My First Days in Bangalore and Joining IHM
Table of Contents
- Arriving in Bangalore
- Admission Day at IHM Bangalore
- Buying College Uniforms
- Finding a Place to Stay
- Settling into Daily Life
Arriving in Bangalore
I reached Bangalore on 15 July 2015. That day the Indian rupee also got its own symbol. I stayed in a simple lodge near Majestic Railway Station. My room was on the third floor and cost Rs 500 for one night.
My father and I went to a nearby restaurant. We ate dosas and a full South Indian thali. After returning to the room, we also had some tea.
Admission Day at IHM Bangalore
On 16 July 2015 I took an auto-rickshaw from Majestic to Sheshadripuram. From there I walked to IHM Bangalore. When I reached the college gate, many young students were already standing there with their parents and friends.
Some people in blazers and trousers were also outside. At first I thought they were teachers. Later I learned they were third-year hotel management students helping the new batch with admission work.
I entered the building and looked around. The first room on the left on the ground floor was used for admissions. It was actually the training restaurant where teachers had lunch and students practiced serving. A few teachers were also there to help the senior students.
Buying College Uniforms
One senior helped me with the admission process. He told me about the subjects, the daily uniform, and the grooming rules that every student must follow before entering class.
When I asked where to buy the uniform, he said “Majestic.” I did not know what that meant and thought it was a shop name. He explained that Majestic is a busy area in central Bangalore. The shops Bangalore Fashions and Bombay Fashions sold the required clothes.
After finishing all formalities I met a few other new students. One of them became my friend. We went together to Bangalore Fashions near Kempegowda Circle. I bought shirts, trousers, chef coat, chef pants, duster cloth, chef cap and other items. It cost a good amount of money. Then I returned to my lodge.
Finding a Place to Stay
I had exchanged phone numbers with a boy named Atish Kumar. In the evening we met and started looking for a permanent room because staying in a lodge every day was costly.
We walked about five kilometres around Majestic, Avenue Road and Chickpet. Finally we found a small place called Ashoka Lodge. The rent was only Rs 1000 per bed for a full month. The price was low because the bathrooms were shared. It was basically a chawl.
On the ground floor there were jewellery and cloth shops. The first and second floors had rooms for people looking for cheap stay. The third floor was used by the building staff and also had four bathrooms that around 100 people used every day.
Our room was on the first floor and had three metal beds. We bought mattresses and bed sheets. Over the next few days Atish and I collected other basic things we needed for daily life.
Settling into Daily Life
For the first few days we ate bread and jam in the morning before going to college. Lunch was provided in the college itself. After classes ended at 5 pm we came back, washed and ironed our uniforms for the next day. We had dinner at a small restaurant called Ganesha on Avenue Road.
Our college was only about 1.5 km away, so we could walk every day and save money on bus or auto fares.
After some time we realised eating outside every day was expensive. We bought a small stove and some utensils so we could cook in the room.
Within a week or ten days we discovered that many other people living in the same building worked in hotels such as ITC Fortune, The Chancery and other budget hotels. Some of them had done diploma courses in front office, housekeeping, food and beverage service or food production. A few staff members from West Bengal and Odisha became our friends. We often sat together in the evenings and talked.
One of them was a chef. Sometimes he joined us while we cooked dinner and even helped in the kitchen.
Life in that small lodge was simple. We did not have luxury facilities, but we had everything we really needed. Those early days of bachelor life in Bangalore felt good and full of new experiences.
