A walk through the clouds of history

With the gargantuan work-in-progress Metro looming over one’s head and choking frenzied traffic, you might not pick the stretch from Trinity Circle junction to Queen Victoria’s statue at the mouth of Cubbon Park for a slow relaxed stroll. Besides, MG Road, the city’s nucleus of social activity is more suited for grabbing a chilled pint or for a bout of retail therapy, than a tranquil saunter.

But a prominent space of the British Raj Cantonment, the ever-evolving road besides its gleaming shop windows, advertisements and road-side-haggles, still preserves colonial jewels that are worth a revisit.

Still standing unmoved on the East end of MG Road is the earliest and largest garrison Church in South India, the Holy Trinity Church, built in the year 1852 for the British Regiment stationed in the city. Apart from the resilient structure itself, another precious reminder of the past is the fact that the belfry still chimes the bell that was cast in the London’s Mears foundry in 1847.

On foot, up the road, it’s hard to miss a few dear surviving colonial bungalows just before one spots the East Parade Church. The church had associations with the military garrison, which shifted here from Srirangapatna. Its foundation was laid in the year 1863 and the building contract was given to Mayor RH Sankey. The church was finally completed in the year 1886.

Your next pause should be the Mayo Hall that is surrounded by the pleasant aroma of frangipanis, at this time of the year. This colonial brick and mortar structure was erected in memory of Lord Mayo, the viceroy and governor general of India from 1869 to 1872, who was stabbed to death by an Afghan Prisoner on his visit to the Andamans. A minute’s walk from the Mayo Hall is the Cauvery Arts and Crafts Emporium housed in a historical building. 

The next piece of architecture reminiscent of the British Raj will be easy to find. Looking quite out of place in the lane of new buildings will be the quaint white building that houses the book store Higginbotham’s. Soon you’ll find yourself near a debilitated façade that used to be the Plaza, a film theatre built in 1936 and famous for screening holiday classics for British soldiers.  Modelled after the Piccadilly Circus in London, the first film to be screened here was The Broadway Melody in April 1936.

A few minutes up the trail at the MG Road-St Marks Road (what used to be the South Parade) junction are the stone buildings of Tract and Book Society building and the Bible Society building from the colonial period. It today houses the popular Hard Rock Café. 

Further up is Bangalore’s oldest Anglican Church, the St Mark’s Cathedral. The straight stretch winds into Cubbon Park and it’s hard to miss the 1906 marble statue of Queen Victoria: An apt end to a colonial course that begins with a walk down memory lane, and ends with history.