The locality with a history of its own

There are three or rather four stories about the origin of this locality. If one speaks of an ancient village that existed here, another talks of an advocate who came on horseback here and set about founding this locality.

Two other stories about the founding of the locality are equally romantic. One says a temple lent its name to the locality, while another says a village by the same name existed here. The village was absorbed by the locality and it gave its name even as it lost its identity.

Today, this is among the oldest of Bangalore’s localities and it I also the most happening. It is also considered to be among the strongholds of Kannada and it boasts of several institutions of excellence and for decades it had been considered to be the hub of education.

This locality today is 124 years old and it was a gift to Bangaloreans by the Wodeyars to provide a good and habitable locality to Bangaloreans.

This is Malleswaram which came to be founded in 1889. One legend about the locality’s founding says that S. K. Venkatranga Iyengar, an advocate, was the one who was responsible for the coming up of Malleswaram.

Venkatranga Iyengar loved riding on horse back. One day when he  visited the Kadu Malleswara temple, he liked the surroundings and imagined a locality where the rich and noble could settle.

He invited the Patankars, who are descendents of the Dewans of Mysore as also Dewan Sheshadri Iyer and Dewan P.N. Krishnamurthy to plan their houses in the nee locality. They agreed s did the Patankars. These rich noblemen bought huge properties, each anything between 2 to 3 acres.

Venkatranga Iyengar then placed the proposal before the erstwhile municipality which approved the idea and thus was born Malleswaram.

However, the credit for being the earliest planned localities go to e Chamarajpet and Seshadripuram. This was in 1892. Though Malleshwaram and Basavanagudi too were planned as early as 1892, they could be executed only  in 1898 and then ‘with some urgency’ due to the intensity of the plague epidemics.
The then municipality acquired 291 acres for Malleshwaram and promoted it as a model hygienic suburb.

The then planning authorities paid attention to social hierarchies and so Malleshwaram had eight blocks, one for each particular section of the people.

Another story credits the founding of Malleswaram to H.V. Nanjundiah (1860-1920), the acting Dewan and  the first Vice-Chancellor of Mysore University. He was a contemporary of Sir M Visvesvaraiah.

He donated his palatial house in Malleswaram in 1948 to the Government for sting up a Girls High School. The building and the school exists to this day.  

Coming back to the story on Malleswaram, it was Nanjundiah, a Brahmin, who pushed or the formation of  the locality in 1898.

 extension around 1898 after the great plague in Bangalore, which prompted many people to move out of the city centre, while the other claims that the founder of the area was the first Vice Chancellor of the Mysore University and acting Dewan of Mysore, HV Nanjundaiah.

The third story says Malleswaram is named after the Kadu Malleswara temple. As the first name of the temple, Kadu, says the area was once a forest and it was constructed by the Marathas in the 17^th century.

Venkoji, a half-brother of Chattrapathi Shivaji and the son of Shahji Bhonsle, was instrumental in building this temple. Venkoji received the jagir of Bangalore on the death of his father, while Shivaji continued to reign from Pune.

An old inscription found on the outcrop of the temple refers to the grant given to Medaralingana village by Maratha Sardar Venkoji or Ekoji in 1669 for the upkeep of the temple.

The inscription cautions that no one should alter or attempt to change the grant given by Venkoji, including Hindus and Muslims. It clearly refers to various communities of the medieval period, including Muslims and Hindus.

Another story says the place where Malleswaram stands today was once a village called Mallapuram. The village made way for the then Mysore State and the Bangalore Municipality to construct Malleswaram and Basavanagudi. This was when K. Seshadri Iyer was the Dewan.

However, there is no vernacular or historical records before the 1880s support the claim of Mallapura village, There are, however, records to indicate that the area originally came under the village of Ranganatha Palya. An 1878 Survey of India map indicates this. This will buttress the story that just as Basavanagudi was named after the Basavanna temple, Malleswaram was named after the Kadu Mallikarjuna (Malleswara) temple.

Interestingly, both Basavanagudi and Malleswaram were planned  on foothills: If Basavanagudi lies on the foothills of the Bull Temple, Bugle Rock and Lal Bagh,  Malleswaram is on the foothills of the Kempe Gowda watchtower and Palace Guttahalli. Malleswaram was so planned that it had a big water source. A big stream, now a Raja Kaluve, ran through it and it was meant to provide temporary shelter during large epidemics (such as the plague) and during famine.

Though Malleswaram had eight blocks, it was originally planned to accommodate all communities. While previous layouts such as Chamarajpet or Benson Town accommodated particular sections of society according to their original plans, Malleswaram was to provide accommodation to all.

The new Malleswaram had separate wards for Muslims, native Christians and various Hindu castes, including Brahmins, Lingayats, Vaishyas and others.

Then Malleswaram stretched from the old Raja Mills or Mysore Spinning and Weaving Mills (today Mantri Mall stands in its place) to 15th Cross including Sankey Tank in the north, and from the Bangalore-Arasikere railway track in the west to the Kadu Malleswara temple in the east.

