Discovering Bengaluru: History. Neigbourhoods. Walks

by Meera Iyer

This book walks you through a past that is still present in Bengaluru. Packed with archival maps and photographs, the book is part history and Part walking-guide. It tells the stories of the streets where people lived, where battles were fought, and where little marvels of architecture, culture or nature are still found around almost every corner. Whether you are a visitor to Bengaluru or a resident, this book is essential reading for you to discover and understand the city!

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Architecture, Indian Literature

339 pages, Paperback

Published November 1, 2019

Reviews

[Deepthi Cm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Much like the author says, Bengaluru, like many cities that have witnessed and survived history is "a palimpsest that bears the stamp of its varied past". Being born and raised in this city, I have forged an irrevocable bond with it, one that is ever-evolving and one that allows me to unearth and unfold new layers with every visit that takes me back home. Bengaluru always has and will be home to me but despite my love for it, I must admit that I was quite oblivious to its rich past. Discovering Bengaluru couldn't have had an apter title as I did indeed discover if not rediscover aspects of my city that I had either never cared to question before or didn't question enough. Reading this book has forged within me a renewed understanding of how it came to be, what we've lost out on over the years and perhaps even how we may safeguard the city by protecting it from further plunder and destruction. I now feel empowered with narratives behind the birth and life of different parts of the city and with this knowledge, I can only offer this city my love, gratitude and perhaps most importantly my humility. Despite all its drawbacks, Bangalore's salubrious climate always drew people towards it as it continues to do till today, and one can only hope that we give back to this land at least a fraction of what we owe it- by means of preservation and mindful living.

A must read for all Bangaloreans and lovers of history :)

[Raksha Bhat · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Dead end alli, right hogi”


Walk through the by lanes and streets of Bangalore and ask someone for directions and nine out of ten Bangaloreans will give you peculiar instructions like this with such great conviction, in fact Bangalore is the only city where we can contemplate these absurd possibilities.


We can go around and round a circle and get into a one way to ride on a footpath and park right under a ‘No Parking’ board when the traffic cop is right next to us under a tree playing Candy Crush on his cellphone!


Bangalore has an inherent whimsicalness. A town which grew to become a city with and without some foolproof planning. The best way to understand this place is to walk through it's different localities and meet the locals, listen to their stories and experience their exquisite cultures.


Meera Iyer’s recent book on Bangalore is unique in this aspect and gives us a helping hand. Reading this book is literally like walking through the neigbourhoods of Bangalore. At the Bangalore Literature festival this year in conversation with Harini Nagendra, she spoke about the process of writing this book which took almost four years. A lot of contribution is through walking and researching about the different areas and places of Bangalore like Malleshwaram, Basavangudi, Lalbagh, Cubbon park, Sampangi Kere, Frazer Town etc especially through the Heritage Walk conducted by INTACH. The book also has personal and professional contributions of various photographs, new and old from many fellow Bangaloreans. A lot of archives and references from libraries, inside and outside India were accessed by the author and the team to add to the strong content of the book. There are innumerable anecdotes and interesting facts about each locality which will add something different to our perspective about them. Also, the colourful maps with important landmarks are a treat to the reader’s eyes.


Another interesting concept about heritage is that most often we tend to associate it to buildings and architecture, well there is more to it.


• The smell of jasmine flowers when a flower vendor ties them in colourful threads in an intricate pattern taught by her grandmother who is sitting right next to her, in fact does the work faster and better.


• The books in State Central Library or Mythic Society which speak volumes about the city.


• The karaga festival on a full moon day when the divine feminine is worshiped.


• Krumbiegel’s gardens and flowers like natural ornaments


• The morning call of Azaan by the muezzin in the nearby mosque which is always dot on time.


