<p>Most cities are palimpsests of sorts. We boldly write our presence onto the cityscape but very often, the past lingers underneath in a tangible form, though sometimes, it remains only as memories and stories.</p>.<p>Take the Mysore Bank Circle. The memory of the erstwhile circle remains only in the name of this, one of Bengaluru’s busiest traffic intersections. Back in the 1500s when Bengaluru was a small but important trading town enclosed within an oval fort, one of the gates into the fortified settlement was at this point. This gate was called the Yelahanka Gate because it was in the direction of that far-off place. An Anjaneya temple stood next to the Yelahanka gate. Indeed, the temple is still there, though in a much-modified form.</p>.<p>Fast forward to the 1790s when Mysore under Tipu Sultan was locked in battle against the British. In 1791, the battle came to Bengaluru when Charles Cornwallis marched here with the Grand Army. Early that year, a major battle took place between the Mysoreans and the British and it began right here at the Yelahanka gate. The Siege or Storming of Bangalore as it was referred to in British records, ended a few weeks later in the bloody capture of both the fort enclosing the peteswith their markets and civilian residents, and the stone fort to its south. British painters depicted the death of one of their soldiers in this battle, Col Moorehouse. In the painting, you can see the old Yelahanka Gate looming in the background. </p>.<p>A deep and dry ditch once protected the fort around the petes, or the Pete or Pettah fort as it was called. The ditch was almost 90 metres in some places and filled with thorny bushes and cacti to impede and obstruct enemy cavalry and soldiers. By the 1800s, political conditions changed and there was no more need for this protective feature. But traces of it still remained for many decades in the form of a wide swathe of trees. It was only in the 1870s that the old ditch finally disappeared and the road that we now call KG Road took its place.</p>.<p>In 1847, a new building came up at this historic intersection. This was the Bangalore Lunatic Asylum, as it was then called, a 50-bed airy structure that catered to the needs of those suffering from mental diseases. A few decades later, another major institution came up here which was helped shape the State of Mysore. This was the Bank of Mysore Limited, popularly known as Mysore Bank. The bank was established thanks to the patronage of the then Maharaja of Mysore, Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV. In 1912, realising the need for financial services in the rapidly industrialising state, Sir M Visvesvaraya, then Dewan of Mysore, had called for a state-aided bank to be established. Mysore bank first opened in October 1913 in a bungalow in Chamarajpete. K P Puttanna Chetty was its first chairperson. The bank moved to the Avenue Road location soon after.</p>.<p>For some years, the bank and the Mental Hospital were adjacent to each other, housed in the same compound. The handsome stone building that housed the Mysore Bank was constructed in 1923. The old building still stands. The Mental Hospital was closed in 1935-36 and reborn as the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, NIMHANS.</p>.<p>These were tumultuous times in the city as they were elsewhere in the country. Everywhere, one heard the cry for freedom. The Mysore Bank Circle, or Mysore Bank Square as it was also called, was the locus of many protests during the Freedom Struggle. In August 1942, for example, for several days, thousands gathered here, including freedom fighter H S Doreswamy, in response to Mahatma Gandhi’s clarion call to Quit India. In one instance, police opened fire on a restive crowd, killing some protesters. In the 1970s, the government erected a martyr’s memorial in memory of those who lost their lives in the freedom struggle. The memorial is in the Shanishwara temple just across from the old bank which now exists only in the name of this storied intersection. </p>.<p><em>(Meera Iyer is the author of ‘Discovering Bengaluru’ and the Convenor of INTACH Bengaluru Chapter.)</em></p>
<p>Most cities are palimpsests of sorts. We boldly write our presence onto the cityscape but very often, the past lingers underneath in a tangible form, though sometimes, it remains only as memories and stories.</p>.<p>Take the Mysore Bank Circle. The memory of the erstwhile circle remains only in the name of this, one of Bengaluru’s busiest traffic intersections. Back in the 1500s when Bengaluru was a small but important trading town enclosed within an oval fort, one of the gates into the fortified settlement was at this point. This gate was called the Yelahanka Gate because it was in the direction of that far-off place. An Anjaneya temple stood next to the Yelahanka gate. Indeed, the temple is still there, though in a much-modified form.</p>.<p>Fast forward to the 1790s when Mysore under Tipu Sultan was locked in battle against the British. In 1791, the battle came to Bengaluru when Charles Cornwallis marched here with the Grand Army. Early that year, a major battle took place between the Mysoreans and the British and it began right here at the Yelahanka gate. The Siege or Storming of Bangalore as it was referred to in British records, ended a few weeks later in the bloody capture of both the fort enclosing the peteswith their markets and civilian residents, and the stone fort to its south. British painters depicted the death of one of their soldiers in this battle, Col Moorehouse. In the painting, you can see the old Yelahanka Gate looming in the background. </p>.<p>A deep and dry ditch once protected the fort around the petes, or the Pete or Pettah fort as it was called. The ditch was almost 90 metres in some places and filled with thorny bushes and cacti to impede and obstruct enemy cavalry and soldiers. By the 1800s, political conditions changed and there was no more need for this protective feature. But traces of it still remained for many decades in the form of a wide swathe of trees. It was only in the 1870s that the old ditch finally disappeared and the road that we now call KG Road took its place.</p>.<p>In 1847, a new building came up at this historic intersection. This was the Bangalore Lunatic Asylum, as it was then called, a 50-bed airy structure that catered to the needs of those suffering from mental diseases. A few decades later, another major institution came up here which was helped shape the State of Mysore. This was the Bank of Mysore Limited, popularly known as Mysore Bank. The bank was established thanks to the patronage of the then Maharaja of Mysore, Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV. In 1912, realising the need for financial services in the rapidly industrialising state, Sir M Visvesvaraya, then Dewan of Mysore, had called for a state-aided bank to be established. Mysore bank first opened in October 1913 in a bungalow in Chamarajpete. K P Puttanna Chetty was its first chairperson. The bank moved to the Avenue Road location soon after.</p>.<p>For some years, the bank and the Mental Hospital were adjacent to each other, housed in the same compound. The handsome stone building that housed the Mysore Bank was constructed in 1923. The old building still stands. The Mental Hospital was closed in 1935-36 and reborn as the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, NIMHANS.</p>.<p>These were tumultuous times in the city as they were elsewhere in the country. Everywhere, one heard the cry for freedom. The Mysore Bank Circle, or Mysore Bank Square as it was also called, was the locus of many protests during the Freedom Struggle. In August 1942, for example, for several days, thousands gathered here, including freedom fighter H S Doreswamy, in response to Mahatma Gandhi’s clarion call to Quit India. In one instance, police opened fire on a restive crowd, killing some protesters. In the 1970s, the government erected a martyr’s memorial in memory of those who lost their lives in the freedom struggle. The memorial is in the Shanishwara temple just across from the old bank which now exists only in the name of this storied intersection. </p>.<p><em>(Meera Iyer is the author of ‘Discovering Bengaluru’ and the Convenor of INTACH Bengaluru Chapter.)</em></p>