Bangalore Club - tryst with our colonial past

When in Bengaluru, do partake of a slice of history by staying at the Bangalore Club. It is the city's oldest and finest club having been around since British times and has had luminaries like Sir Winston Churchill and Maharaja of Mysore as its members. Located in the heart of the city on Residency Road, you could not ask for a more central place to stay. The ambience of this heritage club is unbeatable and wins hands down over an impersonal hotel stay.

Bangalore Club

It's very close to all the tourist landmarks in the city - M G Road, Cubbon Park, Vidhana Soudha. The club's architecture and culture is reminiscent of the colonial times and it is still maintained in the pucca British manner with a 'men's only' bar still around. The perfectly clipped lawns add to the charm of this place and sitting out in the manicured gardens amidst the green foliage makes for a very pleasant evening.

Spread over a large expanse it encompasses a world in itself offering a multitude of facilities from a state of the art health club, spa, tennis, badminton and squash courts, a swimming pool and for the bookworms a library to immerse yourself in.

The rooms are very well appointed and tastefully done up with each room having its own private balcony. Though it's frequented by members all through the day but evenings are the time when it truly comes alive and one can see Bangaloreans thronging this place, the bar area being the hotspot and a  hang out place to unwind with friends.

The club is a stone's throw away from all major touristy places including the iconic Pecos on Brigade Road. A worth mentioning feature of this club were their meals, particularly the breakfast which was truly delectable. The fare was mostly South Indian, dosa, idli, vada and different types of bhath both sweet and namkeen (savory) and some Continental dishes too thrown in.

The dining hall is huge with high ceilings and wooden flooring and it was good fun savoring the delicious freshly prepared food and sipping on filter coffee in such charming confines. The staff is unobtrusive, courteous and service is exemplary as one is well looked after. On Sundays the meal is laid out in the lawns, they would make hot appams (pancakes of fermented rice batter and coconut milk) and the affable chef would very sweetly fill up our plates coaxing us into having more of his melt in the mouth hoppers.

It is a focal point of many Bangaloreans social life and is far from being a geriatric haunt, a lot of second generation youngsters are its members and throng the club for the numerous events hosted here from fashion shows, to western music festivals and "May Queen Ball".

Yes, it sure is an elitist club and does suffer from a colonial hangover!  it even follows an archaic practice as men in Indian attire are still not allowed inside its precincts - the club holds that the dress code is a part and parcel of its traditional legacy.

They are for sure very rule bound, I walked into the bar exclusively for men (was trying to take the short cut through the bar) and it was amusing to see the startled expressions of its patrons and how the maitre d' rushed to guide me out, but ladies don't despair they have a mixed bar too.

I had an extremely enjoyable time in the city primarily because of my stay here. It's centrality adds to the convenience - not only was one spared the city's dreaded traffic but could also get a better sense and feel of Bangalore. The club and its environs left me totally enchanted and it was like a home away from home. Can never think of Bangalore without Bangalore Club !!!

Bangalore - old world charm or an urban sprawl ?

I had always been keen to visit Bengaluru although I had been forewarned not to expect much. But I did not think much of these naysayers and brushed it all aside ...  thinking that it was typically a guy thing to be oblivious of your surroundings (as they tend to find all cities the same) ... guess these corporate slaves see little more than just their office, airport and the hotel.

Street Art

My first impression- a modern and well tended for city. The well maintained foliage and wide roads near the airport all give it the appearance of a cared for city. On the way to the city I got busy capturing some vivid street art depicting local history and religion.

As a first timer to this place I was curious to see how this place stacked up vis a vis other metros. What is conspicuous about this place is its greenery, and thus aptly known as the garden city. The tree lined wide boulevards of Delhi might be missing but it boasts of a fair number of parks and gardens.

The eighteenth century Lalbagh, a horticultural garden and a spot synonymous with Bengaluru is a must do. It’s a green sprawl and involves a fair bit of walking, so do wear comfortable shoes because it’s really spread out but truly worth the visit. The garden is host to many tropical and subtropical plants many of which are rare species.

