ST. ANTONY'S SCHOOL KR PURAM

In fact the first school I attended was not Lowry Memorial School. It was St. Antony's school. I think the school is at present in Ramamurthy nagar. I think I attended this school for about eight months and discontinued later to join the Lowry memorial School.

It is interesting to note where the St. Antony's school existed at that time. It was in a godown like shed in a vast area of land opposite to the facade of Indian Telephone Industries yonder the national highway 04. Now the place looks totally different with some petroleum institute having garbed a large share of this land. This shed was built during the British era it is said to house Italian prisoners.

The shed was divided into many enclosures with hardboard barricades and in one such room I spent eight months making fragile steps towards an education. My father used to bring food to this place almost every afternoon. I used to get eye infection repeatedly during my stint at this school and my father thereupon decided to stop education temporarily and re-admitted me to the Lowry Memorial School the following summer.

At this school I had a class mate by name Santhosh Koshy who later became a doctor.

Unni Krishnan who was the production manager of television at BPL was a product of this school.

SPORTS AT LOWRY MEMORIAL SCHOOL

There used to be an annual sporting event at the Lowry memorial School. This was conducted relegiously year after year in november and various athletic events were held and prizes distributed. I remember Ismail from hoodi village (and his brother muhammed ali) who used to win 1500mtrs race year after year . James peter, Swamy das were other sporting heroes of Lowry Memorial School of our times. Some of them used to win prizes at regional events of the karnataka state too.

I tried to be an athlete but in vain basically to bask in the glory of a winner-but never succeeded. But I came very close once. I was not winning short distance races, so i decided to try the 400 meters race. This means running two rounds around the school ground. I was doing a fairly good job and was very close to getting the third prize , had it not been for the unfair designs of my class mate Swatantra babu who was nick named cobbler and was from Kaggadasapura. He repeatedly tugged at me from behind and got the better of me; and in desperation I had to drop out at the last instance thereby losing my only chance to have won a prize at athletics. I protested at the action of my friend cobbler but the decision was against me- I should have completed the race and not drop out. In retrospect I think this decision was wrong and cobbler should have been disqualified for malpractice.

I took to playing field games later like basket ball and had good time doing so for many years.

SIGHT SEEING IN BANGALORE

Many people from around the world visit Bangalore. For many reasons its a good place to be in and an ideal tourist spot. The roads of Bangalore are congested and crowded but manoeuvring them is a world class experience.

Something about the history of Bangalore. During different periods of time this place has come under the influence of various rulers with the British making it a serious settlement, thereby the city getting a western look and outlook. Many centuries ago bangalore seems to be a large place with a rustic face with ferns and tall trees much abound. I happenned to see a picture of Mayo hall which is at present on the MG road which was a imposing building in the backdrop of mud roads ans small ponds. With the increase of habitation the city gradually got a modern look.

The name Bangalore is attributed to a prince in the 11th century who called this city "benda kalu uru" which means "place of cooked beans". How authentic this story is not known. The most recent aspect of Bangalore can be traced to the Vijayanagar empire which ruled south india in its entirety. This is a formidable empire and many of the various names of towns in the southern part of India can be attributed to this empire. A person by the name of Kempe Gowda was a chietain of Bangalore under the overall control of the Vijayanagar empire. Kempe Gowda gave Bangalore its boundaries; what exactly these boundaries are I do not know, but this person exercised control over this territory. Thereafter comes the rule of Hyder Ali and Tippu sultan - a not so long period of around 40 years ending in 1799. The stamp of their short rule can be seen in the lalbagh, a park conceived and designed by them. Thereafter it is the British...British and the British who held sway over this town. Strictly speaking a part of bangalore was under the Mysore Maha rajah and the other part with the Madras presidency which was merged after independence. During my childhood days I could see one part of bangalore spoke tamil too as a language because of the earlier influence of the madras presidency.

I would boldly put the following places as ones worth visiting while in Bangalore and also the approximate distance from the MG Road; I would list twelve of them

• The Ulsoor Lake(3 kms)
• Lalbagh(6 kms)
• Cubbon Park(2 kms)
• Vidhana Soudha( 3kms)
• Statue and park of King George(1 km)
• Tippu Sultan Summer palace and fort(7kms)
• Bannerughatta National park(35kms)
• Iskcon Temple(11 kms)
• Bull Temple(15 kms)
• The Nandi Hills(50 kms)
• Raja Rajeshwari Temple off Mysore Road(15kms)
• Hessarughatta(30kms)

I think each of these places needs qualifications which will unearth myths about the city. Some of these places are in the proximity of one another. May be I have missed out certain places- like the many parks that have come up around renovated lakes that have been recently circumfenced and protected. To see all these places It would take three days ang MG Road is the right place for any one keen on shopping.

