THE TIMES OF INDIA, BENGALURU/KORAMANGALA8 SATURDAY, JULY 23, 2016

Leena.Mudbidri@timesgroup.com

Aself-sufficient neighhour-hood thrives around itsconnectivity to other des-

tinations, civic amenities, and itssocial infrastructure makingcomfortable living possible forits residents. Homebuyers choosetheir future home in those self-contained neighhourhood en-claves that promise them a life-time of contentment.

COMING INTO ITS OWN

Koramangala, which was sur-rounded by dense forest manydecades ago, according to earlyresidents, has metamorphosedinto a coveted neighbourhooddotted with tree-lined avenues,old bungalows, palatial homesand sprawling apartment com-plexes. Endowed with top-of-the-line educational institutions,parks, shopping streets, restau-rants that serve world cuisines,healthcare, leisure activity cen-tres and clubs, and transport fa-cilities, Koramangala has turnedinto a small self-contained city.

The transformation of Kora-mangala has been phenomenal,according to realty watchers. "Ko-ramangala's growth from a pad-dy field to a BDA layout in the1970s, to one of the posh neigh-

bourhoods in Bengaluru has beena remarkable urban developmentcase-study. While BDA had spear-headed the development of thislayout in the late 1980s, it was

only a preferred residential op-tion for individuals employed atthe Bommasandra IndustrialArea in the vicinity. With the ad-vent of the IT revolution, Kora-

mangala's location advantagewas realised with its close prox-imity to both the city center aswell as the IT/ITeS corridor onOuter Ring Road and Electronics

City. The lack of incubation cen-ters in the city further height-ened the residential popularityamong end-users and developers.Soon the region witnessed aboom in apartment projects byeminent developers while retail-ers lined up to lease spaces at themalls here," says Shrinivas Rao,CEO - APAC, Vestian GlobalWorkplace Services.

Shabeer Sait, Executive Headof Operations, Irshad's PropertyMatters, says, "Koramangala is amini-township in itself with ad-jacent areas depending on Kora-mangala for education, health-care and retail requirements."

CONNECTIVITY A BONUS

For a growing locality with athriving business culture, goodroads enabling comfortable com-muting to workplaces and edu-cational institutions, as well aseasy accessibility to basic ne-cessities is a bonus. And Kora-mangala is conveniently linkedto these destinations.

"Koramangala is also well-connected to various parts of thecity through the IntermediateRing Road linking Old AirportRoad with Hosur Road and Elec-tronics City, Sarjapur Road, lead-ing to the Outer Ring Road, and80 Feet Road leading to Vivekna-gar and the city center - M G

Road," says Shrinivas Rao. "Whilethere is no Metro Rail connec-tivity to Koramangala, the pro-posed Metro stations at Dairy Cir-cle and Central Silk Board junc-tion will benefit the physical in-frastructure of this region fur-ther," he adds.

SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE TRIGGERS REALTY BOOM

Koramangala has risen to beone of the prized neighhour-hoods with almost everythingthat is required for a mini city tothrive and grow. This has madereal estate prices here soar overthe years.

According to Shabeer, socialinfrastructure is a key elementin the decision-making processwhile making a residential in-vestment. Also, a locality withgood social infrastructure at-tracts a good mix of residents

that adds value to the neigh-bourhood. "Of course, this comesat a price as localities with es-tablished social infrastructureattract higher prices. Easy accessto educational institutions,healthcare and retail infrastruc-ture also drives the price appre-ciation of properties in such lo-calities," he adds.

While it is now difficult to findsites in this locality, some of theearly residents are selling offtheir sprawling homes to moveinto smaller apartments for con-venience and security. "Accord-ing to Vestian's Research Analy-sis, June 2016, residential proj-ects in Koramangala fall in thehigher bracket with independentbungalows ranging between Rs3-7 crores and apartment projectspriced at Rs 1.2-3 crores. The val-ues are expected to appreciate by4-5 percent in this micro-marketin the medium term," says Rao.

Two decades ago, Kora-mangala used to be a cosy,sleepy suburb. Today, it is

a thriving shopping destinationand the preferred choice forsome of the country's best re-tailers.

Let's look at the five forces thathave driven this transformation:

MALLS

Every revolution has a 'bigbang' followed by slower, moreevolutionary forces. For Kora-mangala, that 'big bang' was amall in the 8th Block. With morethan one lakh sqft of retail spaceequipped with ample parking,it was and continues to be oneof the destination malls in Ben-galuru.

START-UPS

While Electronics City getstop billing for large establishedIT, much of the original start-up wave was from the older sub-urbs of Bengaluru including Ko-ramangala. For the lucky en-trepreneur who could surf thevaluation wave, wealth was cre-ated, and continues to residethere for nostalgic reasons.

FOOD

The place is a food-lover'sparadise with more than 100restaurants in the area - fromfine dining to street food - thewide variety in eating-out op-tions is a star attraction.

LOCATION

People who take up shortstays in this area through stayaggregators have stated that thisarea is very accessible to placessuch as Indiranagar, M G Roadand Electronics City. Also, withthe airport moving to Devana-halli, and localities such asWhitefield witnessing the cre-

ation of large IT zones, the cen-tre of the city has, geographi-cally speaking, shifted from MG Road towards Indiranagar. Ko-ramangala has benefited fromthis shift, since it is very close

to Indiranagar.

AND STILL SOME GREEN

The Intermediate Ring Roadhas green lung spaces, thanksto the land owned by the De-fence, and in addition, most ofthe inner lanes of Koramangalacontinue to be tree-lined withmultiple parks.

