“We gonna run run run
To the cities of the future
Take what we can and bring it back home
So take me down to the cities of the future
Everybody’s happy and I feel at home”

– Lyrics: Cities of the Future – Infected Mushroom

One only has to touch down in India at any major gateway (and some not so major ones) to know that things have taken a step up since the last century. India’s new airports are no longer just functional points of entry where you can get your passport stamped – but at the same time are art galleries, shopping arcades, gourmet dining outlets, and recreation zones. [Click here: http://www.csia.in/atcsia/International-T2.aspx to take a look at latest addition on the airport landscape – the long awaited T2 in Mumbai]

            And it doesn’t stop when you leave the airport. Getting around has just got easier. Ubers rub bumpers with tuk-tuks, and metros and monorails compete with the Local. 

Riding the local train in Mumbai
India’s teeming metro cities are rapidly finding ways to out-maneuver their own chaos. We’re sure that the original scribe of the Mahabharata (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahabharata) never imagined that Guru Dronacharya (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drona) would have a metro station named in his honour – much less that it would be accessible at the touch of a finger on the free Delhi Metro app.[http://www.delhimetrorail.com/mobile-app.aspx] 

India is on the move and sustainability is the direction an increasing number of citizens are trying to take (including our new government!) – bicycles (check out our urban bike rides post on facebook), farm to table (check out our farm to table experiences on facebook), organic markets and preserving our neighborhoods are only some of the initiatives that have protagonists across the country.

Hauz Khas Village, New Delhi
Even as the number of automobiles on India’s roads continues to rise, in many cities we’re going back to the bicycle. While the ubiquitous pedal-pusher never really left the Indian road-scape, its re-emergence as a cool new alternative to get around India’s cities (not to mention, the latest way to get your adrenaline rush) is making waves as bicycle clubs are rapidly burgeoning in major cities across the country. In this respect, Gurgaon in the National Capital Region, has eclipsed its counterparts, by declaring some of its roads closed to motor vehicles on Rahgiri days (every Sunday) to encourage bicyclists and pedestrians to step out and engage in the community. [http://raahgiriday.com/)

 On another note, Mumbai’s BNHS (link to BNHS) valiantly upholds a strong suit for the city’s avian population with its bird walks, and in Hyderabad, one can explore the city’s heritage from a unique perspective – literally – from the top of a boulder, as one walks through these mammoth rocks to uncover the geological history of the city.

Bouldering in Hyderabad
The North Eastern influx into Delhi is a small example of a growing subculture that has yielded funky results – from B&Bs like the new Nagaland inspired Naga Ki (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Naga-Ki/277883465748733?ref=page_internal&sk=likes) , to fine dining eateries like Yeti, and musical acts from Guwhati and Shillong. Fusion has taken on a whole new avatar with restaurants like Indian Accent (http://www.indianaccent.com/restaurant.php). As the trend moves towards eating healthy – breakfast has become the new dinner (Check out our facebook post on breakfast in Bombay!).

Hotels have got on the bandwagon too and IPOD docs, wireless keyboards, adapter-less plug points, and Jeeves-like TVs are now de rigeur even in hotels that ooze classic grandeur and charm – it’s personal shopping, supreme spa experiences, and intimate niches of exoticism that compete neck to neck to create oases of customized tranquility.

But what we love most is the eclectic new communities that have sprung out of the womb of our cultural heritage and whether it’s Black Theater Dinners in Hyderabad (http://www.dialogueinthedarkindia.com/), an ode to the commode at Gurgaon’s quirky Museum of Toilets (check out our destination driven post on Gurgaon on Facebook), or art on the move at Gurgaon’s Transport Anti-Museum. There’s new inspiration in the written word and Literature Festivals in Jaipur, Mumbai and Hyderabad (http://jaipurliteraturefestival.org/) have recently found international acclaim. The performing arts are alive and well – and Bangalore, with its rich heritage of Carnatic music (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnatic_music) is home to some of India’s newest and most interesting debuts on the music scene. But Carnatic music also comes into its own in Chennai every December with a city festival that celebrates the performing arts across venues. Contemporary Indian art continues to flourish at the Cholamandal Artist’s Village in Chennai.

Architecture always leaves its stamp on a city from era to era and nowhere is this more apparent than in Bangalore. From the wooden palaces of the Wodeyars, the delicate eaves of the Colonials, the bold designs of the Art Decos, and the glass, chrome and steel sleekness of today, Bangalore is a dichotomy of natural greenery and concrete jungle. Nowhere is the juxtaposition of layers of old and new, mainstream and alternative, jostling side by side for space, more pronounced than in India’s tech-heir apparent for the City of the Future.

Bangalore International Convention Center
As India’s cities transform exponentially in an eternal butterfly motif, we invite you to travel with us and experience the evolution first hand.