Unboxing Bengaluru

India’s tech/startup industry today is estimated to be worth over $0.5
trillion, employing over 5 million people. And the stage for this incredible
‘tech-tonic’ rise and transformation of the country into the world’s software
powerhouse, is Bengaluru.
Being the backdrop to this dramatic transition, Bengaluru has changed
irrevocably. The city has been through many avatars—pensioner’s paradise,
PSU capital, garden city, India’s Silicon city and pub capital. Once known for
secure state and federal government jobs, it is now a buzzing startup hub
attracting job-seekers from India and abroad. And the new monikers will
continue. From ed-tech to health-tech, mobility to EVs, Bengaluru is at the
heart of the multiple shifts underway in the digital era.
Truly, it is the city of new beginnings.
In Unboxing Bengaluru—the first ever deep-dive into the city—Malini Goyal
and Prashanth Prakash ably unravel the city’s journey and the ensuing
social, behavioural, technological and consumptive changes. They look at
why people are drawn to the city; how the cosmopolitan culture and multilinguistic society gives it a distinct flavour; the parallel economies that have
cropped up; how the influx of young workers have changed the city; and the
fault-lines of unplanned and poorly managed growth over the decades.
Richly researched and vividly written, Unboxing Bengaluru is filled with
absorbing vignettes, extensive reportage and solid data. A fascinating book
and a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the city, and
indeed, India.