Tourist in my own city-5: Naaganatheswara temple

Every day I travel from Bangalore city to electronics city (pun intended). You’ve no idea how exasperating it is to cross silk board junction, if you haven’t experienced it by yourself. I have vented out my frustration on silk board traffic by means of innumerable Facebook status and tweets. But yesterday was different. I had not envisaged that a day will come where I’ll be all excited about crossing silk board. The reason: I was visiting a small village alongside Hosur road called “Begur” which had made it to the headlines. Thanks to the excavation of an old inscription on a piece of rock in the 1000 year old “Naganatheswara” temple. Etched on the inscription is the phrase which caught my attention.

“Bengaluru kalaghadhol buttana setti sattam” (In kannada “ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ಕಾಳಗಧೊಳ್ ಬುಟ್ಟಣ ಶೆಟ್ಟಿ ಸತ್ತಂ”) ^*1 It translates to English as “In the Battle of Bangalore, Buttana Setti died”.

About the temple

This Shiva temple with two gopuras (monumental towers) is said to be at least 1100 years old. It is constructed during the reign of Cholas. The main sanctum sanctorum has a shivalinga idol inside and a Nandi outside, as it is seen all the other Shiva temples of yesteryears. Localites worship Shiva with the name Nageshwara and/or Naganatheshwara.

Two gopuras - View from east

Interestingly the design and architecture of this thousand year old “Naganatheshwara temple” is entirely synonymous with the architecture of Gangaikonda Cholapuram, a small town in Tamil nadu, the then Capital of Cholas. Apparently, the Cholas ruled south India during 11^th century AD and the inscription found in the Naganatheshwara temple in Begur also dates back to around same time period, according to epigraphists.

Bengaluru war

One of the hero stones found at the temple site, veeragallu, as we call it in the vernacular language has the inscription in which the reference to “Bangalore War” is made in old kannada (haLeGannada). According to epigraphist R Narasimhachar, the inscription dates back to circa 890 AD ^*2. The inscription is also entered into the “Epigraphia Carnatica” a book on epigraphy on old Mysore (now Karnataka) regions written by B L Rice.

What it means to Bangalore

Until now, the evidence of the existence of a place called “Bengaluru” was available only with the onset of ruler Kempegowda II in early 1500s. But with this inscription, the earliest existence of namma Bengaluru dates back to 890 AD. Not only this, this inscription has also raised questions on the authenticity of the theories that describe how Bengaluru got its name. Historians are revisiting the “Benda-Kalooru”, “bengaval-ooru” theories. Although the complete history of Bengaluru city is still nondescript, excavations like this has helped give a new past to namma Bengaluru. Historians and archaeologists are working on extricating the city’s history.

On one hand, with so much of political apathy, bad governance and millions of uninviting civic problems, Bangalore’s future looks dismal. On the other hand, with such excavations, Bangalore’s past is getting more enriching and enthralling. In a classical sense, the past is giving Bangalore its true identity. Let us hope that future will hold on to it.

*1 – Article on Hindu Newspaper http://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/history-and-culture/a-citys-secrets-etched-in-stone/article3254183.ece

* 2 – Nagesvara temple in Belur - Wikipedia 

This article originally appeared on Huffingtonpost. Read it here

Tourist in my own city-4: Nagrath Pete

My gastronomical expedition has no bounds. And that is exactly what brings me and thousands of other Bangaloreans to Nagarath Pete. Although I’m slightly inclined towards a healthy and hygienic diet of late, I’ve never really gone very far from it. I’ve always believed that authentic taste of a certain locality can never be mastered by the wannabe intercontinental chefs. Also since it is equally about namma Bengaluru, I’ve kept my acidity apprehension at bay and come here to give my taste buds a royal treat.

Of late, there is streetfood uprising seen in namma Bengaluru. There’s one in Shivajinagar, Rajajinagar and so many other areas. But other than VVpuram Food Street, the one which has managed to remain in the spotlight for ages is the Nagarath pete street food. Some even say that Nagarath pete street food is older than VV Puram.

