Once Upon A Time in Bengaluru

Take the bus not only for work or as the last resort, ride it to take in the unique history and sights of your city on this Bus Day

There's more to Bangalore than just monstrous IT parks, glitzy malls and flyovers. The city is steeped in history, with old temples, forts and palaces along with grand parks and green spaces from colonial times.

Apart from walking, public transport is perhaps the best way to see the city with its unhurried pace, several stops and the generally peering out of your bus window. So if you have a day in hand, ditch your cars and two wheelers, instead take the bus and rediscover your city.

Meera Iyer, coordinator of the Bangalore chapter of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), a non-profit organisation that helps conserve and restore India's architectural and cultural heritage, helps you peep into Bangalore's cultural and historical past.

Koramangala
If you know that Kempegowda, a chieftain from Yelahanka, founded the city of Bangalore, you've probably heard of the tragic tale of sacrifice associated with its establishment. The story goes that in 1537, when construction of Kempegowda's fort was nearly complete, the king ran into a problem. Each time the southern gate was constructed, it would collapse at night. Astrologers advised Kempegowda that a human sacrifice, especially of a pregnant woman, would solve the issue. But Kempegowda found this idea repugnant. Knowing her father-in-law's predicament, Lakshmamma, Kempegowda's pregnant daughter-in-law, decided to take matters into her hand and sacrificed herself to appease the gods. A distraught Kempegowda raised a temple dedicated to the courageous woman.

You can see this temple and a memorial dedicated to Lakshmamma in Koramangala, 6th Block, near the Parikrama School. The temple has undergone extensive renovations and little remains to indicate its past history. The temple opens only on Friday mornings. The memorial lies in the pocket-sized Lakshmamma Park, half a kilometre from the temple. The BBMP-maintained park is also used as a burial ground.

Bus Number: 411 K
From Bannerghatta National Park
Destination Marathahalli Bridge
Passing through HAL Main Gate, Koramangala 80 ft Road, Hulimavu Gate

Lalbagh
Lalbagh ufffd Been there, done that, you scoff. But this wonderful botanical garden has more than spectacular natural heritage to boast of. The best-known monuments in Lalbagh are probably the iconic Kempegowda tower atop the 3000 million-year-old Rock and the Glass House, built in 1889-90. Lesser-known heritage structures in the garden include the 150-year-old building that once served as the cottage of the superintendent and now houses the Lalbagh Library. Also dating from the same period are bandstand and the old now-ruined Lecture Hall, which still bears the double-headed eagle known as ganda bherunda, the crest of the Wodeyars, the royal family of Mysore. The guardroom at the entrance of West Gate also has an interesting history. It originally stood in front of the house of Dewan Krishnamurthy. It was to be destroyed in the 1940s but was dismantled and shifted here in the 1940s by Sir Mirza Ismail and HC Javaraya, the then superintendent of Lalbagh.

Bus Number: 2
From Majestic
Destination: JP Nagar Phase VI
Passes through Corporation, Lalbagh Main Gate, Jayanagar 4th Block

Bus Number: 356 Q
From Majestic (Kempegowda Bus Stand)
Destination: Electronic City
Passes through Corporation, Lalbagh Main Gate, South End Circle, Jayanagar Bus Stand, Jayanagar 9th East Block, BTM Layout, Bomanahalli, Hosa Road, Electronic City

Ulsoor
Many Bangaloreans will nod their head in disagreement when you ask them if they have ever visited the 1000-year-old Someshwara temple. The oldest parts of the temple date back to about 1000 years ago during reign of the Chola dynasty. But the temple's outer walls and its beautiful pillared hall are Kempegowda's additions. Stylistically, these are typical of the Vijaynagar period, so that the temple is like a little slice of Hampi in Bangalore. Walk along the narrow lanes in the vicinity of the temple to see some charming old houses built in a typical mix of traditional and colonial architectural styles.

