The Cantonment - The end of the beginning -1

1809

The Pete and The Cantonment historic colonial division of Bangalore.

Bangalore city map, circa 1924 from "Murray's 1924 Handbook",
with the Pete and Cantonment areas clearly visible.

Bangalore’s ‘Pete’ has a longer history than that of the Cantonment. During the British period, Bangalore was divided into the ‘Old town’ or the ‘native town, and the ‘Cantonment’. The ‘native town’, which is now thickly populated, was originally called Pete, which refers to an urban or commercial settlement.

It soon developed an economic vibrancy for the Mysore plateau along with Srirangapatna and Mysore, absorbing the manufactures of towns such as Channapatna, Doddaballapur, and Kanakapura. Over time, to the east of the Pete, the British Cantonment developed a special identity with wide tree-lined avenues, telegraph, telephone connections, and railway lines.

It seems the gruesome fourth Anglo Mysore war in the late 1700s led to the unfortunate defeat of the Tiger of Mysore, Tipu Sultan and his troops and the capture of Srirangapatna, by the British army. Marching their way victoriously, they declared the town to be their cantonment and established a large military establishment there. However, even after winning a war, they were defeated by the raging plight of mosquitoes in the region and fled to Bangalore to establish their cantonment. Cantonment was actually named ‘Civil and Military (C&M) Station’. The Station covering an area of twelve and a half square miles established by the British Military Garrison

The British morphed the city slowly and it emerged to be culturally and socio - economically demarcated; a traditional Indian city of the time on one side of the map and a city with a colonial attitude on the other. The Pete and Cantonment laid hold on the western and eastern zone of the city, respectively. The toll was charged for people from the city to enter Cantt, and vice versa.

Bangalore Hunt

Photographs from the archive of Stephen Simon Simmons,

Posted to Bangalore Cantonment, 1934

 

Artist: Ayisha Abraham
Bangalore Hunt
Photographs from the archive of Stephen Simon Simmons,
Posted to Bangalore Cantonment, 1934

These postcards are based on real-life events and characters, 
from fragments of memories from my past and from found 

media that have now become a part of our collective history.
- Ayisha Abraham, June, 2021

This work is derived from a small private archive of photographs and newspaper cuttings, annotations, letters and postcards that document the Bangalore Hunt from the early 1930’s. Stephen Simmons was posted with the British Army to Bangalore in 1934. He was stationed in the Cantonment area and in charge of the Hunt, which was meticulously planned and executed as a leisure time sport. The photographs are mostly of the dogs, horses and other small animals that were hunted. Picnic outings for families accompanied these hunts. These unusual photographs reveal the landscape and it’s expanse of fields and lakes as though it were a backdrop for an action-packed drama.

Shifting the ground to the sky in these postcards emphasis this surreal enactment of the Colonial sport.

The Paper Journeys of my Grandfather

I.S. Andrews (1890-1965)

2, Lloyd Road, Cooke Town, Bangalore 560005

Artist: Ayisha Abraham

The Paper Journeys of my Grandfather
I.S. Andrews (1890-1965)
2, Lloyd Road, Cooke Town, Bangalore 560005

These postcards are based on real-life events and characters, 

from fragments of memories from my past and from found 

media that have now become a part of our collective history. 

- Ayisha Abraham, June, 2021

My grandparents bought a Colonial Bungalow in Cooke Town in the 1950’s and retired from bustling Bombay to the then quiet Bangalore. My grandfather loved his solitude, read books and wrote articles. My grandmother in contrast enjoyed being social, making friends and nurturing relationships. My grandfather was born in 1889 and by the time he had retired he had traversed half a century as witness to British Rule in the subcontinent, industrialization, urbanization and India’s struggle for Independence. He had worked for the Madurai police, served in Mesopotamia during World War 1 and become a journalist with the Bombay Chronicle, a daily newspaper. By the end of his life he had left behind a trail of paper documents that chronicled this ‘Modern’ life. This detritus, scrap paper, paraphernalia, and trivia, were preserved by him and then safely locked away in a trunk by my grandmother in their Cooke Town house. This collection includes a pink paper pass from 1914 to enter a British war camp in Amara, Mesopotamia, an earlier police report of a brutal murder, an updated CV for further employment, numerous application forms of bureaucracies, certificates validating his skills and a detailed typewritten account of his early life with his father in the 19th century when bullock carts were the means of transport before the railways were built.