Anyone who is familiar with Pete area knows that to get there on a car is almost impossible. And I’ve done my route homework properly for it is so easy lose track and get lost in the gullies of Pete area even when you are taking a walk. After many criss cross junctions, we finally arrive at the Nagarath Pete Food Street.

The constellation of people surrounding Mani’s cart is increasing every minute. As I take pictures, Mani smiles, shies away and gets busy with his chores. I take just a couple of pics and realize that I cannot wait anymore to gobble the refreshments on his cart. I quickly keep the camera inside and order “Ond Masale Dose” as it is called. The tawa is filled with dosa batter swiftly and pure ghee from Nandini refill pack is spouted on top of dosa from a distance. With more people waiting to taste the dosas, the cycle repeats with better speed and better accuracy.

Mani - a very busy man

The guy next to me is worried about his Brand new Hyundai Elantra being parked in one of the gullies of Avenue road. His girlfriend is consoling him that right now satisfying your hunger pangs is more important. I chuckle mildly contemplating that a Bangalorean’s love for food is beyond the social stratification dimensions. Surprisingly to me, looking at a diet fanatic lady like my wife gourmanding on Idlies and ghee rich dosas back to back speak volumes about the palate of Nagrath pete Food Street. I start off with spongy soft idly and spicy chutney, repeat it and then move on to Masala Dosa and idly again.

Idly and dosas, mouth watering chutney

My stomach is more than full now but the creamy Badam milk container is attracting me towards Murthy Kashi’s cart. It is too hard to resist. Before I say anything, my wife orders for all of us and the Badam milk with malai, cashew and badam topping is served hot. The creamy flavour of Badam is felt in every sip. Murthy kashi says he has been doing this for living from past 21 years. He also serves other varieties of sweet savouries but my stomach has already thrown “No space left on the disk” error.

Murthy Kashi's Badam milk with Kesar topping

I’m more than contented that this long pending visit has finally worked out. But the other side of me is not satisfied that I couldn’t try the Chitranna (lemon rice), Fafda, Jalebi, Bombay Sandwich, Vada Pav and so many other delicacies. I convince myself that I’ll come back soon again and force myself out of Nagrath Pete. As I take a turn to reach Avenue Road, a famous Spanish Proverb reverberates in my mind.

“A full stomach makes a happy heart”

This article originally appeared on Huffingtonpost. For complete article click here

Tourist in my own city-3: Lal Bagh

The wreckage that has happened to namma Bengaluru’s green cover is a misadventure. The media swapping the city’s tag to “Garbage city” is heartbreaking. Today, it is hard for my friends to believe when I say that just a decade ago summer in Bangalore used to be a warm 30 degree Celsius. It was not out of blues that Bangalore once was called as “garden City”; there were a thousand reasons for it. But the primary reason could be absolutely nothing other than this two century old abode of flora called Lal bagh.

It was after a decade that I walked inside Lalbagh with a camera in hand, clicked pictures and came back home. But I had no idea of its exuberance, its history, its chronicles and great human beings who made Lalbagh happen, until I started exploring its past. I’m sure most of us, just like I did, think of Lalbagh as just a century old huge green park. Here’s my attempt to get to the roots and provide substantiation, which I feel, every true Bangalorean definitely deserve to know.

Origin

Lalbagh is of royal origin. Hyder Ali, having the Moghul taste for gardens, is acknowledged to be the founder of Lalbagh. But very few know that Hyder Ali planned Lalbagh at Bangalore principally on the model of “Khan Bagh”, an impressive garden in Sira (near Tumkur), developed by Dilawar Khan, the Moghul emperor’s south representative. Dr. Francis Buchanan, in his book ^*1 has written that the taste of Hyder Ali accorded more with English. His evening walks alongside the Cypress trees were wider and he enjoyed it. It is also said that before it was named as Lalbagh, it was called as the “Cypress Garden” ^*2

*2 View of LalBagh, painted by Robert Home

Development

Somewhere in 1760s, Hyder Ali chose 34 acres of land on the east of the Kempegowda tower. He procured seeds and plants from varied places like Kabul, Persia, Turkey, Lahore and Multan. Tamil speaking gardeners from the community of “Thigalars” were brought from the neighborhood to look after the gardens. This explains why we find the “Thigalar” community people in abundance in Bangalore today.

