My Visual Travel Experience: Bangalore

From 1996 to 2011, Bangalore was a very important part of my life, first during my corporate stint with Britannia, and subsequently during my time with Nokia. In fact, from 1999 to 2002, I lived in Bangalore, so the city has been almost like a second home to a Delhi boy like me. I have a large circle of family and friends in Bangalore, and that's one reason I still feel quite at home there.

In the summer of 2018, I made a trip to the city after many years. I stayed with my very close friend, Barun, and he was amazingly hospitable - he opened up his home to me, and arranged for a car to be at my disposal, which allowed me to be mobile and cover the long list of things on my agenda (which included re-visiting the city's sites and meeting family and friends). Bangalore has grown beyond recognition, and the city's traffic jams are legendary, but I still really enjoyed the city's buzz, and I was glad to see that the city authorities have done a good job with developing infrastructure (in terms of condominiums, highways, flyovers, malls, and a world class metro system). The city's moderate weather reminded me why I enjoyed my time there so much.

Bangalore, now called Bengaluru, has a population of 8.5 million (2011 census) and is the capital of the Southern Indian state of Karnataka. The city is also referred to as the Garden City of India because of the presence of large city parks like Lalbagh Botanical Garden and Cubbon Park. In recent years, it has been called the Silicon Valley of India, because of the booming IT industry.

Bangalore was established by Kempe Gowda, a ruler of the Vijayanagara Empire, in 1537, when he built a mud brick fort. In 1638, the Marathas took over the city and ruled for close to 150 years. Subsequently, the Mughals took over, and they sold the kingdom to the Mysore Kingdom of the Wodeyar Dynasty. In 1799, the British took over the city, but returned it to the Maharaja of Mysore. In 1947, Bangalore became the capital of Mysore State, and continued as the state capital after the formation of Karnataka in 1956.

Lalbagh Botanical Garden was commissioned by Hyder Ali in 1760 but completed by his son Tipu Sultan. The garden is spread over an area of 240 acres. The garden has four gates, and the main gate is the northern gate. The garden’s highlights include a Floral Clock, a statue of Chamarajendra Wodeyar, the Band Stand, Lalbagh Fountain, the Glass House, the Kempe Gowda Tower, the Bonsai  Park, a tree fossil, the Topiary Garden and Lalbagh Lake. 

Lalbagh Fountain and Glass House,
Lalbagh Botanical Garden

Band Stand, Lalbagh Botanical Garden

Floral Clock, Lalbagh Botanical Garden

The Glass House dates back to 1889 and was modeled along the lines of London’s Crystal Palace. It was built to commemorate the visit to India by England’s Prince Albert. During Republic Day (26th January) and Independence Day (15th August), the Glass House plays host to a well known flower show

Chamarajendra Wodeyar Statue, Lalbagh Botanical Garden

Kempe Gowda Tower, Lalbagh Botanical Garden

Nandi Statue, Lalbagh Botanical Garden

Cubbon Park is a large park in the heart of Bangalore, and covers an area of 300 acres. The park dates back to 1870. The Karnataka High Court lies close to the park, as does the Vidhan Soudha. Other highlights of the park are the impressive State Central Library (built in 1915) and statues of Queen Victoria, King Edward VII and Chamarajendra Wodeyar. The Government Museum, the Venkatappa Art Gallery and the Visveswaraya  Technology Museum lie at one end of the park. 

State Central Library,
Cubbon Park

Queen Victoria Statue,
Cubbon Park

Overview, Cubbon Park

Vidhan Soudha is the seat of the Karnataka state legislature. The imposing building was built in 1956. Vidhan Soudha lies opposite Karnataka High Court, which is at one end of Cubbon Park. There is a statue of B R Ambedkar outside Vidhan Soudha, and the central dome  has the state emblem of India, the Lion Capital of Ashoka.

Vidhan Soudha

Karnataka High Court, also known as Attara Kacheri, lies to one side of Cubbon Park, and is housed inside a grand red brick building dating back to the British era.

Karnataka High Court

Bangalore Palace was completed in 1878 and was built for Chamarajendra Wodeyar, who was then a minor. The palace grounds cover an area of over 450 acres. The palace boasts of the Grand Staircase, the Durbar Hall, the maharaja’s office, a beautiful central courtyard, replicas of some well known European paintings, and portraits and photographs of the royal family. 

Bangalore Palace

Cannon, Bangalore Palace

Corridor, Bangalore Palace

The palace was designed along the lines of England’s Windsor Castle, in the Tudor architectural style. The palace grounds have hosted several rock concerts by popular international bands and performers like Iron Maiden, Aerosmith, David Guetta, Elton John, Deep Purple, Black Eyed Peas, Rolling Stones and Metallica.

Courtyard, Bangalore Palace

Grand Staircase, Bangalore Palace

Chandelier in Maharaja's Office,
Bangalore Palace

Tipu Sultan’s Summer Palace was started by Tipu Sultan’s father, Haider Ali and completed by Tipu Sultan in 1791. After Tipu Sultan’s death, the palace was used by the British as their secretariat before moving to Attara Kacheri. The building is made of wood, and has numerous pillars and arches.

