Pramod Shankar — ad guru, author, photographer and public speaker — moved to Bengaluru in the 80s. Today, he misses the old world charm the city once had in abundance.
I landed in Bengaluru quite by chance. I still remember my first visit in the 80s...the serenity, wide roads, bougainvillea trees, English weather — it was love at first sight. I decided that one day, I would return and set up my abode here. And so, when I got a call from O&M, I immediately took it up.
During my first few months in Bengaluru, I would explore the city almost every day. There was so much to see: The Cantonment area, M.G. Road, Brigade Road, Mayo Hall and Johnson market. Being a bachelor certainly had its advantages — I could explore the city at will with my friends. We were big foodies, and in the quest to satiate our taste buds, we’d visit even the tiniest of places. One such place was Shankar’s Café, a small roadside eatery adjacent to the Sir M. Visveswaraya Museum on Kasturba Road. They served the best channa bhatura!
Visiting the café was like going back in time. You sat on rustic benches overseeing the broad roads which then had such few vehicles. It wasn’t just about the food, we even had poetry readings and book discussions.
Victoria Hotel on Residency Road (where the Bangalore Central stands today) was another restaurant that we visited regularly. Writers, teachers, artists, journalists…it was always filled with a motley group. Apparently, it was a library that Winston Churchill had visited. It had huge windows that reminded you of the British Raj.
Now it’s all gone, lost in the hustle bustle of “progress”. Other places that recreated the early magic were also pulled down. One such place was Dewars, tucked away on Cockburn Road. It had the best liver and kidney preparations and fish fry. It used to be a meeting point for British soldiers, but at the time of Independence, a Brahmin family bought it. The smell of old rosewood reminded you of its glorious past.
For those who spent their youth in Bengaluru during those years, it would be tough to replicate those old times. Places like Udayavan on M.G. Road (now Prestige Meridian), Embassy Hotel on Infantry Road, and the Giggles Gift Shop on Lady Curzon Road, they are all now a part of history. There was something mystical about the older Bengaluru. Particularly for me. Or maybe it’s just the fact that when you’re new to a city, your eyes constantly seek out the different.
— As told to Ayesha Tabassum