Date: 27th June, 2023
Venue: Bangalore International Centre
The book launch and panel discussion of the republished ‘Bangalore Through the Centuries’ by M Fazlul Hasan, which has been revised and edited by Naresh V Narasimhan was launched to an audience of Bangalore enthusiasts on the 27th of June 2023.
Bangalore Through the Centuries was first published in 1970 and has been one of the earliest milestones in the historiography of Bengaluru. The city’s tumultuous past has been recounted beautifully by Shri M Fazlul Hasan – starting from the city’s founding by Kempe Gowda, its capture by the Bijapur Sultanate and the Mughals, its purchase by Chikka Deva Raja Wodeyar, and the wars between Tipu Sultan and the East India Company, the book traverses through the Cantonment town of the colonial era and the ambitious project of the post independent India up to 1970. Taking us through the power struggles, economic transactions, administrational challenges and wars that governed the city’s history, Shri. M Fazlul Hasan highlights it through stories of people, civil society, and the culture of this charming city, whose emergence as a place of education, innovation and employment has thrust it to international relevance in the 21st century.
Bengaluru has always been a city constantly moving in two directions, one racing towards the future, while the other stays rooted in its heritage and past. In this confluence of the past and the future, lies the true identity of Bengaluru; one where it’s inherent old-world charm meets its modern cosmopolitan avatar. In order to understand the inherent character, it is important to take a step back to unravel the layers that have made the city the palimpsest that it is today. This book by Shri M Fazlul Hasan, does just that: Reminiscence of the past. Celebration of the present. Preparation for the future.
In the spirit of the book launch, a discussion was held with an esteemed panel to speculate on the lessons that the history of the city can teach and to speculate on its future. The panelists were:
Mr. Rajeev Gowda, Former Member of Parliament, National Congress Spokesperson and Chairman, Congress Research Group
Mr. Prakash Belawadi, Actor, Director, Theatre Artist and Urban Activist
Ms. Nirupa Shankar, Joint MD, Brigade Group; Creator and Founder Brigade Reap
Mr. Prashanth Prakash, Founding Partner Accel India, Chairman – Vision Group for Startups, GoK
Mr. Naresh Narasimhan, Managing Partner – Venkataramanan Associates, Co-Founder – Mod Foundation, Partner – Metaform Design
Here are some images from the book launch
‘Bangalore Through the Centuries’ has been republished by Metaform Design.
Metaform has been actively involved in various fields of knowledge production centred on Bengaluru. The city’s history, culture, society and civic concerns have been topics that Metaform has had involved interests in for years. This publication is a milestone in building an accessible, interdisciplinary and meaningfully informative roadmap for the city of Bengaluru. Metaform operates in close partnership with its sister organization, Mod Foundation. Together, they form a dynamic urban research and action institute focussed on Bengaluru City.