• Ruskin Bond’s letters in Mr. Murthy’s drawers in Select Bookshop which he eagerly shows to you when you visit him


• Uday and team’s walks based on Inscription stones of Bangalore


• Neginhal’s trees which still are a crown over our green landscape


• Half Masala Dose at Sidappa’s Hotel


• Lakes like drops of diamonds whose value we ignore


• The candles shining bright with all our prayers in St.Mary’s Basilica


• Mayi Gowda’s & Krishna’s book treasures on Church Street


• The monkey tops which continue to cover the windows and doors while we have shooed away the monkeys, the sparrows and their brethren.


• Sound of the flour mill grinding ragi


• Suresh Moona’s talks and writings on the city


• Rusks from Variar Bakery and cocktail samosas from Albert Bakery


• Colourful sarees from Chikpete


• An all-night play at Jnanabharathi titled Mallegalali Madhumagalu written by Kuvempu and directed by Basavalingiah


• The smell of Mysore Sandal Soap from Soap Factory as you pass by the road


• Bangaloreans who adore, love and live in this place!


Use this book and walk through our city, you will fall in love with it’s past and present for sure.


The way we are going, of future we are not so sure.


Happy reading and sharing!


Thank you for a well researched and lovely book Meera Iyer & INTACH Bangalore and all the contributors for this book.


#BooksandBangalore #DiscoveringBangalore #INTACH #MeeraIyer #INTACHBengaluruChapter #Bangaloreinbooks #Bengaluru

[Pranave Nanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Books chronicling the advent and expansion of Bengaluru are rare, and this one is among those gems.

Meera Iyer does a phenomenal job in weaving the fragmented pieces of Bengaluru into one meticulous volume, with facts and anecdotes that are sure to make readers go wow!

For someone like yours truly born and raised in the city that means the world, this book is nothing short of a lifelong treasure.

For those who are interested in history, this book will not disappoint!

[Shyam Kodavarthi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply the best book I have read so far in 2022! I didn't know about this book. I ought to have read it earlier. The book is meticulously researched and excellently presented. It's a must-have for people who want to walk Bangalore (like I do) or for armchair enthusiasts interested in Bangalore.

[Pratik · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is not just a book of stories but also a book of deep history and rich culture. The depth of research and the intricate details mentioned in this book makes it stand out.
In this day and age, when Bangalore is being overrun by civic and infra issues and is inevitably losing its old charm, this book reminds us of the cultural and historic depth that Bengaluru has - be it in the old town Pete, the cosmopolitan "Towns", the still beautiful suburbs of Basavanagudi and Malleshwaram or the Brtit engineered Cantonment.

A must read for those who love this city and don't mind some physical visits (or even a virtual tour through Gmaps) to the places in Bangalore that are covered here.

[Ranjani Sathish · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book on Bengaluru has the right mix of history and anecdotes to keep you engaged through out. You will start seeing the localities of the city and landmarks in a new way, with an appreciation of how they came about. If you are new to the city, you will learn so much about it's history and if you are a resident of the city, your heart will leap in joy as as they talk about the places you are already familiar with, but you come away having learned a little more of your beloved locality !

In the "Walks" subsection, at the beginning of each chapter, a "Walk Map" in simple and visually appealing format is given. You really feel like taking a walk by yourself on a leisurely Sunday morning to your favourite locality with this book and discover more about it as you keep coming across the landmarks mentioned.

Temples and Churches, Forts and Palaces, Schools and Hospitals, Mosques and Monuments - every significant entity gets it's place in this book.

No description of Bengaluru is complete without the mention of it's lakes and beautiful gardens - Lalbagh and Cubbon Park. They are the pride of the city. There is lot of information on these also.

It is a fantastic book to read in order to know more and appreciate the legacy of this city. For, the more we appreciate and value something, the more we will want to preserve it for posterity.

