The bugle, rock and a temple

If the Peninsular Gneiss in Lalbagh is a world renowned monument, there is another such monument in Bangalore which has received very less attention.

Like the rock in Lalbagh, this too is equally old and even this is situated in the heart of the city. The only difference is that the rock here is much smaller and the park too is substantially smaller than the Lalbagh Botanical Gardens.

If the Lalbagh Gardens extends over 240 acres, this garden is just 16 acres. But it is no less important than Lalbagh for its flora and fauna.

There are several educational institutions in and around the park but many of the students come here only for a picnic. They rarely realize that they are sitting on one of the oldest rock formation in the world. This is not only a geologically important rock, but it has a history of its own. It is associated with Kempe Gowda, the founder of Bangalore and also Tipu Sultan and the British.

This is the Bugle Rock on Bull Temple in Basavanagudi. This is one of the 26 National Geological Monuments in India and Bangalore is fortunate n having tow of them-the Bugle Rock and the Lalbagh rock.

The Bugle rock is built over what we can call the rock formations of Basavanagudi. The name is derived from the area being used as a lookout by Kempe Gowda. From the watchtower on top, a guard would blow a bugle or Kahale to alert the citizens in case of danger or to indicate sunset or any other event.

The rock here too is equally old and it is believed to be between 3.2 to 3.3 billion years old. This is second generation Peninsular Gneiss and geologists say it is one of the oldest rocks on Earth which formed the Gondwanaland supercontinent.

The rock we visit  lies in the archaean stratigraphic division of the Indian Shield. Geologically, Bugle Rock represents an interesting and rare abrupt rise on the Peninsular Gneiss foundation. This has led the rock to become a hot topic of study for geologists.
The Bugle rock is the basement on which the supracrustal rocks of the Dharwar Group were deposited. The composite Gneiss was formed by migmatization of pre-existing metasedimentary and meta-igneous rocks.

The Bugle Rock Gneiss show the same style and sequence of superposed deformation as those in the enclaves of metamorphic rocks and in the linear Dharwar schist belts outside.

Most of the rocks on the Bugle Rock, next to the Bull Temple, have hollows, which were once used to light lamps. The rock here is contiguous and similar to the rock at Lalbagh tower.

This rock was first examined in 1916 by Dr. W.F. Smeeth of the then Mysore Geological Department who classified this rock as “peninsular gneiss.”

Apart from its geology, the Bugle rock has many interesting things. The Bugle Rock garden is one such thing. The park, though small, is beautiful and it is frequented by students and children.The densely tree-lined park developed by the Horticulture Department is considered a “walkers paradise” since over 750 to 1000 visitors visit the park every day.  

The park houses three temples. The Dodda Basavana Gudi or Bull Temple, said to be the biggest temple to Nandi in the  world, and a Ganesha temple are in the limits of the park. According to an inscription in the Bull Temple, a spring beneath the Nandi is the source of theVrishabhavati river, which flows to the west of Bangalore.

An amphitheatre, which can accommodate 300 people, has been developed in the precincts of the park. During the Third War of Mysore, a contingent of the Mysore Army, regrouped in this rock area under the leadership of Mir Khammar-ud-din before attacking the British Army.