BANGALORE: One may safely say that it is the oldest structure standing in our city. This gigantic rock structure has been a witness to history — political, social, cultural and geographical. This rock formation, on which later in history a watch tower was erected, is 3,000 million years old. It is now within the premises of the Bugle Rock Park adjacent to the Bull Temple of Basavanagudi and is contiguous and similar to the rock at Lalbagh tower. In geological parlance, the rock formation is called ‘peninsular gneiss’.
Even if you don’t know these factual details, the rock will awe you when you stand in front of it. It is a piece of natural magnificence. South India has one of the oldest land formations on Earth, namely the Gondwanas of Archaean age.
The antiquity of this rock formation has made many geologists inquisitive and been a part of many studies.
The ‘bugle’ has been associated with the rock because of history. Kempe Gowda II (who came to power in 1585) had with built four watch towers to set limits for Bangalore’s expansion.
One of the towers was set on Bugle rock (on the southern boundary) as it commands a panoramic view of the city.
The story goes that at sunset every day, a sentry would blow the bugle and hold a torch (panju in Kannada) which was visible from the other three watch towers (one on the southern bank of the Kempambudi tank on the West, the second near Ulsoor Lake in the East and the third tower adjoining Ramana Maharshi Ashram on Bellary Road in the North).
This was done to not only inform people that everything was safe at that location but also meant to give a warning bugle call to alert citizens of any intruders into the city. During the Third Mysore War, a contingent of the Mysore army, regrouped in this rock area under the leadership of Mir Khammar-ud-din before attacking the British Army. Most of the rocks on the Bugle Rock, next to the Bull Temple, have hollows in rocks, which were once used to light lamps.
The Bugle Rock Park has an amphitheatre for cultural programmes, with the seating made entirely of small boulders from Mulbagal and Kolar. It also has a musical fountain. It is now a beautiful place to take a walk, to visit the beautiful temples within the premises and be a part of the history.