Apologies in advance. Pardon the scattered chain of thoughts in this post
Satpula Park and Half Walks
Right opposite Select City Walk mall in Saket, there’s a park. I’ve been to the mall multiple times but never bothered to check it out. I didn’t even pay attention to it. It’s called Satpula Park. It vaguely translates to “a place with seven bridges”.
Though I could see some historical structures from the outside, I was not enthusiastic enough to check them out. After all, every park in Delhi has a historical structure in it. But I realised that every corner of Delhi is rich in history only when I walked with a group led by folks at Half Walks.
Delhi is more than just a thriving urban centre ruled by multiple kingdoms. It is also a collection of villages that served urban centres in different capacities. Their history is not seen in our textbooks.
Though I learnt a lot about Khirki’s history and the possible utility of Khirki's mosque and structures in Satpula Park, I realised how little I appreciated my hometown, Tumakuru (aka Tumkur). I wondered why I had taken my history for granted.
Half-hearted Homework
The organisers of Half Walks had asked participants to write a note or poem about their hometown to be shared after the walk. Though I planned to write at a cafe, I could not spend enough time on it due to a last-minute change in my haircut appointment. After reaching Khoj Studios (the meetup point for the walk), I feebly wrote a small note.
Tumakuru, a city that is 75 km away from Bengaluru, is where I was born. My father had a job in Bengaluru. And he used to commute every day. His parents and family lived in Rajajinagar, Bengaluru. I am partly a Bangalorean. But after my parents separated, I grew up in Tumakuru.
However, I play with facts when a stranger asks me about my place of origin. I say Bengaluru so that I don’t have to explain about the location of Tumakuru.
Tumakuru Then
I remember Tumakuru as a quiet town where everyone’s ultimate goal was to find a job in Bengaluru and migrate to the big, thriving city.
Throughout Karnataka, Tumakuru is known for Siddaganga Mutt. Sri Shivakumara Swamiji is known for building 100+ institutions in Tumakuru district. All the big national leaders used to come to Tumakuru to get a picture with him. Now, he is no more, but the mutt continues his good works under his successor.
The long bus rides from home to school shaped my initial understanding of the city. It used to take almost 35-40 minutes as each route had to cover a significant part of the city. I didn’t have much freedom to explore the city before I got a bicycle.
Riding my bicycle on the main road, i.e. BH Road, was also a big deal. I had a great fear of dying on this road due to a crash with a big truck or bus. When I drove all the from KR Extension to Batwadi, I felt as if I had achieved something major in life. For a kid of ten years, it was hard to believe that Tumakuru was just a little pond.
My home is in KR Extension, adjacent to MG Road. This is the heart of the city. It is just a 5 min walk from the bus stand in the town. It’s barely 2km from the railway station. Earlier, KR Extension used to have many trees. But many were cut down to expand the width of the road. Now, the KR extension looks like any other well-developed locality in Bengaluru.
Tumakuru Now
Slowly, Tumakuru has grown from a town to a city. It was also picked as a smart city for some reason. The prosperity in Bengaluru flowed to Tumakuru in many ways. People started purchasing expensive cars and building bigger homes. The Golden Quadrilateral Project improved the city's connectivity to Bengaluru and reduced commute time.
The KR extension became more commercialised, and everyone started building multi-storeyed buildings. The dirty lake called Amanikere was beautified. For the first time, Tumakuru has a good-looking park.
The reserved forest on the outskirts of Tumakuru, known as Devarayana Durga, also has great roads now, and there's a vibrant cycling community in the city. I used to go on 40km rides in this area during COVID. Eventually, I did a 100km ride as well.
I moved out to study at NITK, Surathkal and got my first job in Chennai. That was the first metropolis where I lived. Chennai had a significant influence on my growth. I explored the city on a second-hand Honda Dio for almost two years. By the time I left, I had the map of the entire town in my head.
Of course, I knew Bengaluru, but I was not a city resident during my formative years. For me, Bengaluru was approximately thirty times Tumakuru because it sent 28 MLAs to the assembly, while Tumakuru sent only one.
Even after moving out of Tumakuru, the city still held a special place in my heart. I came home at least once a month when I lived in Chennai. Later, I left my first job, took a break and found a job in Bengaluru. This was even more convenient because I could always stay in touch with my family. I didn’t miss my hometown so much as it was always close to me.
However, after moving to Delhi and getting busy with work, my home visits have dwindled to 3-4 times a year. Even after two years in Delhi, I don’t feel so nostalgic about my hometown. It is a passing memory, mostly because of my lukewarm relationships with my school friends.
Nostalgia
Listening to others’ stories after the walk at Khirki (with Half Walks) was a moving experience. An Awadhi poem dedicated to a hardworking grandfather forced tears out of my eyes (which I deftly wiped without creating a distraction). This man was so great that he worked at night at a railway station and farmed during the day to give his family a good future. The details of the man’s story are so moving that it demands a separate piece.
My attachment to Tumakuru is not so strong. But, the task of writing a note about my city and sharing the story of my origins with a bunch of new friends made me a bit sentimental. I vowed to find time to write in detail about my city. I am not sure if I’ve done a good job.
The memories associated with Tumakuru are still very strong. Tumakuru and its people have shaped me, and in a way, the city defines me. I hope I write more about the city in the coming days.