BUGLE ROCK PARK

Hello everyone,

This week I visited quite an interesting and distinct park in Bangalore, the Bugle Rock Park. Situated at Basavanagudi in the south of Bangalore, it is frequented by quite a few tourist. The rock formation in this park is called the Peninsular gneiss and is estimated to be over 3000 years old. The rock formation is similar to the one in Lalbagh on top of which the memorial is built, though this rock formation and the park is much smaller than the one in Lalbagh.

The spectacular Bugle Park has at-least three temples within its premises including the ancient Bull Temple from where the Vrishabhavati river is said to emerge. Kempe Gowda the founder of Bangalore built a watch tower on this rock and the guard would sound the bugle as soon as he saw some danger approaching the city. This lead to the rock being called the bugle rock.

Beside the watch tower there is also a amphitheatre developed in the precincts of the parks and when I went there, I saw a small theatre group practising their script on the circular stage. I is a very nice and peaceful place and is frequented by couples and students as well as families. The garden is very nicely maintained and has some nice pathways where people can come for a walk or use the beatiful gardens for some meditation session.

The park has a very dense undergrowth of trees and vegetation, and one feels like one has reached another place like a forest when one enters this park.The place is cooler than the rest of the city and there are benches everywhere for people to sit and relax.

The landscape of Bangalore itself is very interesting as a part of Bangalore is plain land where if one goes to another part of the city like Basvanagudi one can see undulating roads and small hills. Though the Bugle Rock Park is not as popular like the Lalbagh or the Hebbal Lake, it is no less significant in terms of history with the ancient rock formations and it was quite astonishing to just feel that the rocks on which I was standing was almost 3000 years old.

faculty@mantraacademy.comThe Bugle Rock Park is definitely worth a visit not only for the history associated with this place but also if any one wants to spend a quite afternoon amid some quite and peaceful atmosphere.

HEBBAL LAKE PARK

Hello everyone,

This weekend I spent a nice morning visiting one of the oldest and most popular lakes of Bangalore, Hebbal Lake Park. Situated in the northern parts of the city,the park is open from 7 am to 8 pm everyday.

Bangalore is getting modernised at a very rapid pace with new buildings coming up everyday, and this lake is like a oasis within this concrete maze. It is quite a huge lake and  has a very beautiful garden adjacent to it. Built by Kempe Gowda in the year 1537 ,the lake was actually more bigger than what it is today and a lot of the lake has been landfilled to make roads and buildings.

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The lake itself is quite beautiful and has two artificial islands, which look quite interesting and is a roosting place for water birds. In the morning the park surrounding the lake is frequented by morning walkers and joggers as it is a quite place and the air quality is good due to the surrounding flora and fauna.

The park is very beautifully decorated with various types of flowers and is the perfect place to spend some time with your better halves as I could see from the number of love struck couples around me or to have a small family picnic provided one can take care of the place and respect the rules of the park. Hebbal lake is also quite popular for bird watching as it is frequented by a lot of seasonal birds.

Overall in Bangalore there are quite a few lakes and parks which act like an air purifier for the otherwise polluted and congested city and Hebbal lake is one of the best ones if one likes to spend some peaceful and quite time.

TIPU SULTAN'S SUMMER PALACE

Hello everyone,

This weekend I visited one of the ancient relics of Bangalore, emperor Tipu Sultan's summer palace. Situated close to the vibrant century old Krishnarajendra Market this palace is situated within the Bangalore Fort which was built by Kempe Gowda, the founder of Bangalore in the year 1537. Though the fort no longer exists in whole now, as after the defeat of Tipu Sultan, the British dismantled the fort and only a small portion of the fort remains now but the palace remains still.

The summer palace was built by Tipu Sultan in the year 1790. Built entirely out of teak wood the palace used to be the summer residence of Tipu Sultan. Tipu Sultan used to conduct his Durbar or court from the eastern and western balconies of this palace.The palace has been designed according to the Islamic style of architecture and is two stories high.It is adorned with pillars and arches and has a number of balconies on all sides of the palace.

There are beautiful floral patterns adorning the walls and ceilings of the palace. Only four main rooms in the ground floor were open to the public and these showcases the history of the palace and achievements of the emperor himself.Also on display here are two swords believed to have been used by the emperor and a replica of Tipu Sultans Tiger which is a popular toy owned by the emperor. There is also a painting of the grand throne of Tipu Sultan which the emperor commissioned but was never able to use it, as he vowed to defeat the British before ascending the throne.Though all the original paintings adorning the palace are all gone given the palaces' age but what still remains are the intricately carved arches and pillars which are very interesting and will leave viewers mesmerized.

The palace is being restored slowly as I could see from the patches of cement in the walls. After the palace I wanted to visited the remains of the fort which I heard was nearby but could not locate it as the adjoining road leading to the fort was under construction and on asking for directions from the locals they could not provide me with a proper route. I hope to visit it next time.