[Lila Ravichandran · Rating 5 out of 5]

A unique and delightful book on Bangalore or Bengaluru as it is now called, with a wealth of information that belies the quantum of in-depth research that the author must have engaged in to ensure that every bit of information is checked and cross-checked. It is as if you are a participant in one of Meera Iyer’s famed walks through the lanes and by-lanes of this city which has so much to offer to the discerning eye. Written in a style befitting the genre and title of the book, it allows you to breezily discover hidden facets as you ‘walk’, unraveling nuggets of history, some exciting, some quite unexpected, and all of it riveting. I absolutely loved the cover page with its old map that begins to indicate to you what you are about to discover within.
One never quite realizes the presence of so many extant interesting historical relics in Bangalore as we go about our mundane affairs. "Discovering Bengaluru" is quite a repository of treasures in this respect. I imagine this is a book that I would keep referring to every now and then and keep going back to each time I pass through Fraser Town or Whitefield, for example. A must read, and a must discover!

[Nagraj Rao · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for all Bengaluru lovers. Also for those who care for heritage of buildings, architecture and gardens.

[Pradyumn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would recommend!

[Priyamvadha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This year, after I'd decided it was high time for me to finally start reading more about the cities I live in and have grown up in (Chennai, in particular), I picked up my copy of Discovering Bengaluru for the first time, almost two and a half years since I first bought it. Back then, I'd just officially moved to Bengaluru for the first time, although the city itself was already so familiar to me that I put off reading this for so long, wondering what, exactly, I'd get out of reading it.

Of course I was wrong - this is another trove of nuggets about Bengaluru/Bangalore, its architecture and history, and its transformation through the ages, particularly with its focus on a few specific areas that are already romanticised in the Bengalurean imagination but for very good reason - Malleswaram, the Cantonment, Ulsoor, Cubbon Park and Lalbagh, all of the areas that are essentially the beating hearts of the city.

As Meera Iyer is predominantly a researcher/writer interested in heritage and history, the book focuses on Bengaluru through its buildings and neighbourhoods, and not so much on stories of the people, of kings and poets and soldiers and others who've lived here over the years. I did already know most of the information referred to in passing about the latter, but I found myself more interested than I'd anticipated in the former. These are all neighbourhoods that I've passed, that I've walked through. I didn't come away from this as an expert in Bengaluru - and of course, this doesn't purport to be a definitive tome on the city. But the stories and walks it narrates are charming and intriguing, just like the city.

[Ashwin S · Rating 5 out of 5]

In spite of being born in Bangalore and spending most of my life here, I always felt that I did not know enough about the city and its heritage. I knew about some of the old historical buildings and the fact that the city was ruled by Kempegowda, Tippu, Wodeyars and British at some point in history. However I was unable to connect all of these together and associate the legacy of these rulers to the present day Bangalore. This book helped me connect the past of the city to the current day.

The Authors of the book come across as someone who are passionate about Bangalore and its heritage. The academic and research background of the authors is clearly visible in their writing.
The different neighborhoods of Bangalore, important heritage structures, their history and the people involved - everything is brought out together well. There are interesting tit bits about Bangalore through out the book. It could be details on the building architecture in different parts of the city, or about the flowering trees of Lalbagh. The authors also do not shy about going into the details whenever required. All these historical information is supported by old photographs and maps present across the book.

This is a must read book for anyone interested to know more about the city, its history and heritage. This is a book I always wanted to read and I am glad I found it.

[Anusha M · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant read for anyone who calls Bengaluru home and wants to know more stories of its popular landmarks and history behind the oldest localities of the city.

[Aneeta Madhavan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Discovering Bengaluru is a treasure trove of information that one can dip into now & again and savour each little gem one at a time. Equally, one can read it at one shot like a novel, it's that absorbing! Whoever knew that Bangalore had so many architectural gems left standing, hidden away amongst the modern atrocities that we call development. I always thought of Bangalore as a relatively new European city with some old pockets. Just waking up to my ignorance. Wonderful to discover it has such a rich history. The little snippets & stories are really fun to read. This book is really well researched, very well written & very accessible for just about anyone.

[Ambedkar Balasubramaniam Meganathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great compilation of Bengaluru History. I am glad i read this book, I now know a lot about Bengaluru, the city I have lived in my whole life.