Paradise lost for many, still a haven for some

Paradise lost for many, still a haven for some
The Times of India

Bangalore: In the old days when summer came people in Bangalore retreated to the cooler climes of a hill station, or to Whitefield.

Located merely 15 km away from the heart of the City, Whitefield with its tree cover, beautiful gardens and low-roofed European houses offered an idyllic hideaway from the summer sun and the madding crowd.

Whitefield is still pretty — despite the dust, road digging, traffic and the gradual disappearance of the farms and orchards around it.
The tentacles of property developers are slowly but surely tightening on it, but the Inner and Outer Circles which form the heart of Whitefield still evoke an oldworld charm.

How long the semblance of this beauty will remain is a big question? Worrie=d by the changes happening around them, many old-timers have sold their properties and moved on.

Already new fangled buildings and palatial houses mimicking every form of modern architecture have come up on former farmlands. The new buildings dwarf the trade mark houses in structure and are no patch on their aesthetics. Property developers are looking to contribute to the changes with high rises and row houses.

The real rapid changes began with the arrival of the International Technology Park within its vicinity nearly eight years ago.

“Whitefield has changed. We look out of our windows to see the dust on the leaves of the trees and bushes. The gardens are no longer a display of joy,’’ says an oldtimer.

Of all the changes in Whitefield’s idyllic character, the one old-timers don’t seem to really mind is the creation of lush green park in place of what was once a slush pond at the centre of the Inner Circle.

The Whitefield of the old days was incidentally the creation of Anglo-Indian settlers. It was part of nearly 3,900 acres of land allocated by the Maharajah of Mysore to the Eurasian and Anglo Indian Association in 1882.

Historical recollections describe the existence of around 45 houses in the early 1900s and about 2,000 acres of farmland.
Whitefield obtained a special place in Bangalore’s history when Winston Churchill stayed at ‘Waverly Inn’, one of the oldest houses in the area during a visit here. Many of the older houses located around the Inner and Outer Circles infact still retain their English-European names.

Apart from their quaintness and their pretty gardens, the houses were also once famous for the antique chandeliers that hung in many of them. Mangoes from its orchards were also in great demand.
For new residents, its quiet charm is still magical since unlike many other areas in Bangalore, the noise levels are still bearable. For the old-timers however, it’s paradise lost.