I never imagined I will call Bangalore as my city. Kochi has always been my city simply because it is where my home is – a house of my own. Hubs definition of home is different; he plays to the gallery. He was asked once in our family WhatsApp group by my cousins on his take on home and he replied “Home is anywhere with my better half !” 💖 My cousins were impressed !! So sweet, they crooned. Only I know that he was punching the sweet lines sitting on a lounge chair by the pool of some hotel in Goa while his better half was miles away at home.

It’s been four years since we have been staying in Bangalore, in a rented house. Our Kochi house has now become more like a holiday home for us. But with the pandemic our Kochi trips have come to a temporary halt. Kerala in March is hot and humid and we are in a way happy to be in Bangalore, spending the summer here is definitely more pleasant.

Bangalore has many touristy places and over the years during our holiday trips to Bangalore from Kerala, we have made cursory visits to many of these locations. And now I would like to revisit these places again, simple because I happen to chance on a book titled “Discovering Bengaluru” by Meera Iyer. There are plenty of books written about the Old Bangalore, fond but random recollections of famous hardcore Bangaloreans, one I read was a book titled Bangalore Blue.

This book is different because, it has divided Bangalore into smaller significant parts and has made a walking tour of those parts. Hence it is more like a guide to the Old Bangalore and that’s perfect !! It feels like a small exploration trip in search of the erstwhile Bangalore.

Also mentioned in the book are the renovation and heritage preservation efforts made by INTACH. I heard about their work in Pondicherry first and had a walking tour of the White Town or the French side of Pondicherry with the co-convener of the Pondicherry chapter 👉 Streetscapes 🏡🚶🏻‍♂️…Heritage walk in Pondicherry🚶🏻‍♀️

But this not going to be a continuous expedition. The city has grown in leaps and bounds. It can only happen as time permits and not even sure whether we will have the perseverance to complete all the walks, but it’s good to start off.

Let’s go !

Till next post, take care !!