E.R. RAMACHANDRAN writes: Bangalore in the 1950s and ’60s was still a Pensioners’ Paradise and very much a sleepy town. It was mostly divided into “City” and “Cantonment” with Basavanagudi and Malleshwaram the best known among its residential areas.
Jayanagar and its famous mosquitoes had not made their debut yet.
The City Market was really a conglomeration of various petes—Chikkapete, Balepete, Tharugupete, Akkipete, Cottonpete—holding the business community. Dandu, or Cantonment (‘Contrumentru’ as the villagers would call it) was still a very far off place for most Bangaloreans.
Almost as far as London itself.
***
One got a fair idea of the City when one used BTS, or Bangalore Transport Service to give its full name (“Bittre Tiruga Sigodilla“, was the other full form).
50 years ago, the only other modes of transport for a common man were the Jataka Gaadi (horse driven covered cart) or nataraja service— local lingo for footing it out.
The word ‘autorickshaw’ had yet to enter the lexicon, the contraption was yet to invade our roads.
Those who worked in Atthara Katcheri (18 offices) before Vidhana Soudha was conceived, or those who worked in AG’s office walked to their offices. After an early meal around 9 am, chewing Mysore villedele with sughnadhi betel nuts, most of them changed in to their kuchche panche with their marriage coat, some wearing the Mysore peta as crown, they set off to their office holding a tiffin box which contained their afternoon snack: a couple of idlis, uppittu, etc.
The same tiffin bag was used to bring back Mysore mallige in the evening along with badami halwa for the waiting wife. The only addition to the office gear was a half-sleeve sweater during winter, and a full-length umbrella which sometimes doubled as a walking stick, during the monsoon.
Bangalore looked almost empty during the day as most of the eligible science and engineering graduates or diploma holders were herded into buses at the unearthly hour of 6.30 in the morning and ferried to HAL, HMT, BEL, LRDE, ITI, NGEF, Kirloskar, BEML, etc.
The city suddenly perked up after the factory hands returned to their favorite haunts like Yagnappana Hotlu opposite National High School grounds or Bhattra Hotlu in Gandhi bazaar for the mandatory ‘Three-by-Four Masale’ or ‘Two-by-three coffee’ in the evenings.
***
The best way of seeing Bangalore and getting an idea of what was happening in the city in those days was to travel by BTS route no. 11.
Route no. 11 started its journey from Gandhi bazaar in Basavanagudi opposite Vidyarthi Bhavan and took you to Tata Institute (now Indian Institute of Science) on Malleshwaram 18th cross, after eons of time spent amidst chatter, sleep and fights over annas and paisas.
Morning visitors to Vidyarthi Bhavan would already be waiting for the delicious masale dose after eating rave vade when the conductor asked the last of the commuters to get in to the bus and shouted ‘Rrrrighhttttt!’
The bus, initially coughing and moving in fits and starts, would go past the only taxi stand in the City and take its first left turn at K.R. Road and pass through Basavanagudi post office and enter Dr. H.Narasimhaiah’s National College circle and stop at diagonal road opposite Dr. Narasimhachar’s dispensary.
Here in the evenings, Gokhale, a Maharashtrian, sold ‘Brain Tonic’—a tangy kadalekai (groundnut) concoction with the goods atop his bicycle carrier. The light from his dynamo illuminated the area for you to see what you were eating and for him to check whether he has not been palmed off with ‘sawakalu kasu‘ (disfigured coin).
Gokhale claimed that students of the National High School and National College figured in the state rank list (and hence dubbed ‘kudumis’) only because his brain tonic was their staple food!
Everything on route no. 11 had “laidback” stamped on it: the issuing of tickets, getting in and out of the bus, and the bus ride itself.
At the end of Diagonal Road you entered the sanctum sanctorum of Shettys or Komatis of Bangalore who sold anything and everything that could be sold from gold to pakampappu, gulpavatte and gunthaponganalu.
The Sajjan Rao temple and choultry by the same name was much sought after for society weddings. The Satyanarayana Temple came much later as politicians became more and more crooked.
Kota Kamakshayya choultry was opposite to the best bakery in Bangalore and may be the whole of south India, the V.B. Bakery.
Dressed in spotless white panche and banians with sleeves, the staff looked as if they were running on skates taking and fetching orders for chakkuli, kodu-bale, veg “pups”, om biscuit, kharada kadale kayi, ‘Congress’ kadale kayi and ‘Badam Haalu’. V.B. Bakery’s stuff was made for the gods who, I suspect, had descended on Bangalore not only for this but also for the weather, the doses, and mallige.
Next, after passing Modern Hotel and New Modern hotel where the whiff of SKC —sweetu, khara, coffee—hit your nostrils, was the stop opposite Minerva talkies, which in those days mostly showed Tamil pictures for three shows and wore a culturally superior hat with Bengali movies and that too only Satyajit Ray for the morning shows!
I suspect most Bangaloreans got introduced to Pather Panchali, Aparajito and Apur Sansar—and roso gulla—only through Minerva.
A 200 meters dash from Minerva took you to Mavalli Tiffin Rooms (MTR) in a dingy lane, which morphed into MTR as one of the best eateries in town.
After Minerva, the next stop was another theatre ‘Bharath’ which took you to the world of ‘Spartacus’ and ‘Robe’. Only Bharath and Vijalakshmi in Chikkapete showed English movies in the ‘City’ side of Banglore.
Next came ‘Shivaji’ theatre, the abode of Tamil films with a statue of Shivaji, the warrior, riding a horse on the top of the building. (MNS leader Raj Thackeray or for that matter the original tiger, Bal Thackeray, would have been pleased to see a Shivaji statue in Bangalore).
Kannada films were nonexistent or a rarity those days. Except for an occasional ‘Bedara Kannappa’, ‘Sadarame’, ‘Rathagiri Rahasya’ (the song ‘Amara Madhura Prema’ was a craze) or ‘School Master’, it was all Sivaji Ganesan and M.G. Ramachandran (MGR) who ruled the silver screen.
For a Sivaji film, taking two or three handkerchieves was mandatory because he made you cry in buckets after the interval, while an MGR film was all about romancing Saroja Devi on a full moon night or chasing villain Nambiar on a horseback in a dark black or deep scarlet outfit.
‘Gemini’ Ganesan arrived around the same time after quitting as a chemistry lecturer!
Then the bus entered Puttanna Shetty Town Hall, a marvellous building where most major functions and felicitations took place.
