Bengaluru being playfully called “Veganuru” is a light-hearted meme in some Indian vegan and health-conscious circles, but it’s not entirely without basis. Here’s why the real picture behind the joke:
Why Bengaluru gets tagged as India’s “vegan capital”:
- Highest density of vegan/plant-based restaurants in India
- Cities like Mumbai or Delhi may have more total outlets, but per capita, Bengaluru easily leads. Areas like Indiranagar, Koramangala, Whitefield, and Jayanagar are packed with fully vegan or vegan-friendly cafes (e.g., Carrots, Green Theory, Plant Punk, Loving Hut, Green Leaf, and dozens of smaller places).
- Tech crowd + global exposure
- Large expat and returnee population, plus young IT professionals who’ve lived abroad, have brought veganism, raw food, keto, and plant-based trends back home. Many adopt it for health, ethics, or climate reasons.
- Strong animal-rights and vegan activism
- Groups like Vegan India Movement, FIAPO, and local collectives such as Bangalore Vegan Meetup are very active. Regular potlucks, protests against dairy/leather, and screening events happen almost every weekend.
- Climate and gardening culture
- Pleasant weather year-round makes rooftop/terrace gardening very common. A lot of Bengaluru residents grow their own greens, herbs, and fruits, which aligns with the “garden city → fruit & veggie” joke you made.
- Celebrity and influencer push
- Several Kannada and South Indian film stars (e.g., Raghavendra Rajkumar, some Bigg Boss contestants) and influencers openly follow vegan diets, giving it local glamour.
The primate/frugivore angle you mentioned:
Yes, many raw-vegan and fruitarian advocates (like Dr. Douglas Graham’s 80/10/10 diet followers) argue humans are anatomically and physiologically closer to frugivores than omnivores. Bengaluru actually has one of India’s largest raw-vegan and fruitarian communities, again concentrated in the same tech-heavy, cosmopolitan crowd.
So is Bengaluru really “Veganuru”?
Not officially, and most Bengalureans still love their masala dosa with ghee and chicken biryani, but if you measure by:
- number of 100% vegan restaurants per lakh population,
- frequency of vegan events,
- availability of imported vegan products (Nutritional yeast, vegan cheese, Beyond Meat, etc.),
then yes, Bengaluru is comfortably India’s most vegan-friendly metro right now (with Pune and Hyderabad fighting for distant second and third spots).
So the nickname “Veganuru” is half joke, half truth, and fully earned! 🍌🥭🌱
GRP_VCare2Dare 