Peering into the architecture hidden in a thriving market

Bengaluru Karnataka 25/07/2017 Old Windows on Avenue Road Bengaluru . Photo: Sampath Kumar G P | Photo Credit: G_P_Sampath Kumar
Bengaluru Karnataka 25/07/2017 Old Windows on Avenue Road Bengaluru .
Photo: Sampath Kumar G P | Photo Credit: G_P_Sampath Kumar

INTACH’s heritage walk on Avenue Road today marks 10 years of ‘Parichay’ project

The cacophony that dominates Avenue Road is something that every Bengalurean knows only too well. The busy road is home to hundreds of shops and buildings. However, it also boasts small islands of period architecture, which are a rich source of knowledge about the city’s heritage.

This year, the historic road will host the 115th ‘Parichay’ Heritage Walk conducted by the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH – Bangalore Chapter) on Sunday. The walk will also mark 10 years of the Parichay project.

INTACH plans to conduct an ‘architecture walk’ that will give a historical perspective to the dime-a-dozen brick and mortar structures that pack the road. “To have people understand this through the eyes of an architect, we will have Vijay Narnapatti take people to heritage buildings,” said Meera Iyer, co-convener, INTACH.

“The walk will begin at Mysore Bank Circle and end at the Anjaneya temple. On the itinerary are the Rice Memorial Church (named after Benjamin Holt Rice, a missionary of the London Missionary Society), and Manik Mastan Saheb Dargah. The syncretic culture that has thrived for hundreds of years, much before the time of Hyder Ali, continues to flourish on this historic road,” said Mr. Narnapatti.

The thriving marketplace will remain a constant companion during the walk. The area was called Dodda Pete before being renamed Avenue Road.

“Possibly, owing the avenue of trees. We still have British colonial-style buildings here. If the government declares it a heritage road, it would be befitting its history,” said Mr. Narnapatti.

Avenue Road houses some of the best carved facades. Stone was used in most of the buildings, including Raja Market, and in the temple, church, and the dargah. “While stone was used as both a building material and for cladding and flooring, the colonial influences are seen in the windows with small columns on either side, arched windows, and pointed wooden shutters,” he said.

The markers on each of the side streets in stone can be seen even today. “There are remnants of the stone seats installed beneath a cluster of trees that are tucked away in the side lanes that had cobbled stones for a walk path, not visible from the main road,” said Mr. Narnapatti. But in the midst of all this beauty grew a monstrous market that erased most of its architectural heritage, he added.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / Ranjani Govind / July 30th, 2017

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