Tickling the funny bone - The Indian Cartoon Gallery

Did you know Bangalore had a lighter side to it ? We - my daughter Dhrithi and I, set out to discover this side of Bangalore today. And it was right in the heart of the city !

The place I am referring to is the "Indian Cartoon Gallery". And we couldn't have timed it better - because the place is currently holding an exhibition of the works of Paul Fernandes titled "Bangalore : Swinging in the 70s" - exhibiting 65 watercolour works of art until the 8th of April.

Paul Fernandes is Bangalore's own Mario Miranda. Enough said.

He has illustrated a number of books including Peter Colaco’s "Bangalore" and "On A High Note" (the blurb reads 'A Slightly Inebriated Introduction to Western Classical Music') as well as his own "Shine Board Arts" - an authentic collection of signs of the times in India. You may have also seen his work in the famous poster depicting the chaos of MG Road and the other one featuring the Ambassador Car.

Now, back to the Indian Cartoon Gallery : This is located in the basement of Midford House, in the area called Midford Garden (the road beside Big Kids Kemp, opp. Vijaya Bank HO), off MG Road and a couple of minutes walk from the Trinity end of M G Road. Four wheeler parking may be a problem on this road and it is advisable to park in one of the parallel roads and walk down to Midford House.

A first-of-its-kind initiative of the Indian Institute of Cartoonists (IIC), the gallery has been promoted with the sole aim of promoting and encouraging the art of cartooning. The Bangalore Gallery is the first of several planned across the country and is open to all.

With an overall area of 2000 sq ft, the gallery exhibition hall is quite roomy and well lit.

The policeman of the 1970's with his khaki shorts and tall hat caught our eye as soon as we entered the hall. All around the room were watercolours depicting famous landmarks of Central Bangalore and Cantonment areas in the 70's. Here are some of the works from a nostalgic perspective :

1. The Pensioner Paradise : Colonial Bungalows with huge garden space are a rarity now.

2. Places that have since disappeared

 And some I am including for Family Members and Friends to enjoy :

 Followed by a sketch on the current state of Bengaluru...

I look forward to visiting the Gallery again after April 8th to see what it is that they have on display when there is no special feature on. At that point in time, I also intend to visit the library attached to the gallery. But I had to break the news on this particular exhibition, so that all interested can catch it before April 8th. The timings are 10 am to 6 pm.

If you miss the exhibition, Paul's work can be seen in his own gallery called Apaulogy, located at 15, Clarke Road (Opp. Au Bon Pain), Richards Park Entrance, Richards Town. I intend to visit and write about the gallery soon - and hope to meet the man himself. And the above paintings form part of a book which has been released recently, titled, unsurprisingly : 'Bangalore - Swinging in the 70s'.

So like me, if you want to see the lighter side of Bangalore, visit the unique Indian Cartoon Gallery. And have a hearty laugh.

The North Western Frontier - Kempegowda Tower

The story of the four Kempegowda Towers that defined the boundaries of Bangalore has always fascinated me. The city having outgrown the boundaries defined then, I realize I now live beyond the North Western Tower that the visionary founder of the city placed in what is today called Sadashivnagar. 

Being the most accessible of the four towers (to me), I visited the park in which the tower is located, one evening last week. To get there, you have to go past Cauvery Theater on Bellary Road and head towards Mekhri Circle. Don't take the underpass but the road on the left which is beside the underpass. You will come across the Sri Ramana Maharshi Shrine & Meditation Hall and beside this building is the park where the NW Kempegowda Tower is located.

The main entrance to the Kempegowda Tower Park is on 11th main, which is a left turn from Bellary Road after the Sri Ramana Maharshi Shrine entrance. There is ample space available on this road for parking.

Alternately, you can use the entrance right next to the Ramana Maharshi shrine, especially if you have parked your vehicle in one of the earlier roads and are walking down Bellary Road.

It is quite a well-maintained park, with lots of trees and flowering shrubs. There is a stone plaque mentioning that the first sapling in the initiative to plant 1 lakh saplings in Bangalore was planted here by the then Chief Minister - Sr. S M Krishna, in 2002. The tower is deep-set inside the park, and although at an elevation - but is still not easily visible from the road.

 

The Tower itself has undecorated stone pillars but the gopura has sculpted images of gods and goddesses. Some of these images are broken and have head and torso missing. Fortunately, there is no sign of graffiti marring the tower.

On initial inspection, it seemed that the theme of the sculptures was Lord Shiva and family; but on perambulating to the other side, I spotted what was unmistakably a Krishna on the West side.

The park attracts a lot of birds. I distinctly saw a couple of koels and heard a few other birds. Another visit in the early morning hours is called for. I also noticed the customary fitness enthusiasts, but the park wasn't crowded at any point in time when I was there.

And then, in this pristine and sylvan environment, an ugly concrete structure caught my eye. A closer look and I was quite intrigued by the inscription on the embedded stone tablet. It proclaims that ‘The Bangalore longitude station of the Great Trigonometrical Survey was situated 38 feet north of the baseline station.’ The stone tablet credits Capt W M Campbell, RE, 1875 – 76 and Lt W J Heavyside RE 1887 – 88 with being ‘observers.’ When I got back home and googled "Great Trigonometrical Survey", Wikipedia had this to say - "The Great Trigonometric Survey was a project of the Survey of India throughout most of the 19th century. It was piloted in its initial stages by William Lambton, and later by George Everest. Among the many accomplishments of the Survey were the demarcation of the British territories in India and the measurement of the height of the Himalayan giants: Everest, K2, and Kanchenjunga. The Survey had an enormous scientific impact as well, being responsible for one of the first accurate measurements of a section of an arc of longitude, and for measurements of the geodesic anomaly." The page also had this interesting map produced by the survey. Quite fascinating, and I have downloaded a couple of reports on this survey and its impact for later reading.

 Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Trigonometric_Survey

So there is a little bit of British History and geology associated with this park as well. Here are some links to interesting related articles, in case you want to know more :

http://archive.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/feb152005/spt6.asp

http://thehindujobs.com/thehindu/2003/07/03/stories/2003070309370300.htm

I could not come away without visiting the Ramana Maharshi shrine, an oasis of peace in the middle of a traffic-busy road. The interiors are spacious and ideal for meditation.

I strongly recommend a visit to both the Kempegowda Tower Park and the Ramana Maharshi shrine - sanctuaries of peace in an otherwise bustling city.