I'm from Maharashtra and had a chance to visit Bengaluru last week, honestly I was a bit skeptical about the locals and how they'd treat someone who can't speak Kannada but man, social media portrays a different picture altogether.
Airport- Cab drivers were able to speak a bit of Hindi, no problem as such.
Once I entered the main city- I had made a promise to myself, speak their language and respect their culture.
So, every rickshaw I sat in, every shop, mall, restaurant I visited- I initiated the conversation in Kannada (thank you Google Translate) and literally ALL OF THEM appreciated my efforts, with a wide smile and went an extra mile to ensure I'm comfortable or atleast not bothered by anything.
Those who could speak Hindi switched to hindi and rest of them used English.
Surprisingly, a cab driver was able to speak broken Marathi as well and was a follower of Tukaram Maharaj from Maharashtra.
Also had a decent 5 mins chat with a Rickshaw driver on random topics, but I was barely able to understand what he was saying, it was all on vibes😂
The only negative thing- cab drivers asked for double the amount when I wanted to go to the Airport, but I believe that's pretty much across India.
Loved the city, definitely coming back again for hopefully a longer period of time :)