In a moving collection of personal reflections, prominent personalities from Bengaluru have penned open letters to the neighbourhoods they call home. These letters, filled with nostalgia, gratitude, and candid observations, paint a vivid portrait of a city in flux, seen through the intimate lens of its long-term residents.
An Ode to Enduring Peace and Thoughtful Planning
Veteran actor Bharati Vishnuvardhan addresses her letter to Jayanagar, where she arrived as a newlywed in 1976. She recalls a time when the area was so open that one could see the Vidhana Soudha from its streets. Jayanagar offered her space, calm, and a profound sense of belonging. While shopping trips then meant going to Brigade Road, true peace, or samadhana, was found only upon returning home.
She acknowledges the visible changes—independent houses making way for apartments and malls, and a loss of green cover. Yet, she asserts that Jayanagar remains greener than most parts of the city, doesn't flood, and hasn't run out of water. To her, it stands as proof of thoughtful urban planning and remains the best place to live, offering glimpses of Bengaluru's fading 'garden city' past.
The Constant Contradiction of Rapid Transformation
Grammy Award-winning musician Ricky Kej writes a letter to Indiranagar, a locality he has lived in for 38 years. His childhood memories are of a place where his home shared a wall with a farm, he watched vegetables being harvested from his window, and half the plots were empty. Tree-lined streets and two-storey buildings were the norm, and children played cricket, cycled, and roller-skated freely, even on 100 Feet Road.
He marks the early 2000s as the period of rapid change. Empty plots turned into houses, which then transformed into restaurants, pubs, and cafés. The noise levels increased, and parking became a daily struggle. Despite his complaints, Kej admits he stays because he also benefits from the convenience, food, and energy. He describes their relationship as a constant contradiction, but one where they have learned to coexist.
Foundations of Community in a Changing Landscape
Actor Sudha Rani pens a heartfelt note to Malleswaram, the place that raised her. She was born on the wide, gulmohar-shaded Mahakavi Kuvempu Road. The neighbourhood smelled of crisp mornings and maintained a quiet calm. It taught her community—neighbours knew each other by name, festivals involved visiting homes with arishina-kumkuma, and shopkeepers would press candies into her hands.
She laments having to leave a year ago as the area grew busier, more commercial, and less forgiving, with cars blocking gates and the old charm slipping away. However, she states unequivocally that Malleswaram remains her first and eternal home, the foundation of her values of care, connection, and respect.
Actor-director Arundhati Raja reminisces about Whitefield of 1973, when her family returned from the UK. It was a landscape of farms, open skies, and a close-knit Anglo-Indian community. Recreation centred on the Whitefield Club, and trust was so deep that children could be left with neighbours on nearby farms without a second thought. The change came with the arrival of tech parks, transforming the area utterly. While she misses the old community, she acknowledges that not all change is bad, citing the improved local government school. Whitefield, despite being considered 'far' then and now, is irrevocably home.
Actor Srinath writes to Basavanagudi, a place he knows like the back of his hand. He remembers it as sarvajanangada shanthiya thota (a garden of peace for all people), where harmony prevailed. It had everything—renowned schools, healing parks, trusted doctors, and the social hub of Gandhi Bazar, where conversations flowed over dosas at Vidyarthi Bhavan and Geetha Restaurant. He argues that while houses and people have changed, Basavanagudi's strong foundation, with its enduring tree cover, remains unshaken.
These letters collectively form a powerful, emotional map of Bengaluru. They chronicle the city's dramatic evolution from spacious, green suburbs to bustling urban hubs, while highlighting the enduring personal bonds that tie its residents to their cherished localities, through both argument and unwavering love.
