyone who has a pet. And the other uncle who missed this morning gossip session would anyway only rent out his house to a pure vegetarian who is from one of the upper castes. He is btw, the president of the Apartment Welfare Association.

Don’t believe me? Try mentioning the word ‘Bachelor’ and ‘Pet’ in the same sentence when you speak to a potential house owner.

The Politician

These citizens of India are the most vile and cunning of the lot. The politician I am referring to is not a certain Modi – the default punching bag for all of India’s problems. No, I mean everybody from the local corporator to the BDA chief to the current government’s chief of chiefs – who, by the way, the media is so forgiving of.

These ‘public servants’ have the muscle power to drown the voice of a common citizen. The politician’s job is to prepare the battleground between ordinary Indians who have aspirations. All the controversies that politicians churn out, and which the media loves to cover, is just a decoy. Politicians are the ones who own prime property in the city. While you are busy supporting your favourite party in the upcoming elections, full time real estate businessmen are busy influencing MNCs to ask employees to return to office. They are the ones deciding on the going rate in the important areas. India has been, and will forever be, at the mercy of zamindars. Some just have a side gig as politicians these days.

Despite taxing the IT professionals and IT companies heavily, we get nothing in return. Politicians dole out freebies to other able bodied men and women in return for votes. Of course, this is not the face that they show you. They come with folded hands when seeking votes and promise to fix all your problems which you have been bringing up since the Hubble telescope went into space.

Imagine a city where these people did their job. Apartments would come up only in areas that are well planned. You would not have to drive through narrow roads while negotiating potholes and open drains. Potable water would be flowing through your taps. Yes, there would be traffic because of the sheer density of population, but signals would be synchronised to allow free movement for a longer distance. And, if you lived in ORR, you would not have to fear getting mugged when returning home after the late-night code check-in.

You, the honest tax-paying citizen, can enjoy monsoon weekends from the comfort of your balcony, without having to worry about the neighborhood lake, which your builder encroached upon, breaching. Imagine how beautiful this life could be! You can finally stop scrolling Instagram reels and enjoy reality.

How to Prepare for Battle

Now that we have identified the key elements in the battle ground, let us see how to prepare for war. In the next part, I will talk about the pros and cons of each of the previously mentioned options for house hunting in Bangalore. It is a war, remember? You need to be armed with knowledge to win it.

Till then, you can mull over who really destroyed the city – the locals or the outsiders.

Welcoming a New Kitten to Your House

An Indie cat I was looking after in Udupi gave birth to 3 kittens a few months ago. I raised them at home in Udupi, and then brought them to Bangalore where I got them adopted. Here is a guide which I prepared for new kitten adopters.

Feeding

Kittens have food frequently. Wet and dry is required for them as it has essential nutrients. It is good to feed them wet cat food once a day. At an early age, there is no need to regulate the quantity of food they eat but as they grow older it is good to feed them the same quantity every day as they tend to over eat. You can also try feeding them cooked, unsalted chicken, fish and other animal meat. Don’t feed them anything which has spices.

There are many cat food brands available in the market. Some brands are not good (Purepet, Meo-w) etc. Stick to good brands such as Royal Canin, IAMs, Purina etc.

Important: Keep a bowl of fresh water available always, because when they eat dry food they consume a lot of water whenever they feel like.

Recommendation for food bowl from Amazon.

Toilet/Litter Tray

It is good to get kittens used to pine wood litter which is eco friendly. Each kitten needs 1 separate toilet tray.

Recommended brand of pine wood litter from Amazon.

There are sellers whom you can contact directly to buy 10/20 kg bags of pinewood litter for a more economical price.

The toilet tray must be kept clean and odour free. This is important because otherwise they may develop health issues. They may also start dirtying other places in the house if the litter tray is not clean. Flush their poop immediately after they do their business.

Again – please keep 1 tray for each cat and in different places (not next to each other). They don’t like to share. In the wild, cats mark their territory by defecating.