Kengal Hanumanthaiah was seen often here before he started planning the construction of Vidhana Soudha. When Kengal used convicts from nearby Bangalore Jail to do the cumbersome job of breaking stones into jelli, the story goes, one of them slapped Kengal when he came for his daily rounds!
MS (M.S. Subbalakshmi) sang many of her kutchheris in Town Hall so did “Flute” Mali accompanied by Mysore T. Chowdiah on violin.
Buildings like Ravindra Kalakshetra had not come up yet, but there was United Mission high school with a very large playground. Even the nearby Canara Bank came much later.
After crossing Silver Jubilee Park Road and Narasimha Raja Road, route no. 11 would hem and haw climbing the slope towards George Oaks building opposite Bangalore Corporation office and enter Cenotaph Memorial which was pulled down when some local patriots thought it depicted the days of our slavery to British.
Then the bus would cross the police commissioner’s office.
The commissioner, lucky fellow, had his residence right opposite his office! Yet when he drove in his car to his office in style, the police constables gave a guard of honour for him standing on either side of the gangway. This happened every day and a sizeable crowd collected to watch the ceremony.
At the government engineering college (which became UCE and finally UVCE) bus stop, those who took the bus to Attara Kaccheri of the government would get down and loosen up their stiff limbs as also the students of Jayachamarajendra Occupational Institute started by Sir M. Visvesvaraya from his lifetime earnings.
Those who wanted to stroll down to Cubbon Park would also get down there and if it was a Sunday they would go with their family to listen to the various orchestras which played old Hindi songs.
Much later, those who helped God to do his work went to Vidhana Soudha; they are still partners in His unfinished business.
At the next the bus stop at Maharani’s college, the young and old woke up and cranked their necks to have a look at the sari-clad demure beauties getting down.
Mount Carmel‘s which was the hep, hip girls’ college of those days came much later. The hockey stars, the Britto sisters, most of Bangalore’s athletes came from there. Shantha Rangaswamy came from Maharani’s and captained India’s women’s cricket team.
***
In the excitement of the Maharani’s bus stop, I almost forgot I took the bus an hour back in Gandhi bazaar which now picked up some nerve and speed, drove past Central College to the Law College stop.
Behind Central College was the Central College cricket grounds which hosted all the international matches as well as the Ranji matches. It was here that a ball from the fearsome Roy Gilchrist hit A.S. Krishnaswamy on his chest and flew off to the boundary.
Col C.K. Nayudu played here when he was past 70 along with his brother C.S. Nayudu and so did Lala Amarnath.
Central Colleges grounds was the place all the Test cricketers from Mysore/ Karnataka cut their teeth playing State ‘B’ Ramachandra Rao shield, Rohington Baria Cup for Universities, and finally the Ranji Trophy.
In the history of Indian cricket, very rarely or it has never happened, one player refusing to play for India and accompany the team to West Indies because his much revered and admired colleague was not picked in the team. This is precisely what happened when speedster G. Kasturiranagan (presently a member of the KSCA governing body) refused to join the team as the L.T. Adishesh was not selected in the team).
Along with Varadaraj, L.T. Subbu, Balaji Srinivasan (who played in an ‘unofficial’ Test for India) and later with B.S. Chandrashekar, Erapalli Prasanna, Kunjumani V.Subramanyam, Karnataka was a formidable Ranji team.
***
When our bus took a left to enter Majestic area, you wished you had eyes, like your ears on both sides of your head.
The only place in India or any where for that matter where so many movie houses stood cheek by jowl.
Prabhat, Sagar, States, Kempe Gowda, Himalaya, Majestic, Geetha, Jai Hind, Alankar and Kalpana theatres starting from Mysore Bank dotted the Majestic area, where most Hindi movies would be screened, quite a few of them completing their silver jubilees.
The bus disgorged people going to the railway station—there was no bus station there! The empty space between Majestic Bus Stop and Railway Station was Subhash Nagar Grounds which was used mainly for political speeches by likes of Jawaharlal Nehru and Ram Manohar Lohia.
It was in Subhash Nagar grounds that “Master” Hirannaiyya first staged his famous play ‘Lanchavathara’ lampooning corruption in politics.
During the inauguration of the play, Hirannaiyya told the audience that their livelihood depended on those who came in after buying tickets and not on the front row dignitaries who were invitees. J.B. Mallaradhya, who was the chief guest got up, walked to the counter and bought a ticket for himself and entered the theatre!
I have digressed here like my bus going all over Bangalore.
From here the bus developed wings as it were, and flew past, Ananda Rao circle, Sheshadripuram High School, Central Theatre, and entered the citadel of Malleshwaram.
At Malleshwaram circle, it took a left and after taking a right at Margosa road (on its return journey the bus took the parallel ‘Sampige’ Road) started its journey towards Tata Institute going past Malleshwaram Tiffin Rooms, where people waited for their Mysore masale, and the Ganapathy temple at 8th cross.
By the time the bus entered 16th cross most of the commuters had emptied the bus, and because of the steep gradient, the bus behaved as if it was going up Nandi hills with the conductor holding the bar with both hands with a prayer on his lips.
On the 17 cross Road, students of Malleshwaram School got down with a stoop looking couple of inches shorter since they boarded the bus. Then the bus went for its home stretch to the Tata Institute which came about because of the foresight and visionary of Jamshedjee Tata who thought India should produce its own great scientists and chose Bangalore instead of Bombay to set up the Institute.
Nobel Laureate Sir C.V. Raman started his own Institute, Raman Research Institute, after his differences with Tata Institute.
***
Bangalore of those days was a place filled with fewer people but one had a lot of choices to choose from for entertainment.
Like a Binny vs Blues football match; a Mirza Shield cricket match between Bangalore Cricketers and BUCC; an MEG vs HAL hockey fixture; MTR vs. Vidyarthi Bhavan dosa; City Institute Ramanavami Celebrations vs Seshadripuram Sangeetha Sabha….
Lalbagh vs Cubbon Park; Aa Naa Kru vs Tha Raa Su; G.P. Rajaratnam vs Beechi, but P. Kalinga Rao stood alone with his brand of ‘Yaaru hithavaru ninge ee moovarolage‘ and ‘Baaraiyya Belabingale’.
It is a pity BTS , now BMTC, has changed the numbers of various bus routes in Bangalore unlike in Bombay where bus routes have remained the same for over 50 years. Thus, “165” still goes from Sion to Prabhadevi, “8 Ltd” goes from Chembur to Flora Fountain, and so on.
But route no. 11 is a different story.
