Published in Deccan Herald Sunday march 23, 2014

1. 2 DECCANHERALD B Sunday, March 23, 2014
intenseCITY
The tourist didn’t stop in B’lore
Itsheritagestructuresindecay,itstraditions,festivalsandmulti-culturesundocumented,theCityhasfallenoffthetouristmap
B
eyonditstechcitytagandonce-
cherished Garden City defini-
tion, does Bangalore pack
enough punch to arrest the
tourist’sfleetingattention?Can
theCity,withitsobviousbutforgottenher-
itage, get beyond the transit point that it
has been reduced to in the tourist map? Is
there a way to beckon the visitor to the
City’s soul, its history, its celebrated festi-
vals,itslatentbutthrivingsub-cultures?
Trapped in a narrative based on a net-
work of malls and the Metro, a visitor to
this City rarely has a clue to its heritage.
Thetechparks,VidhanaSoudha,Cubbon
Park, Lalbagh, and a few historical struc-
tures more or less make up their idea of
Bangalore! Shouldn’t this change?
If century-old buildings once defined
the City’s claim to fame, the government
clearly has shown no concern to preserve
them.Here’swhy:Fifteenyearsago,there
were over 1,800 buildings more than 100
yearsold.Fiveyearsago,thatnumberhad
slumpedto800,andtodayitstandsatless
than400.Threehundredofthesearegov-
ernment-owned, mostly out of access for
the public.
Intangible heritage
Butthebuildingsandmonumentsinclud-
ing forts, palaces and temples only form
thetangibleheritageoftheCity.Asurban
expert V Ravichandar and historian
VikramSampathpointout,music,dance,
handicrafts(textiles),festivalsandproces-
sions,visualandperformingartsformthe
intangibles,andshouldbepartofthenar-
rative.Ifmuseumshostthemoveablearte-
facts, the City’s lakes and parks should be
seen as a green heritage, preserved and
showcased to all.
Itneedsanewtourismparadigmbeyond
itsmonumentsandheritagestructures,ex-
ploiting the underestimated soft power of
our culture, assert Ravichandar and Sam-
path,whoformtherecentlyformedVision
Group.“Bangaloreneedsacentrallylocat-
ed,publicarts,cultureandmuseumdistrict
-- much like what global cities like London
andNewYorkhaveandseveralothersmall-
erspacesdispersedacrosstheCityforthis
purpose,”theGroupexplains.
This could be woven into a showcase of
theCity’shistoryfromKempegowda’stime,
itshistory,literature,folkartsandruralar-
tisans.Ifthesearesmartlyinterlinked,let-
tingavisitortoorganicallymovefromone
arena to another, the City’s tourist appeal
could be hugely enhanced. “There should
besomethingtodoeverydayandforevery-
one,”saysRavichandar,indicatingtheneed
for an informal arrangement where the
government just acts as a facilitator and
publicorganisationshandleevents.
Oneideaworthcarryingforwardcould
be the proposal for a heritage corridor
from the Fort in City Market area to the
Bangalore Palace. “There are a number
ofheritagebuildingsalongthisstretch,on
The city’s other face
enrichedtouristsvisitingdifferentsitesand
monuments here. Private organisations
suchasBangaloreWalkshaveshownthat
guided heritage walks work well. These
small-scale initiatives could be replicated
onalargerplanebythegovernment.“With
governmenttyingupwiththeseandother
bodies, there will be an enhancement of
capacitybuildingfortheseprivateorgani-
sationsbesidescreatingjobopportunities.
Many theatre groups which are active in
theCitycanberopedintomakethisacon-
tinuousfeature.”
On a visit to Bangalore, Vancouver-
baseddocumentaryfilmmaker,LisaMaz-
zotta says she has heard about the City’s
history in bits and pieces. “I know a little
about the City’s origin, the boiled beans
story, but I miss a free tour of the place
such as the one in Singapore. There, the
tourtakesyouwithaguidetodifferentre-
gions,marketsandculturalcentres.Itwas
a fantastic learning experience for me. I
wish there is something like that here,”
she says.
Engaging walks
DeepaKrishnanfromBangaloreMagicis
well aware of this yearning to know a city
deeper, in a guided, informal way. The
walks arranged by her firm is part of a
unique approach to understanding the
City in its various avatars. She explains,
“Inourtours,wehopetohelptouristssee
Bangalore through local eyes – for exam-
ple, our Food Walk in Malleswaram and
ourPhotowalkthroughJayanagararede-
lightfulexplorationsofcuisineandculture,
giving overseas visitors a peek into daily
life of Bangaloreans. The people who do
the tours are knowledgeable, engaging
and willing to answer questions.”
