While thousands visit KR Market every day, not many know that there stands a historic monument. Departments concerned too are least bothered.
Lost in the hustle and bustle of KR Market lies a monument, one that literally holds the history of the city: Bangalore Fort. Today, the fort stands out as a decrepit symbol—one of ignorance (among the citizenry) and neglect (that of authorities).
Most people, who stand opposite the fort waiting for buses, do not even know that there is a heritage site right behind them, mutely guarding the last remains of a chequered past.
Sheela Brahmin, a tailor who waits by the fort every day, was taken aback when told about it. “Oh really! I did not know that this (edifice) is a fort. It looks like some old building, at the most. I never had the curiosity to explore it either. In our busy life, we forget to notice and revere what we inherited,” she said.
Kayub Ullah, a vendor who sells shoes on the footpath, was slightly more aware. “I know that this is a kote (Fort) as the wall looks like that of a fort. But I had no inkling that this is an integral part of Bangalore's history. The walls look so weak now. We have even made holes with nails to hang the shoes (we sell),” he sighed, with an air of regret.
The all-pervading apathy was evident in the heartless words of Srikanth, a student. “Who cares if it is a fort; no one knows. It is hidden, and it is in the middle of a concrete jungle. I have to take a bus every day from here, and I know for certain that one who stands here does not know that it is a fort. I did not know too.” He did not seem to care, either.
Jeevan Krishna, a software engineer who works on Bull Temple Road, was caught unawares too. “I have passed by the place so many times and I thought it was a BBMP structure. They (the municipal authorities) are nuts to have erected a compound wall like that.”
What once was a 34-bastian fort (projections of a rampart or fort that form irregular pentagon attached to the base of the fort), remains today with just one bastian.
The original structure which had nine gates is almost gone. Close to 80% of the structure is lost, leaving only one gate standing.
“Only crumbling memories remain. A gate that was behind the Ulsoorgate police station and another near the Wakf Board office are both gone,” former chief editor of Karnataka State Gazetteer, Suryakanth Kamath, said. Iron knobs and rods bear mute testimony to a glorious past.
Inside the fort, some doors have stood the test of time. “KR Market vendors who squat on the footpath along the wall of the fort have vandalised the structure with nails, in the process showing utter disregard and irreverence for the city’s history. No one cares,” he said.
Departments concerned don’t give two hoots either. “The Karnataka Ithihasa Academy had suggested to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) that they should employ two research guides to show visitors around, besides introducing entry fees. Our suggestions were not paid heed to. Instead, the fort area is over-crowded, with a bus station and market teeming with people. ASI has not accorded any status to it either,” said Kamath, who is also associated with the academy.
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