“In 1885 when my father took charge of the BI agency in Calingaptnam there was no railway between Calcutta and Madras. Construction of the East coast railway as it was then called, commenced later and although more or less half of it was completed and in operation around 1895, these 2 ports were not entirely connected up until about 1900. Those who lived in this coastal area, devoid of railways were naturally subjected to much inconvenience and hard ship and had to go without many commodities necessary for their comfort and welfare. Fortunately for them, long before the advent of the railway, the company had brought about a great improvement in living conditions, by establishing regular coastal steamer service, which enabled merchants to export and import much needed goods at the same time provide a very essential passenger service. The only other mode of travel was by bullock cart. My father once had an occasion to proceed to an inland town about 60 miles away and took my brother and myself with him. We travelled three nights by bullock cart, camping under trees by day.”

The Nighty Revolution

Artist: Surekha

In the 18th century, the nightgown made an appearance in India. “It travelled back with the Fishing Fleet, those ambitious young women from England who came out in droves to India to find husbands,” said Bidapa. It seems the dress came back as a fashion in India by Indian women who returned after working in the Middle East.

The Nightie made a grand appearance amongst the Indian Women in the 1970s. This free-flowing nightwear allowed for unconfined movement and became an epitome of functionality for women of all classes. Block-printed, dyed, collaged nighties made their way through household work, assisted women while shopping, in farms, at temples, and posed with confidence on bikes while dropping children off to school. The nightie adjusted and adapted itself to any occasion. It is a woman's best friend.

The humble nightie is now the great leveler of classes. Worn by women in India, it eliminates all kinds of hierarchy existing until now with women’s clothes. Nighties refute the difference between indoor and outdoor, night and day, market and temple, rich and the poor, even when all these social structures have by and large been very uneasy with a casual, spontaneous, and down-to-earth nightie.

However, this became a dress that refuted its initial definitions and parameters and became the unifying element capturing the diversity of India. In India, the nightie has a new post-colonial reincarnation: it is actually a triumph of Indian ingenuity. The Indian woman has repurposed a piece of clothing to make it fit her own needs and comfort. A shapeless garment, it is a women’s liberation – in a bag. It’s completely self-made and has evolved as a new Indian national dress. No other clothing, not even the sari, enjoys such pan-Indian appeal.

Artist: Archana Hande

As the Indian women assert their freedom to wear the Nightie, patriarchy raises its ugly head with rules and regulations. We see notices that curb this ubiquitous garment."Don't wear the Nightie during the day.No more dropping off the kids in your nightie to school, or when going to pray in the temple, shopping, or even their friends in the women's self-help groups. But the nighty is a revolution. “It is our national dress”.

The Curated Bagh

1760 | 1814 | 1855 | 1890 | 1947

It is said that Lalbagh was referred to as Kempu Thota during Kempegowda's time. Some locals believe that the garden is named after Hyder Ali's mother who was called Lal Bi. During the British times in 1856, it called Rose and Cypress Garden. The Horticulture department believes that the garden was named after the red roses that bloom in the garden.

Watercolour, pencil, and pen and ink drawing of the 

Kempegowda watchtower and the Cypress Gardens, 

made in 1791 by Robert Hyde Colebrook.

Bangalore’s Lalbagh: a Chronicle of the Garden and the City

Authored by Suresh Jayaram  

Bangalore’s Lalbagh is both a historical chronicle and anecdotal narrative of the city and garden he has grown up in. Illustrated with photographic accounts, images from family albums, and archival documents lost from public memory, the book tells the story of a city that has borne witness to royal visionaries, colonial influences, modernity, and urbanism. Tracing these shifts with Lalbagh as its protagonist, the book touches upon the influences of Mysore modernity, Hyder and Tipu’s prowess, the orchestration of botanical transactions, and the often unseen gardener communities that tend to the Bangalore we identify with today. With research that grounds itself in local histories and presents, Suresh locates himself within the botanical paradise that is Lalbagh and draws our attention to a garden and urban cosmos that holds within its bounds so much that is overlooked by today’s city-dwellers.

