Bangalore has a rich and textured past

Bangalore has a rich and textured past, and beneath the concrete and glass of a modern metropolis lie relics from different eras. Suresh Moona, an amateur archivist and historian, took us on a guided tour

GAYATRI NAIR



Spatially, Bangalore is a smorgasbord, a shifting mosaic of cultures and communities. Temporally, it resembles a palimpsest. For someone with the requisite passion and determination, the city yields layers of history. Suresh Moona, a high school teacher with Acharya Pathasala High School and a senior officer in the National Cadet Corps (NCC), is one such person. “As a kid I was attracted to old people and their stories. We need to respect them because of their experiences. In 1970 I came to Bangalore and started studying here,” said Moona.
But he needs to thank Fazlul Hasan for his transformation from an ordinary student to a well-known historian. “One day, I went to the city library and there I came across this book called ‘Bangalore Through Centuries’, by Fazlul Hassan. There was this photo of a pillar near Kottaya Venkata Ramana temple, which was circled. Later I went to that temple to find out that the pillar was not there anymore. That one incident prompted me to unearth more such secrets of this place,” said Moona.
Moona is often called Bangalore’s Walking Encyclopaedia. During S M Krishna’s tenure, Moona was invited to give a lecture in Vidhana Soudha. “It was a great experience seeing all the ministers rapt in attention for more than an hour,” he said. Moona has an interesting way of selecting topics and writing on them. “On Tuesdays I write about various institutions like National Aeronautical Limited (NAL) among others. On Sundays I focus on roads and how they got their names. For example my latest work includes Mehkri circle and on Syed Inayatullah Mehkri,” he reveals. Moona has been invited across the country to give lectures and, “Many times I have been asked to shift base to Delhi. When I went there to give lectures they said come and stay here and work on Delhi’s history but I tell them that I cannot leave my city Bangalore.”
Moona, who conducts heritage walks for his children, said that his dream is to hold a 24 hour lecture on Bangalore’s history. He is a recipient of many awards including the Kempe Gowda Award, Aryabhata Award and the NCC Director General Commendation Medal.
Did you know that Urvashi Theatre actually rests on what used to be a public bath? Have you heard of Tara Mandalpet in the heart of the city? Here are a few places Moona took us to uncover history KEMPAMBUDI TANK AND KEMPE GOWDA TOWER
One of the first Kempe Gowda towers was constructed near Dr Rajkumar Park at Hanumanth Nagar. The condition of the tower which has been accredited by the Directorate of Archeology of Karnataka as a historical monument is now in a pitiable condition. Moona explained that, “This tower was not built during the period of Kempe Gowda I as it is it widely thought, but was built during the tenure of Kempe Gowda II.”
In the 16 century after Bangalore was founded, these towers were built to ward off attacks from the neighbouring chieftains. Originally, eight towers were built but only four among them are well known. Among them the most well known are the ones in Bellary Road, Ulsoor and the one behind Lalbagh glass house. There are other towers that are not so well known. These include ones near Gavi Gangadhareswara Temple on Bull Temple Road and near Basavanakere tank. “And the one near Binnymill Tank at Magadi Road, not even a semblance of the tower is left,” said Moona.
At the tower at Hanumanth Nagar you can see graffiti of couples professing their love for each other and ads for two minute noodles! Right next to the tower is the Kempambudi Tank. This mammoth tank was built during the reign of Kempe Gowda I for the purpose of irrigation. “Where Dr Rajkumar Park is situated, that used to be the farming area in those times, and this tank was their main source of irrigation,” explained Moona. He reveals an interesting trivia. “In 1935, a lady called Bhairamma swam for 18 hours continuously in this very tank. And the Diwan of Mysore, Sir Mirza Ismail, actually sat through it. Isn’t that amazing ?” he exclaimed. But the same tank is now covered with weeds. SAMPANGIRAMNAGAR POND
Another example of the helping spirit of old Bangalore is the open air theatre near Kalyani school. This theatre on sixth cross was once a pond and the entire architecture of the place is that of a pond and rooms surrounding it. Speaking about the rooms, Moona said, “In these very rooms people would sit and make their food before embarking on a new journey.” This particular pond was built about 105 years ago and the descendants of the family are still here in South Bangalore. “Many people used to say that this pond belonged to the Vijayanagar empire and that it is about 400 years ago. But that isn’t the case,” clarified Moona.
Like many other structures across the city, this pond also fell prey to people’s apathy. “When I came visiting about five years ago it was covered in weeds and was a dirty place. But three years ago the Corporation took notice of the place and cleaned it and converted it into an open air theatre,” said Moona.
According to him on festivals like Diwali, the entire place is cleaned up and is lit up with diyas, and performances also take place here. “But on other days the place is transformed into a cricket stadium for young boys or a meeting point for friends. The original building was a ‘yali’ structure, and it was not as colourful as it is now. But now the building has been coloured and some of the carvings have also been removed. But at least the place is still being preserved,” said Moona.
URVASHI THEATRE
Next time you are on Lalbagh Road and you want to catch a movie, try Urvashi Theatre. It might appear ordinary and may not measure up to all the swanky multiplexes in the city. But when you sit there you are sitting in the lap of history. About 200 years ago, Urvashi theatre was a pond that was built by philanthropists. “Those days the wealthy lot would usually indulge in social service. Since the mode of commuting was not so advanced, people had a number of rest houses that would usually include ponds, rooms and eatouts, where weary travellers could bathe, eat and take a nap. So Urvashi was one such pond,” said Moona.
The next time you are at Urvashi, go outside the hall and check out the boundary wall, and you will see old carvings there. The carvings have Lord Raghunatha lying on the bed of ‘adi shesha’, the great serpent in Hindu mythology. Moona chanced upon it one day and this was not a part of his initial research. “One day I saw the carvings on the wall, and I was curious and wanted to know the origin and that’s how I got to know about the existence of this pond,” he said.
HYDER ALI AND
TIPU’S ARMOURY
One page of history that is slowly moving into oblivion is the armoury of Hyder Ali and his son Tipu Sultan. Nestled in the bylanes of Kalasipalyam. “In 1758, Bangalore was given as a gift to Hyder Ali and Tipu, and in a way it is they who laid the foundation of modern day Bangalore. All the missiles used by the duo were stored here. Legend has it that these missiles were many a time gifted to the kings of other kingdoms. But today the armoury lies in ruins.
The interior of the armoury is riddled with cobwebs, there are chips and chocolate wrappers around the place. “When I used to get children here I was scared to get them inside, thinking that maybe there were bats. The condition was so bad. Yes, now things have improved, but the corporation needs to do a bit more,” Moona said. He also spoke about the place where Tipu Sultan’s armaments were made. “There is a place called Tara Mandalpet off Avenue Road. It was called Tara Mandalpet because when these armaments would burst they would form little stars in the sky,” said Moona.