Intheabsenceofacultureofpreserving
monuments,theCityhasseenoverathird
ofitsestimated1,500heritagesitescrum-
bleaway.Therearenoexactrecords,since
proposalstosetupaheritageregisterhave
proved non-starters.
Theregisterwastalkedaboutunderthe
Bangalore Metropolitan Regional Gover-
nance Bill, and before that, in a proposed
amendment to the Town and Country
Planning Act. The Agenda for Bengaluru
InfrastructureandDevelopment(ABIDe)
had also included this in its Bengaluru
Master Plan 2020.
Theheritageregisterwastobedesigned
as an inventory of all heritage sites in the
City. The sites had to be identified based
on age and their importance to the City’s
identity.Besidesmonuments,theregister
was to include precincts, natural and cul-
turalsiteswithspecialarchitecturalorhis-
toric interest.
Urban experts and historians are con-
vincedthatcultureheritagemanagement
has to be integrated into the master plan
andalldevelopmentplansoftheCity.Only
then can places such as Russell Market,
KR Market and Chickpet be included in
tourist itineraries.
Until this happens, no tourist or young
Bangalorean,willknowthattheChickpet
areawaswheretheCityhaditsbeginnings.
LegendhasitthattheDoddapeteSquare,
which today looks chaotic and unkempt,
wasfromwhereKempegowdahadorgan-
ised a ground-breaking ritual in 1537.
Four pairs of bullocks were let loose to
plough the land in four directions from
here, and the routes traversed by the
ploughs had become the nucleus of the
newtown’sfourmainstreets.Fourtowers
wereerectedtocommemoratethisevent.
Threeofthemstillstand,butnooneknows
or cares.
Rasheed Kappan
auspiciousoccasions.Peoplefromall
overtheStatecometothetemple.On
regulardaystoo,peoplefromoutsidevis-
itthetemple.But,Ihavenotseentoo
manyforeignnationalsnorpeoplefrom
northernIndia.Iamunsurewhether
theyhavebeeninformedaboutthetem-
ple.”
The Dodda Ganapathi temple and
Dodda Basavanna temple on Bull Tem-
ple Road need more attention to figure
in the must-see tourist circuit of the City.
M Venkatesh, Secretary of the Basa-
vanagudi Traders’Association, says the
two temples are of historical value.
“The tourist operators bring tourists
to the Dodda Ganapathi temple, but do
not always take them up the steps to see
Dodda Basavanna temple nearby. The
operators have to be told to ensure visits
to both shrines. We must do something
to enhance their popularity among peo-
ple from North and tourists from abroad.
It is very popular among locals. But to
give it a lift, we should have better brand-
ing and aesthetic presentation of the two
temples. Gavi Gangadhareshwara tem-
ple, Gavipuram, is fairly well known in
the tourist circles. Whenever foreigners
come, the temple is included in the itin-
erary. All these three temples and many
others in the area can form a very good
temple tourism circuit in Basavanagudi.”
Devotees come in the middle of Janu-
ary every year on Sankranti Day to this
cave temple. This is a special day when
sunrays fall on the Shivalinga for one
hour as it passes between the horns of
the Nandi. The Sun illuminates Shivalin-
ga two times a year - from January 13 to
16 late afternoons and from November
26 to December 2.
Someshwara temple in Ulsoor sees a
similar phenomenon. Shiva S, a long-
time trader near the temple, says there is
heavy rush during Sankranti and Shiv-
aratri.
“I have occasionally seen a few for-
eigners coming to the temple, but there
is no heavy rush. Some persons who take
extra interest and are curious about not
so well known structures, make it to the
temple. But the general stream of
tourists needs to go up.”
There are stories of how a king who
was sleeping near the temple got a
dream of Lord Shiva and went on to
build the temple.
Then there are a few other temples
that can be brought into the tourist fold -
Karanji Anjaneya in Basavanagudi,
Pralayakalada Veerabhadra, Kalabhaira-
va in Gavipura Guttahalli, Dharmaraya
temple, Ranganathaswamy temple,
Balepete, Kote Venkataramana temple
(1690) adjoining Tipu Sultan’s Palace,
Kashi Vishveshwara temple (1840) in
Balepete and Gali Anjaneya temple on
Mysore Road, said to have been estab-
lished in 1425 by Vyasaraja.
