L H Bhatia

At various points I have written about BPL a largely pioneering Organization in the city of Bangalore which made world quality Television sets largely out of indigenously fabricated components.The organization itself was spearheaded by many

 people..one such person was L H Bhatia;He largely pioneered the sales efforts of Medical equipments and thereafter the Television sales activity.


 Mr L H Bhatia who made an entry into the organization from Phillips in the 1970’s and went on to serve the organization for more than three decades. 

He was undoubtedly a person of high competence and drive with a boyish charm and exuberance.

Devarayanadurga

Devarayanadurga near Tumkur

The city of Tumkur is a very important hub some 60 kms from Bangalore and is a route to the northern cities in Karnataka state.It is some one and a half hour drive from the city of Bangalore. I have seen lush greenery at many pockets around Tumkur and one such point I visited was a place called Devarayanadurga. Not many must have heard about this place.

I found rocky terrain here and a climb up a hillock for a splendid view around and the whole exercise was breath taking. There are quite a few temples in the vicinity; These rocky terrains are extensions of the Eastern Ghats.

Any one keen on visiting this place can do so…it is right turn on the  Bangalore   Tumkur   highway few kilometres from Tumkur and the whole area is serene and worthy.

Shivaganga near Bangalore

There is a tourist spot near Bangalore on the Bangalore Tumkur Highway few kilometers before Tumkur which many people may not have an inkling about. The name of the place is Shiva ganga a tourist spot and a spot of Piligrimage. There are various kinds of legends and stories associated with this place.

I had visited this place and found it unique in many ways. This place Shiva ganga is a huge hill which can be conquered by any one on foot as special stairs are cut on the rock and it would take some two hours of steep and careful climbing to reach the summit largely thrived by many people. On the return from the summit there is a cave housing a Shiva temple.

Any one with  the will to embark on such a trip will have a pleasant day doing so and taking utmost care during the climb not to falter and prevent looking down the hill during the climbing process.

The Bangalore Fort

There is a place of historical significance in Bangalore..the Bangalore Fort as it is called. A good number of cities in India have Fort’s like the Vellore fort, The Kannur Fort..the Fort at Palghat and many many such structures. In Deccan many of these Fort’s owe their existence to various kinds of power groups since time immemorial..and many of them changed hands from time to time possibly to be modified and re-constituted.

The Bangalore fort for a curious traveler is very close to the modern day City Market. There is hustle and bustle there but a structure of ancient times stares at passers’ by. It is close to the Summer palace of Tipu Sultan. Who built this Fort..I don’t know for sure..possibly it has its origins from the Vijayanagar time to be later in the possession of Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan and later to be taken over by the British.

For many years the gates of this Fort was sealed with no entry for visitors and the structure being open for the public only few years back. The interiors of this Fort is relatively small with some kind of a residential quarters and a large garden adjacent to it. That’s All …..and at the entrance to the Fort is some kind of a dark dungeon where it is said Col. Bailey was imprisoned or it could even be Col Biard..but I was informed about this imprisonment episode. On the outside of the Fort can be seen a breach of the Fort supposed to be created by the English forces under Cornwallis.

It is worthwhile to see this place once  and also the Summer palace of Tipu Sultan few meters away. The nearest bus stop is the City Market bus stop. The entire structure looks imposing from the outside.

Two Wheelers and Bangalore

The Bangalore city of today is full of two wheelers and many use this as a mode of transport from one place to another like in few other cities of the World. Barring a few months during the rainy season a two wheeler is a cozy device to travel around the city.

When did the two wheeler revolution throng the city..perhaps in the early 1980’s or so –prior to which time there only few two wheelers to be seen in the city largely Scooters and motorbikes. Scooters like Lamberetta , Vespa and few other not to mention the motor cycles like Java and Yezdi.

Companies like “Honda” are responsible in making Bangalore a two wheeler friendly city. Most of the varieties of two wheelers mentioned above had gears and a kick start seen as unfriendly propositions for any two wheeler and there came the modern scooterette which had no kick-start and at the same time some of them had auto gears.

A  large support mechanism has grown around the town to service and repair two wheelers. Research must be done to make all two wheelers as light as possible..occupy less space on the roads..and have no manual or foot gear changing; which means all have auto gears…professionalize the network of servicing in some form ..design a rain coat to protect the rider completely from the rain....Two wheelering in the city would even thrive further giving the rider autonomy of transit and at the same time at the fraction of the cost and time needed by a car .

My niece Shreya