The Ulsoor Lake : Bangalore in its pristine form had many lakes- some of them have vanished and given place to human habitats. The cold weather of Bangalore can be attributed to these lakes. At present there is a concerted effort from the government to protect these lakes. Ulsoor lake took the fancy of the British and they set up an aquatic training system for the Madras Engineering Group MEG in the mid 18th century which exists to this day. There is a hillock on the one side of the lake and a park on the other.

Any visitor to this place would find the park an ideal place to spend some time and indulge in boating. There is an eat-out for refreshments and just watching the traffic along the fringes of the lake itself is can be a favourable past-time.

Lalbagh : From Ulsoor lake lalbagh is on the yonder part of the city. Manouvre through M G Road into double road and at the end of the road you meet with a circle and the gates of lalbagh can be seen . Lalbagh can be approached through other gates too but I would suggest this gate. Once inside immediately walk up the hill to get a view of Bangalore. Coming down the hill there is a mini-vehicle that ferries people across the park. This is a good resting place for anyone.

The Cubbon Park: The Cubbon park was built by Lord Cubbon who was a regent at this place and stayed at the Raj Bhavan. For brief periods the control of the Mysore kingdom was wrested on these Regents. It is Sir Mark Cubbon who had the idea of building this park in the vicinity of the modern day Raj Bhavan. This park is slowly losing its identity to the corporate offices around. But it is a worthy spot to be in for various reasond and I sincerely appreciate the efforts of Sir mark Cubbon for having had the idea of building such a park.

The Vidhana Soudha - This is a magnificient and imposing structure built by the local government to locate administrative offices and a specimen of its kind in oriental architectural model and a strong building it is. Due to security concerns the building is encircled by a fence and visitors could view its grandeur from the walkways around or from the high court building. But its worth seeing it once. Note that the cubbon park is in the vicinity of this building.

The statue of King George unveiled in 1911 is in the vicinity of the of the Cubbon park.

Tippu sultan Summer Palace - This palace is a relatively small structure and the nearest land mark is the City Market. The palace has a large garden in the front and it is worthwhile to spend some time here. The construction of this place was started by Hyder Ali and completed by Tippu Sultan over a ten year period. It is arelatively small palace. Near the palace is the Bangalore fort of Tippu Sultan which was beseiged by Lord Cornwallis in 1792-93 during the third Mysore war. I have tried to enter the fort but was not successful. I think the concerned departments of the government of India must make this fort accessible to the public as it figures in the "seige of Bangalore " by Lord Cornwallis in 1792 and also inform tourists about its significance.

The Bannerughatta National Park - This is a park worth visiting for various reasons. I would like to disclose to you a myth of bangalore. This part of Bangalore where this park is situated is on one of the edges of the western ghat mountains which jetset into this part of the world. This is the reason that there is elephant menace in the outskirts of Bangalore-basically meaning herds of elephants that possibly lose their way and enter human habitats in search of food and water.

I t would need a day to have a good time at this place. There are multiple routes to this place. One is to drive into bannerughatta road from dairy circle; another one I discovered recently and would be the fastest is to take the Mysore road and get into the nice road which is a toll road and enter into the Baneerughatta road and eventually to Bannerughatta.

There are two components of bannerughatta; One is the the zoo and a museum which houses many wild animals and birds. The other component is the safari where habitats of animals can be visited in a mini bus specially designed for this purpose.There is the bear safari-the tiger safari- and the lion safari. It would take about an hour and a half to visit these safaries. Take a camera along to make live shoots of animals in un-assuming postures.

Please note that one can travel to Mysore from this point through the kanakapura road which is close by and reach mysore via malvalli.

The Iskcon temple - This is a place worth visiting for many reasons. It would take around an hour to visit the temple fully. The view of Bangalore from the temple-top is fascinating. This temple is near yeshwantpur on Vijayanagar road and opposite Mysore soap factory and also close to malleshwaram.

The Bull Temple - This temple is in Basavanagudi and is close to lalbagh. Legend has it that a bull was killed by peasents working in ground-nut farms in this place. They regretted their action and built a temple for the bull. (Basavanagudi literally means bull-temple). This incident dates back to the 1600's. I have not been to this temple myself but one must visit it atleast once.There is a ground-nut festival conducted here once an year.

The Nandi Hills - This hill is located near Devanahalli and must be around 50 kms from Bangalore. Both Tippu Sultan and thereafter the British have occupied this hill. It is in the eastern ghat mountain ranges. Few rivers take birth at this place. I have myself not been to this place and would visit it shortly.

The Raja-Rajeshwari Temple - This temple is located off mysore-road. One has to move into the Raja Rajeshwari Arch. This is a temple built in ancient dravidian style and is frequented by many people.

