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Eleven Stops to the Present: Stories of Bengaluru
Time travel through Bengaluru and through Bangalore as eleven writers vividly bring alive the city and its past, from more than a thousand years ago to today, from Basavanagudi to Fraser Town, Whitefield to Shivajinagar, Lalbagh to Cubbon Park. Meet wise owls, spunky girls, insecure heroes, feisty grandmas and shrewd kings in this collection of short stories that showcases the city and its people like never before.
232 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
April 23, 2022
Such a loving ode to a city I love. I have read most of the books on Bangalore. This labor of love traces the history of Bangalore through a series of short stories. Hidden here and there are places you will recognize if you are a Bangalorean, instances you will remember, and folklore that you will cherish.
An absolute delight.
An absolute delight.
April 15, 2021
If you are a Namma Bengaluru person like I am, then you must read this book. It is a collection of 11 stories about this wonderful city called Bangalore that many of us call home. Stories that are part-fiction but based on history of the city and definitely very captivating. I like the way these 11 authors have maintained a somewhat similar approach to story telling. In particular, use of Kannada words like magu, pete, mari, congress kadalekaayi in between makes it endearing. Stories about Basavanagudi, Russell Market, Whitefield, the plague of 1898, Cubbon Park etc make the book so much more relatable. Even if you are not a namma ooru person, it still is a great read.
October 4, 2021
One of the best ways to get to know a place is to dive into the local lores.
In this book, 11 short stories are based in Bengaluru and carry a dose of the city’s flavour and history. Some of these stories take place as far back as 800 or 2,000 years ago, others during the bubonic plague of the 1890s and 1920s, and the most recent one is set in the 1980s!
Essential read for Bangaloreans!!
In this book, 11 short stories are based in Bengaluru and carry a dose of the city’s flavour and history. Some of these stories take place as far back as 800 or 2,000 years ago, others during the bubonic plague of the 1890s and 1920s, and the most recent one is set in the 1980s!
Essential read for Bangaloreans!!
February 17, 2023
An extra star for the fact that this is a book based on the history of Bangalore. I would've found the facts boring so this was a new way of getting to know the hidden parts of this city I now associate with new-age tech and traffic jams. However the stories were a bit too moral and long-winded for my taste, probably meant for kids.
May 9, 2021
Enjoyed the stories. Having grown up in a different state, most of the historical facts presented in this book were new to me. Wish I had history presented to me this way when I was in high school!
Fun read for people (both adults and kids) who live in Bangalore!
Fun read for people (both adults and kids) who live in Bangalore!
February 7, 2021
The stories take us back in time...Giving us a piece of Bangalore's history in each of the 11 tales..I enjoyed all of them, carrying all the elements I look for in a book, lots of humor, little bit of suspense and loads of information...Facts cleverly entwined with fiction , making it a wonderful read..My 10 year olds(twins), thoroughly enjoyed the stories and finished the whole book in a day. And the cherry on top is that their new found knowledge and interest in our city's history...Recently while discussing 'Save Turahalli ' campaign, the girls innocently remarked" wish the birds could stage a protest like the white owl in the 11 stops book..." This is the impact the stories in this book has on its readers...
December 30, 2021
A nice quick read filled with stories about Bangalore, interwoven with people and settings from the present day. Would recommend this to anyone who's lived in Bangalore for a long time (you'll recognise many familiar locations!), although it does seem like it was meant for a slightly younger audience.
January 5, 2021
Eleven Stops to the Present:
Eleven conceptually delightful stories for "10+ years" it says, but infinitely appealing to all other age groups too. The setting, style, theme, details and language ensured that in was glued to the book, and I shamelessly and surprisingly admit that I wanted to know more about history. In fact I learnt so much more of the fascinating and sadly little known history of Bangalore from just any one of those stories than from years of slogging over dates from dreary history books.
In my opinion, this book should be made a mandatory read in all schools. It is a subtle and smartly fun way to make history interesting and memorable for children (and for adults too)! The concept and genesis of a book such as this is brilliant.
Who would have thought that today's Bangalore boasts of dolmens and menhirs? Visiting the opening ceremony of Russel Market was amazing as was the time-travel to Kempegowda's times. I loved the tale of the two Basavas of Bangalore too.
Kudos to all eleven authors for allowing me to hop and skip excitedly through over a thousand years encapsulated in the fantastic book.
Eleven conceptually delightful stories for "10+ years" it says, but infinitely appealing to all other age groups too. The setting, style, theme, details and language ensured that in was glued to the book, and I shamelessly and surprisingly admit that I wanted to know more about history. In fact I learnt so much more of the fascinating and sadly little known history of Bangalore from just any one of those stories than from years of slogging over dates from dreary history books.
In my opinion, this book should be made a mandatory read in all schools. It is a subtle and smartly fun way to make history interesting and memorable for children (and for adults too)! The concept and genesis of a book such as this is brilliant.
Who would have thought that today's Bangalore boasts of dolmens and menhirs? Visiting the opening ceremony of Russel Market was amazing as was the time-travel to Kempegowda's times. I loved the tale of the two Basavas of Bangalore too.
Kudos to all eleven authors for allowing me to hop and skip excitedly through over a thousand years encapsulated in the fantastic book.
January 10, 2021
I chanced upon this book since a colleague was a contributing author to the book . It’s a book of short stories all telling tales history of Bangalore . Presented in fictionalised form, it looks at various parts of Bangalore and the history - Basavangudi to Whitefield and the Churchill connection. And for the pandemic times, there is the story of the isolation hospital . Each story ends with a brief write up about the place concerned . It is written for ages 10+ and so the writing sometimes comes across as cliched ( the time travel stories esp) . But all in all , an enjoyable read . Read it if you and/ or your kids want to get some perspective of this city -‘luru! The young talented writers truly make local history interesting! May their tribe increase !
January 6, 2022
The concept of the book is something that I found refreshing - 11 stories narrating the history of Bengaluru through fictitious stories and character.
The best of the lot are the ones written by Shruthi Rao, Shweta Taneja, Edgar Demello, Aditi De.
Although the usage of magic realism in almost every story wear off as you read through the book - and even feels very forced in some of the stories, especially the story penned by Menaka Ramana
All in all, it's still a good book that contains interesting titbits about the city (perhaps) packaged in a way to engage younger readers.
The best of the lot are the ones written by Shruthi Rao, Shweta Taneja, Edgar Demello, Aditi De.
Although the usage of magic realism in almost every story wear off as you read through the book - and even feels very forced in some of the stories, especially the story penned by Menaka Ramana
All in all, it's still a good book that contains interesting titbits about the city (perhaps) packaged in a way to engage younger readers.
September 28, 2021
Gives small pangs of awe here and there, close to the heart since it speaks of a city and places I'm emotionally attached to and invested in. Downside being stories made to lose their spark because of them being tied down to the central pillar of talking about a certain place or phenomenon pertinent to the city.
October 26, 2022
This is an excellent book which sits at the intersection of history and the beauty of short stories. Thoroughly enjoyed reading the stories written here and discovering snippets of the rich history of Bengaluru city.
January 2, 2021
Of great interest to anyone who is interested in the history of Bengaluru .....
February 24, 2022
Fantastic stories, would definitely visit the locations mentioned. Having said that, there could have been a possibility of more diversity in the themes of the story.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews