Bangalore(Now Bengaluru)
better known as The Silicon Valley of India has got so many untold stories and being
a resident of this beautiful city for past one year , I thought of exploring a
few lesser known facts about this city.
Every place might have stories, legends, and mysteries
buried under years of civilization and development. It’s most likely that they
almost always surprise us. Some are made up of facts, some are spun and some
are modified over years of narrations without any literary proof. Regardless,
they are always fascinating and the legendary stories of Bengaluru are no
exception.
Before the city became a hub of IT, software, and urban
development, Bengaluru was steeped in traditions, religion, and history that
has faded over time. Ever since the discovery of a veeragallu, a hero stone
dating back to the 10th century AD, it is estimated that the city is at least
1000 years old.
The town of boiled beans
One of the most famous legends
about the city tells us that Bangalore got its name from
boiled beans. According to the legend, the Hoysala ruler Veera Ballala II went
on a hunting expedition and lost his way in a forest. As time passed, he grew
weary and hungry. He eventually came across a poor old woman, who saw the
famished visage of the king and offered him boiled beans to eat. Grateful for
her generosity, the king named the place benda kaala-ooru which
translates to ‘the town of boiled beans’. This eventually became Bengaluru.
Legend
of the Bangalore mud fort
Kempe Gowda was the founder of Bengaluru, a chieftain during the
Vijayanagara empire in the 16th century AD. He had great leadership qualities
and envisioned a city built for his people. He was a great town planner as
well. The landscape and the foundation of Bengaluru are credited to the
brilliant planning of Kempe Gowda. He set out to build a mud fort in 1537
AD to establish his principality. The construction was started on an auspicious
day and four bullocks were run in all cordial directions from a point. The
bulls were elaborately decorated. The main point of commencement was the
junction of Doddapete and Chickpete. During the construction of the mud
fort, the southern wall kept collapsing. No matter how many times the workers
built it, it kept failing. A human sacrifice was suggested to ward off the evil
spirits. But Kempe Gowda was against it. He drew the line at human sacrifice
and probably didn’t believe in it. However, his daughter-in-law did.
Lakshmamma realizing her father-in-law’s predicament, slit her throat and
sacrificed herself secretly in the dead of the night. After that incident, the
southern gate could be constructed without any mishaps. The mud fort finally
had 9 large gates and a moat surrounding it.
The story of the bull
temple
One of the famous legendary
stories of Bengaluru is the story of Bull temple.It is said to have been built
in 1537 AD by Kempe Gowda. The main attraction of the temple is the massive
bull statue which is steeped in legend. It is perched atop the Bugle rock hill.
They say that the river Vrishabhavathi flows from the feet of the bull. Though
it is so polluted today, a century ago it was one of the most pristine rivers
in Bangalore. The legend goes that, a long time ago, the area of the
Basavanagudi was covered with fields of groundnut and other crops. The place
was then called Sunkenahalli. However, the fields were ravaged by a bull and as
the damage grew bigger, it left the farmers worried. One version of the story
goes that the bull turned to stone when it was hit with a club.
The farmers were shocked. To
prevent any misfortunes, they decided to build a temple around it and offered a
share of their groundnut harvest every year. The temple reflects the Dravidian
architecture and has Vijayanagara’s influence.
Another version goes that to
pacify the bull, the farmers decided to build a temple l and prayed to the bull
to stop ravaging the fields. They said that if he stopped damaging the crops,
they would offer a large amount of groundnut to it every year.
Whatever
version is true, the outcome remained the same – since then, every year, a
groundnut fair, Kadelekai Parish is held to keep the promise of the farmers.
They all gather at Basavanagudi in December and exhibit huge heaps of groundnut
all over the place. It is said that the bull idol would grow and grow and
stop that, a small iron plate is placed on top of its head to prevent it from
growing further. The legend has attracted many devotees and it remains one of
the most important sites in Bangalore.
Shivaji’s
arrival in Bengaluru
One of the lesser known
legendary stories of Bengaluru is of the arrival of Shivaji.