After Hyder Ali, Tippu Sultan extended the garden by acquiring more land. Tippu imported Pine and oak plants from Cape of Good Hope^*3 and other exotic plants and seeds from Mauritius and Africa. Two old mango tress said to have been planted during his time is still seen in Lal Bagh. He also appointed Mohammed Ali and Abdul Khader as Daroga (Chief Gardner). Tippu improved the gardens to a greater extent even as late as in 1798; he obtained plants and seeds from the Isle of France. Thus Lal Bagh grew to be a house of rare tropical and sub-tropical plants.

After British invasion, Lal Bagh became a property of East India Company. On 27^th February 1836, Sir. Mark Cubbon transferred its ownership to the Agri horticultural society, Mysore. By August 1856, Lal Bagh became a government botanical garden and in 1881, it was passed into the hands of Maharaja of Mysore. Under the state government, the garden area was more than doubled. 22 acres in 1888, 8 acres in 1890 and again in 1889-90, 30 acres of land were purchased. By the end of the century, Lal Bagh was a whopping 120 acres of mesmerizing Fauna!

Zoo at Lal Bagh

There were also proposals to make Lal Bagh, a combination of Zoo and Garden to increase the number of visitors. In 1862, it had a Black Panther, a couple of bird species, a few tigers and Kangaroos. Few hundreds of deers were also brought into the zoo. It is also said that an Orangutan was quite popular @ the Lal Bagh’s Zoo.  A pigeon house with 100 pair of pigeons was built. The plague of 1899 had a very bad effect on the Menagerie and the aviary. By 1900, the number of animals and birds was reduced to 60 and all these were later transferred to the Mysore Zoo.

The Glass-House

Flower shows were conducted by the Agri-Horticultural society right from the beginning. Flower shows at Lal Bagh dates back to 1867. In 1888, John Cameron, the then superintendent of Government gardens, proposed for the construction of Glass House for the purpose of holding horticultural shows. Designed originally on the lines of Crystal palace in England, it was completed in 1890 at a cost of 75000 Rs. Crystal palace was burnt to ashes in a fire accident, but the “Glass House” has remained a marvelous structure, symbolizing the development of Horticulture and reminding the Englishmen of their lost monumental glory.

Glass House @ Dusk

Lal Bagh rock and Lake

The great plate of south India is called as “Gondwana land”, which is one of the oldest formations on earth. Dating back to about 3000 million years! A rare exposure of this antiquity can be seen at the Lal Bagh, in the form of a rock hill. The geologists term this rock as peninsular gneiss. Perched on top of this rock is one of the four cardinal towers, as border of namma Bengaluru city built by Kempegowda in 1537.

Tower of Bangalore on top of The LalBagh rock

People who made “Garden City”

Today, Bangalore and it’s amazing green cover is what it is because of a numerous gentlemen who nurtured it with love, passion and care. I’ve tried really hard to collect the details of some of the key men who are remembered for their below mentioned deeds, without which this post would’ve been incomplete.

John Cameron – enriched the plant wealth of Lal Bagh by giving it a numerous exotic plant species, many of which later assumed the status of commercial crops. The famous Bangalore Blue Grapes, Gauva, Mulberry are just a few. Glass house is his brain child

G H Krumbiegal – was requested by Krishnaraja Wodeyar, as a successor to John Cameron, to raise the reputation of Lal Bagh, by introducing economic farming, methodic development of horticulture on commercial scale from Lal bagh. It is also noteworthy that Brindavan garden at KRS was established during his time.

H C Javaraya – Rao Bahaddur HC JAvaraya, an able successor to Krumbigal, is credited with the development of Bangalore city as “Garden city”. The full credit of starting a fruit orchard @ Lal Bagh, erecting the eastern wing of the Glass house, Lotus pond, Government Fruit research station at Hessarghatta are some of his achievements

Dr. M H Marigowda – A key man in the horticulture department of Karnataka. A Ph. D in Botany from Harvard, started as many as 380 farms and nurseries in Bangalore. He also set up soil testing and seed testing labs @ Lal Bagh, also introduced exotic species of Flora to Lal Bagh and elevated Karnataka to a “Horticultural” rich state.