In the following blog post, we present to you excerpts from Suresh Jayaram’s “Bangalore’s Lalbagh,” to dig deeper into this garden that represents the identity of Bangalore as a " Garden city." 

 Sultan Bagh

above ‘East View of Bangalore with Cypress Gardens’,
an ink wash drawing by Robert Home made in 1792.
The Cypress Gardens in this view is where Lalbagh now lies.

top left: Steel engraving of Hyder Ali from the 1790’s,
with modern hand colouring. Artist unknown.

top right: Stipple engraving of Hyder Ali by James Gillray in 1781,
based on J. Leister’s drawing, done in 1776.

Tracing back the idea of the ‘garden’ in a historical context brings our attention to the genesis of its form. From thotas that were planted and taken care of by local agricultural communities during the rule of Kempegowda, to Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan’s baghs in the 18th century, and lastly Colonial gardens, Lalbagh became a culmination of more than one trajectory of aesthetic and economic function.

 Sultans Pleasure Garden

From the 18th century, Bangalore was home to the elaborate baghs of Hyder and Tipu. Derived from the Persian and Indo-Persian tradition of the Charbagh, these walled pleasure gardens—hortus conclusus—were private enclosures that were systematically planted with fragrant flowers and trees bearing delicious fruits. It is said Hyder Ali was the first to demarcate the initial boundaries of the Lalbagh Botanical Garden in Bangalore, It is said that he was inspired by the Mughal-style garden in Sira, near Tumkur, now lost in the mire of history. If we look beyond the walls of Lalbagh, we find the Masjid-e-Meraj Bade Makaan and a large well that supplied water to the shrine and its surroundings. People hailed in bullock carts from far and near to visit the shrine and seek the Saint’s blessings. Hyder Ali saw this large congregation and decided to create a garden—one of the many that formerly adjoined Hyder Ali’s garden imported plants and trees from Delhi, Multan, Lahore, and Arcot and exemplified the diversity of species that evolved and adapted to different climatic conditions. The Islamic garden was symbolic of Paradise—an earthly reflection of heaven. The sophisticated architecture and landscaping emerged from the practical need to curate space, time, and nature.

 The carriers of fire

Artist: Archana Hande

The Thigalas were traditionally farmers and gardeners of Vannikula Kshatriya ancestry. They are warriors who defended and fought for the land they tilled. It is believed that Hyder Ali was responsible for having noticed their skills and brought them across borders during his conquest of the larger Carnatic region in which Tamil Nadu now lies. They occupied areas near the water bodies of the city, growing fruits and vegetables for the locals. They also specialised in catering to the British residents who had introduced many ‘English’ vegetables and fruits in this suitable soil and conducive climate. To this day, the community maintains vast nurseries of ornamental plants which can be seen around Lalbagh.

 Tipu Sultan’s bagh

Writer: Suresh Jayaram Design by: Shree Tej
Picture postcard of the watchtower on the Lalbagh rock
(known as ‘Raja Tippoo’s Observatory, during his time),
noticeably different from the architecture of the current mandapa.

Tipu inherited his love for gardens from his father and he indulged in botanical diplomacy—passionately sending ambassadors to faraway countries to bring back seeds and plants and also a team of gardeners to tend them. His gardens are said to have been built on that of his father’s, adding more fruit, vegetable, and spice plantations in the vicinity. Much like Hyder’s, this pleasure garden too remained a walled, private space. It is recorded that Tipu encouraged the planting of avenue trees in his kingdom and used tree plantation as a method of atonement for punished convicts. His administration was involved in agricultural reforms as well, and he abolished the Jagir 4 system of land grants, introducing instead the system of granting agricultural land as a part of his payment to his soldiers. For Tipu, plants offered new potentials and were considered symbols of power.

 The Garden

The British created gardens in India not just out of simple nostalgia or homesickness, but also to put a visible stamp of ‘civilization’ on an alien, untamed land. Colonial gardens changed over time, from the ‘garden houses’ of the East India Company’s nabobs modelled on English countryestates, and hill station cottages where English flowers could be coaxed into bloom, to the neat flower beds, gravelled walks, well-trimmed lawns and hedges of Victorian heritage buildings. Every Government House, Civil Lines bungalow and cantonment was carefully landscaped to reflect current ideals of ordered society.