Although the new layout was created and the Government invited people to purchase sites and settle there, it was met with little or no  response. The Government then formed a committee comprising among others V.P. Madhav Rao, Mir Shaukat Ali and Rao Bahadur Arcot Srinivasachar and K. Srinivasa Rao to develop the new area in 1892.

By 1895, the committee handed over the layout to the city municipal authorities with certain suggestions, and from then onwards, Malleswaram took off. However, it remained an ordinary neighbourhood until after Independence, when those who worked in the government and the upper classes chose to live there. From a site for rehabilitation to a posh neighbourhood, it has today emerged as the place of Malls.

The bats of IISC

It has one of the largest academic campuses in Bangalore and it is a world renowned institution. It has always been known as Bangalore’s pride and India’s centre of excellence.

One of the oldest institutions of science and research in India, it has always produced some of the finest scientists and researchers. Some of India’s top most scientists, researchers and teachers have been associated with the institution.

However, this post is not about the men of science that the Institute has produced or the varied research in the many branches of science that it has carried out. The post will deal with the remarkable flora and fauna of the sprawling premises which can put any small sanctuary or patch of green to shame.

What makes this campus unique is that it is the home of a variety of bats and not merely the common fruit bat that are found in many places in Bangalore. These bats are found in fairly large numbers and thankfully apart from the residents of the institute and a few ornithologists and animal lovers, it is relatively unknown.  

This is the lush green campus of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc)  located in Malleswaram in north Bangalore.

The Institute has a hoary and interesting history and its founding goes back to the times of the Maharaja of Mysore, Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV and JRD Tata.

The Maharaja handed over 150.54 hectares of almost uncoil beauty and wilderness, scrub and farmland to the institute in 1909. Later, the institute got more land and today its stands on 179.28 hectares. The present green of the institute owes much to physicist C. V. Raman, botanist G. H. Krumbigel, atomist Homi Bhabha and scientists B. S. Nirody and C. N. R. Rao.

The IISc campus boasts of a harmonious mix of native, exotic and medicinal-scientific plants and flowers. The vegetation consists of a large number of avenue trees like Delonix regia (May flower), Samanea saman (Rain tree), Swietenia mahogany (Mahogany), Cassia, Tabebuia, Lantana and Ficus benjamina. There are other species of trees too.

The large number of fruits trees and the vast green have encouraged the Fruit Bat to make the campus its home.  Apart from the fruit bat-which is known to ornithologists as Indian short-nosed fruit bat or Cynopterus sphinx sphinx, there are several other species of bats such as the Indian flying fox (Pteropus giganteus giganteus), the Egyptian mouse-tailed bat (Tadarida aeygptica), Pigmy pipistrelle (Pipistrellus mimus), Coromandra pipistrelle (Pipistrellus coromandra), Ceylon pipistrelle (Pipistrellus ceylonicus) and even the Indian false vampire bat (Megaderma lyra).

Of all of them, the Indian short-nosed fruit bat outscores other bats in their numbers and colonies.

The main reason, already enumerated above, for the prevalence of so many species of bats is the availability of  fruit species such as Muntingia calabura (Singapore Cherry), Broussonetia papyrifera (paper mulberry), Mangifera indica (mango), Psidium guajava (guava), Tamarindus indica (tamarind), Santalum album (sandal wood), Manilkara zapota (sapota), Terminalia catappa (Indian almond), Musa paradisiaca (banana) and Syzygium cuminii.

These trees, apart from a host of other fruit bearing greens, provide the perfect locale for these bats. The relative lack of disturbing activities such as construction deforestation and to a certain extent the lack of predators have encourage the bats to colonise near buildings which houses the various departments of the institute.

An inhouse survey of the flora and fauna and other studies have put the number of fruit bats near 200. Similarly, 200 Indian flying fox have been counted.  The rest of the species are insectivorous and their roosting sites are crevices in walls, roof tops, gables and places between pipes. However, these bats are much less in numbers that the fruit bats.

There are  more than 1,200 species of bats and they represent one-fifth of all mammal species. They range from the world's smallest mammal- the tiny bumblebee bat that weighs less than a penny- to one of the largest-giant flying foxes with six-foot wingspans.

In India, 109 species of bats have so far been identified and the IISC is a virtual repository as it has the pest Fruit bat-the smallest to the Flying Fox-the biggest. Care to check out. Then head for the IISc campus. Prior permission to study them or visit would always be better.

The museum of wood

Bangalore is home to some of the most unique museums in India and some of them cannot be found anywhere else.

The galleries of the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishat, the exhibits of the Janapada Loka and the HAL aircraft and heritage centre are examples of such innovative museums.

Another such museum is the Woods Museum cum Interpretation Centre (WMIC) of the  Institute of Wood Science and Technology, which is located on 18^th Cross in Malleswaram, Bangalore.

