Office

My office in not on the main campus but in what they call 'the Towers'. The maximum height for most buildings is four stories which is how tall the Towers are, this is still taller than most buildings nearby. There are two towers, one behind the other; I'm in Tower II which is at the back of Banarghatta Road. Like most office buildings in Bangalore, the Towers have a staff canteen on the roof. This is both a good use of space and also gives some additional ventilation as there is often a small breeze up there.

Basically they just put a metal roof over the flat top of the building, not putting in any walls to leave it open. The roof of course has lights and lots of fans to move the hot air around. There is a small kitchen with a canteen like metal serving counter, several tables and chairs, a small snack bar, a ping-pong table and a washroom. As of course most meals are eaten with your hands, there are always washrooms like this, even in some restaurants, open with just sinks. Tower II serves just vegetarian meals and Tower I serves what they call 'non-veg'. Vegetarian meals are quite strict so the non-veg option could just be as simple as including egg. You can get a nice meal for 25 rupees (about 50 Eurocents).

From the canteen there's quite good view all the way up Banarghatta Road all the way to the centre of town, although there isn't really much of a skyline. You can see the minarets from mosques here and there and a surprising amount of greenery. The huge Acenture building towards town stands out quite prominently and they are building a further extension to it. Just outside the offices are the road works for yet another flyover. These have been going on for months but are supposed to be finished this month. Judging by the progress you can see, I doubt they will manage this, but you never know.