—Eugenia W. Herbertii

 

 

In the mid-19th century, With a section for fruits, vegetables, and a variety of both native and imported trees, the significant element of both the bagh and the colonial garden was that it was a gated enclosure that regulated entry and exit, unlike the former thotas. 

The death of Tipu Sultan in the Fourth Anglo Mysore War marked the start of the garden’s history under the East India Company. When the colonial idea of the garden was implanted onto Indian soil, terms changed. The garden remained an enclosed area but was landscaped into a public botanical park—a walled space that distinguished itself from its neighbourhood but that was still used for the cultivation of ornamental plants.Wanting to acclimatise the fruits of England to the salubrious climate of this city (that appeared to mimic the weather of Southern England), the zeal of the British not only led to the improvement of indigenous production, but also to the naturalisation of exotic species and their introduction to the local plains. The garden during the time of the Sultans was walled and shut off to the public and functioned as a private space. In the late 19th century, the garden was systematically restructured, expanded, and walled again. This walling of Lalbagh was one of the most significant decisions made by the government, demarcating and separating the space from its social context—the emerging city of Bangalore—and yet keeping it accessible to the public in a controlled manner. Although this division created a rupture, and a rarefied space for botanical explorations, it proffered the public to come in, experience, and learn from this exotic botanical endeavour. The colonial gaze was trained to compose the picturesque, romanticised notion together with the Renaissance outlook, where all subjects were combined in a linear and geometric perspective, focussing on the illusion of depth and space.

 A tea party hosted in the Glass House in Lalbagh in the 1930s.

Whatever he touched he adored
Krumbiegel

Krumbiegel was not only an expert landscapist, but also a town planner and architect of considerable repute. In the early 19th century, G.H. Krumbiegel, with his intimate knowledge of tree species and city planning, articulated landscape design as an occupation in the larger public works department in the Mysore kingdom. He introduced the phenomenon known as serial blossoming—a careful Gustav Herman Krumbiegel worked at the Plant Propagation Department in the Royal Botanical Garden at Kew and moved in 1893 to India to work for Sayajirao Gaekwad III of Baroda. In 1908, he was hired by Krishnaraja Wodeyar. He set up the Horticultural school that provided a diploma in the 1920s and improved the Library and Herbarium during his tenure. He introduced plants that yielded industrial products—like fibers, resins, gums, dyes, tans, aromatic oils, timber, rubber, and fodder, acclimatising many of these in the native soil. Krumbiegel’s envisioning of serial blossoming in the city—the curation of flowering trees such that one or the other is in bloom, through the year—is one of his many significant contributions we have inherited.
In addition to Krumbeigal’s passion to create an unsurpassed horticultural legacy in the Indian subcontinent, the efforts of H.C Javaraya, Dr. MH Marigowda and John Cameron are also noteworthy.

Artist: Archana Hande, Break the wall

 Darwinia 

Towards the end of the North South axis, where the commemorative fountain now lies, a structure as tribute to Charles Darwin, called the Darwinia, once stood. This structure housed the office, the laboratory and the library and was the centre of all scientific work carried out in the botanical garden. In 1894, at the request of Cameron, the offices were shifted out of Darwinia and in 1915, under the recommendation of GH Krumbiegel, Darwinia was turned into a restaurant. This was because of its picturesque location and because it could conveniently house two halls - one for the British and the other for Indians. In 1915, the authorities wanted to open a bar but decided against it as they believed that intoxicants and nautch girls would spoil the decorum of the garden.

 Drawn from Nature

Botanical Illustrations

Even though they were hailed for their stunning renditions, skill, and beauty, the main goal of botanical illustration was scientific accuracy. Creating an archive for Economic Botany to harness natural resources and introduce new plant materials from different parts of the world – nativize the exotic, as it was called – became the primary agenda.

The practice of botanical art inherently instilled discipline, observation, patience, and encouraged a new intimacy with plants. It inaugurated an appreciation of the functionality and diversity of the living world through a scientific and modern perspective.