Hesarughatta - This place is off dasarahalli on peenya road and has the hesarughatta lake. I have not visited this place myself but heard that it is a place worth visiting. Any one keen may do a google search of this place to get more details.

Here ends I think a sojourn of the key places around Bangalore. I have found some people find it boring to visit the places mentioned in the proximity of the city. In such an event visit the places around Bangalore like bannerughatta, nandi hills etc which would brighten up a casual traveller. (Bannerughatta is linked by the local bus BMTC).Visitors should know that for Rs.32/- thirty two only the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Service provides a day pass where a passenger is allowed to travel on any bus(except the volvo buses).

My effort was to just introduce to you some key possible tourist destinations in Bangalore and beleive that some justice has been done. However please make very neat tour plans before embarking on any journey to make travel both leisure and pleasure.

WHITEFEILD

WhiteField is a place which I cannot forget.I spent two years of my life here and they were possibly my best and a time when I built solid foundations at a personal level which I can feel to this day. Kadugodi, Belathur, Hope farm and channasandra are places near white feild that I was associated with.

My earliest memories of white feild is having visited the place as a school student on an excursion; visiting alembic glass factory, the joy ice cream factory,the blind school and st. johns school. Some of these enterprises do not exist there any further.

WhiteFeild railway station was a single platform station in the 1980s where most trains would stop except the Brindavan express. Many times as students at white feild we used to wait for trains at this station. BTS meaning Bangalore Transport Service did have few busses plying to this area. Most of the buses were in the morning or in the evening. Any one caught in wHITE FEILD during the afternoon generally did not get a BTS bus and had to wait till the evening for bus. The situation is largely changed now. I have walked as a young boy all the way from whitefeild to kr puram along the railway tracks ;since buses were only in the evening. It used to take four hours to walk the entire distance.

BRINDAVAN

Sai Baba ashram named as Brindavan is a key aspect of this place. The entire stretch of road was busy especially when Sai Baba was in station. What a splendid sight. Bhajans could be heard upto the railway gate. There used to be pin drop silence especially when Baba was giving darshan.

Now whitefeild wears a totally different look; with high rise buildings everywhere. There is a stretch of road that connects whitefeild to old airport road which has become a hotspot today with the other stretch of road connecting hope-farm to kr puram not lagging behind. White feild is connected to hoskote through another stretch of road which must be very busy now because this road leads to the new airport.

White feild is a place to be watched. What used to be a sleepy and forsaken part of Bangalore will become some day a very important hub with many corporate offices located there. Fortunate are the people who purchased land long back at this place when the prices were paltry and would rake a fortune now and is a priced possession even otherwise. When all such evolutions abound I can feel a small sense of contentment that I was associated with this place too as a young boy and have fond memories harboured somewhere in the spirit.

SPORTSMEN ITI PRODUCED

There are many sports persons who were directly or indirectly related to ITI. The sporting facilities of ITI were crucuibles that gave them confidence to pursue sports. I think Prakash Padukone who was an all-England shuttle badminton champion( beating Martin Frost in one of the final tourneys) has his moorings in ITI. I was but a boy but I have heard many people say they have seen him at practice sessions in ITI. His father must have been an employee of ITI. He is the father of Deepika Padukone.

Prakash Padukone

In more recent times Venkatesh Prasad who used to be a fast bowler for India is a product of this establishment. He used to play for the local club and rose to play for the country and was later a bowling coach for the Indian side.

I dont remember the name of a person who captained the Indian kabbadi team at the olympics who was from ITI. He was a tall and well built figure and a treat to watch. He was part of the Indian kabbadi side.Now I recollect his name Mr. Seetharam.

CAN ITI INDIAN TELEPHONE INDUSTRIES BE REVIVED?

This is a question going rounds among many people who were assocoated with ITI for years. Once a magnificient behemoth now weathered by time and circumstances. A parallel question is Should ITI be revived? What used to have around 25,000 employees at one time has hardly few thousands now. As widely felt I dont think that ITI was a victim of policies but of the changing scenario that caught the world and ITI offguard.

I for one have always believed that ITI can be revived and should be revived. ITI seems to have lost its way and needs to find it in the new economy. There were many such cases of large organization dwindling in importance over time --like the swiss watch industry of the 60's which used to employ scores of people but only to vanish when quartz was used to make watches as against gears. Managerial weakness of some kind can be seen in the way ITI was run in their inability to prognosticate the future and react to it accordingly. Success is sometimes dangerous -more so the windfall type because communities forget to do one most important thing--predict the possible future ,its concerns and vagaries. Top management must always do this activity of forseeing the future and warn the organization of pending eventualities. Very few people of this nature exist in top management of today is by itself a weakness of the system which goes more by status quo than by the needs of the organization and its future.

