When past becomes history
Bengaluru may be popular as the IT City today , but it owes a debt to the kings and visionaries of old who shaped it with farsightedness, providing it with the lakes and gardens that gave it a unique identity. But far from paying homage to its founder, Kempe Gowda or the Mysore rulers who shaped it , the city seems to be doing its best to get rid of what remains of their contributions as it rushes headlong into urbanisation.
Take the residence of Sir M. Visvesvaraya, the architect of Benglauru. It was demolished in 1970 without any remorse by the government and in its place was built the Visvesvaraya Towers near Ambedkar Veedhi. Hundreds of traditional homes in Malleswaram,Basavanagudi, Frazer Town, Austin Town and Cox town too have given way to multi-storied apartment blocks or malls with the authorities showing little concern for this huge loss of heritage architecture.
“A heritage structure is not just historical monuments, but also traditional houses and homes that represent a particular era. But due to lack of legislation and awareness, these properties are fast being turned into apartments,” deplores Rohit Jigyasu , senior advisor, Indian Institute for Human Settlements.
Far from learning a lesson and mending its ways , the government is doing little while a similar story of neglect is playing out at the Bull Temple in Basavanagudi. The oldest temple in the city is under threat from encroachments, but no agency seems to be coming to its rescue. The historical Bengaluru Fort too is in a sorry state of neglect , but this too has apparently escaped the notice of government agencies.
“We must learn from countries like France and Czechoslovakia where the government and the people take the initiative to save and maintain historical structures. But look around the city and you find its historical structures in tatters ,” notes Mr Umesh Badami, whose family once owned the Badami House.
One way to preseve traditional homes would be to give their owners incentives to keep them the way they are , believes Mr Jigyasu , also suggesting that localities like Malleswaram, and Basavanagudi be given a heritage tag to make sure they don't lose all traces of their old world charm.
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