Koramangala ticks the boxfor most of the criteria defining'quality of life'. Retail, includ-ing shops, restaurants and cin-emas, makes it attractive froma living standard perspective. IfKoramangala has to be the Man-hattan of Bengaluru, an urgentneed is good roads and reliablepublic transport systems.

In the meanwhile, the mar-ket forces of demand and sup-ply in both retail and propertyhave created a virtuous positivecycle. Demand for living in thearea keeps going up and theproperty prices yield good re-turns to those who believe in Ko-ramangala.

- Kumar Rajagopalan(The author is CEO,

Retailers’ Association of India)

One of the first steps torunning outdoors is toidentify a good run-

ning trail. There are plentyfor those living in and aroundKoramangala. Cubbon Parkand Lal Bagh are the favouriterunning tracks for many whotake the drive for the fresh airand ambience these two parksoffer.

The best time to run out-doors is the mornings whenthe plants give out oxygen,and it is fresh. A little laterthe traffic begins to pollutethe environment. Breathingin this pure gift of nature isrevitalising, refreshing and

energising. It also helps to getsome fresh, oxygen-enrichedair in the lungs.

Morning workouts are notonly better for burning fat andweight loss, a huge bonus isthe body continues to burncalories even after the work-out, throughout the day. Sun-light reacts with skin and thebody produces Vitamin D,which is essential for strongbones and overall good health.Another important factorwhere running outdoorsscores over running indoorson a treadmill is that often theair indoors is more pollutedthan the air outside.

While running on a tread-mill, the machine powers thebelts, propelling your forward.Therefore, all your musclesdo not come into play in yourstride. Also, variations suchas speed training, intervaltraining and hill running aremore effective outside, sim-ply because when you run a10K or marathon, it is alwaysoutdoors.

When you run outdoorsyou have to propel yourselfforward, so the effort isgreater, and thereby morecalories are burnt. In fact run-ning for an hour on the tread-mill is equal to running

around 20 minutes outside.Both your mind and sens-

es come into play when yourun outdoors, especially oncross-country terrain. Youhave to be alert and make therequired changes to negotiatethe turns, bends, undulatinglandscape etc.

A word of caution forthose who go for a brisk walk,run or cycle in heavy traffic -the pollutants released fromthe exhausts of vehicles getembedded in the lungs andcause more harm than good.To get best results, it is idealto combine both. If you missout on your morning outdoorrun, make up for it by runningindoors on the treadmill.

Running everyday has itsshare of disadvantages as youwill be hitting the same pres-sure points, joints and liga-ments, making them prone to'single sport injury.' So, runon alternate days only.

It is strongly recommend-ed to cross-train with yoga forincreased flexibility andrange of motions, and work-ing with weights to improveyour strength and develop anathletic physique. Of course,all this goes hand-in-handwith a nutritionally-balancedfour meals a day intake.

- Gul Mohamed Akbar(The author is a

marathoner)

Those who experience frequentmood swings and are depressedoften could have 'sunshine defi-

ciency'. Vitamin D is produced in thebody when the skin is exposed to sun-light. But most of the time, people arenot exposed to the sun. Many hardlyever go out in the sun. As a result, theyhave Vitamin D deficiency.

A simple way to solve this problem isto go out - to your garden or a park near-by - for a yoga session every morning.This way, you get your share of the sunas well as your daily dose of stretchesand breathing practices. This will help

you de-stress and it also ensures highstamina and an alert mind through therest of the day.

Everyone needs, on an average,around 20 minutes of early morningsunlight for the required dose of Vita-min D. Practicing yoga under the morn-ing sun boosts your metabolism and im-munity too, preventing frequent infec-tions such as cough and cold. It is also agood way to reduce weight.

BASIC YOGA, PRANAYAMA

A basic yogic practice can comprise

Surya Namaskar which is a sequence of12 asanas. This works on all the bodyparts. Ten repetitions of Surya Na-maskar should be practiced everyday.This can be followed by the SadantaPranayama. This pranayama coolsdown the body. It helps balance the heatthe body is exposed to because of the ex-posure to the sun.

Sadanta Pranayama is inhalingthrough the mouth with the upper andlower teeth touching at the tips, andthen closing the mouth and exhalingslowly through the nose. It will give youa cooling sensation throughout yourbody. Practice this 2-3 times while sit-ting in a comfortable position under thesun.

The session can be ended withShavasana. Have a sun bath lying downon a mat in a meditative state. You willhave a clam and focused mind for therest of the day.

FOOD THAT PROTECTS SKIN

It is advisable to consume food that ishigh in antioxidants and beneficial fatsthat will strengthen your skin cells andprotect the skin from sun-related dam-age. Tomato, watermelon and other redfruits; sweet potato, leafy green salads,flax seed, almond and green tea are rec-ommended.

- Krupa Patel(The author is a yoga therapist)

Contented in KoramangalaThe shopping and entertainment options in the locality are a boon for

the residents here and are also driving realty prices

Five forces transformingKoramangala

This once-quiet locality is now the hub of start-ups, retail and restaurants

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GET YOUR DOSE OF SUNSHINE WITH YOGA OUTDOORSIt is a good idea to go out - either to your garden or to a park nearby - early in the mornings daily,for a yoga and pranayama session. It keeps you active and focussed through the rest of the day

OUTDOOR RUNNING HAS MANY BENEFITSThe parks are a good place for a morning jog. Running in the mornings has its benefits with the rejuvenating fresh air and is highly recommended, especially for weight loss

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A yoga session on at the Swabhimana Park in the 4th block

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Residents jog at the Lakshmidevi Park in the 6th block