After ‘Peak Bengaluru,’ there’s ‘Deep Bengaluru’: Decoding the viral trend

Over the last few months, “Peak Bengaluru” became an internet shorthand to describe anything that could only happen in the tech hub of India. This “anything” typically includes techies working on their laptops in auto rickshaws, techies working on their laptops in pubs, techies working on their laptops in front of momo shops – and, occasionally – techies taking on the role of gig workers to touch grass on weekends.
But now, it appears as if the Peak Bengaluru trend has suddenly been replaced by “Deep Bengaluru”.
Social media platform X has seen a sudden increase in the number of posts mentioning “Deep Bengaluru” over the last three days. In fact, the hugely popular Peak Bengaluru X account with 1.2 lakh followers has changed its name to Deep Bengaluru as part of the trend.

It all started with a single post, as most internet trends generally do.
On September 2, X user Nikhil Velpanur defended Naru Noodle Bar, a popular ramen spot, against critical comments on social media by describing himself as a “deep bangalorean” who has eaten over 1,000 bowls of ramen in his life.

Even as his post went viral on X, his description of himself as a “deep bangalorean” was picked up by X users. “Deep Bangalorean is such a BLR thing to say,” wrote one X user.
“Will ask people if they are ‘deep bangalorean’ or not from now on,” another joked.

“How deep Bangalorean are you?” asked X user Shantanu Goel – a post that helped the trend gain further traction.
One X user even petitioned for the Peak Bengaluru account to rename itself, which it did promptly. “Petition for @peakbengaluru to rebrand to deep Bengaluru,” the user posted, and had her wish granted very soon.
The phrase was soon being bandied about indiscriminately on social media, sparking a viral trend where people were using “Deep Bengaluru” in earnest but also in a mocking fashion. Many Bengaluru residents used “deep Bengaluru” as a way to describe their true-blue Bengaluru roots, but others used it to highlight the infrastructural issues plaguing the tech hub of India.