Flower show inside the Glass house

For over a century, this elegant garden is standing as a symbol and testimony of floral richness. From 34 acres to a present 240 acres of roaring green cover, every acre has its own story to tell. To me, the fact that it is in the very heart of namma Bengaluru makes it even merrier. I wish that the long cherished legacy of Lal Bagh will continue forever and bring further prosperity and happiness to namma Bengaluru’s feat!

*1 – Book “A Journey from Madras: Through the Countries of Mysore, Canara, and Malabar by Dr. Francis Buchanan

*2 – Painted by Robert Home, British oil portrait painter. Found in British Library website

*3 – The early long history of Lal Bagh – By Dr. Suryanath U Kamath – Former Chief Editor: Karnataka Gazetteer

Above all, special thanks to some of colleagues of Horticultural department, for understanding my inevitabilities and catering to thousands of my inquiries wholeheartedly.

Photo credits: Thamizh Ezhil Murali, Wiki and of course myself J

Tourist in my own city-2 : Russel Market

This part of the city is relaxed in a way that shows that it just doesn’t care whatever is happening on the other side of Bangalore. In other words, it has remained nonchalant all these days. This is the primary reason why I often deviate from my usual road and take a ride around cantonment area and Shivajinagar while going to office. It reminds me of old Bangalore.

Front entrance of Russel Market

Bangalore in 1920s had only two major divisions. One was called the pete area (which I’ve already written about) which had a majority of kannadigas and the other was Cantonment which had a western influence; thanks to the residents from Britain and other parts of the world. While pete area was administered by Maharaja of Mysore, the influence of British was more in the region of cantonment.  Thus the old cantonment area saw a rapid development. This also saw a need for a bigger market area for people to buy their daily essential commodities. Then, South parade (now called as MG Road) was meant only for expensive shopping. That is when the then municipal chief of the cantonment area T B Russel (later it was named after him) came up with the plan to construct a market.

Fresh dates sold - Ramzan special

Construction of Russel Market began in 1927 and was inaugurated in 1933. The specialty of this market is that it was constructed with keeping in mind the religious tolerances of people; for it had separate entries for vegetables and fruits, meat products and groceries. Even for today, one can experience this by entering the market from different sides. While the front entrance greets you with the smell of fruits and vegetables, the meat and poultry entries on the other are hard to breathe at.

The deserted arena of Russel Market building's first floor

I gaze around the whole market and the freshness of fruits and vegetables amaze me. A wide variety of fruits and vegetables, Arabian dates and dry fruits, flowers are stalled. I couldn’t resist buying tapiocas after realizing how fresh they are. Being a vegetarian, I was forced away from the meat and poultry sections for obvious reasons, but I’m told by friends that Russel Market is one of the few places where one can find even the meat afresh. Chicken, duck meat, beef, pork, crabs and prawns are among the other varieties one can find in there. It is a one stop shop for all the meat buyers. The iftaari delicacies during Ramzan here are so awesome that your palate just doesn’t want to get rid of them!

Vegetables - As fresh as it gets

I start conversing with a few old merchants who still have shops in there and they opine that it was a lot better during olden days. They say that they miss the beautiful view of St. Mary’s Basilica and wide open space from its front entry. A few also talk about its calmness until late 70s and 80s and express blues of how choking and grimy the place has become. They also miss some old parts of the market building (tea house) which caught fire in 2012 due to a short circuit. But for most of them, no matter what course of changes they’ve witnessed, it’s about moving on because they do whatever they do in Russel Market, for living.

Fruitseller chacha - He does it for a living

I wish I could get deeper insights of this place, but unfortunately, there is not much recorded “authentic” information. I would recommend you to just pay a visit to Russel Market and its surroundings just to get that feel of old Bangalore. I’m sure it enlightens the many facets of old world charm in you. If you are the one who give more importance to the coffee than the cup, then you’ll unwarily enjoy shopping there.

