Relaxed Mysore cools techies

Mysore is an ideal stress-buster for techies. Most of the IT professionals working in software and other companies, find Mysore culturally-oriented, friendly and a place with less partying unlike Bangalore.

S Suvarna is an associate development manager in quality assurance at Excel Software in Mysore. A Mysorean, she worked in Bangalore for about a year. She kept shuttling between Mysore and Bangalore during the weekends.

She opted to return when she found a job with Excel Software. Now she is part of a 20-member team with five women professionals, two of whom hail from Mysore. Most of them stay here as paying guests. All feel that Mysore still has the old world charm.

"It is not a city like Bangalore where one has to travel hours to reach his or her workplace. Here, the travel is just 10-15 minutes. That gives me more time to be with my child and husband. Now I am more attentive and supportive of my family than when I was working in Bangalore," Suvarna adds.

The women, who stay as paying guests here, feel that there is no stress here as in Bangalore. They can relax, work in a better atmosphere and be more attentive to their jobs and most of all support their families better.

"One can see a major difference between Mysore and Bangalore. That is why many outsiders are coming to Mysore," says Suvarna.

"Mysore is a small city. It has a cultural tinge. Unlike Bangalore, professionals here do not go to pubs and parties, as they get noticed," two other professionals, H S Soumyalakshmi and Bhavani, back the views of Suvarna.

"Pub life is not an option for us. We interact more with our families. As we have flexible timings, we have no pressure as those in Bangalore. If you have a compact place, you do not carry much pressure. Of course, all these depends on how you handle your day-to-day life," the two girls say.

Chandrakanthi works as a graphic designer, staying in a hostel near her workplace. Hailing from a poor agricultural family from Doddabolahalli village, she says, "Thanks to the IT industries, girls like me have found jobs. Girls have more opportunities today. They earn well and support themselves and their families," Chandrakanthi, who supports her sister for a multi-media graphic course, observers.