Photograph: South Parade or what is now M.G. Road.
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It was nostalgia pure & simple. Great to brush up with the History of Bangalore that was pensioner’s paradise.
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Great recollection. Brought me back many memories. Accurate!
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It is a great read. Takes you back to the beautiful Bangalore thta most of us have not seen and cannot imagine. Wish there were more such reads for us Bangaloreans to read about.
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Wow!! How I wish I can travel back in time and enjoy that ride on Bus No. 11…..fantastic, I almost could picture the travel…all you old generations are lucky to have experienced bangalore like this….I envy it.
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Wow! The article is awesome. As I read this article in my mobile I was travelling in the BMTC, once BTS, and I could clearly make out what the author meant by the journey in bangalore. Though there is a lot of difference in the roads, lifestyle, fashion, etc between bangalore of 50s and that of now, I noticed the spirit of bangaloreans is unchanged. Thank you very much for this article.
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Another notable feature was that it was united India those days. All languages were spoken and tolerated. States separated on lingusitic basis has really divided people and brought down the quality of life.
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this reminds me of a joke in the early days BTS No.11 was going from Gandhi Bazaar to Malleshwaram via JC Raod. One busy morning when the bus was approaching Shivaji talkies, conductor announced “yaarri Shivaji” and a muslim gentleman with a gray beard slowly got up to get down and the commuters heard a small boy muttering “Oho youvru Sjhivajino, nanu ivranna Aurangzeb antidde”!!!
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” Ganesh Lodge” in Seshadripuram used to be the home for fresh engineers joining LRDE, BEL, HAL. The adjoining Kamat Hotel (not there anymore) used to serve good food ( 75 paisa – plate meal). Jawraiaha, an employee of the lodge used to supply us hot water in buckets for our morning baths. Life was simply wonderful.
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Thank u very much 4 bringing back the memories of my good old Bengaluru Though I am fm B’luru it is 38 yrs since I left B’luru ,I still remember the good old days I spent in B’luru of 31 yrs. Iused 2 go 2 G’baazaar by route no 11,But those were the days.I had been 2 B’luru last yr but was stunned 2 see the change in the city. Traffic was the biggest problem & the charm which I had seen & enjoyed was missing Malleshwaram’s 8th cross Rds Krishnappa’s masalavade & bonda were delicious
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Nice 2 read a mention about my dad Master Hirannaiah and his drama lanchavata .Hope we can post similarly like A:Na.Kru and his fight for the language which is the need of the day.
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Landed in Bangalore in 2000 and left the city and country in 2004, last visited Bangalore in 2008.
in 8 yrs it has been complete metamorphosis of the city. In 2000 we used to have Pushpak ferrying us from Koramangala to Wipro Electronics city. Those were the time when Bus used to wait for us near 8th B Main cross in 4th Block. 2 years later when I quit Wipro the pushpaks have been replaced by other Blue line buses and it became more or less Bombay local. You could identify if it was Wipro bus or BTC bus.
Autowalas used to refuse to go to K’mala after 9:00 pm anywhere near National Games village as it used to be totally deserted. In just 2 yrs it became the hot pot or hotch potch of the city’s never ending influx of IT pros.
I still clearly remember that in 2000 I used to wear a rain coat as it used to rain all the time, summer or winter it always rained. And just after 2 years I was think to install Air con in my house.
Those are changes in just 2 yrs. I wouldn’t be surprised to go back in time and find Bangalore a ghost town after dawn.
I took BTC bus only once by chance so have no nostalgic experience of BTC bus journey.
A beautiful city spoiled by the rich.
And yes I saw a Cobra in IISc compound when I visited it last time ;)
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Thoroughly enjoyed the article! Loved it. However, Rt. No. 11, or any other Rt. No. for that matter, never entered Town Hall. They all went PAST it, with a bus stop called out as “townaall yaarree?”
Change is in the nature of things, places being no exceptions. The only thing i miss about my Bangalore now is civility. People were very civil during my younger days.
Now civility is rare and it has become one big mad rush to get to places. Except you CAN’T rush… traffic!
If I would strive to bring back one thing from the ‘good old days’ of Bangalore, it would be that lost civility!
Again, lovely write up.
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I have been living in Bangalore from the past 47 years and Bangalore has changed drastically. As far as I remember, in the first place, there were no traffic signals, except for some main junctions like Mysore Bank circle, MG Road junction, Anand Rao Circle, City Market circle.Today, you find signals almost every nook and corner. Till recently, there were no dividers, one-ways, etc.Since the roads were tree-lined avenues, one never used to get drenched in the rain. Now one has hardly any shelter to cover his head from rain. The buses were so empty and one was assured of a seat. I remember to have practiced my shorthand outlines in the double decker bus, which was not rickety, from Majestic to JC Road during the morning hours to save time.
True, there are so many facilities built up but most of them not reachable by the poor and the facilities have added to human woes. Everybody is in a mad rush to reach their destinations. The roads are so choked with traffic that one gets sick at the end of the day. By reducing the traffic, Bangalore can be cleaned up of the noise and air pollution. The metro rail should have been planned 10-12 years ago. The autowallas should be taught a lesson. The big industries and MNCs should also come to a halt. The influx of new companies will only add to more traffic. Brigade and MG Road were a paradise to walk on the footpaths. Today, you can hardly push yourself on the footpath.
I wish I could bring back the old days of Bangalore.
***
The write up has moved me with lot of emotions. I feel sad that Bangalore has changed so much. It is a good reminder to keep up the city’s glory.
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I am from basavanagudi and studied during 1960 – 1979.The teachers those days were experts ready to help at any time.Sri.S.KeshavaRao maths teacher from his small rented house those days must have produced countless professionals .Neighbours were very helpful to each other .Engg. books,medical books ,notes ,T square, drawing board, geometry box, dissection box, slide rule used to be passed on from seniors to juniors.There were no photocopying machines other than cyclostyling machines. Reddy , the old and used book seller on his suvega was famous.Kaka opposite to national school was famous for his karapuri. Mesanakai Bajji, alugedde bonda from Gopalakrishna next to rayara mata near govindappa road was mouthwatering .Oh what a life it was!
No 11 Leyland bus front half was for driver, and the other half had an arc opening cut on its body. For a child the fare from gandhi bazar to vishveshpuram was 3 paise .
We are blessed, now that we have net .
Nice article by Sri.E.R Ramachandran and enjoyable.
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Those were the days. You really felt that you were part of this city, alas not anymore! I have travelled by 11 route to see my future wife and we ate dose at NMH which still exists.