The "always bustling" shivajinagar street

As I take one last sip of the flavorsome Sulaimani chai in front of Russel Market, as I take one last pic of its old tower, a thought hits me hard – I wish the phrase “Bangalore has changed” is just euphemistic. 

Tourist in my own city-1 : K R Market

“To learn photography, you need a landscape that is diversified with a compendium of the times gone by and the touch of sparkling freshness” said Anil and Abhi. The first thing and the only thing that came to my mind was– Namma Bengaluru.  My fascination for writing and my love for my city are now complemented with a DSLR in hand. As I try to get hold of the options in my camera, I’ll also present to you the places around Bangalore which has a story to be told. For now, I’m a tourist in my own city!

It is 6 in the morning. While every other city road is still getting up to its realms, K R market is already bustling with vehicles. There is a traffic jam here! I’m sure many of you are now wondering how I managed to walk the aisle even for a minute. “Ewwwww! Photo in K R Market?” said my wife. “Are you nuts?” said my mother. Yes, true. How unfortunate it is that we live in the despondent present. But my dear friend, everything has a past. Even K R Market!

K R Market, circa 1950s

Legends say that before it was named after Krishna Rajendra Wodeyar IV (also known as Nalvadi KrishnaRaja Wodeyar) as K R Market, the area was called Pete (means Emporium; a mart; a place of sale; as per Kittel’s Kannada-English dictionary).  The pete area is said to have been established around late 1530s by Kempegowda-1 after foreseeing the need for a common place for traders to sell their commodities, mainly flowers and vegetables. ^*1 And the commodities were bought from as far as the towns of Salem and Erode. As time progressed, the large pete area got drifted into smaller chunks called Bale-pete (Bangle market), Chikka pete (for textiles), Cubbon pete, Ganigara pete (for oil), akki-pete (for grains) and so many others.

Bangalore fort 1860s

The rush is so much that with much difficulty, I gain entry into the market. All the vendors are sipping their morning cup of tea amidst the diligent business. For a software engineer like me, it is surprising that in this bigbasket.com era, there are so many people buying things at the wee hours of a weekend. But Swamy, one of the fruit vendors tells me that they make very good business during this time. I cannot stop thinking if bigbasket guys buy stuff from here. Another green vegetable wholesaler Tayamma says that she sells all her commodities within 830 and gets back home. Looking at the number of buyers thronging in and the trade activities spilling over onto the streets of the K R Market, I’m pretty convinced about the freshness of the fruits and vegetables.

A vendor busy selling flowers inside Flower Market

There is also a flower market which sparkles with the insignia of colors. 67 year old flower vendor, Rajanna; who comes here to sell his home grown flowers all the way from Sira, a village which is 120km from Bangalore, tells me that he comes to K R Market thrice a week. In a day, he sells around a quintal of flowers and during festivals it goes up to 20-30 quintals a day, which include a wide variety of Mallige(Jasmine), Suryakanti (Sunflower), Roja (Rose), Sugandharaja (Tuberose) and Sevantige (Chrysanths). Another vendor Shaama takes pride when he says “There’ll be at least one type of flower purchased from us in every marriage that happens in Bangalore.

Rajanna, another flower vendor

Not just the market, the surrounding area has a lot of monuments that talk about the glorified existence of namma Bengaluru. Just a couple of 100 yards from the Market building, is the Kote (Fort), which was built by Kempegowda during mid-1500s and later modernized by Hyder Ali around 1760s. It is also said that this pete area was a war-zone during the third Anglo-Mysore war (1791 AD) when lord Cornwallis attacked it during midnight. As a proof, recently, Workers dug up a cannon weighing more than a ton belonging to Tippu Sultan era during Metro rail work in the K R Market area ^*4.  

Tippu's Palace - Front view

Kote Venkataramana Swamy temple which was built in 1689 AD ^*5, is one of the oldest lord venkateshwara temple of Karnataka.  During the same time, Tippu Sultan also built a palace, which is called Tippu Palace, is still erect. There is a mosque adjacent to the market building called Jamia Masjid which was built circa 1940s majorly with white marble. Post 1950, the commercial activity of K. R Market’s surroundings thrived; thanks to its proximity with the residential areas of old Bangalore, viz. Chamarajapete and Basavanagudi.  There were also a lot of theaters around this area, some of which are functioning even to this day and some are closed down.