Informative video on the pros and cons of bentonite and pinewood litter: https://youtu.be/w8AoWtJNfvU?si=VBzrvNjqxu6ruzC7

Health

Take them to the vet once they have settled down in your house. At the clinic, ask for:

Deworming
Defleaing
Vaccination

This has to be done on regular intervals. After the first time, you can give them deworming tablets and apply spot-on for fleas yourself.

Vaccinations are to be given at regular intervals too. There are 2 vaccines to be given – the doctor will tell you which ones. The doctor will give you a booklet to record the vaccinations given. Please follow the schedule.

Indian breeds have good immunity and they can eat varied diet. But ensure that if they become lethargic, stop eating for more than 2 days, have loose motion etc, you take them to the vet immediately.

It is very important to get them neutered after 6 months. You can watch this video to understand the neutering process: https://youtu.be/lM-bIRNnhpg

Environment

Kittens are very playful. They like to jump, catch, hide, scratch and attack. It is important to give them toys to play with, else they will be dull. Also, siblings are very generally close to each other and they keep each other company. To develop a bond, it is important that humans also play with them every day.

Cats don’t like new places, people or smells. So avoid taking them out of the house. When you travel, you can leave them at home and ask someone to feed them regularly. Please don’t keep them in a cage or other confined places. All these things lead to behavioural issues.

Cats are very curious. Because of this, and because when they grow up their instincts tell them to go in search of mates, they may try to escape from the house. This can be dangerous in a city as they can get lost or hurt by vehicles. Ideally, a cat environment should have trees for them to climb. But it is not possible to find such an environment in a city. So please cat-proof your house and make sure they don’t escape. They can easily open sliding windows and push doors. If they go out they may never come back or get hurt 🙁

You can consider buying a cat tree from Amazon. Amazon Basics cat trees are economical.

They also need sunshine. In the wild, cats know at what time of the day to soak in some sunshine to get the warmth and detox they require. Please create such an environment for them indoors where there is some sunshine.

Cats take time to get adjusted to a new place so patience is the key. If you are shifting houses, you can follow some recommended steps to make them comfortable. Watch Jackson Galaxy’s video.

Sleep

Cats tend to sleep a lot, even after they grow up. Kittens older than 3 months have a long sleep during the day. Younger kittens sleep more. This is important for their development.

Kittens also have short naps after eating. This pattern may change as they grow up. They generally like cool, dark places to sleep (like under the cot). You can put a gunny bag or make a soft bed for them to sleep on but they may not sleep on it every day. As they grow old they won’t need a dark place to sleep.

Grooming

There is no need to bathe a cat regularly. They lick and keep themselves clean. Also, there is no need to clip their claws. If you have a Persian breed, this does not apply. But Indian cats, when kept indoors, require no grooming. When you take the cat to the vet, get the ears checked for infection. Regular application of spot-on and cat food keeps their coat healthy.

Additional Resources

You can watch videos from Jackson Galaxy to learn more about cats:

Jackson Galaxy

Join the Fans of Cats group on Facebook

Fans of Cats

Vet Clinics in Bangalore for Neutering (not an exhaustive list)

Cartman Animal Hospital

CUPA Trauma Centre

Pampapathi Multi Speciality Pet Hospital

Bangalore Pet Hospital

Testing the Syrp Genie for a Milky Way Timelapse

I got to test the Syrp Genie, Genie Mini, and my Carbon Fibre slider this week. Using the three, I was able to achieve a timelapse that had linear and panning motion.

I wanted the timelapse to show the transition from night to day. I had been researching on tools that would help me automate the exposure correction required for a timelapse that runs from dark to bright or vice versa. If you are wondering why – the settings for a timelapse when it is dark cannot be used when the light changes and becomes bright (or vice versa). Such a timelapse involving exposure changes is called the ‘Holy Grail’ timelapse. The right term for this kind of exposure change is ‘ramping’. You either ramp the ISO, Shutterspeed, Aperture or all three depending on the situation.

The best method to automate and achieve the holy grail technique is by using an app called qdslrdashboard. Unforunately, it is Android only, so I had to borrow a One Plus One phone to try it out.

So yes, I was able to make the Syrp Genie, Genie Mini and QDslrdashboard to work together. I almost did not get a chance to do the timelapse because of bad weather. Thankfully, the skies cleared up after 1 am and the stars showed up. It was not the darkest of nights and the skies were hazy after the rain.