It is a very clear and accurate description of Bangalore and it brings back memories. Just to add a couple of things, Vijayalaxmi Talkies in Balepet was a must to see English pictures and a visit to Koshis in Brigade road to impress your friends!
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I love this ! Pure nostalgia !
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Want to go back to those old beautiful bangalore again.. :)
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time changes things but the worst part is that there is no coordination between authorities to bring a pleasant change, they change without thinking the route numbers i miss is 6 which is used to be between shivajinagar and jayangar the next was 7 between jayanagar and domlur the route used to be pleasant the pathetic situation now is due to unabated development with out application of mind
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real pure unadulterated nostagia-
pls write more!!!
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Absolutely true! I remember riding my bicycle in the early hours of the morning through Malleshwaram on my way to work, a pleasant and pleasurable ride. Now living in the UK “Those were the days”!
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Great article-takes me back some 60 years. Route 11.. how many times I have travelled from end to end. The fare used to be as low as 4 annas or 25Paisa. All those resturants, movie theaters, great buildings, colleges and all thise beauties of Basavanagudi and Malleswarm going to Maharani’s College.. what a great time, I had. Even now, when I visit Bangalore, I perambulate the streets of Malleawaram and Basavangidi and eat in MTR,CTR and Vidyarthi Bhavan. Thanks for those memories.
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Thank you for the memories. This was our bus route to National High School and National College from Malleswaram (1972-77). We were friends with most of the drivers. Later they changes the route number. Later route 1 became the longest route (Yeshwanthpur to Jayanagar 4th block).
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E..R..ramachandrans bus ride in route number 11 is truly a remarkable effort .It was indeed a teary eyed reading for Bangaloreans who were raised in the garden city in the late fifties and early sixties.I wonder how Mr Ramachandran overlooked to describe the tension that prevailed not only in the Central College cricket stadium but the whole of Bangalore city when Mysore took on Madras in the Ranji Trophy match .Mr Ramachandran would have done well to write of the large crowd that would assemble at eight in the evening outside Geetha Cafe on Wednesdays to listen to the Binaca Geetha Mala for an hour in pin drop silence.This was an era when many homes did not own a Radio let alone a Transistor Radio
A superb job .look forward for more teary eyed readung
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Very nicely written. But just one small correction. Minerva in those days screened mainly Telugu movies and not Tamil.
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I was born and bred in Basavanagudi. When I went to the Tata Institute in 1960 I used to take this bus every day for a full year. The next year I bought a motorcycle and did the same trip, much faster for another year. Your article brought back very fond memories of those days. I and my friends used to play Basketball and every evening after our practice we used to go to Vidyarthi Bhavan, Most of us did not have much money and of course, 3 by 5 dosa and coffee were all we could afford. It was great. Since we were regulars, even if there were no tables free we were allowed to sit in the back where they used to wash the dishes. It was dirty but fantastic. I have lived abroad since 1962 and have been able to visit Bangalore once every 2 to 3 years. Every time I make it a point to go to Vidhyarti Bhavan and the MTR. Thank you.for a lovely article.
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After reading this article, I was taken back to my youthful days and the unforgettable Bus Journey in Route No 11. I want to add this saying during those days, to your nice article: ELEVEN IS HEAVEN BETWEEN NINE AND ELEVEN IN THE MORNINGS, referring to the sari clad Maharanis College Students.
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i have heard about this wonderful city from my parents & grandparents… thanks … i really could imagine the city then in 50s n 60s … My grandpa used to walk upto AGs office… wish it was the same still…
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I am reading every line of the article every comment very carefully not to miss even a bit of it..
My Dad lived in a house opposite to Vasavi girls high school… I am sure he would hve enjoyed all of this…
He also studied in National High school…
I will talk to him today evening..
My first step on earth was in Bangalore in 1984.
I have not seen the real beauty you guys are describing, but I have still seen the best of it. It used to be much cooler those days, there used to be a Loooooooooot of trees those days, neighbors used to be much friendly those days, Friends used to be actual Friends those days…
I traveled out of India 5 months back. But will return soon..
There should be some1 who take a bold step to bring back the beauty of Bangalore and I can be 1 of them.
We should plant 1 tree per home in Bangalore and everybody should be responsible to maintain those trees till they grow enough to bring back the beauty of Bangalore.
Only then we can give a beautiful livelihood for our next generations
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A wonderful article. I have taken the No 11 bus innumerable times from Gandhi Bazar. The bus stop in Gandhi Bazar was moved a few years later towards Ramakrishnashram. One memory is of taking the first (6:30 am) bus to central college grounds to queue in a long line to see either West Indies or Australia play the south zone. The student gallery was chanting “hittu bhakara maaru bhakara ho ho ho” to encourage the south zone. When things didn’t go our way we shouted that the umpire had been bribed with peanuts. When the game was heading to a draw we chanted for the wicket keeper Jarman to bowl, and the captain Richie Benaud obliged. A S Krishnaswamy’s six against the West Indies was another highlight.
I also recall a bus conductor who gave elaborate Kannada descriptions of bus-stops in theatrical style. I understand that he went onto become the famous Rajnikanth of Tamil films.
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would love to rewind …its a different b’lore now.
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Nice to read & recollect our fond memories.Those days lecturers at National college used to allow late comers, if they say they came by Route 11. It used to take more than an hour to reach the destination. As I know actor Rajanikanth was a conductor in route no. 11 & used to talk only in Kannada, now he is a super star in Tamil movies.
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Qudos Sri Ramachandran…like to add with permission
Route no. 11 takes a right turn at Central Talkies – to main arterial road of Malleswaram, Venkataranga Iyengar Road named after the architect of Malleswaram (sampige road) stop at Raja Mill (Mantri Mall) at Mill Corner KT Bhashyam and Sirur Park where the Mill Workers used to rest during their lunch time still the siren of the Mill Echos in our ears. the famous NKB (New Krishna Bhavan a subsidiary of Malabar hotel Avenue Road)as we remember that was the first Self Service Hotel meant for Mill Workers, idlis, vadas & Dosas we used pick from self service counters and on the Table there used to be Bucket/s of Chutney and Sambar we used to feast on Chutneys’ and sambars’ on a plate of idli rather than the main paid refreshments 3rd cross we used to board the bus to go to school at 15th cross paying 3 ps. Halli Tuppada Dose, Cabbage Vade and Coffee at Planters’ Coffee Home at 3rd Cross (now Hallimane) next stop at 5th cross (Malleswaram Circle- later Dr. T Parthasarathy circle) huge circle with a light pole in the middle and proceed to 8th cross the commercial street of Malleswaram parallel road is CTR and Masal Dose and Vade @ Ganesha Hotel (now Janatha Hotel) Ganesha Temple, Kannikaparameswari Temple and Raghavendra Mutt then to 11th Cross and 15th Cross the Kadu Malleswara Temple . and to 18th cross our good old Malleswaram High School grounds and many State and National Cricket players emerged AV Jagannath, K Subramani .,to name a few.. We could never see the sunlight falling on the road as there were lots of dense Sampige and Margosa Trees on both sides. The Route No. 11 indeed a journey to the past….hope BMTC revive..