Jamia Masjid, adjacent to Market building

The new market which was designed by Sri Lakshminarasappa on the model of Sir Stuart Hogg Market of Calcutta was opened on October 11, 1921. ^*2.  It has been close to a dozen of decades since this building is functioning. But it is visible that very less has been done to keep it in good shape. It is in ruins with water seeping from the top during rains.  The walls are shattered, platforms are uneven. They deserve better facilities and as always, the government has turned its blind eye after an armada of promises during the elections.

HMT tower clock, K R Market building entrance, from inside

I, Anil and Rahul meander enough around K R Market and come out to have a kadak chai. As we deliberate about its sustenance; the employment that it has offered to so many people; about its past, present and future, my image of it has changed.

For sure, K R Market does not have the loftiness of the best malls or the awe of most the eminent supermarkets in the city, but with this visit, I’ve realized that it is full of coveted things for the common man without which everyday life ceases to move on. Next time I pass it, I hope to forget the mires around and I’ll feel proud of the place which still has the ashes of the times gone by. At this moment, a quote is kindling in my mind that Plato once said about Greece!

This City is what it is because our citizens are what they are!

References:

*1 – Bangalore - The informal economy of the Historic Pete, Journal of the arts and heritage, UNESCO

*2 – History of Bangalore. K.R Market (Karnataka History)

*3 – Image – K R Market, circa 1950s. British Library

*4 - http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/workers-dig-up-tipu-era-cannon-metro-rail-work-bangalore/1/234644.html

*5 - The New Cambridge History of India, volume VI

Photo credits: Anil and Rahul, and of course me!

Kadlekai Parishe - Mar-di Gras of Bangalore

The city of Bangalore occupies a special place in the pride of India, not just on account of its external beauty and the IT revenue it is generating. We, the true blue Bangaloreans, have always loved the city because of its finer qualities seen through its countless carnivals, fiestas and cultural extravaganzas. And Kadlekai Parishe  is just one among them.

Basava (Nandi)

 Kadlekai Parishe, In English, translates to Groundnut festival or Peanut festival. Bangalore’s bountiful nature and an ideal climate have helped its people grow a broad spectrum of intercontinental plant wealth. Back in 1600s and 1700s, the surroundings of Bangalore cultivated a lot of peanuts. One of the legends says that cows often entered the groundnut growing fields and damaged the plant. And all the apprehensive farmers, pledged to offer their first harvest of peanuts to Nandi idol, also called as Basava.  This is how kadlekai parishe was started. Later the area surrounding this basava idol came to be known as Basavanagudi (translated as Bull temple).

Groundnut sellers from all over 

Thus, kadlekai parishe became an annual event (celebrated on the last Monday of Kartika Maasa, which is considered auspicious according to Hindu almanac) in Bangalore’s calendar. As time passed by, Basavanagudi itself has demonstrated a marvelous capacity for accepting, accommodating and sheltering the vast and varied groundnut sellers from all around the city (and parts of Tamil Nadu too).

Having spent the early days of my childhood in the vicinity of Basavanagudi (We stayed in Gavipuram Guttahalli for sometime before moving to north Bangalore)  I too have fond memories of it. It reminded me of my school days. During kadlekai parishe, after school, a bunch of  friends, Me, Joshi, Bhargav, Murali and many others  used to run to bull temple just to pick groundnuts and walk home; Chips made of tapioca were a new trend those days and I just loved eating it. Those manually driven giant wheel and merry go round rides were so ecstatic!

Heap of peanuts for sale

On this festival, Basavanagudi and the surrounding area is transformed so radically that if you take a real-estate tycoon to Bull temple area and tell him this is a prime location in Bangalore, he would not believe you AT ALL!  This is THE reason why I love kadlekai parishe. For a day, the otherwise bustling Bull temple road is transformed totally to a village, full of colors and vibrancy; A village that provides seclusion to the young generation who’ve not witnessed a carnival before; and to the old, who finds reminiscence of the old Bangalore.