What sets this institution aside is that it not only has exhibits detailing the history of wood but it also is a centre that provides information to the people.

So this is a one stop wood centre where you can obtain  information and details of all aspects of wood as a material and importance of wood science and technology in the country.

This is one of the recent museums in Bangalore and it was inaugurated on January 4, 2012.

Popularly known as the WMIC, this is an unconventional knowledge house and this is what distinguishes the museum from being a mere storehouse of artifacts. One of the main aims of the institute was to set up such a centre to educate the common man on the science of wood. The institute holds that wood is not carpenter’s material and that it is man’s best friend and wood can be used to tide over the ecological crisis that is dogging the world today.

The wood museum gives us an insight from the origin of Earth to evolution of forests and trees to emergence of most recent trees.

The museum has several colorful panels and each of them takes the visitor into the fascinating world of wood.

The museum has several sections and each is devoted to different avatars of wood and wood making. A must see is the section on agencies causing biological degradation of wood.

The museum has a lot of information on wood preservation, processing and wood usage. There is information on how to arrive at the age of a tree by counting the rings.

Two large discs of teak in the museum are the museum’s USP.  One of the discs traces the time since British came to India till Indian Independence.  

The museum also gives us information on bamboo, its utilization and different forms. Among other interesting exhibits are a model showing how rural energy needs could be met by generating electricity from gasifying wood. There is also a large log eaten by many different kinds of insects.

There is a full section showing modern products of wood-Wood Polymer Composites, panel and engineered wood products.

Wood-polymer composite samples are also displayed.

Wood products made of plantation timber species- Acacia auriculaeformis and Acacia mangium like toys, artifacts and catamaran (Maesopsis eminii) are also attractively displayed in the museum.

The museum also has a section where spurious forms of wood are exhibited. The museum was set up at a modest cost of just Rs. 13 lakhs. Compare this cost to the crores that is spent on setting up other museums.

The museum hosts twenty varieties of trees in order of their weight. The lightest wood here is Balsa and the heaviest is Chundra. These are the woods that are used in construction business around the world.
The only other wood museum of note in India is in Dehradun.

Why travel all the way to Dehradun when you can see the wood museum in Bangalore itself.

The Nobel scientist from Malleswaram

There was no major public function, processions, banners or buntings to herald the birth anniversary of one of  the greatest Indians. This man had settled in Bangalore and his contribution to the field of science is so immeasurable that even to this day he remains a beacon to budding scientists and researchers.

He also holds the distinction of being the handful of Indians to have won the Nobel Prize. Modest to the core and totally dedicated, he was a totally dedicated physicist. He is none other than our own C.V, Raman.

C.V. Raman was born on November 7, 1888 in Thiruvanaikaval, near Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu. His father was R Chandasekhara Iyer and mother  Parvati Ammal (Saptarshi Parvati).

Bangalore has a unique connection with this great scientist. His house Panchavati is in Malleswaram 8th Cross. It is on the same road as one of the most prestigious schools in Bangalore-the MES.

Panchavati was built more than a hundred years ago. Its first owner was Jagadeo Naik, a Deputy Commissioner of Bangalore. He built the house in 1903 and sold it to C.V, Raman.

The scientist appeared happy with the house and the only

additions he made during his long stay here was a pantry and kitchen in the rear of the house and a few small outhouses.

as in 1942 that Raman made Panchavati his permanent home when he joined the Indian Institute of Science (IISc).  

He retired from the IISc in 1944 and then set up the Raman Research Institute. He served as its director till his death in 1970.

Panchavati today is managed by the Raman Trust. Raman and his wife Lokasundari Ammal lived in this house. His wife passed away in 1980.

His Nobel Prize winning endeavour happened in 1921 when he was on a voyage to England.  When the ship was on the Mediterranean Sea, he closely observed that the waters was a darker shade of blue. This set him thinking and the result was Raman effect.

The Raman effect is a pioneering work on optics and dispersion of light. He found out why light changes colour when it passes through a transparent medium or platform. This medium could be solid, liquid or in gaseous form. This is called spectroscopy and Raman was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930.

Raman was a thorough Indian. He always was immaculately  dressed and  he always wore the Indian turban or peta.

The Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum (VITM) on Kasturba Road in Bangalore had organised an exhibition titled ‘Laser’ to highlight the Raman Effect. Raman’s son V Radhakrishnan, an eminent astrophtcist, passed away in 2011.ct. Apart from other scientific and research institutions I do not know of any public function held in Bangalore to honour this great man.

Before ending this article, permit me a small digression.

Raman had an elder brother by name C.S Iyer.

Iyer was a renowned musicologist. He was also the father of  Dr. S. Chandrashekar, Nobel Laureate. He could play the violin in such a mesmerizing manner that Queen Elizebeth who heard him once was too struck for words to describe the performance.

Iyer was also the founder member of the Madras Music Academy. He has written several books on music.