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I’m one of the lucky souls who grew up in Basavanagudi during the late 80’s. I might not be able to relate to the 60’s but I’ve always heard wonderful things about my lovely home from my father and his father.
I’ve had the unfortunate fate of witnessing Bangalore’s metamorphosis from a quaint, easy paced and beautiful city to a loud, noisy, messy and downright dirty metropolis.
I’d love to have my home back to the way it was when I was growing up so that I can tell my children all the wonderful things that my father told me.
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Love the way the writer has described the associations with each stop on Route 11. Having grown up in the Bangalore of those times, I can just so relate to each and every observation :) How about the other famous route for Basavangudi ites.. Route no.16 to Shivajinagar, Mr. Ramachandran?
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Nostalgic. The 11 bus stop was bang opposite the home I grew up. This article brought back the pleasant memories of not just the famous cricket players mentioned, but the several street boys who played in our home front yard, and the occasional six (fortunately with a tennis ball) just grazing the double-decker bus carrying the tag No. 11, and the friendly bus-conductor gently twisting our ears for our shot selection.
Mr. Ramachandran thank you for this heart-warming article. You brought back memories hidden in the deepest corner of my heart, though now located 10,000 miles away in Chino Hills California, still cherishes the wonderful time with Route 11. Next time you mention the article, you may add that Route 11 also carried a young dream-filled boy all through the engineering college at UVCE from 1971 to 1976.
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When was bus service from Kalasipalya to Malleshwaram started
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Me mom who is 80 years says she traveld by bus to Malleshwaram ?
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Loved the article would be xciting to relive the route 11personally with my family,although I have not been thro most of them but the names ring a bell,coz my parents /uncles/mama’s often discussed these routes for crisp navigation and indeed did argue and disagree with the routes,but still landed up in rt destinations as those days “one way”was unheard of…truly miss b’lore and the lovely winters!!!
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i relived my childhood and youth for a few minutes. wonderful presentation of nostalgic memories.
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While the article makes an interesting read, I wish Mr. Ramachandra enlightened readers about the ” Cantonment” area of Bangalore of that era.
It was an equally vibrant area and a show piece of the city’s famous cosmopolitan culture. English movies used to be shown mainly at the erstwhile Rex, Opera, Plaza, Liberty, New Empire, Imperial and BRV Cinema theatres. BRV used to be earlier a ball room dance hall during the days of the Raj.
The city’s first traffic light came up at the intersection of today’s MG Road and Brigade Road sometime in the mid 1960’s. It was equally fun to take a bus ride from Bangalore’s Shivaji Nagar Bus stand on Route’s 14 or 27 to explore the Cantonment suburbs of Cox Town, Cooke Town, or Fraser Town. Since the area had a strong Tamil population, houses were built on the ” Mudaliar” style of architecture. The city’s other well known girls college, “Jyothi Niwas” started initially at the St Francis Xavier School, before it shifted to its present location in Koramangala. So did St. Johns Medical college ( presently located at Koramangala ) that started in the Da Costa Square Area of Cooke town in 1967.
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Even to us Bangalore-ans born in 80s, the ‘City’ and ‘Cantonment’ is relevant. And, yes! Mum, Sis and I still shop in the petes (we live on Diagonal road alia Kavi Lakshmisha Road, ANaKru Road). I have had legendary arguments with colleagues pointing out Cox Town, Richmond Town is Cant. and therefore not ‘Bangalore’!
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wonderful.. wow wonderful!.. I have always regretted not being born earlier (not that i can do anything about it)… Bangalore and Mysore are two of the most beautiful cities (well blore not anymore) in the world.. i still love CTR, MTR, Mayyas, cubbon park, lalbagh… and hate everything that has come up new in this city.. especially the malls
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I started living in my bangalore since i was 16 and now i am 67 – i have lived most of my life in jayanagar 2nd block (RV college area) but lived in places like rajajinagar, hanumanthanagar, thyagarajnagar n basavanagudi – but now settled in ISRO layout – i used to walk fm RV college to minerva circle to catch this beautiful route No.11, get down @ Maharani’s n walk upto LRDE (now shifted) – i had the chance of walking in the heavy mist with low visibility – during April – nobody will believe i know – its not exaggeration – that was my Bangalore – im proud to be a Bangalorean!!! it is sad that in the name of “development” bangalore has lost its beauty – the article made me walk into my memory lane again (memory is bad now) – thank u Mr.Ramachandran – u made me very happy – God Bless u!!
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Dear Blog Readers
I have heard about MOTOR MANJAPPA a brahmin who had started ever first motor service from thirthahalli to shimoga and hubli and mangalore. I heard about him when i recently halt for a brief period in Thirthahalli. Readers who are remembering this gentlemen with his establishment of MOTOR service, bus transport ranging fleet of 80 nos to that date (around 1935 to 1955) can help me with some more details. It is learnt that first world war army steam buses were purchased by him (also called Charcoal buses), any sketch or photos of erstwhile MOTOR MANJAPPA can be contributed through this site. they can also mail me at baboomsn@gmail.com
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ROUTE NO 11 and ROUTE NO 1
Nostalgic memories of ROUTE NO 11 and ROUTE NO 1 still hangs in my mind and i keep telling my children about these routes. It was fascinating to get into these bus routes which were one of the longest routes during 1970 to 1982. While Route No 11 from Gandhi Bazaar to Malleswaram 18th Cross passing through importance junctions of the city, the route no 1 from Yeshwantpur to
JAYANAGAR 4th block was one more interesting route. The drivers of these routes were so quick and swift in covering the distance, irrespective of packed bus, strolling towards left and right, sudden break, twisting and twirling turns, round and round circling at Hudson Circle, National circle, Sanjay Talkies Circle, Malleswaram Circle, Yeshwantpur circle. I remember one driver Kalinga Raju in route no 1 as well as Basavaraj in route no 11 were so quick and swift in covering the distances on time. you can clock their appearance at stop and set your watch, such was their dedication to service. B T S (sometime it was called Beppa Thakkadi Service) and its color combination red and silver was so good to look. One of the officer who had assumed as Divisional Manager had even made all the route buses plying without standing and increased the frequency of the bus services, so that everyone gets seats in the bus. Only available seat which are vacated at each stop, the conductor was suppose to pick up passengers and made them comfortable. If i am right, the officer name must be carved out in silver for his administrative skills and comforts of the passengers he had for passenger. The driver and conductors were so smiley and cooperative with passengers and even they remember by name the regular passengers. I also remember one driver by name ARUMUGUAM (route no 61 Kempegowda bus station to Hosahalli (now vijayanagar) who is to bend his head downwards whenever he used pass through OKALIPURAM under bridge and Railway Platform underbridge, and were laughing at this sight of his act, without missing. The bus stops that were on tank bund were so eye feasting and the line up to get into the bus, the conductor service at the bus stop, the peak hour bus service availability, what else. …..
