BENGALURU: The usually quiet Bangalore Fort came to life this Sunday morning when a bunch of history enthusiasts gathered there for the launch of author Meera Iyer’s Discovering Bengaluru. Published by INTACH – a non-profit organisation that works towards conserving the Indian heritage – the book was launched by actor-director Prakash Belawadi, Prem Chandavarkar, Managing Partner of CnT Architects, and Shivakant Bajpai, superintendent archeologist, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) Bengaluru. The event took place in celebration of World Heritage week, which is celebrated between November 19 and November 25.
Iyer, who is a writer and researcher with INTACH, said her book is about the city’s “local history”. And what better way to launch the book than by making people walk down memory lane? The walk, which was attended by 45 people and led by Iyer, started from the Tipu Summer Palace and continued through Fort High School (which is now being restored by INTACH) and Tipu armoury, finally ending at Bangalore Fort.
It took Iyer more than four years to finish the book, the idea for which was planted in her mind when she started working with INTACH in 2008. Talking about the necessity of the book, she said, “There aren’t enough books on the city. There have been some excellent ones but not many that focus on the local stories or areas, which a regular Bengalurean lives and comes across everyday.” The book mostly focuses on the old Bengaluru neighbourhoods like Malleswaram, Fraser Town, Basavanagudi, Ulsoor, Whitefield, Sampangi Kere, Lalbagh and more.
The event also saw Iyer raise concern about heritage buildings turning into government offices. “The heritage buildings in the city are repositories of the memories. We could visit Vidhan Soudha as kids, why has it now turned into a security fortress?,” she said.
Agreed actor-director Prakash Belawadi, who said the city is made of its own stories, which people need to accept. He added, “Kadalekai Parishe (groundnut festival) is not a nuisance. It’s a part of our heritage. If it’s too much of a nuisance then proper administrative arrangement has to be made for it.”