HERITAGE

Did you ever own small, bright coloured wooden toys?  Every child in Karnataka might have owned the toy once in their life, be it a wooden horse or little wooden figurines. Ever wondered what they are called? These dolls are called Channapatna toys that are manufactured in the town of Channapatna in the Bangalore Rural district of Karnataka state. These toys are made from organic colours. Listen to Narayanappa, who was branch manager of Cauvery emporium in MG Road, a local artisan, who talks about the making of the toys. The tree known as Hale mara (tinctoris tree) is used for…

On the 15th of October, 2016, as my friends and I were returning from a nature and birding trip to Nandi Hills, we saw these Yakshagana artistes on the road back (which is also the road from the airport into the city.) That was the goddess of power, Shakti, herself, stepping out into a city, state and country that had just finished celebrating Her in the form of Navaratri or Dashera.   I realized that I would never know why these people were dressed up, and where they were going...was it for a performance, or something else? Yakshagana is a…

The Venkatappa Art Gallery could well see more activity and action in the coming days, as artists in Bengaluru come together to make the Gallery a vibrant public space and regain its lost glory, and all this without private participation. The heart of Bengaluru is buzzing with public activities right now. The Rangoli Metro Art Center is a hit because it’s open for all. Vehicle-free Sundays in Cubbon Park attract enthusiastic crowds. With the Venkatappa Art Gallery and the museums being near Metro stations, there is a lot of scope for improving footfalls at the Gallery, feels Suresh Kumar G,…

Oorvani Foundation and Datameet are happy to announce the launch of OpenCity.in - an urban public data portal. In cities across India, there is a lack of accessible and robust public data. Citizens often do not have access to quantitative information that helps them understand the state of their neighborhood and their city, as well as support their demands of the local government. Data when available is often lost within the hard disks of government or non-governmental organisations, documents hard disks or in individual silos. OpenCity.in is a repository of city-related public data from government sources, via RTI or open…

Recently, we visited Arthipura near Kokkare Bellur to visit the archeological excavation site of ancient Jaina vestiges. I read news reports about this site so thought of visiting. I was sure that my family would not get bored, because they had really enjoyed our last visit to Keeladi, another archaeological site near Madurai, Tamil Nadu, where ASI unearthed remains of 2,200 to 2,300 year old houses and artifacts. Arthipura is a small village near Maddur in Mandya district. It is located 5 km south of Kokkare Bellur. It has two small hillocks, Shravanabetta and Chikkabetta or Kanakagiri.  Last year, archaeologists from ASI Bangalore…

Growing up in Bengaluru for me has always revolved around the Cantonment - early morning walks under the tree-lined avenues towards Richards Park, eating Ritchies mutton biryani on MM road (back in the day when a plate was a meagre Rs 40), or buying weekly groceries from Thoms after Sunday mass. Historically, the Cantonment of Bengaluru dates back to the 18th century, specifically 1807, when the British defeated Tipu Sultan’s army and established themselves around the Ulsoor kere. The British established various typologies from large parks and shopping centres to parade grounds and schools, the most important being the colonial bungalow…

T N Seetaram is a well-known name in Kannada literary circles, and popular for his TV soap operas that had progressive outlook and strong women characters. He recollects a time in Bangalore’s history, when there was no traffic and chaos, and there was no BDA too. BDA was formed on January 6, 1976 - exactly 40 years ago. In the seventies, I was living in my friend's house, as a tenant, in Swimming Pool Extension near Malleshwaram. The owner of the house, the father of my friend Krishnamurthy, never used to collect rent from me, more because of his affection…

Srinivasa Mahal, Winner of the 2015 award in the Private (Residential) category. Pic: INTACH INTACH has invited nominations from you for the Second Annual INTACH Heritage Awards, given to Bengaluru's heritage buildings. Citizens can nominate the heritage buildings that they think deserve an award -- the beautiful ones that make you sigh, the charming ones that you think gave Bengaluru its unique charm, the hoary old ones that tell stories of our past. These awards help to showcase Bengaluru's heritage, and to keep heritage in the public eye, so do take a moment to nominate a building! Awards will be given…

Having read this article in the Hindu, dated September 28th 2008 and also enjoyed this article by my friend Adarsh Raju about the trees and the temple, written on July 15th 2015, I'd wanted to visit this heritage site for some time. On January 30th, when my friend Mallika Rajasekaran asked our mutual friend Arun Visweswaran about the location, I was very happy to finally be able to go Nallur, a village in Devanahalli taluk in Bangalore Rural district, which once hosted vast tamarind groves, now has a patriarch of a tree, estimated to be 900 years old, still bearing…

Bangalore, now Bengaluru, has become a melting pot of cultures. A plate of vaangi bath here, and Char Sui Bao there; an Iyer mami here, a sister Susie there; a house with monkey-tops here, a glass-panelled 17-storey building there. Every one of these is reminiscent of the changing culturescape of the city. Here are five videos that pay homage to our very own Bean Town, in their own special way. Humble beginnings To start off, here is a video that traces how the founder of Bengaluru, Hiriya Kempegowda developed Bengaluru. This video was screened when Bengaluru International Airport was renamed…