I set up the genie, mini and the slider first. Once connected together, the Genie and Mini connect to the phone via bluetooth. The camera can connect to the phone via WiFi but I connected it via USB. I set the whole thing up for 4.5 hours. I realized later that this was a mistake. Why? Because:

Qdslrdashboard had a setting which determines the longest shutterspeed. It was set to 4 seconds. This prevented the app from increasing the shutter speed correctly once the night turned to day.
The slider and panning movement was controlled by the total duration of the timelapse. So by the end of 3.5 hours – when it had turned bright and I realised that the frames were overexposed, the slider had not reached the end of the track. So the end result does not show much of linear movement.
The interval between shots was set to 30 seconds. This interval was fine when the expsoure was 25 seconds at night. But as it got brighter and the exposure time decreased, the interval became a little too much. Not that it mattered – I was just getting impatient 🙂

Another challenge I faced for lens fog. I had to clean the front of the lens in between the timelapse which introduced some shake in the time lapse.

It took a bit of an effort to shoot mid-week at a remote location, staying up almost through the night. This is what it takes to learn something by doing. Here is the end result. The Milky Way is faint. But you can see it rise and disappear as the night turned into day. And a bunch of us running around with flashlights 🙂

Not many get to witness the movement of the Milky Way in the sky. Enjoy it here in the timelapse. More stuff to come when I get a chance to go out and shoot.

A Group for Landscape Photographers

When I started photography, JJ Mehta Photograpy Forum (JJMPF) was a great place to hang out. Along with Bangalore Photography Forum (which is now extinct), JJMPF was where many of us used to post photos for critique. After almost 10 years of interacting with members there, I finally met a few of them today. The meeting was planned on a Whatsapp group. We visited a beautiful lake off AH 48. I had previously visited a hillock near the lake on Jan 31st for a super moon/lunar eclipse shoot (video here).

The idea of forming a Whatsapp group for nature and outdoor photographers occurred to me when a post of mine on JJMPF saw queries about locations to shoot around Bangalore. These days here in India, WhatsApp groups are where the action is, albeit mostly the spammy kind. Unfortunately many of the photography groups have too many members with various agendas. I wanted to create a group for only like minded photographers. Having visited numerous lakes and hillocks, I have a fair idea of places for landscape and nature photography within 100km from the city. So after the interactions on JJMPF, I created a WA group and added photographers with the intention of planning and going on shoots together.

Now, unlike regular photowalk groups, were a bunch of people get together and walk the lanes of Bangalore and shoot street photos, nature/landscape/outdoor photography is a different ballgame. For one, it involves heading out for shoots at unearthly hours (I was up by 3 am today). Since we go far away from the city, transport is something each person needs to have figured out. Lastly, it is difficult to shoot photos of nature when in a large group. Outings I have been on have always been in twos, threes or fours at the most.

Today for the first time, I was part of a larger group. We first did some planning on Whatsapp using Google maps. After checking out the blue hour and golden hour timings, we met up on the highway after the Tumkur Road toll booth. We were 7 of us in two cars, coming from different parts of the city. After chai on the highway and quick introductions, we continued to our location, even overshooting a right turn and missing our intended route. After making a U turn, we were back on track and at our destination by 6 am.

It was a rather quiet and uneventful sunrise. I got to test the 6D which I have in mind as a second body (last week, I tested the 6D Mark II with my Irix 15mm f2.5 lens). I used the A7rII for shooting a time lapse.

Here are two photos from today.

Personally, I am quite pleased with the results from the 6D. I even got a chance to fly my Mavic. One of the photographers in the group was shooting with an IR modified camera.

Unfortunately, summer is almost here. The transition from night to day and vice versa will only get increasingly quicker. The skies will mostly be boring. The next three months are not going to be conducive for landscape photography. Our only option would be to shoot the night sky. Places such as the one we visited today are potential spots for future Milky Way shoots. Let’s see if forming a group is going to help in going on more such fruitful trips. Definitely safer to be at remote locations at odd hours when in a larger group!