Additionally recently I have noticed the mention of Ranchi city in some bollywood movies (Bipasha a "small town girl"in Bachna ae Haseeno hailed from Ranchi) and Suhel Seth's surcastic takes on this "small town". All this categorisation and perception of Ranchi being some remote destination is saddening.. So I decided to put across some points. Please read on...
Ranchi in 1995
- The city slept at 7:30 pm. With not many options for a night life there ws no other alternative but to sleep at night!
- Brands: What are they?!!
- Eat outs: the famous ones were Kaveri,KRSNA, Punjab Sweet House (economy dining) and if looking for a better ambience the destinations were Yuvraj Palace & may be the Gymkhana Club
- Theatres: walls qouted with paan stains, strong stench of urine, an indisciplined crowd that would whistle at bizzare things and suffocating ambience
- the comfort levels of girls wanting to freak out: Firstly the city did not offer more than a crowded Church Complex to "freak out", girls in western clothes were usually ogled at & at times followed home after "boarding a rickshaw"
Ranchi in 2009
-You are standing at a busy take away counter and savouring chicken pita bread rolls from their lebanese menu..its 10:00 pm and the city does not show any signs of sleeping!
- Brands: ahemm...UCB,Wills Lifestyle,Reebok, Adidas,Woodland(all exclusive showrooms & Ranchites please add on to this list) besides a Big Bazar and Reliance Mart. Grocery stores like Spencers and Reliance Fresh, Beauty saloons of Javed Habib, VLCC and Loreal & last but not the least - Satya Paul's sarees...
- Eat outs: while Kaveri,KRSNA, Punjab Sweet House still rule the taste buds of Ranchites but this sector is the one that has transformed completely..the hospitality, the ambience, the menu, the food (even the bars) of these new hotels (Capitol Hill, Capitol Residency, BNR Chanakya) are really commendable..Besides these there are several new restuarants and 2 CCDs & the under construction Raddisson is very much looked forward to
- Theatres: gone are the days of walls qouted with paan stains, strong stench of urine, an indisciplined crowd. yes we have just one multiplex today but with several others being under construction movies will no longer be watched on pirated DVDs!
- As you drive out of your house noticing dozens of girls speeding past in their scooties is a common site..not only do the girls freely hang out, the scooties are made use of to even empower the mommies who do not need to hire rickshaws any more!
The best part is that people's purchasing & spending on entertainment has really increased even in this so called small town. So do not have preconcieved notions in your mind when asked to visit our city! (After all even our very own captain Dhoni has decided to build his house in his motherland!!!!)
10 comments:
Hey lovely post & u've written it very well.U know often when I hear the word "small town" before Ranchi & the notions about the city, all I tell such ppl is to go & have a look before forming an opinion about the place.
Ranchi including many other small towns have undergone a huge transformation, u know recently I visited Varanasi & I was just so surprised to notice the changes. U name any brand or any popular food chain & it was all there. Weekend habit was more or less same like any other city, my weekend over there included a coffee hangout at CCD, a movie outing at Inox followed by a dinner at Pizza Hut! Now I need say anything more :)
I really miss Ranchi & good ol'days :(
ahh, such a nice post..
i have been out of ranchi for more than 6 years now.
I agree that the place has undergone a tremendous change, my yearly visits always leave me a little shocked at the development.
But truthfully speaking, i miss the sleepy town i left.
a nice post....
at least someone from my city is writing about it. gr8 job doin... keep it up...
Aaah .. wonderful post di. reminds me of Anu malik's Song .. east ya west India (read as Ranchi) is the best :)
I think soon we won't be able to differentiate between Mumbai, Delhi, Ranchi, Benaras, Jammu, Calicut, etc. They would all be the same. Same brands all over the planet, same restaurants all over the world, same coffee shops, same everything. World would soon be a very boring place, I guess! Not sure if that would be good or bad
Hey!
Incidently came across your blog,and i thought to complement you for the great job that you are doing,'that of enlightening people about Ranchi'. I hail from 'Daltonganj'-160 Kms from ranchi,hope u've heard of it.;D. For us,since our childhood days it meant a treat/holiday bonanzaa.My mausi's home in Morabadi was a dream destination.I really relished the 'langda/maldaa aam', Climbing up flights of rock stairs at Tagore hill, cycling in morabadi maidaan, icecreams at Firayalal and loads of gift each time we went there. So many sweet memories are so entwined that I could/nt abstain myself from commenting. :) Keep updating ppl like me with Ranchi news:D and please visit my blog too in leisure hours. www.shivi-shivangi.blogspot.com
gud job done. its been almost 5 yrs iv left my heaven on earth. needless to say i miss it all the time.
keep us updated.
really sick of hearing ranchi as a small town :P ur post was awsm :)
since this post is of 2009 so i think u missed out some new points like the hotwar and international cricket stadium and and many new 3 star hotels like at international and hotel emerald and more such :)
hmmm well written ! Even i wonder why people consider Ranchi as a 'small' place !
anyway, it has expanded a LOT after 2009 ! .. Its 2011 NOW! IT HAS TRANSFORMED into a mini-metro city!
still need more development.
But, WORK is under progress! ;)
Well... A world standard airport terminal (mini T3 as in Delhi) already on the way to get inaugurated.
A lot has been done by now. But yet, there are few things which need to be addressed on the priority. That is "Naxalism" around the city's remote areas.
This will help MNCs (being eastablished) get good employment opportunities for the people down there. Those people need not come to the cities away from family to earn there livings and getting lost. This is one such issue which can only be resolved with the strong political will.
Beside this I see Ranchi a good place to live in and yes, bring up our children as well.
Hope I can get back to my home down there.
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