Category Bangalore Cantonment
Men of the Horse
There are many miles that separate Bengaluru from Haifa. But our city’s connection to this distant Mediterranean port town goes beyond geography to that of the spirit. It is where Mysorean cavalrymen earned honours and distinguished themselves during World War I. The town also became a final resting place for many who never returned home. […]
SAILING INTO THE SUNSET-the fishing fleets
Remembering the women from England who came out to make a home in India as far back as the 17th century. The post box at my gate seems to be filled only with marketing pamphlets these days. As I tossed them into the bin, one caught my eye. It announced the onset of the wedding season […]
Love is Everywhere
February has always been my favourite month of the year. It’s when the stardust from New Year celebrations and resolutions makes way for spring flowers. Birds speed date in Bengaluru parks and the bees are equally busy. Trees prepare to bloom, the weather is perfect.High above the city, the sky blushes coral pink at sunset. […]
A Fiery Spirit-Khilafatwale Hajee Osman Sait
I was standing outside the swank automobile showrooms in India Garage the other day, watching excited owners roll out onto St Marks Road in their ribbon wrapped cars. Many of them swung into the petrol bunk here, to fill up their first full tank. Ironically, the petrol bunk outside this graceful building was where around 1920, […]
Being Street Savvy-Rhenius Street
Rhenius Street begins off Richmond Road at the corner of Baldwin Girls High School (1880) and meanders past temples, the Richmond Town Park, some massive but beautiful banyan trees and the Akkithimmanahalli Tank (now a playground and Hockey Stadium amongst other things) before reaching Nanjappa Circle at the other end. Come walk down with me […]
SWEET.MEATS and memories-ROYAL SWEETS
Long before cupcakes and other fancy sweet nothings arrived to influence neural signals and brain activity in modern Bengaluru, the late 19th century saw several bakeries popping up to cater to soldiers in the Cantonment. By the early 1900’s European confectioners including the Italian, G Baccala, on South Parade (Baccala’s is now the Deccan Herald […]
YOURS, MINE AND OURS-KOSHY’S PARADE CAFE
I’m going to get you a Koshy’s special fried egg sandwich!” says P Oommen Koshy (aka Prem) and disappears into the kitchen. While I wait, I smile at familiar faces, chat with those who stop by and recognise regulars who, like me, have cut their milk teeth in Parade Café (Koshy’s Restaurant) on St.Mark’s Road. […]
A Nobel Cause
A mosquito whined past me yesterday and I remembered childhood days in Bengaluru when windows were shut as early as mid-afternoon to keep out this winged menace. Doors had wire mesh frames and the garden was fumigated regularly. The precautions were valid. Malarial fever had taken lives across India for centuries. It was also widely believed […]
Placing Bengaluru 