Know your neighbourhood-4: Malleshwaram & around

Overview: When the Pete area was devastated by deadly plague in 1892, the counselor to the Maharaja of Mysore, Sir Venkataranga Iyengar, while riding on his horseback, discovered the old temple of Mallikarjuna and proposed the area for the extension of Bangalore. Carved out of the village of Mallapura just a few kms west of Bangalore Pete, Malleshwaram is one of the earliest layouts to be developed in Bangalore which came in to existence due to the outbreak of plague in the Pete area. The area derives its name from Kadu Malleshwara temple, built in the 15th century by Maratha kings. One inscription dated 1668 documents the grant of the village Medaraninganahalli to Mallapura Mallikarjuna, under Ekoji, Shahji's son. This temple was later renovated by Ele Mallappa Shetty in the 19th century. Malleshwaram is home to tree-lined boulevards, rich educational institutes like IISc, ancient temples, and lot of eateries.

1668 CE inscription
Kadu Mallikarjunaswamy temple
Nandi Teertha temple- Not sure about the exact age of this temple. But this seems to be one of the oldest in the region. This was discovered during an excavation in Malleshwaram in the 1990s. The water flows from the mouth of Nandi bull into a Shiva Linga then onto a kalyani or pond, perhaps Sankey Tank.  One theory says that this water is the source of Vrishabhavathi river which gets polluted by the time it leaves the city.  This theory is however is under debate.

Nandi Teertha temple
While Veena Stores and Iyer Mess are two eateries in the area with cult followings, there’s plenty more to Malleswaram’s (largely vegetarian) culinary offerings. CTR or Central Tiffin Rooms, which is now known as Shree Sagar is located at 7th Cross and Margosa Road in Malleshwaram and Janatha Hotel. Now an underpass, this is the gateway to Malleshwaram. There used to be an actual 'circle' in the olden times. Nobel laureate CV Raman’s home is also in Malleswaram, his residence ‘Panchavati’ stands just next to the MES College grounds. Apart from this Malleshwaram is known for street shopping and is always in festive spirit. The prestigious Indian Institute of Science is also close to Malleshwaram. Also St Peter’s Seminary built in 1934 stands near 8th Main Road.
Early residents of Malleshwaram were the Patankars, the descendants of the Dewans of Mysore and also Dewan Sheshadri Iyer. By the mid of the 20th century, the area had developed as a self contained community, which encouraged the silk weavers from Kanchipuram to sell their sarees door to door and also take customized orders. Eventually as the customers increased, the silk weavers from Kanchipuram and also other places within Karnataka started setting up their shops in Malleshwaram
Malleshwaram, in the midst of all the development in the 2000s, has tried to retain its old world charm. Most of the buildings, shops and restaurants are atleast 60-70 years old. The 50-year old Malleshwaram market was recently brought down as the structure was crumbling. Malleshwaram was also built to accommodate all communities across sections of society.
Malleshwaram is home to several famous personalities like the Nobel Laureate CV Raman, Kannada poet GP Rajarathnam, among others.
Trees: The parallel roads of Malleshwara,- Sampige Road and Margosa Road, were named after the trees that once lined those streets. Also named after the trees was the erstwhile Sampige Theatre, screening Kannada movies. According to the old timers in Malleshwaram, the walk from Central Talkies to Malleshwaram used to be a great one, and the sun rays would not reach the ground.
Sankey Tank was built in 1882 by Col. Richard Hieram Sankey when the city's boundaries were extended and had to meet the water needs of the growing population of Malleshwaram. Sankey Tank was linked to Miller's Tank, which doesn't exist now.

Eateries in Malleshwaram

St Peter's Seminary
Old Nandi, Malleshwaram

Sir CV Raman's residence

Sampige Road

Sheshadripuram

Malleshwaram Railway Station

Sadashivanagar: In the 1960s the area of Sadashivanagar was developed out of the Royal Palace grounds, and is home to several politicians and movie stars.
Yeshwantpur is just next to Malleshwaram and it is an entry point to Tumkur road from Bangalore. It is known for its wholesale market and the railway station which was expanded to decongest Bangalore City railway station. Mathikere is a fast developing locality adjacent to Yeshwanthpur. It is home to a beautiful Bio Diversity park, known as JP Park, developed in early 2000s. Public sector companies like HMT, BEL have come up near Mathikere.
Sankey Tank

JP Park, Mathikere
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Comments

  1. Very well written. Takes me to my favorite places.Malleshwarm is indeed a very charming place.I particularly like the way you trace the history of places.

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  2. The write-up on Malleswaram made interesting reading, with brief, lovely narration. Thanks for posting.

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  3. "When the Pete area was devastated by deadly plague in 1892, the counselor to the Maharaja of Mysore, Sir Venkataranga Iyengar, while riding on his horseback, discovered the old temple of Mallikarjuna and proposed the area for the extension of Bangalore."

    What is the source for this statement?

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