The Basavangudi Extension

Situated south of the Fort, about 5 furlongs from the south gate. There are four approach roads, 100 feet wide each, leading to it from important centers of the City. It is laid out in the form of a rectangle, with the boundary roads due north and south and east and west, and all the intermediate streets and lanes parallel to them, to enable houses being built facing the cardinal points in accordance with ancient Hindu usage. A square plot of ground is reserved at the highest level, and is intended for Government Offices and public buildings. The square is surrounded by 25 sites, for villa residences. Besides the Public square, open spaces of 9 acres and 6 acres have been reserved around the Basavangudi and Anjaneya Temples, respectively. Several mango and other gardens found on the grounds are also retained to serve as Parks and open spaces. From the four corners of the square extend four diagonal roads. Between every two diagonal roads a center road running north and south for a length of 3000 feet, and measuring 200 feet across, is provided in the heart of the area to be closely built on , to serve as a lung, to be hereafter laid out as a Park and Recreation grounds. There are supposed to be five principal divisions for different castes, limited by the cross roads: Mohamedans, Hindus, Brahmins, Native Christians and Lingayets. There is also a block at the north-west end set apart fr superior house and bungalow sites, where no caste distinction is maintained, as there is a compound to each house. The total number of houses in this Extension is to be 940. A favourite resort for picnic parties is the Bull Temple, and from an eminence called the 'Bugle Rock' where a good view of the whole of the City and par t of the Civil and Military Station can be obtained. (Extract from the 'Memorandum' by Mr. Standish Lee, late Superintending Engineer, (Sanitary Works) of the then Mysore Government, embodied in the Report of Mr. V.P. Madhava Rao, Devan of Travancore and Mysore.) Is Basavangudi Extension as planned in 1900 the same today? Or does one find encroachments on Public allotted land?

I had put a request in the newspapers to take out photos of old houses of Bangalore, and had the good fortune of a wonderful article written on me by Sangeeta Cavale of the Times of India which encouraged me to go around taking photos and trying to capture the memories of Bangalore.

I had such joy when I received a call from a really gentle and cheerful grand lady called Mrs.Indira Sastry, who invited me to take out photos of her house in Basawangudi (Baswangudi), and there were plenty of old houses at the side as well. Mrs. Indira further directed me to her family house on Puttanna Road. That house is remarkable because it has a complete glass window frame all around the top of the skylite. It is hard to describe, but the man who designed it was a writer and poet, and who wrote till late hours and so needed as much light as possible. The photos below will show how advanced the idea was that today one finds this style only in the most exclusive penthouses of the millionaires. I understand that from the daughter of the house, Mrs. Anuradha, the house is to be brought down, but the style will be retained when rebuilding it.

Basawangudi has lots of avenue trees, and the roads are quite wide, but one can get lost with the circles and one ways that have crept in. I plan to revisit thsi area as I spied many an old house and even and old church, and I am sure that there would be lots of history. I am sorry for the present you will have to bear with me fof the content, but then I have other areas to also fill in before the deadline of the millenium.

• Visit the Bull Temple and Bugle Rock
• Return to the Millenium page of Bangalore
• Visit Bangalore's Special Bonus Page
• Return to Home Page : India Hello, Bangalore Walla, Namaskara!

Please send your comments and mail to Ronnie Johnson, the Bangalorewalla