MAVALLI TIFFIN ROOMS

Hello everyone,

This week I visited the Mavalli Tiffin Rooms or MTR as they call it,one of the oldest and most well known restaurants in Bangalore. Started by three brothers from Udipi this is the place I feel one should visit if one wants to eat authentic South Indian food. Generally I speak about monuments or places of interest in Bangalore. But this time I decided to visit a restaurant because this is not just any normal restaurant.With a legacy that dates back to 1924, this restaurant has literally been feeding Bangalore out of its hands.

Situated in Lal Bagh Road just beside Lal Bagh Main Gate,the restaurant opens at 7:00 a.m. and closes by 11:00 a.m. in the morning. I came know about this restaurant when it was documented in Discovery Travel and Living and indeed when I visited this restaurant this weekend I was very impressed. I come from a city where there are many old cafes like MTR and whenever one visits these places whether in the early mornings or evenings one can come across a lot of old people discussing everything from politics to their dwindling health conditions and this cafe is no different.

The restaurant is well located and one can easily spot this restaurant as soon as they reach Lal Bagh Main Gate, as there is always a crowd of people in front of this restaurant. MTR is housed in a two story beige coloured building and as soon as you reach the entrance of this restaurant you can see a group of octogenarians sitting outside on the stone benches sipping coffee and engaging themselves in light conversation.

The food over here was very good probably the best dosa I have had till now. The restaurant is full of activity at all the times it is open and what was different was the costume of the waiters. Many of them were wearing red and beige coloured shirts teamed with a traditional South Indian vesti. This shows that MTR wants to show its heritage and South Indianess through not only its food but also through their waiters.On the ground floor one will first come across the parcel counter, right to which is the coffee room where only coffee is served . If you proceed further through the square framed arch you come across the general dining room where you can sit down  and eat.  There is a dining hall in the second floor and one has to come with a family or be in a group to access the dining hall.

But more than the food, what really enchanted me was the atmosphere. It again and again reminded me of my city Kolkata and my North Kolkata neighbourhoods, where almost every locality has a generation old restaurant like this. This restaurant has stayed true to its heritage and that is the essence of this place. There is a certain old world charm in this place and you get a feel of the real Bangalore a few decades ago. As I was sipping coffee I could see some images of southern beauties etched on smoky glass. Also there was a chandelier hanging from the ceiling in the second floor.

All this just makes Mavelli Tiffin Room a must visit for anyone visiting Bangalore and I would certainly head out again to this restaurant on another Sunday
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LALBAGH BOTANICAL GARDEN

Hello everyone,

This weekend I visited the Lalbagh Botanical Garden, a jewel in the heart of Bangalore. Located in the heart of Bangalore at Jayanagar, this garden is more than two centuries old. The garden has four entrances, although I entered and exited the garden from the Main Gate facing the north, towards the Subbaiah circle.

The garden was commissioned by the ruler of Hyderabad Hyder Ali and was completed by his son Tipu Sultan. It was subsequently taken care of by the British rulers and the Indian lovers of Horticulture and over the years many acres have been added and many new plant species added. The garden derives its name 'LAL BAGH' from a collection of red roses that remain blooming through out the year.  Hyder Ali's son Tipu Sultan added horticultural wealth by importing trees from Cape Town, Persia, Kabul.

 The garden is a vast expanse of greenery and contains the largest collection of  rare plants in the subcontinent. It also houses the India first lawn clock by HMT which is a centre of attraction for visitors. It has many themed gardens like the Japanese garden, the Bonsai garden etc. The jewel of Lal Bagh is the Glass House built in 1889 and modelled on the lines of the Crystal Palace in England. It was built to acclimatise the imported plants but now holds the biannual flower shows.

The garden also has a stone hillock which houses a monument in memory of Kempe Gowda, and one can climb up the small hillock to get a birds eye view of the garden. One of my favourite spots was the Bonsai garden situated at the on the opposite side of the hillock. The Bonsai Garden has a very grand entrance and also has small pond which houses aquatic plants and a shoal of small ornamental fishes like mollies, colourful guppies etc. I have to say this was my favourite, the aquatic plants had created kind of a natural ecosystem for the fish and one can stand there for hour looking at the fishes swim around the aquatic plants.

 The garden holds a wide variety of plants and flower species some quite exotic. It also holds a tree fossil dating back almost a million years.The garden is very well laid out and has boards at numerous spots showing the different places of interests in the garden. There are well laid out pathways and seats at every places. The park has been maintained properly and there are also quite a few shops and cafeterias.

One can have a perfect start to the day by coming for a jog or a morning walk at the garden and can equally count as the perfect place to spend a quite afternoon. The tranquil and peaceful atmosphere can help many a creative mind come across some brilliant ideas. I could also see love blossoming at the garden as I could see countless number of couples engaged in deep conversation  totally unaware of the passage of time. Similarly there were many family having a small family picnic or spending a quite weekend afternoon at the garden. 

Overall it was quite a pleasant and memorable experience for me at the historic and wonderful Lal Bagh.

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