How then can ITI be revived; I have the following suggestions though may not be perfect but can go some way in keeping the morale and optimism badly needed at this juncture.

• First of all beleive that ITI can be revived. If every one goes by the general rhetoric and chorus that ITI is doomed there is no scope and possibility of revival.
• ITI needs to be awakened from several dimensions, which just one team or person cannot fully comprehend. The person who is holding the post of CMD must be chosen carefully and given a minimum period of atleast five years at a stretch on the job unless he voluntarily decides to abdicate for reasons best known to him.
• Unfetter the CMD and his team from administrative or buerecratic shakles and give him a fairly free hand with some control from the government to operate.
• To take full advantage of the modern realities ITI must be renamed as Indian Telecom Industries as against the present name.
• Divide ITI into various zones with each zone taking up manufacture and fabrication of telecom equipments and products.
• One of these zones could totally focus on being a backend outsource partner for telecom giants around the world.
• ITI must be a platform where tasks involving manual labour and professional labour are given sufficient importance. The next generation ITI must have say 20,ooo manual workers and say 10,000 professional workers who involve in activities like software development.
• Synergise the resources of ITI with other public sector giants and defence institutions.
• Create a telecom institute inside ITI on the lines of the IIT's to focus solely on telecom education and management.
• Never privatize ITI . The government must take the onus of reviving this institution by basically reorienting things and asking fundamental questions. ITI needs a vision and mission statement to stay its course in the era that unfolds.

ANNUAL FLOOD LIT TOURNAMENT OF INDIAN TELEPHONE INDUSTRIES

There used to be an annual sports event of the Indian Telephone Industries during our times. This used to be a full fledged flood-lit tournament held in the pre-midnight and was an event every one looked forward to. It was a very rare and unique feature of ITI with no other public sector conducting such an event in this scale ; will full fledged preparation and co-ordination. I think these games were discontinued somewhere in 1986 or almost immediately later to this year when ITI went ito a down swing. Every summer the matches would commence during the end of march and progress till the middle of may . They used to commence some where at about 6:30 in the evening and last upto about 10:00pm. It was a national event and many participating teams would arrive from all over the country. By around 6:00 crowds begin to flow into the stadium and the stadium would be full a little later. It should be pointed that this event was absolutely free for all with no fee being charged from the spectators and was open to any one who wanted to view it.

There were three games played namely basket ball, Volley Ball and kabaddi as a rule year after year. I think the public favoured these games in this order with crowds largely dwindling for kabaddi matches. Baket ball was highly watched sport because of theaura it created and the pace of the game. Beagles; Bharath; HAL;HMT were all local teams along with the hosts ITI for basket ball matches. the teams from outside the city would be TISCO; Western Railway; Indian overseas bank; Madura coats - to name a few as year after year the teams participating would be different. Number 13 Arvind of Bharath and Somashekar no.14 of ITI team are names I remember from bangalore who were favourites with the crowd. There was a person Abbas and An arjuna award winner Kataria from western Railways. I think some of these teams who came from outside walked away with the rolling trophies during some years of these matches.

This event had a special significance and meaning to the boys growing up in the locality; the urge being to make basket ball posts and play with some improvised form of ball and also several rounds of meetings held among these boys of what name should be given to their teams and some of the over-enthusiastic boys swaering to continue playing with absolute determination and some of them vaguely trying to act and behave like players they saw at the tournament. Strategies were discussed and swords were drawn and there the many elders who passed the way whomhad to pacify the boys telling them they were not playing an imternational match and only one that too in the bylanes of where they stayed with hardly any defined court. This was the heat these games created in the kids only to die away when the sporting event was over and to be revived and remembered the next year. The tournament at ITI in the summer was not just a game - it made kids behave in weird ways and parents were drawn into this fever invariably.

In bangalore those years there used to be an unwelcome shower in the evenings and it was the prayer of every boy looking at the clouds that it did not rain and the games could progress well. However I remember a volley ball match that was fully washed away between APSRTC and KTC (kerala transport corporation..Kunjalikutty was a key volley ball player for this team) by the rain. DDCSM (dharmapuri district co-operative sugar mills) and ITI were other contenders in the semi finals. There was a player panneer selvam who used to play for ddcsm and would single handedly turn matches in the favour of his team . Panner selvam used to play for ITI earlier. Ashwathappa was a retired and old player who was still at his guns for ITI.

Many guests used to come to inaguarate these matches. Mr. Karthikeyan who was commissioner of bangalore police at that time did the honours once. Mostly the guests were dignitaries from within ITI like CMD Mr. C S S Rao