Nala Road, Shivajinagar

The hottest fashion accessory to ever come out of Milan - The Lambretta.



End of the road is a drain for this 'Chal meri Luna'




Hamara Bajaj.



Which Drain? What Nallah? Series.

Benglur's two wheelers also end up in the city's drains. The two main 'Gujlis' are actually located on the banks of drains. One in Shivajinagar and the other near City Market.


Full series here.

1st Cross NR Rd. (Mothinagar) + AS Char Street

Protection

80ft Road, RMV 2nd Stage

Pigeon hole dwellers. Today, most of us live like Mumbaikars and Tokyo-mon in the Garden City.

Platform Road / Vatal Nagaraj Road

The Power Lines under which the Venus Circus tent was erected. 

  The only memories I have of the first circus I visited are that of its charred remains that I saw in the newspapers in the following days.  It erased everything that I remembered of the first circus experience and replaced it with imagined screams of children trying to flee the inferno. About 60 (0fficially) of them, most of the them children, were killed in the fire and the stampede that followed at the Venus Circus, in February 1981. That was because the tent was erected under the power lines shown above. 

It took years for Bangalore to recover from that tragedy. No circuses were allowed to perform in the city for a long time. And the place where the Venus Circus stood is silent and barren to this day, as if mourning for all the little lives that perished on that Black Day in February, 1981. 

Next to where the Venus Circus tent stood is an old Lutheran Church, which does not seem to have enough people attending these days. It was probably built for railway employees from an earlier age, who lived in the Railway Colony, a short walk away. The people who live closest to the church today are the residents of a tiny slum, behind the Church.The doors and windows of the homes in the slums are turned away from the open area where the Circus tent once stood. 

However, the residents of the slum prefer to pray at the many little shrines that surround the Chruch. Even those who pray at the Church seem to prefer the small shrine with Bibles in Kannada, Tamil and English placed outside. Together, they form the unoffical memorial for the people who died in the fire.  

 

Broadway (HKP Road)

Lure of Benglure Series 

Name: Zia-ur-Rahman a.k.a. Zia Manipuri

From: Manipur. He's been in Benglur for 3 years 

Occupation: Butcher 

He loves his job, has an eye for style and loves Bangalore. He misses home and says that he would love to go to Manipur for a holiday later this year.

See the full series: Lure of Bangalore

Binny Mill Circle + 5th Cross Borewell Road, Whitefield

Wet feet.

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4th and 5th Mains, Gandhinagar

Sandalwood Special: Dr. Raj.

Pictures of Dr. Rajkumar, the biggest star to come out of Kannada cinema, decorate almost all the mobile generators and vanity vans (used for outdoor shoots) parked in Gandhinagar.

And this picture was clicked outside Dr Rajkumar International Hotel. The hotel's location is perfect - in Gandhinagar aka Sandalwood.




The doorman outside Dr Rajkumar International Hotel. His name is Kamal Raj and he's from Anantpur, in AP. He couldn't speak or understand any language except his mother-tongue - Telugu! He's lived in Benglur for 3 years working as security guard at various places. When I spoke to him, I realised that a good smile is all it takes to overcome any language barrier.

The above pictures were modified using a beta release of a fun software called Poladroid. Check it out here.

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Kempegowda Road

Old Vs. Fresh Arrivals.
This picture was modified using a beta release of a fun software called Poladroid. Check it out for free here. 

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K R Road, Basavanagudi

Curtains up! Finishing touches are being given to the new Jain temple in Basavanagudi, close to the Post Office.   

The Which Main? What Cross? The Exhibition - Is on until May 31st.

F&B Restaurant, Papanna Street, St Marks Road (on the right, soon after SBI). Ph: 080 - 40 333 888

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Church Street

The New India Coffee House on Church Street.

It's a short hop from the old location but still miles away from what it originally was. The India Coffee House is now housed in a small, air-conditioned (it doesn't work) shell that once housed a Japanese Restaurant. But expect things to change back to what you were used to, soon. The framed posters are the same, the uniform, the uniformed waiters and the stains on their uniforms are the same, the customers are the same, even though its layout has changed, the newspaper they read is the same - Deccan Herald and yes, the coffee is the same. It's only a matter time before the familiar stains are back on the walls too. 

