Colonial memories give way to spicy dreams

Colonial memories give way to spicy dreams
The TImes of India

Bangalore: Over the past few years, Fraser Town has metamorphosed into a kebab town. The Cantonment area, where the aristocratic British lived, has been conquered by gourmets.

Chicken kebabs — red, green, brown — hanging from barbecue sticks decorate eateries along Cole’s Road, Mosque Road, M.M. Road (Palm Road), Saunders Road and Haines Road every evening. The aroma of roasted chicken fills the whole of Fraser Town. Though chicken rules, there is always a choice — mutton, beef, fish.

Fraser Town is to kebabs and biriyanis what Jayanagar is to dosas and chaats. There are over 200 eateries here, most of them post-1990. Visitors from across the city crowd here for the succulent kebabs and spicy biriyanis. Even foreigners are regular here, especially from West Asia and Africa. Shawerma, an Arab roll of roasted chicken, is very popular.

But the favourite destination of taste buds lacks taste in civic matters. Roads here, which once resembled English suburbs, are littered with bones, plastic and liquor bottles. Fraser Town is dotted with wine shops and bars to support the eateries.

Almost all of Fraser Town is now commercial. Even the sleepy Robertson Road and Stephen Road are now commercial.
But landmarks retain the oldworld charm of the area. Hajee Ismail Mosque is well known. Many churches — St Francis Xavier’s Church, St John’s Church, Wesley Memorial Church, Methodist Church — and some of the best schools — Germains, Goodwill, St Francis Xavier’s, St John’s High School — stand in a single stretch. The historical stone building which houses the Government Urdu School stands out.

Building rules are the biggest casualty here with over 90 per cent of the constructions violating rules. No setbacks for multistoreyed buildings, no mandatory basement parking, footpath encroachments by eateries after dark... instances are many.

The poor from the area gather at Annaswamy Mudaliar government dispensary on M.M. Road to collect free medicines. One of the city’s oldest market complexes, Moore Market, is located here.

The steam engines of the 1860’s which chugged along Bangalore East station are now part of folklore.