Apart from Hindu shrines, other inter-
esting shrines to visit in Bangalore are
the Parsi temple, Tawakkal Mastan Dar-
gah, St Mary’s Basilica and the Mahavira
Digambara Jain Temple.
Bangalore’s multi-religious and cos-
mopolitan character is best reflected in
its many temples, mosques, churches,
Gurdwaras like the one at Ulsoor which
was built in 1946, Buddhist Viharas, or
the Queen’s Road Parsi fire temple.
Clearly, there’s lot to show people from
all over India and the world that Banga-
lore has serious archaeological and spiri-
tual spaces to explore.
Bangalore has been branded and mar-
keted as a technology destination for
over 25 years.
There is a need to rebrand the City
also as a cultural-heritage space. Many
cities in the world flash a technology-cul-
ture facade. Why can’t Bangalore?
Prashanth G N
T
here’s more to Bangalore than just
Vidhana Soudha, High Court,
Cubbon Park and Lalbagh. Other
equally historical heritage structures,
particularly in the spiritual domain dot
Bangalore, but are unfortunately not on
the Bangalore tourism circuit, for for-
eign nationals and Northern India. No
information on these structures goes out
widely to visitors in any form. There is no
branding and marketing, no attempt to
build informative stories around them,
nothing to show that officials are inter-
ested in excavating the deeper history
and cultural spread of Bangalore.
Let’s take the Jumma Masjid on
Commercial Street. According to Yasir
Mohammed, businessman in the area,
the Street’s Jumma Masjid is perhaps
the oldest in the City.
“The mosque is situated between two
temples. It is a fine example of secular-
ism. Immediate locals may know of it,
but I am unsure if people from distant
areas of Bangalore do, let alone foreign
citizens. The mosque needs to be listed
in the tourist brochures of the depart-
ment of tourism, and information needs
to be circulated among private travel and
tourist companies and be made a major
heritage stop in the City. It would do
good if Archaeological Survey of India
(ASI) were to take up its revival.”The
Masjid, built between 1740 and 1840, has
an Arabic touch to it.
The17thcenturyKaaduMalleshwara
templededicatedtoLordShivaisyetan-
otherlandmarkintheCity.Again,while
localsthrongthetemple,visitorsfrom
abroadhaven’tbeenadequatelyin-
formedaboutitshistoricalvalueandthe
circumstancesunderwhichitwasbuilt.
AccordingtoPoornimaS,homemaker
fromMalleswaram,thetempleseesvery
hugecrowdsontwooccasions.“Thema-
hashivarathriandKarthikamonthare
E
xperienceBangalorebywalking
withwellinformedstory-tellers
whoknowtheCityinsideout
throughyearsofresearch.Thisiswhat
drivesthepeoplebehindBangalore
WalksandBangaloreMagic,twoofthe
City’sknownheritagewalkorganisations.
BangaloreMagicoffersthreedifferent
walksbesidessixcartoursandtwo-day
excursionsintheCity.“Wewillbeadding
moretoursnextyear.Themorediverse
theofferings,themorepeoplearetempt-
edtostayintheCity,”explainsDeepaKr-
ishnanfromtheorganisation.
Exploring heritage through walks
country.Thereareonlyahandfulofquali-
tyguidedtourcompanieswhicharedoing
thingsdifferently.”
Butaren’tthesewalksoutofthemain-
stream?“Iagreethattoday,heritage
walksareelitist.MostwalksruninEng-
lish,whichisthebiggestbarrier,”says
Krishnan.“Tobringthiskindofthing
toamassaudience,youneedstatespon-
sorshipandhigh-qualityregionallan-
guagetours.Andyouneedchangesinthe
schoolingsystem,toinculcateearlyinter-
estinandrespectforourbuiltheritage.”
BangaloreWalksisanothersetupvery
activeintheheritagewalkssector.Desig-
nedforaglobalaudience,thesewalksare
inspiredbysimilaronesinLondonand
Boston.Thetoursareinfourcategories
calledtheVictorianBangaloreWalk,
GreenHeritageWalk,TraditionalBenga-
luruWalkandMedievalBengaluruWalk.
