HERITAGE

On the 1st of August 2010, 12 of us participated in a photowalk to the Bangalore heritage temple sites, Kaadu Malleswara and Nandeeswara, in Malleswaram. I organized this photowalk to help a friend, Chandrachoodan Gopalakrishnan, who used to conduct photowalks in Chennai before he went to Bristol, UK to pursue higher studies. His course, Masters of Arts in Archaeology for Screen Media (MAASM), looks at archaeology/heritage and media practices and explores ways in which archaeology can be presented to an audience. He had requested some photowalks to be organised to help him with his thesis. This photowalk was called Ancient…

The last week was a busy one for INTACHers, what with two heritage walks back-to-back, besides a lot of parleys and planning for a forthcoming event (you'll hear more about it soon). Intach members with children from SECA at Bangalore Fort. Pic courtesy: Meera Iyer. Saturday's Parichay (as our heritage walks are called) was led by Krupa Rajangam and was at Whitefield, where the altar of a historic church might be sacrificed at the altar of ‘development', if the BBMP has its way. Both residents of Whitefield and other Bangaloreans turned out in good numbers to learn more about this…

I posted once about the Monkey Puzzle Tree with its beautiful leaves (go see the huge trees near the Glass House  in Lalbagh, if you can!)and later, I got theMonkey Puzzle Butterfly amongst other things, on a nature trail:A few days ago, it was very nice to see that someone still cares about our Bangalore heritage, and has re-created the Monkey Puzzle architectural detail for their home:Possibly this feature was so called because monkeys used to sit on it...it's also called "Monkey Top".

"From Central Talkies to Malleshwaram 18th Cross, would be a great walk and sunlight would not fall on the ground. That is my memory of Sampige road."Sampige Road - the wonderfully fragrant name holds a lot of memories for many Bangaloreans who grew up in and around Malleswaram. The huge Malleswaram Circle, the horses in the jataka stand, the fragrance of the bouquet shop, shoppers at 8th Cross and the temples - all this give Sampige Road a typical south Indian look and feel.Listen to Vimala Rangachar, grand daughter of Venkataranga Iyengar, the founder of Malleswaram, and other old time…

Despite the downpour last Saturday night, you could see an eager and motley group waiting near/opposite Ulsoor Police station a little before 8 am last Sunday (July 11th) morning; for the Ulsoor Parichay (introduction). This was a part of the series of heritage walks organised by the Bangalore chapter of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) as part of its Parichay programme, an initiative aimed at raising awareness of Bangalore's heritage among its citizens.The parichay was planned so as to walk through some parts of Ulsoor where we could witness and discuss processes of urban change.…

A TDR notice was handed over by a BBMP employee at the gate to the Whitefield Memorial Church in May. See copy of notice given to Memorial Church. Similar notices have been given to all residences/commercial establishments along the Whitefield-Varthur main road. Exterior view of the Whitefield Memorial Church. Pic courtesy: Krupa Rajangam. Members of the Church of Church of South India (CSI) congregation and The Anglican Church of India congregation are appalled at this contemplated action of the BBMP. With respect to all Christian denominations, his Highness Wodeyar IX gifted three-quarters of an acre to build an inter-denominational church…

Courtesy: Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH). It isn’t often that an old structure gets added to the cityscape but exactly this happened two months ago when the Muzrai Department excavated the old tank associated with the Someshwara Temple in Ulsoor.A cowshed stood at the spot earlier and a little shop on one side. The unearthing of the tank involved demolition of portions of some houses along its sides and so naturally generated some controversy – the excavation is now mired in a court case.Like in the case of the temple itself, we have no exact date…

Last week’s photo was of a memorial that is said to be of Lakshmamma, daughter-in-law of Kempegowda, founder of Bangalore. The story goes that when Kempegowda was building his new fort, its southern gate would collapse every night. Astrologers advised him to conduct a human sacrifice but Kempegowda was reluctant to do so. And then one morning, as workers went to work on the gate once again, they found it had not collapsed. But nearby lay the body of Lakshmamma, Kempegowda’s pregnant daughter-in-law, who had killed herself to appease the Gods. A distraught Kempegowda is said to have built a…

Courtesy: Meera Iyer. This memorial in Koramangala is supposed to mark the spot where a daughter-in-law is said to have died for the sake of our city many, many years ago. Where exactly is this memorial and how is it connected with the story of our city? INTACH is a non-profit organisation, setup to protect and conserve India's vast natural and cultural heritage. See the answer in my next post.  ⊕

On the busy Ring Road in Kuvempu Nagar (BTM Layout) near the BTM bus terminus, unnoticed by many of us, there is a small temple, dedicated to Karumariamman Amma -a well known goddess in Thiruverkadu, Tamil Nadu, now is in midst of a busy neighbourhood. Temple dedicated to Karumariamman Amma. Pic: Chetan Boray. Before the temple was built, there was an ant hill and a serpent, claim the residents of Someshwar Colony. Muniswamy, Ramchandra, Nagaraj and P Shanmugam, all residents of the area took the initiative of constructing the temple. It was completed in the year 1994. Every year, a…