Bangalore’s shoe man flew from San Francisco
Often some people are scared of immigrants, they tend to shut global doors and seal borders to keep them out. Had this happened a century ago, then Robin Moses of San Francisco would probably not have landed in Bangalore.
Moses’ family was settled in San Francisco, while he wished to join the gold rush of India. He heard of the Kolar gold mines near Bangalore that had struck huge reserves of the yellow metal. On his way to Singapore, Robin Moses changed plans. This was soon after a disastrous earthquake had struck San Francisco. He first travelled to Calcutta (now Kolkata) and then to Bangalore where he started his shoe store, ‘Robin Moses and Sons’ on Commercial Street in pre-Independent India. It’s hard to imagine how difficult journeys must have been without modern flights. Bangalore was then famous for its Anglo-Indian and British goods. ‘Robin Moses and Sons’ soon made a flourishing business. His family owned half of Commercial Street at one time and was one of the five Jewish families to have settled in Bangalore. While others left the place after World War II, Robin Moses’ family stayed back. He fell in love with the city and died in 1939. Such were the ties of the heart, that still plays along the cyber scenes between San Francisco and Bangalore.
Meeting in cyber world
Chips, chords and computers tell tales of sisterhood across continents. And we thought robots have no feelings and emotions? If they don’t, their makers surely do. Across oceans and continents, expertise and emotions take a flight, sealed in government projects that make India’s Electronic City, Bangalore, embrace the hi-tech charm of the Silicon Valley of San Francisco.
The Sisterhood initiative started in 2009 between the two tech cities, aimed at bridging a cultural and economic bond. Many entrepreneurs participated to make this venture successful. There came a stream of Memorandum of Understandings, riding high on tech wings. Signed between San Francisco and Bangalore governments and independent business units, these official agreements sealed the bond better. The two cities built a virtual bridge. Indian technicians and cyber developers stepped in, to guide entrepreneurs and mentor them.
Cosmopolitan and friendly, culturally rich San Francisco and Bangalore have lots to offer on their sharing graph. Keeping in mind their eclectic and diverse art and cultural flair, the State Tourism Department of Bangalore and City of San Francisco signed an agreement to showcase their artistic links, bringing heads and hearts closer. Even the City of San Francisco and the State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation of Bangalore agreed on bridging their infrastructural splendors, energy needs, transportation developments, management of water resources, waste management and trade and tourism. Women Entrepreneurship and Healthcare saw new ties and ventures between the two cities. Encouraging the virtual bond, India’s official airlines, Air India, launched its first flight from San Francisco to Bangalore via New Delhi.
Play a name game
As Shakespeare said there’s not much in a name. A rose called by any other name would spread the same fragrance as before. However, city names do have an embedded history, that defy Shakespeare’s logic. And when two cities derive names from vegetation that abound them, it’s like a green revolution unleashed. San Francisco originally called Yerba Buena in 1835, got its name from a Spanish word meaning Good Herb, possibly a fragrant plant that grew along its shores. Bengaluru has vast stretches of Benga or Venga trees that lent their name to this city. Vengaluru later became Bengaluru. San Francisco and Bangalore surely have a touch of green to their names.