HERITAGE

 Everyone feels festive, and rather generous, on an auspicious day...and many people like to tap into this vein of generosity. Here's the itenerant with his decorated cow...she walks through the streets on festivals like Sankranti (in fact, this was taken on Ekadasi day, on the 4th of March...the 11th day after the new moon)....calls out to householders that good times are coming. The cow is trained to nod its head to every rhetorical question that her  owner asks ("Is prosperity coming to this house? Will happiness rule in this place?") and when the children come running out to see the colourful…

A location quiz... Where is this? Clue: Travel!  ⊕

January 29th was a bright Sunday morning for us, a group of around 30 enthusiasts. We had gathered at 8.30 am in front of Someshwara temple for Halasuru Parichay, a heritage walk conducted by INTACH, Bangalore Chapter. Sathya Prakash Varanashi from INTACH (The Indian National Trust For Art and Cultural Heritage) and Dr Aruni from ICHR (The Indian Council of Historical Research), Southern Region, took us through the Parichay. The Parichay was divided into two parts - the first on Someshwara temple and the second on Halasuru settlement. Dr Aruni, in his parichay of the temple, explained three distinct stages…

 I do not often indulge in nostalgia, being a person who enjoys the vibrancy of the present as much as the glow of the past. But once in a while.... It was saddening to read of the closure of Hotel Brindavan, on M G Road.The value of everything seems to be reckoned only in money terms, in Bangalore, at least....there seems to be no value for heritage, history or culture...except if they can be marketed as "heritage", "history", and "culture". Otherwise, it is all "real estate". Sad at the inverted-commaization of our inheritance...we are now camera-toting tourists, treading over our own…

Two small phrases....  Kannadigas, in common with most Indians, do not saying a brusque "No" to one's face. If invited  to a wedding or any other celebration, we do not feel it is polite to openly say no. "I'll see if I can make it" or "I'll try to come" is the most frequent response, and from this, I have, over the years, learnt to understand that the invitee will not be able to make it. The affection and the "wanting" to attend are there, and that is made clear by the statment  of intention, rather than the fact of inability. But…

An early morning walk in Kempegowda's pettah would not sound welcoming to most Bengaluru folks. But thanks to Poornima Dasharathi's insight, the Pettah Walk turned out to be a comprehensive introduction to Bengaluru's beginnings. Yelahanka Gate Anjaneya temple. Pic: Poornima Dasharathi We were scheduled to meet up at 7am near the Anjaneya temple, Mysore Bank Circle. I got there 20 minutes late and was touched that Poornima and the team of enthusiasts were waiting for me near Cauvery Bhavan.We started off by briefly introducing ourselves. Poornima traced Kempegowda's family from Yelahanka and beyond and provided historical reasons for Bengaluru's location…

One building...On my way to and from the Bangalore International Airport, one building often catches my eye:I have long known the custom of the Parsi community to dispose of their dead by exposing the bodies to the elements and to the sun. I vaguely remember being shown a "Tower of Silence" in Mumbai, many decades ago.I googled for "Tower of Silence", and got this link about Dakhma, transliterated as "Tower of Silence" I was not sure if the Tower of Silence in Bangalore is being used now...but a little digging produced this link to an article in the Hindu ...which…

An announcement from BBMP in newspapers a while back has asked for citizens to write in with objections if any, to the proposed changes in road names. It is not just roads but also areas that have been renamed (among them Frazer Town, which everybody still refers to as Frazer Town rather than as Pulakeshinagar.The rationale for name changes is that the old names are relics from a colonial past and that we need to commemorate our own, indigenous heroes and  leaders (from Kittur Chennamma to Kempe Gowda, to former judge, governor and freedom fighter Nittoor Srinivasa Rau) which is…

 I decided to visit my friends Ganu and Hema, and their daughter, Janani, who's recently come home for good, after having done her Masters' degree at Pittsburgh. They always put up a lovely display for Navarathri:A "kolu" or "golu" is supposed to be a representation of the universe, so anything you wish to can be put in....human beings, animals, gods, flowers....Here's an idol which is half Ganesha, half Hanuman, that I've never seen before:These dolls/figures are often sold in "sets". Here's a beautiful set of Mamallapuram, or Mahabalipuram, on the shores near Chennai:There is also a lovely seascape painting to…

Deepa Peck, long time resident and head of the Whitefield Residents Association. Pic: Jaaga. Deepa Peck has been a resident of Whitefield since 1991 and has been visiting it since 1972. In all those years she has seen many of the areas, charming colonial buildings disappear one after the other. In May last year Deepa and her fellow residents were shaken out of their complacency when a Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) notice was served to the 1882-built Whitefield Memorial Church and all residences/commercial establishments along the Whitefield-Varthur main road. BBMP was planning to widen the road which would have…