These Botanical drawings of “portraits of plants”, the Indian artists were trained to portray a plant with precision and detail, for it has to be recognized and distinguished from other species. The most prolific artist was Cheluviah Raju, probably from the Telugu community of Raju Kshatriyas patronized by the Mysore Wodeyars who excelled in the school of Mysore icon paintings. His skill is unmatched and he is recognized as one of the finest botanical painters of his time. He was appointed by Superintendent John Cameron to illustrate the garden collections and was the chief artist from 1884 to 1923. There are more than 1000 of these valuable 19th-century drawings in this collection, which are in Lalbagh.

The diversity of the Lalbagh illustrations is fascinating and extensive, including common kitchen herbs and vegetables, local and exotic plants, shrubs and trees. From a Colonial standpoint of archiving, everything found was precious, and needed to be archived and understood – in order to utilize it as a future resource.

Paintings by Rumale Chennabasaviah (1910–1988), an exceptional landscape artist with a dedication to portraying Bangalore’s landscapes, particularly its modernist buildings and verdant flora. Bold tactile strokes became his signature style. In the ‘70s and ‘80s, Rumale showed a keen interest in capturing nature in the urban context of Bangalore. Moving away from the prevalent colonial style, Chennabasaviah’s compositions were vibrant, dense, and full of vigour.

Vidyasundari Bangalore Nagarathnamma

3 November 1878 – 19 May 1952

Cultural Activist, Scholar Publisher, and Courtesan
Text by Mamta Sagar

 

Poet: Mamta Sagar, Designed: Archana Hande

Tyagaraja Aradhana and Vidyasundari Nagarathnamma

KUMBHABISHEKAM 7-01-1925

The image is for representation purposes only. Courtesy: internet

Vidyasundari Bangalore Nagarathnamma an Indian Carnatic singer, cultural activist, scholar, and courtesan, probably the last Devdasi from Mysore or Tamilnadu. A descendant of courtesans, she was also a patron of the arts and a historian. Her special musical forte included Harikatha. Nagarathnamma is one of the true precursors to feminist criticism in India. She fought for women’s rights all through. Writings on Nagarathnamma reveal that she fought for the right for women to perform at Tyagaraja Aradhana.

Her talent in dance attracted the attention of the Mysore ruler Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar who, impressed with her talent, made her the Asthana Vidushi (court dancer) in Mysore. Following the death of the ruler, she moved to Bangalore. She attained popularity in Bangalore not only in music but also in dance. She was also patronized by many other royal houses such as those of Travancore, Bobbili, and Vijayanagaram. Narahari Rao, a judge in the High Court of Mysore, was one of Nagarathnamma's patrons and he suggested to her to move to Madras to further her career as a musician and dancer. She shifted to there as it was considered the "Mecca of Carnatic music" and her musical talent was further developed. Here, she specifically identified herself as Bangalore Nagarathnamma. All her records in the end she would sign off by saying Bangalore Nagarathnamma in a hurry.

The twenties to the early fifties of the twentieth century was a period of reformist movements. During this period, women’s writing was prominently seen in Kannada, Hindi, and many other Indian languages. Women edited and published magazines, which carried articles by women containing creative writing as well as discussions of issues related to women. Most importantly, they argued for the need to acknowledge individual emotions as well as duties, something that received a great deal of attention in the new genre of social novels. Women Writers of the period highlighted the importance of women in the family and in society. In the process, as they brought out the problems faced by women to the forefront, women writers constructed the notion of a ‘new woman’. Their writings and ideas are available in the literature's and magazines written and edited by women during that period. They reveal certain important aspects regarding new kinds of subjectivities constructed by women. These subjectivities were composed of special qualities like courage, boldness, patriotism, and dedication to the nation as concerned citizens. Women moulded new subjectivities for themselves through their writings. This was very important for them, as it gave them an opportunity to represent themselves as citizens of a new spiritually strong nation. The ‘ideal Indian woman’ in turn, represented this spiritual strength. The concept of ‘Arya Mahila’ the Aryan woman, portrayed by Tirumalamba in Kannada and Mahadevi Verma in Hindi, talked about the notion of the self-dependent strong woman dedicated to her tradition yet not simply a shadow of the man. Women’s writing can be read as a resistance narrative shaped under the prevailing patriarchies. 

