E.R. RAMACHANDRAN writes from Bangalore: Basavanagudi and Malleshwaram are two of the oldest localities of Bangalore which are still in demand amongst those who seek houses to rent or to buy.
Located at different corners of the City, there always has existed some kind of healthy rivalry between their residents. Both consider their area as the ultimate for culture and aesthetics, and therefore have a nose up in the air.
When Jayanagar came into being in the early 1960s, old-timers in Basavanagudi and Malleshwaram quickly dismissed it as a gawky upstart, a major breeding ground for mosquitoes, a sobriquet the “queen of localities” is unable to shake off what with dengue and chikungunya ravaging Bangalore today.
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Basavanagudi has changed beyond description for those who were born and grew up there, but pockets of this locality like Benne Govindappana chhatra, Gavi Gangadhareshwara devasthana and Basavanagudi Club meant mainly for retired people still retain the old charm.
Basavanagudi, named after the temple for Basava or Nandi, has always been a sleepy little locality which made you sleepier the moment you entered Lalbagh , Bugle Rock or M.N. Krishna Rao Park, especially after eating a masala dose at MTR or Vidyarthi Bhavan, even if it was a vulgar fraction of 4 by 7.
You would still feel sleepy if you went to Parvathy Chandrashekara boulevard near Saalumara beside National high school, or Hanumantha Nagar Park (renovated by the then mayor Chandrashekar) for eating sippe hosa kadale kayi and bella, komrike hannu or ginimuthi mavinakayi with kharadapudi.
This sleep-inducing nature of Basavanagudi was attributed 30% to the genial climate in Bangalore, 40% to the fresh air in the parks, and 30% to the snacks that made Bangalore famous.
Gandhi Bazaar was the main market and one bought vegetables in any of the half-a-dozen shops near the “circle”, more so from the shop of father and sons Rama and Krishna who made sure you always came back by giving you a little extra menasinakayi or kottham bari soppu.
You would go for text books and notebooks to, M.S. Sons, L.N. & Co, V.S. & Sons, and for Kannada novels of Tha Ra Su, Aa Na Kru, Thriveni, Basavaraja Kattimane to G.K. Bros (Kalliah) opposite the chemist shop, Medico Surgicals.
Mostly people read B. Nagi Reddy’s Chandamama from Madras (Can you believe such a thing happening now?) and Balamitra before graduating to novels.
Basavanagudites were always ready for a by-two coffee anytime, anywhere in hotels like Geetha Bhavan, a furlong from Gandhi Bazaar circle on the way to Ramakrishna Ashrama, Circle Lunch Home bang at the circle itself, Bhattara hotel in Nagasandra Road opposite Chandra Clinic run by Dr. Chandrashekar.
At night, most preferred badami haalu at Harsha Stores or Ganesha Stores with sweet bun or “congress” kadalekayi.
Come exam time, Ganeshana devasthana (now called Dodda Ganesha, not to be confused with the Karnataka cricketer) on Bull Temple road, next to Basavanagudi and opposite B.M.S. College would be so crowded with students praying for easy questions in their question papers, praying for a miracle when results would be out in a few days and praying for ‘seats’ in any of the engineering or medical colleges.
The only other time boys hovered around there was to catch sight of the beautiful girls who were always accompanied by a younger brother or sister in tow as some kind of ‘protection’!
You had National high school and Bangalore high school; but you also had Gurukulam where they taught you Amara, Bhagavad Gita and twitched your ears if you erred during recitation.
Abalashrama near Gurukulam looked after destitute girls and after giving education, married them off to eligible boys with the entire staff and inmates giving a tearful farewell to the new bride.
There were no malls those days. If you wanted pullangayi unde, kharada avalakkki or chakkali, you got it from Subbammana angadi on H.B. Samaja Road next to Hanumanthana devasthana. You would go to Grandige Angadi for most of your pooja material like sambhrani, oodh kaddi and karpoora.
You didn’t have Raymond’s, Peter England and Arrow shirts and pants then.
