BNG, BLR or SBC for Bangalore?

BANGALAORE: Bangaloreans love their abbreviations. These became a part of daily life once the Central government decided to bless the city with public sector giants and central institutes. So, HAL, BEL, BHEL, BEML, HMT and ITI became part of their vocabulary. And wearing the title of scientific and technological capital has endowed the city with more abbreviations like NAL, DRDO, DRDL, ADE, ADA, CABS … not ment on IISc, JNCASR and CMTI. Bangalore itself is BLR for the aviation industry but SBC for the railways.Not to be outdone by the Centre, the state government has been bombarding its citizens with its own abbreviations. And so Bangaloreans who used to hold their noses as they passed the BCC’s dust bins in the past, later complained about how the BMP then, and now the BBMP, is slow in filling potholes on the road. They now make endless complaints to the BWSSB about taps that don’t flow and sewage that  overflows.With the state’s name having changed from Mysore to Karnataka, there were newer abbreviations to contend with. The Bangalorean, who used to take the MSRTC buses for his holidays, now has to choose between KSRTC,  NWKRTC and NEKRTC. While MSEB used to be responsible for his erratic power supply, the blame later went to KSEB, then KEB and the buck is now passed between KPTCL and Bescom.The RTO (that’s another one) too had to think up of new combinations for its vehicle number plates. As the MYAs and MYBs got exhausted, it turned to the MEB and MEA series. Bangalore’s growth was too fast for the RTO, which soon ran out of the “ME” series too. Then came the CAAs and the CABs (C for Carnataka?). But there was no respite for the RTO as Bangalore’s roads began to choke with vehicles. Bangalore then settled for the national format, with “KA” for the state and serial numbers to  keep pace with the growing vehicle numbers.Bangaloreans are initiated to the world abbreviations from a young age.  Those who went to National High School, National College or Vijaya High School recall with nostalgia how BVD made algebra so simple or how students, especially the boys, swarmed to SH’s English classes. And this had nothing to do with the way the young, attractive lady taught Shakespeare. Students also gave a clever twist to their teachers’ abbreviations. For instance, SGD, the craft teacher who taught tailoring, was aptly expanded to “Sooji, Gundi, Daara” (needle, button, thread).With the city growing in size and importance, it has presented new abbreviations to its citizens, who now take their flights from BIA or travel to work on trains run by the BMRCL. And as 2011 draws to a close, from MTR to KFC, its residents choose their own haunts to mark the NY.[email protected]