CityScapes: Gandhi Bazaar

Bustling bazaar lures the old and young alike
Times of India

Gandhi Bazaar: The stretch is short, but it’s a definite landmark redefining bazaar culture in south Bangalore.

Think of Gandhi Bazaar and there you are with your shopping bag, exploring every inch of the bustling marketplace on either side of the main road — something which old-timers in the area would never want to ignore. But this hub too has got a whiff of the new-age wind, making it a well accommodating hangout for the hip, young generation as well.

It bazaar begins at Ramakrishna Math Circle and ends a few metres away at Tagore Circle, but the stretch says it all. Local vendors, desi restaurants and fast food joints have kept the flavour of old Gandhi Bazaar alive, but adding that extra zing are modern shops and stores, inviting the young and old alike.

Picture this: Fresh fruits, vegetables, flowers and stocks of beetle leaves against the teeming backdrop of the likes of all-time favourite Vidhyarthi Bhavan to the cool fastfood joints and eat-outs. Exquisite saree shops, sweet stalls, mobile accessory stores, jewellery stores, ice cream parlours, supermarkets and more...

The change was bound to be as the street could not ignore the trendy college crowd for long, observes Maruthi Ram, an employee at one of the bakeries. College students flock to the likes of Papdiwala, Roti Garh, Ice Thunder, and the latest Cafe Coffee Day outlet. “Earlier we would go towards Jayanagar or check out restaurants around M.G. Road for lunch. But now, the new restaurants are really cool out here,’’ says an student of BMS College of Engineering, as she relishes a piece of juicy papaya from the roadside fruit vendor.

The crowd from other colleges in the vicinity — Bangalore Institute of Technology, BMS Women’s College, BMS Law College and National College — feel the same. Nonetheless, there is still an expanding tribe of oldtime loyalists swearing by benne dose (butter dosa) of Vidhyarthi Bhavan, sakkare acchu (moulded sugar candies) at Subbamma Stores, and others.

No wonder every day, the little stretch attracts a crowd of over a lakh from the adjoining Basavanagudi, Shankarpuram, Chamarajpet, Jayanagar and Banashankari. “Gandhi Bazaar continues to retain its old charm. It’s true value for money,’’ felt A. Subba Rao, retired headmaster of a government school. And he visits the bazaar twice a week, without fail.

The problem, however, is that of parking space. Local officials have been mulling over shifting the entire marketplace to a complex on the main road to make the place more organised.
While it is said that the move has hit a roadblock due to some litigations, there is a subtle sense of reluctance among vendors to relocate. The loyalists feel the same too. After all, old is gold for them.