Writer Abhishek Khan is helping Bengalureans realise their interconnectedness with nature through a deep-rooted tradition: oral storytelling, specifically the ghostly kind, through a walk on July 5 at 4pm. “We have a history of stories associated with trees native to India, most of them around nightmares. They were about the land and we were binding our stories to these trees long before we were binding books,” he says. The walk takes participants through Lal Bagh, pausing at specific trees and engaging the senses with fragrances throughout the park. Pointing to one of the highlights, Khan shares, “A banyan tree, for example, would give you a nightmare that a woman calls out to a man while he is sleeping, and if you go towards it, only your bones will be found in the morning.”
Details: @lalbagh.info on Instagram
Whitefield is often dismissed as a purely modern IT suburb, but history enthusiast Suyash Kumar is introducing its rich history through a walk on June 28 at 9am. The idea, however, first sparked around October 2024 when they realised the gap. “People often think Whitefield has no history but it actually goes back to 1882,” says Kumar. The walk will introduce participants to historic landmarks and forgotten cultural memories collected from the Mysore Gazette, books, newspaper archives and oral histories by residents. Highlights include structures like the Waverly Inn, one of Whitefield’s oldest buildings, now lying abandoned amid legal disputes. “There are a lot of stories about its connection with Winston Churchill, although that is an oral tale,” shares Kumar. Another is Meersaab, a general store established in 1915 that once served nearly 50 surrounding villages. Details: @bengaluruprayana on Instagram
Iconic colonial buildings, like Mayo Hall and Attara Kacheri, are familiar to Bengalureans. But how many know The Madras Sappers (now the Madras Engineer Group) and its role in shaping the cantonment? Its campus is set to welcome visitors through a walk by Bengaluru Prayana on July 4 at 7.30am. Being the group’s base since the 1800s, the campus is a treasure trove including the Madras Sappers Museum and Archives (MSMA), a steam train engine, a mediaeval chinese bell and more. Raksha Nagaraj, the heritage walk group’s founder, tells a story, gathered from oral histories, “The Sappers brought a grey mule back from war and it was also the Chief Commanding Officer of a regiment. In its memory, a memorial still stands within the campus.” Visitors can also explore the sappers’ philatelic history through philatelist Varun Khanna’s collection. “We have many interesting elements – letters, postal elements released to commemorate the battle honours and landmark moments,” Khanna shares.
Details: @ bengaluruprayana on Instagram