 

Poet: Mamta Sagar, Designed: Archana Hande
Bengaluru Suddi | SWATCH BHARAT
Bangalore Nagarathnamma

The image is for representation purposes only.
From the album Anuradha Ranganath's photos Courtesy: internet

Thirumalamba (AMMANYAKKA) Narayana Iyengar (Vrittamani) (1887-1982)

is the first woman novelist, poet, critic, editor, and publisher in Kannada. She edited magazines for women in Kannada like ‘Karnataka Nandini’, ‘Sanmaargadarshini’, ‘Veeramathe’. 

One of Tirumalamba’s articles written in the 1920s demonstrates such differences of opinion. She said – 

 

There have been differences of opinion among male writers regarding women’s progress and its downfalls. The reason for such differences in my opinion is the incomplete knowledge that men have about the natural structure and character of women’s mind, their intellect and intuitions. Men have not taken into consideration the constant conditioning and orientation of women’s minds by so many thousand years.

Sheshagirirao, L.S., ed. Srimathi Nanjanagudu Tirumalamba Jeevana 

Mathu Sahitya. Bangalore: IBH Prakashana, 1987 p. 32

The image is for representation purposes only. Courtesy: internet

Belegere Janakamma (1912 – 1966)
In the poem, ‘Ganda’ (The Husband) she refers to the domestic violence women go through. Having an agreement with the husband she says, is like –

The frog seeking shelter under the shadow of a snake. If he gets angry he is nothing but ‘an incarnation of Yama (the God of Death)’. He has the power to decide whether one should float or sink. For a man, wife is just a commodity... Man is so powerful that he can do anything… Man is extremely powerful… If you do not listen to him, he can even break your neck… He is the punisher and he is the protector and so, he is your God!

Nemichandra, 1988, p. 77. Translated by Mamta Sagar.

The Bendakaluru’s Conservancy Lane Part-2

17th century | 1892 | 1898 | 8 March 1907

 
"Plague-proof rules"

Photographer: Bharatesh GD,

Kadu Malleshwara Temple, Malleshwaram

Narada had actually wanted to see who among Ganesha and Kartikeya was wiser. So he gave the fruit to Lord Shiva and Parvati, asking either of them to consume it. But the two refused to eat it as Narada had asked them not to cut it as it would lose its vitality. So the divine couple decided to give the mango to one of their children. But being parents to both their children, choosing one among the two proved difficult. And hence Narada stepped in with a solution. 

 

Narada asked the two children to travel around the world three times and said that the one who wins the race would be rewarded with the mango. Kartikeya instantly mounted on his peacock to literally go around the world. But Ganesha chose to walk around his parents with them seated in the center. Shiva gave the Golden Mango to clever Ganesha.  

Relief  Sculpture from Kadu Malleshwara Temple, Malleshwaram

The early planned towns of Bangalore:
Frazer town | Malleswaram | Basavanagudi | Shivajinagar | Chamrajpet

These suburbs were well-planned as a grid that focused on hygiene and sanitation was emphasized. S. K. Venkatranga Iyengar and Madhava Rao proposed the development of two new hygienic extensions of the city as 'modern suburbs'. Most of the city was under the authority of the British Cantonment in the 19th century. Malleswaram and Basavanagudi were planned as early as 1892, they could be executed only in 1898 during the Great plague, in a hurry to create better infrastructure to contain the disease, the British administrators decided to develop better sanitation in the new areas of Basavanagudi, Malleshwaram and Frazer Town.

Interestingly Basavanagudi lies on the foothills of the Bull Temple, Bugle Rock and Lal Bagh. Malleswaram is on the foothills of the Kempegowda watchtower and Palace Guttahalli. Malleswaram’s advantage lay in its access to a water source — a big stream (now the Rajakaluve).

 

Designed by: A Shree Tej, Malleswaram in 1889

  

Malleshwaram

Once upon a time, S. K. Venkatranga Iyengar, an advocate from Madras came riding to Bangalore during the British time, on a horse back. He visited the Kadu Malleswaram temple, he liked the surroundings and imagined a locality where the rich and noble could settle. Venkatranga Iyengar reported this to Seshadri Iyer, the Dewan of Mysore and suggested that the city be extended there. After approval and several discussions it was named after the temple. Thus was born Malleswaram in 1889.

