India Hello Bangalore Walla Namaskara! The 2nd Anniversary "Jumble of Memories" of Bangalore's past!

This will take you to some of the less frequented parts of Bangalore. Areas that are never in the limelight as a tourist attraction, but for Bangalore Wallas, these areas are the last of the 'Memories of Bangalore'. I passed by MG Road or in the Good Old Days 'South Parade', and have noticed that some of the older houses are empty and a watchman kept. That is a clear sign that the buildings are going to be brought down. I need to capture them hopefully. I don't seem to get the builders to respond to my appeal to let me photograph for the 'Memories of Bangalore' before they tear down history. It is sad, but that is the plain fact, the buildings are being raised by people who are usually not Bangaloreans, and who do not have any love for the City. I may sound hard, but it is generally true. I have yet to get someone to respond before they do the damage. To keep you still tuned on the last of the 'memories', check out on the picture icons below. By clicking on them, you can view the larger picture.

cheers

Ronnie Johnson

St. John's Road

Standing at the junction of Dickenson Road and St. John's Road, one sees the changes in time. The old building at the corner is being gradually nudged in by a new construction. There is absolutely no blend in the articture.

Around the corner you come to St. John's Road, and can find some of the 1900 first decade buildings. They are workshops, and shops, and generally not kept well. Although the building is intact, maintenance of the same is an unheard of word. This road is not to be confused with the St. John's Church Road which is parallel to Prommenade Road and meets St. John's Road at the juction where the old War Memorial at Ulsoor lake was located.

Opposite this, is a beautifully kept red building of K.S. Rama Rao & Sons, which reminded one of the red Spencers and EGK buildings that once was the pride of South Parade, and today forgotten because they have been raised to the ground. This building is kept beautifully, and the owner apparently looks after it with pride, as the various wooden rails and trellis work are painted in different colours. In the front it displays '1911 Bangalore'. It is one of the best buildings that I have come across, and the owner needs to be congratulated on this joy of Bangalore.

Adjoining this red building is another old ediface (below) that was once the Sundaram Press and Publicity Works, and now awaiting to be joining the rubble of pollution dust of Bangalore.

Cavalry Road - Wheeler Road - Kamaraj Road

If we trace our steps back to the West, we come to the junction of what was once known as Cavalry Road renamed Kamaraj Road, and which joins Wheeler Road at St. John's Church Road. One really does not know where Cavalry Road ended and Wheeler Road started, so we will just consider the roads as Wheeler Road to avoid confusion. If you know where Commercial Street is, then you will be standing on this road (Wheeler Road / Kamaraj Road) when you are just about to enter the street. The other end of Commercial Street meets Old Poor House Road ( I havent found the Poor House as yet!).

Standing on Commercial Street and looking across Wheeler Road you will see the Modern Electric House, which is one of the well known old buildings of the area. Along the same side after the Girl's School you will come across some old buildings and the V.S. Veloo Mudaliar Dispensary, next to which is a small shrine which curiously has a 'Western' out look, but a faint relief of Hanuman tells you that it is a religious place.

Facing Modern Electric House and all along the road towards St. John's Church Road, you find a number of old houses that still remind you of what Bangalore used to be in the 'Good Old Days'.

Austin Town and Neelsandra

Tucked away in the Southern part of the elite M.G. Road and Richmond Road, one comes to a quiet and old part of Bangalore that once housed the lower income bracket residents, and was also located between the British Army Barracks.

A view of the Corporation School, the Health Office and a glimpse of a Corporation Cottage.

Victoria Road, Wood Street and Castle Street

An old bungalow which had a large compound on Victoria Road has now been converted into a school. There are many schools in this area very close to each other.

When you come up Victoria Road and join Richmond Road, you will find further up the road two deviations left, the first being Castle Street which still possesses some old houses, many have been over modified to be really claimed as 'old'. An old bungalow beautifully kept with hi-tech dish antenne to bring it to the present and a set of twin cottages are there for you to see.

Other houses have already been shown on the page on 'Shoolay' which you will find when you visit the Contents Page. The other road is known as Wood Street and is intersected by a cross-road called Tate Lane. Wood Street has a very few old and un-modified houses left and one shown below is surprisingly still around. There is the Naidu's House that has some fantastic grill work and kept well. Sometime hopefully I may be able to photograph that house. In the mean while you will just have to manage with the lone photograph below.

Visit an old Colonial Building that could have been a hotel, Victoria Hotel on Residency Road.

Now it's back to the Main Page to take you to other areas of India Hello Bangalore Walla Namaskara!

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