BENGALURU : One of the best ways to get to know a place is to dive into the local lores. This was the idea behind The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) Bengaluru Chapter’s new publication Eleven Stops to the Present: Stories of Bengaluru. The 11 short stories are based in Bengaluru and carry a dose of the city’s flavour and history. Some of these stories take place as far back as 800 or 2,000 years ago, others during the bubonic plague of the 1890s and 1920s, and the most recent one is set in the 1980s.
“We wanted to commission a book of good stories, where the city’s history is a by-product. Children can get interested in the city through the stories of its neighbourhoods, like, for example, in which lane of Whitefield did Winston Churchill meet his girlfriend!,” says INTACH Bengaluru convenor Meera Iyer. The stories have been penned by Iyer, Aditi De, Anirudh Kanisetti, Edgar Demello, Menaka Raman, Shweta Taneja and Zac O’Yeah among others.
Each tale weaves a story around established events, facts or nuggets from the city’s past. For example, researcher-writer Anirudh Kanisetti’s piece, called A Hero of Begur, has a protagonist named Buttanatapati, who was the son of the chief of Begur’s Bana family. The first documented use of ‘Bengaluru’ dates back to the ninth century, found on a hero stone in Begur. Buttanatapati is said to have died in the war of Bengaluru, so through this protagonist, Kanisetti paints a picture of a Bengaluru that was war-torn and brutal, diving into the culture of medieval noble families, and more.
“We tend to not think beyond the Mauryas or Guptas when it comes to Indian history. But there was a lot going on in the Deccan that needs our attention,” says Kanisetti. Iyer’s story takes place 1,800 years ago. “Roman coins have been found in Yeshwanthpur. Using this fact, I spin a story that involves different elements – traders who travel to the East coast to trade with Roman ships, a hero who has to succeed in a fight, and the bond between siblings,” says Iyer.
This new anthology is for children aged over 10. Aditi De, who is one of the 11 writers, says, “The book presents new ways of looking at the city. Every part of the city – its trees, footpath, etc – has a story to tell. The book tries to voice these untold stories for the children to keep and carry on.” Agrees Kanisetti, who hopes children are able to understand how the past can be both different and familiar.
“Our material conditions may have changed from medieval times, but the human condition – seeking approval from family, trying to chart one’s own path in life – has stayed the same. This will always tie us to people who lived in a different place and time, and help us try to understand them as we understand ourselves,” he says. The book (`280) is available at bookstores