There are multiple stories about the origin of this locality. One legend being about S. K. Venkatranga Iyengar and Madhava Rao and their plan to extend to make a hygienic suburban. Another legend says a temple lent its name to the locality, The Kadu Malleshwara temple. Here the credit of building goes to the Marathas in the 17th century. Venkoji, a half-brother of Chhatrapati Shivaji . Third story says the place where Malleswaram stands today was once a village called Mallapuram so the name comes from. It is very difficult to pinpoint and prove any of them, but all of them can make sense.

Malleshwaram has a mix of Kannada, Telugu and Tamil speaking inhabitants. It was originally planned to accommodate all communities. The then planning authorities paid attention to social hierarchies and so Malleshwaram had eight blocks, one for each particular section of the people. Separate wards for Muslims, native Christians and various Hindu castes, including Brahmins, Lingayats, Vaishyas and others were built. It also had a “Mohammedan block”. What is interesting, though, is that even Jayanagar, which was planned post-independence, when secularism was in vogue, has its pockets of Muslim Ghettos. Yet, the design was so planned to let the residents engage symbiotically with each other. It was conceived as a place for everyone and where everything was in its place.

 

Designed by: A Shree Tej, Conservancy lane, 1990 

No More Kakka Lane, Cycle Lane coming soon

Conservancy Lanes  

 

These lanes were historically used for manual scavenging. They ran behind the bungalows, a distinguishing feature of the drainage system. Sewers used to run outside people's houses, so there was plenty of filth. Servants called the 'thottikars' (meaning dustbin in kannada) used to clear the night soil from a toilet located in a small shed outside the house by entering the house using conservancy lanes. In the Local Language it is called the “Kakka Lane.” When the practice of manual scavenging was stopped, these were repurposed as shopping streets or as parking, or even as illegal storage spaces for small vendors. Sex workers also began soliciting there and garbage too was being dumped. 

A group of architects who have conducted a study on conservancy lanes, especially in Malleswaram, have highlighted how these spaces can be repurposed to provide the much-needed open spaces for kids and elders. These lanes can also be developed as dedicated bicycle lanes to connect different parts of the localities. 

Similar to the manual scavenging act done by the lower caste groups in India, Pakistan municipalities also still rely on their minority communities for scavenging. In Karachi, Christian and lower caste hindu sweepers keep the sewer system flowing, using their bare hands to unclog crumbling drainpipes of feces. When Karachi's municipality tried to recruit Muslims to unclog gutters, they refused to get down into the sewers, instead sweeping the streets. The job was left to Christians and lower-caste Hindus. In London too, cesspits containing human waste were called 'gongs' or 'jakes' and men employed to clean them 'Gongfermours' or 'Gongfarmers'.They emptied such pits only in the night and dumped it outside the city. They had designated areas to live and were allowed to use only certain roads and by lanes to carry the waste. 

  

   

 

Designed by: A Shree Tej, Basavangudi Grid-Man, 1980

Basavanagudi

Pages of history tell us that the area now called Basavanagudi was an agricultural village called Sunkenahalli, consisting of groundnut fields. A very angry bull would run all over the field and ruin the crop every year. Legend says that a farmer, frustrated with the rampaging bull, hit it with a club. The stunned bull sat still, became motionless and then just miraculously transformed to stone.

Photographer: Clare Arni,

Groundnut festival (Kadlekai Parishat), Near Bull Temple, Basavanagudi

In repentance, the farmers built a temple for the bull - the bull temple. Every year still the Groundnut festival (Kadlekai Parishat) happens during the groundnut harvest around the temple. The extension of Basavanagudi happened around the Bull temple. The central location was dominated by the Brahmin class and vegetarians. There was a dominance of Carnatic music and literature discourse by the upper-class brahmanical Kannadigas in this area. So, people called it the cultural hub of the city. The lower caste began to settle in the outskirts of the Basavanagudi extension due to the planning of the settlement based on caste and class. 

 

        Artist: Pradeep Kambatali, Masti Club

Masti Club

The large archaic clock ticked 6. As usual, with his stick in hand, shawl over shoulder and tidy coat, entered Mr. Masti Venkatesha Iyer, sat on his fixed table ready and was to play another game of 28 for half a paisa at stake with such seriousness as though he were playing for thousands of rupees. “I will not enter this club ever, if alcohol gets served here” he said often. So when a bar was opened in the club finally, there were no traces of Mr. Masti ever again.

