HERITAGE

  This morning, as I walked in Forest Park, I inhaled the heady scent of the magnolia blossoms, and though I am not a nostalgic person usually, the scent evoked memories of what I call the "pre-IT Bangalore"...the sleepy, lovely city that we moved into, in 1988. One of the loveliest memories from those days is that of inhaling the scent of the Sampige trees as I walked, and cycled, in Cubbon Park...Then, there were not too many apartments around; it was we, who lived in such apartments, who were the newly-arrived interlopers. At many parties, I would hear the complaints…

Apart from being a huge building that houses artefacts and information, museums have a charm and a character of their own. Bengaluru has Venkatappa Art gallery, Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum, National Gallery of Modern Arts, HAL Aerospace museum among others. The recently inaugurated Kempegowda Museum presents interesting facets about Bengaluru's founder. The world famous Louvre or the British museum has the ability to transport one to different civilisations, discover treasure trove of information and of course get dazzled by the vast collection. Museums in India house huge collection of artefacts; Delhi's National Museum leading the list. Some of museums…

There's something about living in this city for a long time that makes it impossible to not be a loud and brash bigot. There is a wordless demand that you don't simply love this city but be a little proud, a little overbearing, and become an insufferable little mobile advertisement for your part of town. It is with the same sentiment that we took part in Hunt For The Past - INTACHís Heritage Hunt held in the Basavanagudi area last week. The event was an sms-powered treasure hunt that took one to different parts of the old South Bangalore area,…

  Having had to postpone our trip to Nandi Hills due to torrential rains on Saturday, we decided to make the trip on Sunday morning, and Anand, Kannan, Priyanka, Sushil, Vaibhav, and I left at 4.30am on Sunday morning.I rarely post black-and-white photos, but this view of the ramparts of the Nandi Hills wall, the trees and the clouds...and that monkey sitting there...needs bnw! Here's one of the things that's special about Nandi Hills: Here we are, having stopped on the road up, to see what we could sight:I used the little Fuji camera to capture the beautiful view of the hills…

 புத்தாண்டு வாழ்த்துக்கள்! transliterates to "putthANdu vAztthukkaL" and it means, New Year Greetings!It's the many others celebrate it today too...So....Happy New Year to everyone!tiny_mce_marker ⊕

The idea of a day set aside to commemorate the world’s heritage – a day on which to highlight the efforts required to protect and conserve heritage and to underscore its vulnerability – was first mooted by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS). It was adopted by UNESCO in 1983 and ever since, April 18th has been observed as World Heritage Day the world over.This year, the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) in Bangalore is celebrating the day with a couple of different events. In association with NGMA, we have a set of talks on…

...That subject title is literally true, since a Black Kite floated past on the thermals, at eye level, as I took these pics! Some of them are through very dirty glass, so I apologize for the marks across the sky.I went to conduct an interview yesterday, and from the 11th floor of the building (guess which one it is!) I took these shots of central Bangalore as it is today (or was, yesterday...maybe a couple more buildings have mushroomed!!)It's lovely to see the various landmarks...Chinnaswamy Stadium, Utility Building, the various convent schools, and so on.Prof Ramani of TTK says that…

   A man buys plantain leaves on the occasion of Ugadi - the Kannada New Year. I can only imagine the sumptuous meal he would have had on the plantain leaf.  Pic by Ravi Kaushik.

Peace, solitude, glimpses of mythological past and a touch of divinity are what you get when you head for a trip to Mulbagilu. We set out from Bangalore by eight in the morning on Bangalore-Hoskote route. It was just me, my 5 year old and my husband. We reached Kurudamale by 10 am and covered both Maha Ganapathi and Someshwara temple. Chat with the Someshwara temple priest for some time if you can and he will gladly furnish you with details of the temple architecture and its history. Mulbagilu - View from Lav-Kusha hill. Pic: Usha Hariprasad. Our next stop…

The Hindu carried an interesting editorial late last year on developing heritage cities in India. Most people don’t associate Bengaluru with heritage. While it is true that Bangalore has only a few monumental historic buildings like – two forts, two palaces and a scattering of temples. What we do have is: a large network of tanks, plenty of trees and parks, and a number of historic zones. Places like Basavanagudi, Whitefield and Chickpet have a unique historic character defined by their architecture, layout and/or mix of communities and professions. Charming precincts like these are what drew people to Bangalore and…