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it is really nostaligic to rewind my memories about garden city as I would love to rewind about rajajinagar where I am staying presently right from my birth. I cannot forget that tank which the present dhina thanthi office is located and the canara coffee club, the oldest landmark in bhasyam circle rajajinagar, where you would get a lovely breakfast, of idli and vada for Rs. 1/- and that taste cannot be replaced by any one even today. There may be many Anandha Bhavans, but none can replace that old twangy taste of idli vada prepared at Canara Coffee club. There was another place near sahakari well known for bhel puri, sharma’s bhel puri. STILL TODAY IT IS HAVING A HEAVENLY TASTE.
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Gandhi Bazaar had very good hotels such as circle lunch home,Modern lunch home,Geetha restaurent,and of course Mahalakshmi tiffin room which is still there on DVG Road apart from people selling stuff in push carts alround National college grounds.
Citi cricketers practice sessions at National college grounds drew huge crowds those days.
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Really took me back to my school days in 1950’s – Govt Primaray School near Minerva circle (Now NMH hotel is there) and also College days of National College 1957-58 (one yr PUC) introduced. And Mavalli Tiffin Room was in the place near Masjid of Minerva Circle. I could travel with 25p from Sajjan Rao Circle to Mysore Bank circle.
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It was a fascinating journey on Route No 11, which I travelled nearly 40-45 years back. Thanks for taking me down memory lane when Bengaluru was heaven where we walked to school eating congress kadalekai and without fear of being hit by a speeding two-wheeler or car.
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read the article on 11.12.2012, while searching for bus routes in Bangalore out of curiosity.
I remember the days when I used to travel from Nehru Circle in sheshadripuram to Gandhi bazar to go to BMS College of engineering from where I got my engg. degree.
Compared to . travelling by BUS during 1950’s, today’s commuting is a night mare.
Good old days will never return.
Let us not forget about those days in Cubbon Park, Lalbagh, Roaming in MG Road, seeing films in Prabhat Talkies, Rex. Plaza & having coffein Coffe House in MG Road.
Oh !! I forgot about Vijayalakshmi Talkies in Chikkapet. which used to have dicount cards for students.
Those were the days.
Nanjundeswara
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I always thought the Route 11 originated from 18th Cross Malleswaram.Route 5 originated from Tata Institute.Technicalities aside a good nostalgic piece of Bangalore.Yes there was this route 11 A which avoided the Majestic Area and went via Vidhana Soudha which was our preferred route.We (mostly the kudumis of Malleswaram going to National College PUC) in 1962-63 prefferred this route as it would take us from 18th Cross to National College in less than 30 minutes! Well return journey was a different story any bus going to Majestic side would be good enough!Well Route 11 like many other things mentioned in the article is just a sweet memory!
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all of Bangalore is a sweet memory :) I don’t recognize this stranger any more!
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Sir/Madam, Thank you SOOOOOOOOOOOO much I am very happy to this history of bangalore, by reading this I went to go past 50 years back in bangalore.
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Thank U So Much. It reminds me every thing mentioned. I Also traveled in this route from Minerva Circle to Majestic/Malleswaram plenty of times. Article is really cherishable. It is really a popular rote
Along with this one more route was Route No 4 which used to go to sanitarium / Mental hospital. People used to mention / address to people as route no 4 jocularly to friends
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This is an outstanding article Sir!!! Please publish more to give a flavour lost now.
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All said and done Bengaluru is Bengaluru. No city in the world can be compared with it. Whether it is climate, people(original kannadigas, to be precisely), food (of any type is available here), culture, hospitality (adjustability, accommodative, friendly, obliging, etc., etc.), you name it, Bengaluru rank on top. Namma Bengaluru caught virus on the advent of Public Sector Industries (HMT, ITI, BEL..) and the disease got aggravated in the nineties due to IT sector. Due to high influx of people from all parts of India, the city started developing at a jet speed, resulting in senseless and haphazard growth. From the 60’s to 80’s, the vision-less, lusty politicians, headless administrators, greedy contractors have turned this Garden City into Garbage City. What a transformation in two decades! (Fertile land turned into sites, fresh water lakes/tanks turned into busstands, No footpaths, heavy traffic, Sparrows vanished, list endless) Having seen and enjoyed the best of Bengaluru, it burns our heart to see the present state of Bengaluru.
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Could not agree with you more on everything you say
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There may not be many who would remember this. I lived in the Cantonment , Fraser Town to be exact. I was a young lad in the early 1940’s the WW2 was raging in the West the German and their allies, in the East Japan had occupied Singapore Burma and parts of Assam. The bus route No.22 plied from Mahadavia Mudaliar Road down to Mosque Road, Coles Road, Sauinders Road Seppings Road and into the Russel Market. The Bus Station was directly opposite Russel Market. My mother used to take me with her to the market to do her monthly shopping, we used the bus. The busses those days were petrol driven, the busses were open windows(no glass) the windows were barred with canvas blinds that were rolled down when it rained the seats were wooden benches. Later as petrol became rationed because of the war, gas was used to fuel the busses, at the rear of the bus a great cylinder that generated the gas. It’s amazing how things have changed since.
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Great recollections.I was a young boy when the Route No.11 was plying. I remember this route since I used to accompany my mother to her Grand father’s house located at 13th cross,Malleshwaram,once in a year to relish the crispy uddina vade and gasagase paiasa that was prepared for the annual ‘THITHI,of my mother’s grandmother.The article by E.R.Ramachandran,brings great memories which I cherished when I was a boy.Thank you Mr.Ramachandran.
