"The reason I like living in Whitefield is we are a bunch of eccentric, unique people and what characterizes us is our contempt for money" says Merlyn D'Souza, an old-time resident of Whitefield. That summarises the contrast between the old and the new at Whitefield, a region on the eastern flank of Bangalore that has seen rapid real estate development.

Citizens at Whitefield are protesting against the proposed demolition of the 120 year old Neo-Gothic Protestant Memorial Church, as the Whitefield main road is to be widened for better access to the international airport. They also expressed anguish at the likelihood of the large open area being gobbled up for commercial and residential development.

To emphasise the need for integrated, sensitive planning and development, and in part to raise awareness about a hidden historical settlement, a Whitefield Urban Space Event was recently held. Udbhava, a forum for urban design, built heritage, architecture and visual arts organized this event for the Bangalore City Project on April 26, 2008 at the Eurasian and Anglo-Indian settlement at Whitefield.

The Bangalore City Project is an initiative of the Goethe-Institute, Max Mueller Bhavan, Bangalore. Its objective is to create a platform for art and culture, and to raise awareness of the histories and importance of various places in the city that have otherwise remained silent and veiled. For more, see the Bangalore City Project website.

The event lasted for about three hours. The members assembled at the Memorial Church at 3.15 pm for a presentation by Udbhava on the history of Whitefield and the settlement. The walk itself included the experience of visiting colonial style bungalows and interaction with the old time residents. The assembly also passed by Cheshire home, Waverly Inn (where Winston Churchill once stayed) and other old structures along tree lined avenues to get a sense of a different time when women, carrying parasols, walked to have high tea with their neighbours. The walk also included a visit to Our Lady of Lourdes Church and the Kaolin Hill within the Church campus and the Ecumenical Christian Centre (ECC). At ECC, one of the residents read excerpts from letters written in early 20th century by visitors to Whitefield. The walk ended with a bird watching exercise in the ECC campus.

Whitefield, the 'Anglo-Indian and Eurasian Settlement' was set up by the Eurasian and Anglo-Indian Association of Mysore and Coorg in 1882 on 3900 acres of land granted by the then Mysore State. The settlement is planned in such a way that there is an inner circle which contains a playground and some greenery and a larger outer circle with colonial bungalows. The houses resemble those in the city cantonment areas though on a smaller scale.

The event included a visit to one of the bungalows which was christened ‘Perfect Peace'. The stark contrast between the few surviving colonial bungalows and the huge modern structures is evident and the residents look upon the developers and the real estate agents as ‘sharks' who are waiting to snatch their piece of property.

"They are constantly looking at the number of square feet I own and are willing to pay me as much as eight thousand rupees per square foot", says Merlyn who bought ‘Perfect Peace' from an old couple 20 years back. Merlyn and her late husband furnished the house with antiquities, "We wanted the spirit and charm of the house to live on", she says.

Praveen Gowda who is another old time resident of the settlement recollected his experience of living in Whitefield as a child. "It was lonely because I had to walk four kilometers before I could meet another kid of my age" he said. Oddly enough, now he seemed indifferent to the presence of the newcomers, "They are busy people and they don't get along with us."

The long time residents as well as the independent bodies who organized the walk were concerned about the aesthetic degradation in the landscape with a number of huge apartment complexes as well architecturally modern houses cropping up. They were irked at the land grabbing agenda of developers as well as politicians. With land availability and prices at a premium in this part of Bangalore, the conflict between the old and the new may not have an easy resolution ⊕

Rushalini Rajkumar is a student and freelance writer. All photographs by Meera K.

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