T-Shirt was not even heard of!
You went to Siddoji Rao & Sons to buy cotton pant and shirt pieces, and you gave them to Venkoba Rao at Reliable tailors or their brothers-in law at Elegance Tailors on Nagasandra Road. They would even call you for a trial marking the half-stitched dress with coloured chalks.
Later, after a wash you could get it pressed by a steaming iron box with burning charcoal inside!
You would buy Bata shoes or Flex ‘Pathan shoes’ worn without socks. There were no bewildering makes and certainly not jogging/ walking shoes. I doubt whether the word jogging existed then! You just walked barefoot or walked with whatever you wore. That’s it.
Basavanagudi and Gandhi Bazaar are really the grandparents of Koramangala, Padmanabha nagara, Basaveshwara nagara, Rajarajeshwari nagara, etc.
If you want to get a whiff of the old charm of Bangalore, the quintessence of Bangalore, you will still find it there!
Photograph: Karnataka Photo News
Also read: Once upon a time, on route number 11
Tags: Aa Na Kru, Arrow, B. Nagi Reddy, Bangalore High School, Basavanagudi, BMS College, Bugle Rock, Chandamama, Churumuri, Circle Lunch Home, Gandhi Bazaar, Lalbagh, M.N. Krishna Rao Park, Malleshwaram, MTR, National High School, Padmanabhanagar, Peter England, Ramakrishna Ashram, Ramond's, Sans Serif, Tha Ra Su, Triveni, Vidyarthi Bhavan
15 July 2009 at 7:12 pm
WOW! But you missed binding shops/presses & IIWC(guess it is not vintage, but no other libraries are mentioned too!).
15 July 2009 at 8:07 pm
How about Brahmin’s cafe bar for melt-in-mouth idlis and kesari baath?
15 July 2009 at 8:32 pm
It used to cost for annas by bus number 11 from Malleshwaran fifth cross to gabdhi bazar. And it was a big ezercise as mother would want to know why we had to go all the way to meet the same people we met in college. This was in the mid fifties!
15 July 2009 at 8:58 pm
Awesome :)
I am far away from my home but this article took me around my ‘area’
16 July 2009 at 7:38 am
lol at 4/7 Dose…great tour even for those who go there often
16 July 2009 at 9:19 am
How about Gude Anjaneya Devasthana one of the major attractions.
Beautifull article makes me feel it’s worth to drive 20 kms everyday to reach my office…
16 July 2009 at 9:24 am
Like Bangalore Boy said, Basavanagudi and the DVG Road was our area. This brought back fond nostalgic memories of my time spent there. From sliding down the bugle rock as kids embarrassing/annoying the lovey-dovey couples to ritualistic visits to VS & Sons during the engineering days for those dreaded syllabus books-text books to the more enjoyable fare at Upahara Darshini, Ganesha Bakery, Venkateshwara Ice Cream store or the teen favorite Gulkan shop (with the masala Thumbs Up) with standing space only.
Though we lived 3 months every year in Basavanagudi as kids — ajji mane, when we moved from a happening Malleshwaram to a placid Girinagar as teenagers, we kids would have held a grudge against our father forever, but for DVG Road !
16 July 2009 at 10:25 am
Wow, what an article! Jaane kahan gaye woh din…….
16 July 2009 at 10:38 am
A colorful article…. it took us to a bygone era….
16 July 2009 at 10:39 am
Even today Basavangudi and Malleswaram have not lost its charm…. 8th cross Mvm is our fav shopping street, even though we have malls and super bazaars cropped up every nook and corner of the city…
16 July 2009 at 7:26 pm
Oh the great divide…it was virtually enemy territory. While us southerners would claim south was the best, so would the malleshwaram crowd crow that their area was the best…and the debate would go on and on. I still remember how a trip to Gandhi Bazar was mandatory on every festive eve and miss those days…thanks for taking us back to those glory filled days
16 July 2009 at 9:55 pm
My mother grew up on the gandhi bazaar main road, in the very building where Indian Bank stands. Her father had a butter store called ‘City Butter Store’ behind on DVG road. Everytime we still go there, for her it’s like her thavarumane…talking to each store owner who were all her playmates then. I never understood it, till recently and your article was like being with her at gandhi bazaar. Kudos for giving a beautiful area its due!
