A landmark move

A landmark move
M K Bhaskar Rao
The name MG Road brings to mind a lot of memories, especially for old Bangaloreans, who remember this stretch as South Parade of the British era.

Almost everyone now knows that Metro Rail work is underway on MG Road in the City. And everyone knows too that trees from the boulevard are being translocated into the neighbouring Parade Grounds. Something else from this stretch is all set to move base — the ever popular Lakeview Milk Bar will move to St Mark’s Road. The building which houses the ice-cream parlour on MG Road will be razed down to make way for a swanky new one.
The name ‘MG Road’ brings to mind a lot of memories, especially for old Bangaloreans, who remember this stretch as South Parade of the British era. The road had a fair share of dance bars, watering holes and theatres, and most of these places had restricted entry, allowing Britishers only. Among these places was Lakeview Milk Bar.
Then, as it is now, the place was simply referred to as ‘Lakeview’. Perhaps there was a water body at one end of what was earlier South Parade and that probably lent the place its name. And as it did then, Lakeview continues to conjure up mouthwatering images of ice-creams and desserts, at the very mention of its name. The parlour opens at 8:30 am and shuts shop past midnight, with people driving down in their fancy cars after 11 pm to give in to sweet cravings!
Lakeview has a history of 77 years behind it. It was set up in 1930 and has grown along with the road, standing witness to every change this stretch has seen. In 1930, a Britisher, Charles, started Lakeview Dairy Farm, between Kamadhenu restaurant and the building which housed Lido theatre. Later, Charles opened an outlet of the dairy at the place where Barton Centre now stands. A few days after that, Mr Amruthlal, the uncle of the present owner of Lakeview, Deepak Vrajlal, started Lakeview Milk Bar a few shops away. And it has stood there ever since.
People of this area feel, the parlour, which has been witness to the transformation of the road from the sparsely populated South Parade to the congested MG Road of today, would have done the vanishing act in a few more years in any case.
Deepak Vrajlal is quick to react, stating, “We are moving to a spacious location on St Mark’s Road for now. When the new building comes up in place of the present one, Lakeview will move back to its old address.” But it is quite possible that people would have accepted the St Mark’s Road address by the time the new building comes up on MG Road in the next two or three years. Again, one cannot fathom the kind of changes MG Road will see in the next three years, especially with the Metro Rail coming up here.
Lakeview has been a landmark on MG Road for seven decades. Breakfast begins at 8:30 am with traditional fare on offer and as the day progresses, the menu offers fast foods, brunches, sandwiches, burgers and pizzas for lunch, coolers like milkshakes, ice-creams and desserts, which are available till midnight. From now on, people will have to go to St Mark’s Road to grab a bite at their favourite haunt.
Bangalore has no dearth of ice-cream parlours. There’s one for almost every street. National and international brands compete to offer their best fare for customers to sample. In spite of stiff competition, Lakeview has held its own and continued to attract new clientele. Expansion plans also include an outlet in Jayanagar.
While all these are welcome, patrons are hoping that Lakeview will come back to occupy its pride of place on MG Road.