Bus Number 305 D
From: Majestic (Kempegowda Bus Station)
Destination: Channasandra
Passing through: Ulsoor, KGF, ITPL

Madiwala
Who would have thought that the busy Silk Board junction could harbour heritage? And yet it does. Barely a kilometre from the flyover is the Someshwara temple, an oasis of calm that has been around for 800 years. The temple has undergone several renovations but there is still ample evidence of its antecedents in the form of inscriptions in Tamil and Grantha characters that cover its outer walls, for example. Most of the inscriptions (the earliest being from 1247 AD) record grants made during the reigns of Hoysala king Ballala III and Chola king Rajendra. There are also old idols of various gods including Ganesha, Durga and Vishnu in niches along the outer walls. Inside, apart from shiny new flooring, the garba griha and artha mandapa were untouched. Look for the small opening in the wall behind the Nandi. In the old days, the sun's rays entered through this small opening to illuminate the linga.

Bus Number: 362 E
From Shivajinagar Bus Station
Destination: Electronic City
Passes through: Indian Express, Mayo Hall, Johnson Market, Adugodi, Krupanidhi College, Madiwala, Bommanahalli

HAL Aerospace Museum and Heritage Centre
Heritage of a rather different kind lies hidden away on 10 acres of land on Old Airport Road. The HAL Heritage Centre and Aerospace Museum is one of India's very few public museums on aviation. Opened in 2001, this museum showcases the growth of the Indian aviation industry and of HAL in particular. The most popular exhibits are its outdoor displays of aircraft designed, developed and built by HAL. Each aircraft has its own display zone and a plaque giving all the details of the aircraft. The museum also chronicles some interesting HAL history starting with a photograph taken in January 1940 of the vacant land that became the site of the HAL factory. Other interesting photos include those of some famous visitors to HAL, including Lord Mountbatten.

Bus Number: 333P
From: Majestic
Destination: ITPL
Passing through: Corporation, Military Accounts, HAL Main Gate
Bus Number: 333 W
From: Majestic
Destination: Doddanekunte
Passing through: Corporation, HAL Main Gate, Marathahalli

Begur
You've probably heard that story about how our city derives its name from bende kaalu ooru, the city of boiled beans, thanks to the time when an old woman fed Hoysala king Veera Ballala boiled beans. A charming story but untrue, for an inscription from about 890 AD - hundreds of years before the Hoysala period - mentions the name Bengaluru. You can still see this historic inscription in the compound of the 1,100-year-old Panchalingeshwara temple complex in Begur. The little settlement also has a small fort and ruins of a Jain basadi (shrine).

Bus Number: 375 A
From: Kengeri Housing Board QRTS
Destination: Electronic City (Infosys)
Passing through: Uttarahalli, Banshankari, Jayanagar 9th Block east, BTM Layout, Central Silk Board, Bomanahalli

Bus Number 500DA
From: Yelahanka
Destination: Electronic City
Passing through: Hebbala Ring Road, Marathahalli Bridge, Agara, Central Silk Board, Bomanhalli

Whitefield
Yes, there is more to this place than just ITPL. The settlement was established by the Eurasian and Anglo-Indian Association of Mysore and Coorg in 1882, and named after a founder DS White. An area of about 3,900 acres was donated by the then Maharaja Chamaraja Wodeyar for establishing the village. The settlement still has its original unique circular layout with bungalows arranged in two concentric circles around a central park. Whitefield is also home to the 124-year-old Memorial Church Anglican, now facing the threat of demolition, thanks to road-widening.

Bus Number: 505
From: Electronic city
Destination: ITPL
Passing through: Bomanahalli, Agara, Marathahalli Bridge, KundanahalliGate, Sri Sri Sathya Sai Hospital

Bus Number: 333 T
From: Majestic
Destination: Kadugodi Bus station
Passing through: Mayo Hall, Manipal Hospital, AECS Layout, ITPL

Don't know where to start, which bus to hop onto? The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) Vajra helplines should make your ride easier.