16 July 2009 at 11:19 pm
Brahmin’s coffee bar is in Shankarapuram, so technically not Basavanagudi. (My family home is in Shankarapuram).
I think the advent of good quality clothing has helped rather than harmed lifestyle. I’ve found Siddoji to be way overrated. Come to think of it, I could never fathom my relatives’ affinity for Subbammana angadi. I thought that her products were very ordinary.
In fact, having lived in Bombay, I found the attitude of the Gandhi bazaar shopkeepers to be downright hostile and not customer friendly at all, right from the 1970s onward. Half of them used to amble in at 10.30 a.m, take a 2 hour lunch break and close their shutters by 6.00 ish. Woe betide if your widowed mother was the first customer. I can’t tell you how many times my mother has been sent packing by shopkeepers that “women of her sort” (i.e. widows) were not welcome during “boni” time.
Bandbox was a huge fraud. They barely laundered your clothes, committed dates, but never delivered. There was exactly one electrical and one plumbing store (both near Vyaasaraayara matha). And they charged whatever they wanted since they had a captive audience.
Nostalgia is all good, and while I lament the “crowding” of Basavanagudi, I don’t lament the passing of many of these shops.
What I did like about the area was the friendly attitude of some of the aunties/uncles in banks (SBM, SBI and Canara and B o Maharashtra). They knew you and treated you very well. You were not just a number in a database. When my father passed away, they made it a point to help my mother with all the transfers of documentation.
17 July 2009 at 9:29 am
“Both consider their area as the ultimate for culture and aesthetics, and therefore have a nose up in the air. ”
Are mysore folks any less snobs? Neev yenu kammi?
17 July 2009 at 6:30 pm
The tone of the article suggests it has been written about some bygone era.
Things havent changed so much you know – maybe we have.
18 July 2009 at 11:01 pm
@Quizman,
Whoa ! You have quite a bag of woes there. We have been regulars at Gandhi Bazaar and DVG road for over 20 years now and cannot say we have had experiences anywhere close to what you describe. Some of what you describe is unfortunate but I believe is an exception, not the norm.
” good quality clothing has helped rather than harmed lifestyle.. “. Agree, hence the need for custom tailoring and a Siddoji and a Raghavendra Stores(custom tailors). Having lived outside India for a while, custom fit clothes and a good haircut are 2 things woefully difficult to find but least appreciated back home…
19 July 2009 at 5:11 pm
Brought back memories of my childhood. We lived on East Anjaneya Temple Street near Nettakallappa Circle. I studied in Home School, went regularly to the Indian Institute of World Culture for it had a good library and a children’s section as well. I remember the numerous processions from the many temples, going round the area, stopping in front of houses- some families would clean up the area in front and decorate with rangoli -for the arati and breaking of the coconut. The Kadilekayi Parishe took place every year near the temple.
21 July 2009 at 3:35 pm
Wow,
Thanks to my friend Sai for pointing this article, I read & enjoyed recalling every frame of this article in my mind. Being a resident of bangalore, i grew up in V.V.Puram & Gandhibazar, later moved to Jayanagar 3rd block.
I could related to each of the details mentioned by the writer. I still do my rounds in Basavanagudi, Ganesha temple,Subbamma’s stores. Now my wife continues the tradition of buying our festival needs from the circle area of Gandhi Bazar.
I miss out the Old Lazy Bull in the Gandhi Bazaar main road. This Bull (Black & white coloured ) was a true traffic speed breaker for BTS route # 1, 14 for sure. the Bull used to have his way throough the vegetable market.
I would like to recall the Basavagudi Cooperative Soceity Building & it’s contributions to the residents during tought times w.r.t PDS- Kerosene, Sugar & milk power distribution. BASCO building is no more, its contributions still ring a bell to me.