Cubbon Park

Another oasis in the middle of the city is the 300 acres nineteenth century Cubbon Park, it's a great retreat for the weary city folks, with its innumerable trees, natural outcroppings of rocks and some of the trees seem fairly old, as their girth is amazing.

This place is a big draw with morning walkers and joggers. Very clearly; these two parks are to Bangaloreans what Central Park is to New Yorkers.

Bull Temple

South Indians are deeply religious people and the city is dotted with ancient temples. We visited the Bull temple in Basavanagudi. The temple is dedicated to Nandi, the mount of Shiva. The bull idol is huge and fills up the entire temple; it's an awesome piece of sculpture built by Kempe Gowda in the Dravidian style. It has been carved out of a monolithic rock and is one of the most ancient  murtis of Nandi, definitely not to be missed sight. In the month of November- December a groundnut fair is held here and the newly harvested groundnuts are offered to Nandi.

Art Of Living Centre

My husband was very keen to visit Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Ashram which was an hour away from the city. The Ashram is spread out in hectares of land and the day we had gone there was ashtami pujan and was filled with devotees from far. Well I would suggest that it is worth a visit if and only if you are into such modern age pseudo spiritualism ... no offence intended but I personally prefer in the face religious and spiritual feel of our good old temples.

Tipu Sultan's Palace

Tipu Sultan's summer palace is within the city precincts and features as one of the sightseeing options.This two storied structure built in 1791 is made mostly of wood. This building is now past its prime and looks quite forlorn. For such a rundown, derelict palace the entry ticket was rather on the steep side and I guess that explained why the tourists to be seen out here were a handful of NRI’s.

I had heard a lot about Bangalore's salubrious climate ... some folks going to the extent of saying that the summers are also pleasant. The October sun was scorching and there was no balmy breeze blowing, it was killing to step out in the day time and we were left wondering from which angle could this city possibly lay claim to having an ideal climate ... though to be fair this could well be a fallout of the high levels of pollution the city has seen in recent times. Some of the Old timers we met also cribbed about how Bengaluru is no longer pleasant all year round and is quite warm till the rains arrive in late October.

Mahatma Gandhi Road or MG Road and Brigade Road are a shopper’s haven, where you will find all the hip trendy stores.  If you are a highbrow then head to Higginbotham’s, this 166 years old book house is legendary-an institution in itself  and one of Bangalore's landmark for book lovers. Looking for bargains ... then Commercial Street is the right spot ... a shopping place quite akin to Delhi's Janpath or Sarojini Nagar or Mumbai's Linking Road, patronised by college students looking for something which is easy on the pocket.

This is the city which initiated the pub culture and it doesn't seem to have faded if one was to go by the number of pubs peppering this place... Peco's is an iconic pub and one of the oldest surviving ones, popular with the youngsters as a place to hang out in the evenings.

My sense of this place was very mixed up ... in parts it is very cosmopolitan, great buildings, swish stores, lots of greenery but all that is confined to the central area. Once you move away from the posh Central Residency area you realize how haphazardly the city has grown.

Eons ago Bangalore was one of the cities favored as a retirement destination but now calling it a Pensioners paradise would perhaps be a misnomer, its halcyon days are long over and the city seems to be now taken over by the software boom which has resulted in chaotic construction of multi-storied buildings all over Bengaluru and even its suburbs. The city has grown in an unplanned manner and there is little infrastructure to support it.

It is no longer a dream city and is virtually splitting at the seams. The town planners do need to get their act together and clean up the mess. The construction of Metro has been delayed ... and it would take a couple of decades before public transportation eases the traffic snarls that you regularly witness ... traffic is horrid virtually all throughout the day and not just in the morning and evening office hours.

The positives that I took about this place were its people who are very friendly and helpful. It is essentially a simple society. The city is a unique blend of cosmopolitan and traditional culture which exists side by side. Most people know English so language is not an issue here, even the chappie who was chauffeuring us around would pip in, in our conversations about the city.

All in all ... though I was not particularly fascinated by Bengaluru, but it still has some charm ... needs to invest in building its public infrastructure ... that alone could ensure it retains and builds on its cosmopolitan allure.

One month ago: Tea and Coffee Country - Coonoor
Two months ago: A getaway to the Blue Mountains