Bengaluru became the first Indian city to have its own logo this Sunday at the Bengaluru Habba Festival. The logo consists both Kannada and English words and the tagline for it is- Bengaluru - Be U’. In a tête-à-tête with co- designer of the logo, Rushi Patel, we find out more about what brought him back to Bengaluru and what inspired him to leave his monotonous job to start his own venture.
Rushi was born and brought up in Mumbai but he did his Bachelors from namma ooru where he met Venkateshwara M. Rao, the co-founder of their company Nammaru. Both of them were college mates during their B.com days in Bengaluru. He says, “I and Venkatesh weren’t that close but while we met in our reunions we kept exchanging notes on new ideas and innovations that we can work on together.”
Rushi lost his father when he was in 9th standard and always strived to be a businessman like him. His father, who worked for the TATA’s during the 80s, which was considered to be a prestigious job back then left his job to start a manufacturing business of his own. “My inspiration to move from my stable job to starting an enterprise was my father. Even though I have worked for 17 years in my life, I always knew that I wanted to start my own business. So, I took the risk and did so.”
Now, Rushi lives with his wife, his mother and his two beautiful daughters’ in Bengaluru. Even though his family is new to the city, they are still enjoying their lives here. What brought Rushi back to the city he says that “After my father passed away I came to Bengaluru for my higher studies. My entire life took a turn when I came here whether it was in terms of my education or my cousin brother being a great mentor in my life. I always knew someday I would come back and start something new in this city.”
Rushi’s corporate jobs always took him to places all around the world and whenever he came back with the souvenirs of the logos from places like New York or Singapore. He always wondered why India does not have one. He says, “I always wondered why my country does not have a logo that would represent the country globally. Ever since that, I wanted to come back to Bengaluru and do something to connect to the city after working in Mumbai, Nasik, and Pune for a couple of years. My cousins have lived in Bengaluru for many years and that always brought me back to the city. When this opportunity came up we just seized the moment!”
Rushi elaborates on what Bengaluru means to him, “Bengaluru is one of the only cities in India that promotes start-ups, innovations and is a vibrant city full of new ideas. No one can stop you from being yourself in this city. In Bengaluru, you can be who you are and not have to worry about being someone else.”