Sometime during the mid 17th
century, the young Shivaji with his Mother Jijabai visited Bengaluru to meet
his father Shahaji Bhonsle, who was a jagirdar of the Bijapur rulers. Jijabai
had written a letter to Shahaji saying that Shivaji is well past his
marriageable age for a Maratha Nobleman, so Shahaji had called her and Shivaji
to Bengaluru. After they arrived in Bengaluru, Shivaji was married to
Saibai Nimbalkar of Phaltan in the palace. Historians say that the Gauri Mahal
Palace in the Chickpete area is the place where Shahaji and his family lived in
Bengaluru. Very little evidence and sources describe the time Shivaji spent his
time in the city.. At the time, India was known
to attract many foreigners due to its abundance of wealth, spices, culture,
etc. One such foreigner, a traveler, and a linguist from France, Jean De
Thevenot recorded his experiences of traveling in India. In his
notes, Thevenot mentions meeting a King during his visit to the Southern part
of India. He describes this king and we quote, “The Rajah is small and
tawny with quick eyes which indicate an abundance of spirit.” It is evident
that he was referring to Shivaji.
During his stay in Bengaluru,
young Shivaji observed and absorbed the unique socio-cultural essence of the city.
It is said that he also received warfare training. Shivaji was also inspired by
the administrative initiatives taken by Kantirava Narasaraja, another local
kingdom between Hampi and Thanjavur, and introduced these ideas when he
established his Swarajya.
Holy Trinity Church
Trinity
Church at the heart of the city on MG
road was built in 1852 by
the British Government for the benefit of British troops stationed in Bengaluru. Holy Church has English Renaissance style
architecture and can accommodate over 700 people. This Church was built and
equipped with finest of the materials available at its time. The largest
military Church in South India, frequented by many high-ranking officials
including Winston Churchill. Lord Cornwallis, who redeemed himself with the
Anglo-Mysore war victories after the crushing humiliation in the American War
of Independence, was also a regular. The architectural splendour of the church
lies in the fact that its towers were visible from the west end of MG Road. The
belfry chimes in the bell were cast in London's Mears Foundry in 1847. The
marble murals on the wall . Holy Trinity Church contains a number of
historic paintings, statues, and relics. It is one of the beautiful and best
places to visit near MG road.
A FEW
MORE LESSER KNOW FACTS ABOUT MODERN BENGALURU
India’s oldest radio club is in Bangalore
Established in 1959, the
Bangalore Amateur Radio Club is the oldest in the country.
Bengaluru is the first city in Asia to be lit by
electric street lamps
This
is one of the less known facts about Bangalore. At 7 pm on August 5, 1905, the
kerosine street lights of the KK market in Bangalore were replaced with
electric ones and the city became the first in Asia to have electric street
lights.
Bangalore was once known as ‘the city of lakes'
The city once had 285 lakes,
both salty and freshwater, hence gaining the name. With about 210small
and big lakes and interconnected canals dotting the area of the city, the city
still is one of the cities in India with the largest number of lakes. The area
of Kempegowda Bus Terminal was once a lake.Also known as Majestic Bus Stand,
the terminal is one of the most glorious spots of the city with a history of
more than 50 years. But little do people know that there stood an ancient lake
dating back to the 13th century, which was in use till the late 1800s.
The city has one of the oldest
rock formations in the world.
The rock formation protected in Lalbagh is 3000 million
years old and hence a geological hotspot and protected area.
The town in
‘Malgudi days’ was named conjoining two old city names.
The
famous beloved stories from the fictional town of Malgudi were given the name
of Malgudi from the two old localities of the city, MALeshwaram, and
basavanaGUDI by RK Narayan.
The famous
Freedom park was a jail under British rule.
The
ironic fact about the Famous Freedom Park is that it once used to be the
location of a central jail built by the British to imprison the freedom
fighters. No wonder it is called Freedom Park!!!
The city has a higher altitude than some of the
renowned hill stations
With an altitude of 930m, the
city is way high above sea level than hill stations like Dehradun. With a
lovely pleasant weather throughout the year, Bengaluru would definitely be the
most enjoyable prominent city to stay in.
Can an Outsider become an Insider to a city? It has been just a year
for me in Bengaluru but found the city having a lot of stories to tell just
like any other city in the world. Trying to be an insider, this was just a
small effort to understand the richness of culture this city can offer to an
outsider.
IN 2022.