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simply Great….but I would like to add in 1932 my grandfather, sri Veeraswamy Naidu started Naidu Miltary Hotel at Balepete which was famous for N V Food(non veg) food,Proud to be a Bangalorean !
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Very nice article Mr Ramachandra. Nice and wonderful memories indeed. While we were in Mallaeswaram,during early to mid 70’s v hv taken innumerable journies in route 11. I remember it used to be grey colour road train at that time, My father’s work place that time in JC Road. He used to take 11B which used to start fm 8th cross Malleswaram and ends up in Minderva Circle. if I remember right.11B used to be red colour single coach.
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Correction – “Atthara Katcheri” means 18 Courts and not 18 offices.
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My dad K Paramesan was the manager of Minerva in those days. He had this vision of showing Bengali movies at Minerva, once a month on a Sunday morning. There were hardly any Bengalis in Bangalore those days, so he used to send individual printed notice to the Bengali crowd at Jalahalli Air Force. The Air Force crowd used to come for the show in a Air Force bus. In my teen years i got to see plenty of good Bengali movies, even in spite of not understanding a word of Bengali! Vijayalakshmi cinema was giving student concession. After showing my National College monthly fee receipt (i think it was Rs11 for Intermediate and Rs18pm for BSc), i got a photo id valid for one year. I got to see English movies for 50p in the Re 1 class. Saw plenty of good movies there and also at Bharat in JC road. I remember i used to eat idli or vada at one anna each for many years. I have no recollection of paying anything less than that, possibly idli/vada were inflation proofed. But on 1 April 1957, when the decimal coinage was introduced, the rate was rounded up to 10 naye paise (NP) each from the earlier 1 anna ie 6NP. Even at that tender age, i realised it was a sharp increase. In mid 1960s, route 11 used to start from near the triangular traffic island at the Bull Temple Road end of Gandhi Bazaar. My Malleswaram classmates of BMS College used to rush to occupy the longitudinal seats to the left od the driver. This was the prime location to get an unobstructed front view of the colorful crowd getting in at Maharani’s College. Those seats were prized. Many happy memories
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“Route No. 11” !!
Hi ERR, To begin with, please tell me whether you are an elder brother of my classmate & close friend E.R. Chandrashekar – who stayed with his mother, brothers & a sister in a house on west-side of Uttaradi Mutt in Shankarpuram? ( I remember he was the son of Erode Rmaswamy)
Reading your ‘post’ has re-kindled my memories of the good old days I stayed,with my parents in Shankarpuram (behind Mahila Seva Samaja) during 1938 to 1947, while studying at Mahila Seva Samaja, Bangalore High School & Vijaya College and then moving to Seshadripuram with them (very near Swastik Talkies) while studying in Central College (I commuted to & fro on bicycle) and then in 1951 stayed in my parents’ house near Mill Corner (Malleshwaram).
In the late ’30s & early ’40s, there were only tow bus services – Garuddachar Bus Service and S.L.N Bus Service. I think it was Garudachar Bus SErvice which got taken-over or bought or stopped to make-over for BTS.
It is while staying in Malleshwaram that on several days I used to commute to & from Gandhi Bazaar on Route No. 11 (I was studying at B.M.S. College of Engineering. The start of Route No. 11,was shifted some time in 1952 (right?) to opposite Geetha Restaurant on the western stretch of Gandhi Bazaar.
I have practically no ‘value-addition’ to what you have so beautifully ‘word-picture-painted’ about the route BTS No..11 took!!! Nor do I have any disagreements on them!!!
I’ll chew-the-cud-of-my-own-photographic-memories-in-the-mind of those days/years – 1938 to 1970 in Bangalore (Bengaluru).
(I moved out of Bangalore (Bengaluru) in 1970)
ERR, I’ve enjoyed reading your ‘post’ and several of the comments too. Keep ‘posting’!
Best Wishes.
S.N.RAJ
(Goa)
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Mr Ramachandran.
Heartfelt thank you for taking me down memory lane. I grew up in basavangudi, went to National College but sadly did not use bus service as i used to cycle everywhere. But the movie theatres and the eateries evoke fond memories. Thank you again for recapturing the glorious slow paced times of 60s and 70s. It has been more than 3 decades since i left india but i come back every year for my annual hug feast and gorging on kasa. kasa in our household is junk food aka street food. God Bless you.
Padma Dilipkumar Hongkong
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It really brought back my old memories :)
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I agree with views expressed by so many that the article struck pleasant nostalgic memories of Bangalore. Rajaji Nagar 3rd block was a new entrant in the early 60s to the landscape of the city.
As a collegian in mid 60s having a bicycle to peddle to college was a status symbol. The truth was to avoid the ‘crowded’ BTS. The huge upward gradiant after Minerva Mills saw many a horse drawn cart tumbling backwards being unable to negotiate the ‘up’.
Narrow roads leading to Vijayalaxmi talkies was another reason why bicycle was preferred. Incentive was, like bus passes to commuters, Vijayalaxmi talkies issued passes for discounts on tickets issued for movies screened there.
After retirement I am trying to see old Bangalore charm in Mysore
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Thanks for the lovely article.Did not want it to end.Been more than forty years in this city .Did not travel by bus as I was a boarder and week end outings was spent in and around Brigades and South Parade.Cant image a time when a ten year old could be on an outing all by himself free to go anywhere and the school was sure that the children would come back safely. Time and progress cannot be stopped . Only request to all Bangalore residents to read the article and comments of old resident and feel the culture and pulse of the city. We welcome everybody to make the best of what we have,Feel like a Bangalorean and respect the sentiments culture , practices of this city. Do not try and change this city to make it another city .
While in Bangalore do as Bangaloreans do.Dont compare , dont criticise, dont judge and dont comment. You are here because we have something to offer and you have something to gain
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truely nostalgic!!! so well written that the descriptions of everything mentioned went past my eyes1
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We used to live just opp. the route No.11 starting point near Ramakrishna Ashram Circle during 70’s.
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So well written… takes way back in time..#respect
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Getting close to eighty and living 10,000 miles away, am I dreaming? The best part of my childhood and youth enjoyed all the things mentioned in the article and I felt alive once again. In my few visits I was sorry to see the concrete all over and all the essential signs I grew up were gone. Vanished from the face of earth. All India coffee Board restaurants vanished too. What a lose? Bangalore why did you allow this to happen?
