‘Bangalore’s forts are markers of history’

‘Bangalore’s forts are markers of history’
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bangalore: Bumper-to-bumper traffic or serene streets, glitzy malls and multiplexes or ancient temples and forts — the bustling Bangalore of today and the peaceful town of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries are diametric opposites.
S K Aruni of the Indian Council of Historical Research in a lecture at the Mythic Society brought out this contrast on Wednesday. Aruni identified forts and temples as boundaries and landmarks of the earlier Bangalore. “These are important markers that are rapidly disappearing in the midst of development. The markers tell us how Bangalore was and how it has grown. My effort was to revive the history of Bangalore by reviving the markers,” said Aruni.
Aruni said forts with different gates like Delhi Gate, Bangalore Gate, Mysore Gate and South Gate indicated the city’s geography. The forts differentiated the city and market area from the Cantonment (beyond Cubbon Park). The Devanahalli Fort, which was far removed from both city and cantonment, marked the outer areas of Bangalore, he said.
Aruni also explained how the city, from Devanahalli to Ramagiri, was located along the river Arkavathy’s bank — something we don’t see today. It is a completely different scenario as the once-fertile land is now part of the city, he observed.
Temple walls, too, were indicators of Bangalore’s boundaries. The walls, Aruni said, had sculptures depicting the Ramayana and Girija Kalyana mostly at the bottom. The Kote Venkatramana Temple and the Binnamangala Temple are fine historical examples of Bangalore. Aruni indicated that the city was rich culturally too. “There are many works on Bangalore’s history. It was a challenge to present something that wasn’t already known. What I discovered was that not many works focussed on fort walls and the kind of social life that existed around these walls. I hope this will tell us something about old Bangalore, lest we forget how it has grown to what it is today.”