The Which Main? What Cross? The Exhibition - Is on until May 31st.

F&B Restaurant, Papanna Street, St Marks Road (on the right, soon after SBI). Ph: 080 - 40 333 888

Click here to vote

Residency Road (looking towards UB City)

Layers of Benglur.

The Which Main? What Cross? The Exhibition - Is on until May 31st.

F&B Restaurant, Papanna Street, St Marks Road (on the right, soon after SBI).
Ph: 080 - 40 333 888

Click here to vote

Hosur Road (Johnson Market)

It's a few meters from the choked Hosur Road, but miles away from its hustle and bustle. And if you want to calm you nerves before you begin a day at work, park your vehicle on Leonard Lane, and elevate your mood with a mixture of caffeine and sugar high, only a sweet Sulaimani can provide.

Good mornings begin with a glass of Ikram's hot brew at Johnson Market.

Ikram at work.

The Which Main? What Cross? The Exhibition - Is on until May 31st.

F&B Restaurant, Papanna Street, St Marks Road (on the right, soon after SBI).
Ph: 080 - 40 333 888

Click here to vote

15th Cross Malleshwaram / Temple Street

Waiting for the sun.

Which Nallah? What Drain? Pictures of life along  the banks of the drains in Bangalore. 

Downstream from Sankey Tank. 

It's all downhill for the drain that flows down from Sankey Tank. Within a hundred meters from where the drain starts, it becomes a rivulet with all-year flow of sewage.    

Like Cauvery has Talacauvery, this drain has a starting point too. At the beginning of the drain is the Malleshwaram Dhobhi Ghat. The water required to wash the tonnes of laundry from hotels and households in Northern Bangalore comes from the groundwater that's charged by the Sankey Tank. 

These pictures are from the Ghat that operates from a temple that forms the boundary between Malleshwaram and Vyalikaval.   

View the full series of Which Nallah? What Drain?

The Which Main? What Cross? The Exhibition - Is on until May 31st.

F&B Restaurant, Papanna Street, St Marks Road (on the right, soon after SBI).
Ph: 080 - 40 333 888

Click here to vote

Kalasipalaya Bus Stand

Surviving Trades Of Benglur - The metal cutters. 

Meet Muthu. For 30 years he has been working in a small workshop that's next to the Kalasipalaya Bus Stand. Out of school after basic education, he started off as an assistant and cleaner, then worked his way up to operate machines he was only allowed to clean. Starting withe the cutting (hacksaw) machines,  the lathe and finally the milling machine. Today, he is the partner in the workshop. 

In the age of CNC (Computer Numeric Controlled) Lathe and Milling Machines, this workshop that solely relies on the skills of people is a throw back to the 70s and 80s. That was the age when mechanical engineering ruled. And with establishments like HMT (Hindustan Machine Tools) and BFW based in the city, Bangalore not just produced the machines and tools required for a cash-strapped socialist India, it also produced the best people to operate the machines. 

Today, the land where HMT factory stood has been cut and parcelled out to real estate developers. Most large industries have acquired modern machines but to this day, hundreds of little workshops like this one dot Bangalore. From Peenya to Jigani; Magadi Road to Hoskote. And in Kalasipalaya. 

But what is the secret of their survival?

Computerised machines 'work-out' only if there are large batches of machined parts.  There are many industries in Bangalore that require small quantities and often they might require highly intricate parts that require complex jigs and fixtures and most importantly, highly skilled craftsmen. Also, larger firms out source work to little shops across the city. 

Here. there are many like Muthu who can convert any complex drawing you give them into high precision parts. They often require creative solutions and what is called Indian ingenuity that allows them to make complex things for a fraction of the the actual cost. 

If you walk into a workshop in Peenya, you will be surprised as the kind of clients they have. How do you think India manages to launch satellites to the moon for a fraction of the cost than in  the west? 

The Which Main? What Cross? The Exhibition - Is on until May 31st.

F&B Restaurant, Papanna Street, St Marks Road (on the right, soon after SBI).
Ph: 080 - 40 333 888

Click here to vote