The Basavanagudi or Masti Club, came to be known informally as the art capital of the city. Bhairavi Kempegowda, a gifted classical singer, used to visit Basavanagudi often from Ramanagara. He loved to sing, but was always a little too drunk. He worshipped his guru who lived in Basavanagudi. Whenever he met the guru, the guru would hit him, by hand or with sticks, and Kempegowda would take it with folded hands. Neighbours around would gather and appreciate the guru’s efforts and so one day, likewise, they all witnessed and experienced the thrill of listening to Bhairavi.

Apparently, in the initial years, the club was called “Brahmanara koota”, because of its location in a predominantly Brahmin locality and the fact that a good number of men in service during the Raj days were Brahmins.

 
Broadway In Bangalore,1915
https://www.past-india.com/photos-items/broadway-in-bangalore-old-postcard-1915/
Image is for representation purposes only. Courtesy: internet

Bangalore Cantonment Market, 1914

https://www.past-india.com/photos-items/broadway-in-bangalore-old-postcard-1915/

Image is for representation purposes only. Courtesy: internet

Bangalore Cantonment Market, 1900

https://www.past-india.com/photos-items/broadway-in-bangalore-old-postcard-1915/
Image is for representation purposes only. Courtesy: internet 

Frazer Town

This new extension was home to a mix of the christian and muslim communities. It was developed in 1906 on 50 acres of agricultural land about two miles north-east of the city. Residents here were bound by strict "plague-proof rules"

 

JH Stephens, Municipal engineer, drew up the plans for the new extension. 

His plans led to Fraser Town being called “the only plague-proof town in India”.  

Image credit: Plague-Proof Town Planning in Bangalore, South India 

https://www.indianculture.gov.in/rarebooks/plague-proof-town-planning-bangalore-south-india 

Annasawmy Mudaliar, a philanthropist, realised people needed certain basic amenities before they could move in. Accordingly, he built a dispensary and a market and handed them over to the Municipality. He also built a school for children of all castes and creeds. JH Stephens, Municipal engineer, drew up the plans for the new extension. His plans led to Fraser Town being called “the only plague-proof town in India”.

Rules

Designed by: Anchita Kaul

The new extension was a combination of small houses and large plots. The Municipality built several small houses for people to rent at nominal rates (Re 1 per month in 1909). To keep the plague away, Stephens’ formulated some anti-rat rules:

Only one-third of the plot could be built upon; No large trees could be planted 

next to the house;

Roads and drains were 1.5 feet below ground level and so on.

Basements must be stone and at least 1.5 feet high.

Floors must be of close-fitting hard tiles or stone like Cuddapah (not mud).

Roofs must be of Mangalore tiles (not country tile, not mud and certainly not thatch)

The bungalow was also seen as an anti-plague measure and they used flint bases as the plague was thought to be ground-borne

--------------------------------- --------- ------- ------- ------- ------ -------- ------- -------- -------- ----- 

  

Photographer: Archana Hande, 2020 

Shivajinagar and around. 

Shivaji Nagar

The area most severely hit by the plague was Blackpully, now known as Shivajinagar. To prevent the spread of the epidemic, several unsanitary houses were demolished, and with a lack of manpower to accomplish the demolitions, convicts from the Central Jail were ordered to help.

Since the tank system was widely spread in this area, the British believed that a part of the plague was spreading due to the abundant unfiltered water in these areas. So, they began draining the tank systems.

The Hindus took the affliction with wails of sorrow but were content with making special sacrifices to the gods and showing more devotion by offerings in the water to wave out the spirits of evil. Many mohamaddens were victims to this disease in Shivajinagar, whereas the English people were almost entirely exempt though they too lived in the cantonment area. The local people did not understand this and what made it even worse, were the arbitrary plague rules introduced by the English. The more ignorant locals considered that this new disease had been specially manufactured by the English to kill off the muhamaddens and the hindus and that was the reason why the English did not suffer from it.

  
Artist: Archana Hande, Stop Dividing India