In the necklace of Bangalore’s cultural heritage, kadlekai parishe is just one of the pendants. There are so many other pendants and I hope to write about them in coming days. Somewhere between taking pride in visiting all the malls and boasting about being cosmopolitan, we are deviating away for our own ethos. Take your kids to these events and give them a feel of cultural sophistication. The magnificence of a groundnut festival is something that shopping malls can never offer you. Kadlekai Parishe is Bangalore’s Mar-di Gras

Malleswaram - The aura of old Bangalore

Ritesh’s post about Malleswaram on facebook made me all nostalgic. I recalled the good old days of my childhood, about namma Bengaluru, about Malleswaram. If you are not living in Bangalore from late 80s or early 90s, then you’ll probably not be able to imagine the way Bangalore has transformed from a tinsel town with more trees than its own people to a metropolis with more outsiders than its own. No offense meant; perhaps such petty distinctions don’t matter at all. In spite of such a radical change, there are some places which, even today, bequeath the Aura of the old Bangalore. Malleswaram is one such place. I have very fond memories of Malleswaram. So much so that if you tell a BMTC bus number I can tell you if it plies through this place. I’m glad to have recalled it by virtue of this blog post.

Malleswaram circle before construction of Grade Separator

Just 15-16 years ago, it was a routine for my family to visit Malleswaram on the eve of any festival. Be it Sankranti or Ugadi or Ganesha Chaturthi. We used to board the bus numbered 1, 91 and 91C (Not sure if these buses are still there) from Chamarajpet. It used to reach Malleswaram via K R Market, Corporation, Nrupatunga road and Seshadripuram. There was no Vikasa soudha then. So if I imagine today, it was like going inside Vidhana Soudha. Not even a single fly over and I’ve seen Nrupatunga road and KG road being two ways at that time! Yeah. Hard to imagine!

We used to get down in Malleswaram circle. Shopping for my mom would kick off from there itself. I always urged my mom to get down in 8^thcross bus stop because of a tonga stand and a public toilet next to Malleswaram circle bus stop whose aroma I couldn’t stand. But mom wouldn’t listen because she would miss picking up mango leaves (mavina yele) in 5^th cross.

Malleswaram is one such place where no one can go hungry. Then there were no Mantris, No Rajadhanis and no Maiyyas. But it was almost tradition for us to break off and stop at CTR for a crispy Masala Dosa, Sahyadri café for a hot cup of coffee and Janata Hotel which is world famous in Bangalore for its amazing crusty Vadas and dosas. I wish I had enough words to describe the ecstasy of eating local!

Crispy CTR Masala Dosa

After being fortified at Janata, CTR or Sahyadri Café, continuing the shopping along the side of sampige road, the best part for me were new dresses @ T D Shah (Not sure if its sill there). And then my mom would stop by Murugan Ghee stores in 10^th cross and finally the shopping would end in Malleswaram market with flowers and we would board the same bus in Margosa road and head back home, thus ending the life’s little pleasures, but in a very big way.

Even today during festival time, cordiality and sparkle fills entire stretch of sampige road; with colors, sounds, fragrances and of course we the people. Oh the bliss! Only people who’ve seen malleswaram during festivals can imagine what I’m talking about. Malleswaram is seriously old Bangalore. Though lots of changes have taken place, somehow the refusal of Malleswaram itself to modernize has to be appreciated. If at all there are some things about Bangalore that has not changed, Malleswaram definitely tops that chart.

Flowers @ Malleswaram market

Take some time off your shopping malls and meander through the vibrant Sampige road on the eve of a festival, to experience the cultural extravaganza of old Bangalore, “Namma” Bangalore. Give a day break to your McDonalds and KFCs and explore the desi tindis you get in this vicinity before you regret, or at least to tell your kids that you had gone to this place once, without which your love for Bangalore will cease to exist.

Oh wait. Without the allusions of Kadu malleswara Temple, Asha sweets, Geetanjali talkies, Iyer mess, Veena stores and my personal favourite Raghavendra stores, both Malleswaram and this post will be incomplete.