Category: Places

The Other Side of MG Road, Bangalore (the boulevard is back!)

Normally, when we visit MG Road on a Sunday (usually to buy something or see a movie in one of malls), we walk along footpath on the side of the road with the shops. This side is crowded with shoppers, and hawkers selling goggles, used books, trinkets, and forex (sometimes). The sidewalk is narrow for the crowds, even on a Sunday.

MG Road Boulevard Old

Last Sunday, we decided to cross over to the other side at the Brigade Road junction and investigate the boulevard (that had re-opened some time in end 2012) – we were not sure what to expect.

For those who are new to Bangalore, there used be to a walking path on that side of MG Road for a very long time (see photo). This path was at a level slightly higher than the road and used to skirt the Manekshaw Parade Grounds and Cariappa Park.

The path was demolished some years ago to enable the construction of Namma Metro. A new boulevard was constructed along with the MG Road Metro station and was opened sometime end 2012. Here is a NDTV news report from around the time it was inaugurated.

If the youtube video does not load, click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBijk6FY79E.

MG Road Boulevard Both LevelsThe new boulevard has two levels – one is at the level of the road and the second is elevated. From the elevated portion you get a better view of MG Road, and can see office sign boards and the structure of the buildings – things that are not noticeable when you walk right next to those buildings. The elevated part is mainly for walking, though there is a snack joint run by Dasaprakash. On one side of the elevated path is the Cariappa Park and on the other side we have the lower level of the boulevard and the main MG Road.

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A Visit to Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta, Karnataka

Himavad is a hilltop with a temple. It is also supposed to be very cold (compared to the rest of the region) – people have seen icicles in the temple.

The hilltop is located inside the Bandipur forest area. Is is around 80-84 km from Mysore, and around 17 km from Gundlupete, off the Mysore – Ooty highway.

We (Swapna and I) drove from Mysore to Nanjangud and from there we continued towards Gundlupete. Just before we entered Gundlupete, we took a break at a Cafe Coffee Day (they have clean toilets :-)). From Gundlupet we continued towards Bandipur sanctuary. Around 5-6 km from Gundlupete, we turned right under an arch at a village (there was also a signboard with “Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta” written on it).

Himavad Image-1Within a km of getting off the highway, we hit vast open spaces (see the first photo on the left). In front of us were the hills on which Himavad is located, on the left was the Bandipur sanctuary. On the right were open farmlands without any buildings. The border of the Bandipur area was fenced (it looked like an electrified fence, so don’t go too near it).

After driving some more distance (3 km) , we came to the foot of the hills and a gated check-post manned by the Forest Department. We paid Rs 50/= as an entry fee for the car (there is no entry fee for people or cameras, only for vehicles). We were told to be back in 1.5 hours at the gate – the entry ticket was valid for 1.5 hours only.

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