If you fall in 'The Great Indian Middle Class' bracket or if your travel destination is sans other means of transport except by road, it is but inevitable that you have already set foot on Kalasipalyam at some time or the other. If you haven't, take my word, do count your blessings. My one and only jaunt with the place, is not exactly an experience to write home about. I'll give myself the benefit of the doubt, to all 'ye mortals' who have not had the opportunity to visit this consecrated place, Kalasipalyam, is the hub of Bangalore from where a good number of private buses operate.

Fortunately, living in the South-eastern part of Bangalore is not without advantages. In the recent past, most private bus operators have resolved to alternate embarkation points throughout the city to decongest Kalasipalyam bus station and a good number of them fall in and around Koramangala, like Madiwala and Jayanagar. I am sure you would have spotted them or boarded a bus from one of these stops.

This was hitherto convenient, however convenience now, is getting a little too close for comfort. It is shocking to see many a huge Volvo bus from private bus operators parked majestically near Lakshmidevi Park & 60 Feet Road in 6^th Block, 80 Feet Peripheral road near 1^st Block etc. I was almost run over the other day, by one of those monstrosities entering into a small bye lane in 8th block to reverse. It shakes one up and rudely at that, from the perpetual slumber that we citizens are in. It moves and forces us to pause and think about our social sensitivities and civic responsibilities.

Koramangala today is one of the fastest growing commercial cum residential area in Bangalore with offices of a number of MNCs, entertainment complexes and a large number of mid to up market residential dwellings. As an intrinsic part of a fast-growing city, Koramangala has its woes and joys. Koramangala's 'Cup of woe just spilleth over'.

Long after acclimatizing ourselves to the terrible traffic snarls, power crisis, water woes, creaky infrastructure , pollution, government sluggishness, rampant commercialization , encroachment, tottering civic sense ,mosquito and stray dog menace this seems like the last nail in the coffin.

Our predilection to soft peddle issues plaguing Koramangala has resulted in the Jamboree that we witness today. I shudder to think of Koramangala slowly transform into a mini Kalasipalyam. Definitely does not paint a pretty picture. Now is the time to take stock and become prudent. I do not propose to go into abstruse analytics, suffice to say that as residents of Koramangala the onus lies on us. Hence, corporate and citizen involvement is extremely important in urban governance and our participation needs to be considered imperative for development.

People power is an important and very effective tool for institutionalizing sustainable change at the right pace and a shift in attitude. Citizen alienation and apathy is the biggest hurdle in our country today. First, the ordinary citizen feels disempowered. They do not know how to reform a system that largely ignores them. So, what are we going to do about it? Or as usual, do we resort to collective amnesia, escapism to the hilt, since it is easy to stay aloof and indulge oneself to fend for ourselves by eking out a daily living, the only possible contribution being paying our taxes for which there is no accountability anyway.