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Showing posts from 2016

Bengaluru's growth is irreversible

Bengaluru needed a plan in place in early 1990s when we knew we would reach this stage in urbanisation. How come we woke only now? Pic: Ameen Ahmed (All rights reserved) I recollect those frequent return daily train trips between Tumakuru - Bengaluru between 1999-2002. All the discarded radio sets were slowly crawling back thanks to the couple of private FM channels that broadcast the latest songs. The Kannada Sanghas were equally active even back then. The newspapers would frequently report their demonstrations against the handful of FM radio stations airing Hindi songs that catered to the large influx of non-Kannadiga techies immigrating into the yet Garden City. The Arasikere-Bengaluru passenger train would slow down as it approached Yeshvantpur Junction. Mathikere tank adjoining the railway track to the north was still a decent wetland. I remember sighting flocks of Purple Moorhens running over the hyacinth leaves. And also the migratory waders from far off lands in a feedi

Tigers in Bangalore in the Colonial era

A version of this story 'The last of Bengaluru’s tigers' was published in 'India Today' in December 2014 A sketch of a British hunter on a tiger shikar (hunt). Source :  Arthur J. O. Pollock, ' Sporting days in Southern India',  1894.  In the 19th century the tiger was no stranger to undivided Bengaluru district which included today’s Ramanagar district. There are many accounts in the British literature on the presence of this magnificent cat here. Bengaluru figures prominently in the shikar literature as it was an important cantonment during the entire stretch of the British rule here which started with the annihilation of the Mysore army in 1799. The city was surrounded by open areas that had grasslands and the wildlife depending on it like blackbuck, lesser florican and great Indian bustard. Nevertheless, big cats like tigers and leopards thrived in pockets of woods in and around the city. Tiger killing, a public amusement in early 1800s Among the

Bangalore’s missing grasslands

By Ameen Ahmed A version of this story 'When city was a jungle' was published in the Deccan Herald, Bengaluru (Nov 18, 2014) The blackbuck is an indicator species of the grasslands. There are numerous hunting records of this mammal in and around today's Bengaluru (Bangalore). Pic courtesy: HARI SOMASHEKAR Today’s Bangalore is much different from the small town it was in 16th century, when Kempe Gowda founded it. Akin to any settlement in India those days, it was surrounded by farmlands, grazing fields and wilderness areas like wetlands, grasslands and forests. As time progressed the city grew, attracting the attention of its rulers. While its mud fort was enlarged and rebuilt with stone by Hyder Ali in the 18th century, the British after capturing Mysore Kingdom in 1799 made this town their new headquarters of the Kingdom. They preferred it for its elevation as well as ‘its position on the high road from Madras to Mysore’. Among others Lt-General Colin Mackenzie,C