Shivajinagar Calling!!

Shivajinagar is the oldest part of Bangalore and is well known for the availability of everything. It has its own aura which spreads its charm everywhere attracting some for the beautiful architectural spaces like the St.Mary’s Basilica, the Rama Temple, Shri Muthyal Amma Devi temple, Jumma masjid, the Russell Market, etc. And some for the delicious smell of meat, biryani and its sulaimani chai! It also has a big market for cheap shopping. The famous beef market is the place to buy almost all variety of raw meat, fish, etc. It’s also diverse as it holds all religions which is unique since there are very rare places holding all religions together. My first walk to Shivajinagar was full of confusion, I had so many questions in my mind but gradually when I started exploring various areas, getting comfortable to the surroundings ,it made the my task easy.I got to know many streets there like Arunachalam Mudaliar Road, Seppings Road, Mackhan Road, Kamraj Road, etc.Communicating with people and getting to know about their life experiences there was quite a task as in the beginning I was a bit hesitant to interact but then when I started, it was interesting and good to listen to what  people came across while living there. It also gave me an opportunity to know the famous stories of some the landmarks there.

Firstly I came across Mr.Ramchandram, he was great source of information about the place also he made me know about the antiques in his shop, about the old watches,paintings,etc.He even guided me with my other group mates to the area where we could set up our Gallery , our main idea!  

Also what fascinated me the most was the historical background of the place from the time of the British rule till now! The origin of its old name Blackpally is still controversial and no one exactly knows the actual story behind the name which also keeps the listener in a mystery which I think is amazing. There is so much to talk about the place that keeps the person so much engrossed!

During the walk I came across Father Joseph Naveen Kumar, who made me familiar with the miraculous stories of the St.Mary’s Basilica and also shared one of his experiences with me which was really very touching...

Also I met Mr.Samir who is working for the Taj Printers, 45yrs old Urdu printing press, and shared a word with them regarding the brands which were then in use and the old advertisements and the layout basically so it was very useful.

Another person I came across was Mr.Mohd. Idrees Chaudhary, the secretary of the Russell Market. He has all his reflections about the place online and even made me familiar with the recent incident that took place there, The Fire Accident due to the short circuit in one of the shops on the 25^th of Feb 2012, early morning. Then from there me with my fellow group members, we visited various libraries:

v        The Government Library, located on the Haines Road.

v        The British Library, located near Kasturba cross road.

v        The Bangalore Central Library, located in Cubbon Park.

It was a really wonderful to go there. The Central Library is the biggest of all and is beautifully arranged.

I really got inspired from the Cinemacity exhibition held in NGMA and thought of taking the basic idea for the mediums from there. I thought depicting stories in the form of photographs and will be using different kinds of narrative s to convey the stories we across, which may take any shape or form including all the different aspects of art and design.

The walk in Shivajinagar has been really useful to enhance my perspective and trying to understanding a place like Shivajinagar.

~ Juhi Kedia