Havingcompletedthewalksfor100
monthsand425weekends,theorganisers
havetakenabreak.Currently,onlythe
GreenHeritageWalkison.Formore
details,visitwww.bangalorewalks.com
RK
Bangalore needs a centrally
located, public arts, culture and
museum district - much like
what global cities like London
and New York have - and sev-
eral smaller spaces dispersed
across the City for the purpose
Showcasing the City, its history,
music, dance, literature, folk arts,
rural artisans, etc, in spaces like
these will be one way of
enhancing the tourism appeal of
the City as the one buzzing and
teeming with activity
Shedesignsthetoursherself.This,she
does,“byreadingextensivelyabouteach
city,talkingtoknowledgeablepeople,
spendingtimewalkingandexploring
neighbourhoods.Ineffect,Icuratethe
Citythroughmyownlens.Ihaveworked
formanyyearswithoverseasvisitorsand
interactedwithhundredsoftourists.”
Here’stherationalebehindKrishnan’s
forayintoguidedwalks:“Ifindthatmost
touroperatorsinIndiacateringtoover-
seasvisitorstendtoperpetuatecultural
clichésaboutIndiainsteadofproviding
insightfulexplanationsofachanging
n Fascinating “boiled beans” story
n Silicon Valley, IT parks
n A city of startups, entrepreneurs
n Old pensioner’s city
n Pubs and gardens
LIZA MAZZOTTA,
Docu filmmaker, Vancouver
JESSICA TANGELDER
Dutch knowledge activator
LENA BERGHAUS
A German in Bangalore
APPASAHEB NAIKAL,
Indian in Singapore
FIRE TEMPLE
The temple on Queen’s Road,
is said to have been built in
1926 for Parsis, who are esti-
mated to number over 500 in
the City. It is said that an eter-
nal fire burns in the inner
sanctum, fed by sandalwood.
KARAGA AND HAZRAT
TAWAKKAL MASTAN
SHAH DARGAH
Hazrat Tawakkal Mastan Shah
Dargah in Cottonpet is very
popular among locals and
across the State. The Dargah is
supposed to have been built in
1783 by Tipu Sultan. Karaga
procession stops in front of
this 18th-century shrine.
ST MARY’S BASILICA
The St Mary's Basilica is the
oldest church in Bangalore and
has been elevated to the sta-
tus of a minor basilica. It is fa-
mous for the festivities held
during the St Mary’s Feast in
September every year.
JAIN TEMPLE
Sri Mahavira Digambara Jain
temple, located on Dewan's
lane of Chickpet area (of the
Bengaluru Pete) is one of the
oldest Jain temples, construct-
ed in 1878.
What Bangalore means for...
n The food culture here
n IT parks and tech people
n I want to ride a rickshaw
n I want to see a cricket match
n Bangalore Palace
n Lalbagh Glass House
n Tipu Palace
n The iconic Opera Theatre
n Bangalore Palace
n Vidhana Soudha
n Lalbagh Botanical Gardens
n Bannerghatta National Park
n Visvesvaraya Museum
n National Gallery of Modern Art
n Vidhana Soudha, Bangalore Palace
There should be something to do
every day and for everyone and
in all this, the State government
should just act as a facilitator,
letting public organisations
handle the events
either side of Palace Road and surround-
ingareas.Therearebuildingsattachedto
the Bangalore University, Law College,
Carlton House and the well known gov-
ernmentmonuments,”notesurbanarchi-
tect, Naresh Narasimhan.
Guided wine tours
The Karnataka Tourism Vision Group,
headed by T V Mohandas Pai, has made
another proposal to boost Bangalore’s
touristpotential:Bypromotingadventure
tourism in Nandi Hills, heritage trails
around the Devanahalli fort, and guided
winetoursforlocalandoutstationvisitors.
Clubbing tours through this corridor
with stories about Bangalore’s origin and
itshistory,cultureandtraditionscouldbe
transformational.FestivalssuchasKaraga
andrelatedeventscouldbeintegratedinto
the tourist calendar with rich, interactive
information sharing. “A variety of inter-
pretive material is necessary (digital and
print)tohelpresidentsandvisitorsunder-
stand all the rich heritage values of Ban-
galore. Such materials help build local
awareness,whichisverynecessary,aswell
asinformationforvisitors.Suchinterpre-
tive material need to go far beyond bland
descriptions of when a building was built
and by whom to tell the story of the city,”
notes the Vision Group, which includes
Jyoti Hosagrahar, Director, Sustainable
Urbanism, Columbia University.
But the City’s tourist structure is so un-
derdevelopedthatitishardtofindatrained
touristguide.Despiteitstechcitytag,Ban-
galorehasnoaudioguidesthatcouldhave