Tipu Sultan's Summer Palace

Interior, Tipu Sultan's Summer Palace

Sri Big Bull Temple was built in 1537 by Kempe Gowda, the founder of Bangalore. The temple houses a large monolithic Nandi statue, that is black in colour due to years of rubbing charcoal and oil. The large statue has a height of 4.6 meters (15 feet) and a length of 6.1 meters (20 feet). The temple’s tower (vimana) has intricate sculptures.

Sri Big Bull Temple

Sri Venkataramana Swamy Temple is situated right next to Tipu Sultan’s Summer Palace. The temple was built in 1689. The temple has some intricate decorative work with sculptures of deities along its towers.

Sri Venkataramana Swamy Temple

Vishnu sculpture, Sri Venkataramana Swamy Temple

Shivoham Shiva Temple was built in 1995 and lies on Old Airport Road. The huge idol is 65 feet tall. Behind the idol, there is a cave that has replicas of lingas from various pilgrimage spots like Amarnath, Badrinath and Kedarnath.

Shivoham Shiva Temple

Mahatma Gandhi Park lies on M G Road in the heart of Bangalore. The park has several sculptures of Mahatma Gandhi.

Mahatma Gandhi Park

Gandhi Meditating,
Mahatma Gandhi Park

St Mark’s Cathedral dates back to 1808. It lies within a large, green area along MG Road.

St Mark's Cathedral

Stain glass panel of The Annunciation,
St Mark's Cathedral

ISKCON Temple was inaugurated in 1997 and is one of the largest ISKCON temples in the world. The temple is situated on Hare Krishna Hill. Like other ISKCON temples around the world, the purpose of this temple is to propagate Krishna Consciousness, as explained by Swami Prabhupada, the founder of the movement.

ISKCON Temple

Gold plated Shikara, ISKCON Temple

The temple has multiple shrines (the main one being drvoted to Radha-Krishna), a 17 meter high gold plated flagpole and an 8.5 meter tall gold plated shikara. During darshan hours, free prasad is distributed to pilgrims.

Painting of Swami Prabhupada, ISKCON Temple

Sculpture of Swami Prabhupada, ISKCON Temple

UB City is a luxury commercial space built by the UB Group in collaboration with the Prestige Group. The complex has service apartments, retail space and commercial space, and consists of 4 towers, the tallest of which stands at a height of 123 meters. The complex was completed in 2008.

UB City

The Government Museum was set up in 1865. The museum, which lies right outside Cubbon Park, has exhibits including stone sculptures dating back to as far back as the 10th century AD, weapons, archaeological finds from the neolithic period and miniature paintings. Behind the museum, there is also a sculpture garden.

Government Museum

Ganesha Idol, Government Museum

Sculpture Garden, Government Museum

Visveswaraya Industrial and Technological Museum lies beside the Government Museum. It was established in the memory of Bharat Ratna Sir M Visvesweraya in 1962.  The museum’s exhibits include a dinosaur model, a model of the Wright Brothers’ plane, engines, space technology and science for children.

Dinosaur Model,
Visverwaraya Industrial and Technological Museum

Model of Wright Brothers' Plane,
Visverwaraya Industrial and Technological Museum

Venkatappa Art Gallery lies next to the Government Museum. The museum holds the works of K Venkatappa (1886-1965), a famous Karnataka artist. The museum holds temporary exhibitions, but it also has the works of the sculptor Rajaram and the painter K K Hebbar.

Bangalore has a large number of well known eateries. Mavalli Tiffin Rooms (MTR) is a famous eatery outside Lalbagh Botanical Garden. It is well known for its South Indian snacks like idlis, dosas and vadas, as well as its thalis, which serve a variety of vegetarian South Indian dishes. Coconut Grove on Church Road is known for its South Indian coastal cuisine, including its appams and stews. Tandoor on MG Road is a favourite for people who like tandoori cuisines from northern India. Gongura's is famous for its biryanis.

Rava Idli at Mavalli Tiffin Rooms

In recent years, a large number of very large malls have sprung up all over Bangalore. These malls are very popular and feature multiplexes, retail outlets, food courts and fine dining options. Garuda Mall on Magrath Road, Bangalore Central Mall on Field Marshall Cariappa Road, Forum Mall in Koramangala, Forum Neighbourhood Mall in Whitefield and Orion Mall in Malleswaram are among the city's more popular malls.

Forum Neighbourhood Mall

The town of Shravanabelagola lies around 140 km west of Bangalore. The small town is famous for its Gommateshwara Bahubali Statue. It is a 17 meter high monolithic statue of the Jain saint that was built in 983 AD. To get to it, one has to climb over 700 steps. From the summit, there is a tremendous view of the town and the surrounding hills. Once in 12 years, the statue is bathed in milk, ghee and sugarcane juice. The status is one of the country's most important Jain pilgrimage sites. 

Gommateshwara Bahubali Statue, Shravanabelagola

Bangalore is one of my favourite cities in India, despite its maddening traffic. Bangalore International Airport is a great gateway to the city and sets the mood right because it is an impressive airport indeed. There is a bit for everyone to do in this metropolis, whether it is history buffs, shopaholics, food lovers, or nature lovers. It may not have the kind of history and architecture that other Indian cities like Delhi, Agra and Jaipur have, but there's still enough and more for people interested in history. Well worth  visit! And the moderate weather is a real icing on the cake!