28 July 2009 at 8:40 pm
I agree with quizman. I am also a resident of Basavanagudi foe the last 12 yeard. I find the attitude of shopkeepers to be customer ‘hostile’. Subbama’s shop products are over rated and over priced. It is thriving due to lack of competition. About the fruit, flower and vegetable vendors the less said the better. These days the cutomers have moved to Super Markets like Reliance and Heritage. To put it shortly shopping in Basavangudi is an avoidable experience.
29 July 2009 at 9:48 pm
people who live from their roots feel like this.any way it is nice see some one remembering good old days so fondly
30 July 2009 at 7:57 pm
Born and grew up in Basavanagudi. Went to school and finished my Engineering in Basavanagudi. A lot of stores mentioned in the article were my friends. I enjoyed reading the article and the time we spent in Gandhi Bazzar. We were known as ‘Bazzar boys” and spent coutless hours at Sanman and at the steps of Indian Bank. We had few rupees in our pockets those days but I think they were the best days in our lives.
3 cheers to Basavanagudi and Bangalore.
6 August 2009 at 10:52 pm
I lived in Basvangudi from 1944 to 1964.This article took me back to the happy days of my youth !!
19 September 2009 at 4:00 pm
Great description of Basavanagudi of the 1960s. We lived on Gandhi Bazaar near the No. 11 bus-stop. Used-book sellers displayed their wares on the footpath where you could pick up occasional gems. There were also cobblers on the street to fix your broken Hawaii chappal strap. India Coffee House was a favorite among National College students— we used to refer to it as “ethyl” as if coffee was alcohol. Bicycles could be rented nearby, which is how I learnt cycling on a nearby slope in M.N. Krishna Rao Park. A whole bunch of interesting shops many of whom had no name-boards on Nagasandra Road. There were a couple of fruit sellers whose fruits were placed high-up so no one could could squeeze them. There was even scandal–a murder associated with one of the fruit sellers. There was a watch repair shop where you could see your watch being repaired. There was a family-run bookstore where you could pick up Sports & Pastime or Illustrated Weekly or Chandamama. They also delivered your home newspaper on a bicycle.
21 September 2009 at 12:59 am
Quizman and KK seem to have seem to have some bad experiences with shopkeepers in B’gudi. To be fair this was commonplace not just in the gudi but in other parts of Bangalore as well as in other towns.
One of the things I remember in the 70s was when growing kids rented bicycles from cycle shops there would be a verbal background check even a police officer would be proud of. Every kind of question including caste, religion, dietary preferences, the family’s financial situation and the child’s physical appearance would be fair game for the shopowners. Any refusal to answer or an answer that was unsatisfactory often meant that one had to trudge several kilometers to another cycle shop.
One also remembers a post office where the postmaster admonished anyone who licked stamps while sticking them to envelopes. In most cases, people were accepting of such behavior.
However, to compensate for such sour characters you had shopowners who handed out a free snack, kind auto drivers who gave free rides and friendly postmen who helped out in filling out forms, writing addresses and dispensing with advice on a lot of topics.
29 September 2009 at 10:26 pm
Great trip down memory lane! Starting from Bapu & Sons, Vijayalakshmi Hall and other “cut-piece” stores to Ganesha Bakery (hawtta? colda? for badami haalu), then on Revappa & Shivappa (indifferent grocers) to Srikantiah and Sons (grocers) to Raman & Sons for those nice pencils and pens to Chauhan & Sons or Vitthal Dresses for Ready Made Shirts and Frocks!! Not to forget Friends Emporium (for the greeting cards which was next to Subbammana andadi), Surveyor Street (baandhanavara beedi) to New Decent Hair Saloon. The King then was the non-neck, short, hot-tempered guy at Ganesha Bakery!
3 October 2009 at 7:57 pm
I remember the old man at VS & Sons in the 70s… he had a pair of really thick ’soda glasses’ and used to yell back at everyone when text-book/rough book/neat note book season began. He used to belch “book bandilla hogro”