Disclaimers:-
1. There are no photographs in this blog since
I don’t have any of my own of the old Bengaluru. I don’t want to use the ones
from the Internet and get into copyright issues. I have used only one
photograph of Vidhana Soudha from the Government of Karnataka Website.
2. The period is late 70’s and till early
90’s, after that the old Bengaluru was lost.
3. I
grew up mostly in North and East Bengaluru. Hence this blog is biased towards
this portion of Bengaluru.
Bengaluru
was always a cosmopolitan city by nature. I remember in the 1970s, a lot of
Iranians used to live near Hutchins Road. There has been the proverbial once in
many blue moons incidents when an individual belonging to a particular race or
religion or language has felt insecure in Bengaluru. BENGALURU IS THE MOST ACCOMMODATIVE
CITY FOR ANYONE, FROM ANY PART OF THE WORLD AND GIVEN THE GENEROSITY OF BENGALUREANS,
EVEN PEOPLE FROM MARS WILL FIND IT HOSPITABLE. That it became a
metropolitan city is a Greek tragedy. Bengaluru still retains its cosmopolitan attitude;
a certain amount of regional zeal is noted these days but is this due to the
abrasive and domineering attitude of a certain set of people.
I
have seen agriculture being done with an ox and plough in Banswadi, that much
old I am. I have seen greenery on Marthalli Main Road, for that much long I
have been in Bengaluru. I have been in Bengaluru traffic where there were more
bicycles, a few two-wheelers, and a countable number of cars. I have lived in
Bengaluru where life came to standstill after 8:30 p.m.
Life
in Bengaluru during those days was like a test match played on a Faisalabad
wicket (notorious for no results). Nothing much happened for hours, and when it
happened it was for the limited time during the morning and evening hours due
to office going crowd. The intensity of the monotonous life is clear from the
fact that BTS (now BMTC) had a PHS (Peak Hour Service) which started from
various areas and usually terminated near Vidhana Soudha. Mentioning of Vidhan
Soudha, sitting on those stairs was the favourite weekend pastime of
Bengalureans. Things have now changed thanks to the security threats. You
cannot get anywhere near the shadow of this monumental structure.
Traffic during the afternoons on
MG Road those days was as sparse as, free parking space on an afternoon in MG
Road these days. Only the prominent areas of Bengaluru had traffic signals.
Much like a metro station these days, the presence of a traffic signal spiked
the real estate value of an area. Back in those days, the average Bengalurean
had respect for traffic rules. The airport used to be near HAL, and the road
used to become hyper-busy whenever an aircraft used to land. Otherwise, life on
this road was left to be disturbed only by HAL buses. MG Road and Brigade road
were the two most happening places of Bengaluru, and still, continue to be so.
I wonder if Army had not occupied one side of MG Road, how much of a stink hole
it would have become.
BTS (Bengaluru Transport
Service) buses were red in colour during that time, and when they did turn up,
made many people go pink. Those days it was mockingly called `Bittre Thiruga Sigalla’
(Means if you miss it, you won’t get it). The crew used to take liberal breaks
after each trip and in some cases, the duration of the breaks was more than the
duration of each trip. Even then, BTS buses were the best in the country.
Double Decker buses were a treat to travel, but they phythoned along only on a
few prominent routes. The first bus was usually at 7:15 a.m. and the last bus
at 8:45 pm. With Brindavan train, the first electric locomotive arrived in
Bengaluru. I remember as a kid going to East Railway station just to see the
train speed by without raising any smoke. If you had to travel to any important
city other than Chennai, you had to take a train from Chennai.
Halasuru Lake was more natural
at that time. There used to be ridges on the border and we used to love walking
on them. There were no jogging tracks like now but there was boating during
those days. During afternoon and nights, it was a notorious place. It was
supposed to be haunted during late nights, with the spirits of people who
committed suicide in that lake. Halasuru Lake was the favourite suicide spot
for jilted lovers, unsuccessful students and failed businessmen. There was no
dearth of stories of people being chased by these spirits during late nights.
The only benefit of IT-BT revolution of Bengaluru was these spirits had to stop
haunting people, possibly because the number of people they had to haunt was
beyond their logistical capability.
There were more grounds to play
in Bengaluru than the number of malls it has today. I remember the better part
of my summer holidays was spent in Gymkhana Ground in Cox Town. Summer in
Bengaluru those days meant a maximum of 27 to 29 degrees Celsius. A good part
of the 200 plus lakes was not yet encroached those days and that explains the
good weather. Till March started we used to wear sweaters. Cricket has always
been the part of the culture of Bengaluru. Even state and national level
cricketers used to play in club matches. I distinctly remember watching Kirmani
and Roger Binny play in the local grounds. On Sundays, a larger crowd used to
turn up to watch club matches, compared to the one that watches a Ranji Trophy
match these days.
Single Screen theatres were
abundant. I studied at RBANMs College, and there was no dearth of theatres
around. Houseful boards were so common. If I remember right, Abhinay Theatre
was the first to get escalators. Quite a few people went to this theatre just
to use the escalators. Bengaluru used to have many cabaret dances those days.
Video Parlours cropped in the late 80s usually showing blue films. Restaurants
were far and few between. Commercial Street was the haven for middle-class
shopping. I remember most shops used to be closed on Sundays. There was a watch
showroom, The Time Shop it was called, if I am not wrong, at the entrance of
Commercial Street. Then there was the Maftlal Showroom. There was also a hat
shop. There is nothing today in Commercial Street that reminds me of the one
from the 80s except Bhagthrams and a few other shops. Bhagathrams used to
operate in a corner of what was a residential complex but the taste of the
Gulab jamoons was and is still the best.
Education institutions in South
Bengaluru were largely run by Hindu institutions and in the North by Christian,
Muslim and Hindu charitable institutions. I remember in my college days
freaking out near Basvangudi just to have a glimpse of the fair girls of
Bengaluru south.
Houses were largely
self-occupied. A few were available for rents but then they too were governed by
the draconian rent control act. Some of the bigger house had an outhouse. Some
had servant quarters with entrance from the sanitary lanes. Malleshwaram
usually meant Brahmins but there was nothing to suggest only Brahmins were
given houses on rent. Most of North Bengaluru had a mix population of
Kannadigas, Tamilians, Teluguites, Malayalis, Anglo Indians, Muslims and North
Indians. There was this huge Bengaluru North and South divide if anybody
remembers. I don’t remember anyone from Bengaluru North who would have readily
relocated to Bengaluru South and vice-versa.
This was my memory of the
Bengaluru that I lived in. This is just a personal account of all my
prejudices, bias and incomplete descriptions. The quality of English used is
average.