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Very well written. Though I came into city just two years back, but to know about the legacy which the city enjoys makes you mesmerize.
Kudos !!.
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@Narasimharaj:
Many Thanks for your nice words!
You are right. I am shekar’s brother.Plse give me yr contact email ID / phone no.. He wants to get in touch with you. Cheers,
ERR
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Nostalgic memories rushed through my when I read this.Being a student of UCE from 1960 to 1966 I used to cycle twice a day from Gavipurm to K.R.Circle- a good 20 Kms and we used to go 4 side by side,such was the traffic density!Later on , from 1966 to1968 I used to walk from Gavipurm to Minerva Circle at 6.00 A.M to catch a bus to NGEF in old Madras road.When I bought a scooter in 1968,I distinctly recollect the mrning chill when I passed Cubbon Park on the way.That chill no longer exists.You forgot to mention Badam Halwa and Khara seve of Gundappana Hotel or the Coffee House in MG Road.A good read!
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Thank you for reminding good old days ,to exclaim was Bangalore like this?during 60-70s. I lived in the same area from 1963 to 1987 and passed GandhiBazaar and route11 busstop atleast twice a day,as I studied in APS,NationalCollege, and then BMSCollege of Engg.Our evening walk/meet point with KATTE friends was GandhiBazaar circleand we have relished VidyarthiBhavan dosa at 50paisa ! We used to catch route no 11 to reach Majestic which was the Cinema hub at that time also.Speciality of route no11 was that it was the only route to have doubledecker buses at that time and we used to enjoy travelling only at the top.We used to go to Malleswaram 8th cross by the same bos ride which was really enjoyable at that time as we used to reach within 40minutes!But now Bangalore is now Bengaluru and no one expected the city would develop like this beyond all the boundaries.
Those were the days when I used to reach Mahadevapura fromHNagarwithin 40min!It is all in dreams now!
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Bharat was screening only Rajukumar movies, Minerva,telugu and Shivaji only tamil. No mention made of Gundappa hotel chow-chow,badami milk,damrote which used to be over by 2 pm.
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What a nostalgic rewinding of my thoughts while reading this travel in route no 11.
I studied in Mahila Seva Samaja, Bangalore high school, National college and BMS college of engineering.
Gandhi bazaar in Basavanagudi was my backyard so to say.. Vidhayarthi Bhavan for 3/4 or 4/5 masala dosa was a regular feature during the morning walk from BMS college via route no 11 bus stop.
Apart from walking cycling in these and surrounding areas was great fun
Every saturday evening was a stroll in south parade for a visit to Parade cafe, koshys or India coffee house after seeing a movie in Liberty (P. Jayaram), BRV., Rex and Imperial.
Lovely Bangalore it was in the sixties.
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Those were the good old days. it’s good that there are some who remember, keep it up, it like re winding the clock
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Oh!nice memories of my days in 1950s.just two Annas bus charge from Minerva to majestic.But cdn’t wait an hour to wait instead walked alone either to majestic,collage or to vidhanasoudha which was being built those days.M.T. R tiffin so near& dear to us.doing combined studies in lalbaagh.no politicians hungaama like now,cost of living was o.k.Hardly about ten cinema theatres were there.v used to return home from majestic by walk after viewing the second show.No fear whatsoever.v got lot of educational benefits for students from state¢ral govt too.there was no airport those days.during 1964 a small airport was built.Imagine air ticket to London was guess? It was only Rs. 3,000 only.No telephone facility xpt few ppl had it.No scooters or motor bikes or cars xpt v saw one here& there.But the toilet facility was awkward.There used to b separate lines for the scavengers to literally carry the baskets filled with faces.That was really pathetic.
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Hi I used to travel in bus no.11 from Margosa road Malleswaram to UVCE between 1980 to 1984 with my class mate Sarvotham. I would call it rash driving but the experience was good.
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Fantastic Sir!! Really enjoyed it…I used to visit Bangalore once in a year to meet my grand parents..in early 80’s though I was a kid…I still remember BTS tickets used to have lottery systems and winner of each day used to get some 10 or 20 rs…i guess it was to promote every one to buy tickets..
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Superb Eleven 11 route and very nostalgic. Route 11 has really captured the hearts of bangaloreans and its memories are afresh.
Can anybody post some picture of this route no 11 if they have in this photo files. Also, some information on first route bus in Bangalore as well as in Karnataka.
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He has written v well .wat words he has used.fantastic E R Ramachandran.v nostalgic.though I was not born in 1950 n 1960.still it’s nice to read how my blore was once upon a time.
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I read this on Deepavali Day today, Oct 29, 2016 and it was a better treat than the Deepavali sweets and the sumptuous lunch I had this afternoon. This was forwarded to me by someone else.
Hat’s off for a brilliant, factual and most entertaining and humorous write-up.
I can relate to almost everything you said.
I have travelled on this route during the late sixties and early seventies and probably been issued a ticket by Superstar Rajnikant! I am not sure but if he operated on this route, and if I had anticipated his future super star status, I would have preserved that ticket!
G Vishwanath
Age : 67
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I lived in Bangalore from 1960 to 1990-First 12 years in Palace guttahalli and the remaining 18 years in Loyola layout on Victoria road.Bangalore was quite cold in the sixties . In the Russel market beef stall cow carcasses used to hang down from overhead iron hooks for days together and meat never lost freshness .It was like a refrigerated city. By seventies and eighties city became quite warm due to cutting down of trees and erection of multi storied buildings. During this period land prices in Bangalore sky rocketed. Since I had my scooter and car I did not have the opportunity of travelling by BTS bus frequently and missed enjoying the scenic spots in Bangalore . People in Bangalore are extremely tolerant and that explains why so many industries came to Bangalore. During my 30 years stay in Bangalore -3 years in LRDE and 26 years in BEL , I was not able to learn Kannada ,but still I did not experience any major problem .I could manage with my English , Malayalam and smattering of Tamil. Towards the end of my stay in Bangalore ,most roads became one way and driving became very difficult. I now feel I left Bangalore at the right time
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i rememeber going in Bus 11A . when i studied in BMS college of engg. those werre the days when you got down from a moving bus at a turning and never got underneath another vehicle…. because vehicles coming behind knew students will jump from the bus at specific corners…. now you do it only for a suicide
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I enjoyed the. Elaborate history of route 11. I am ssure the starting place for the bus was not Vidyarthi Bhavan. It was somewhere near the present National Coop Bank HQ building.
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