Banagiri BBMP Park

 Just like we, the citizens of Bengaluru, who have successfully destroyed our ‘garden city’ but are valiantly trying to create gardens in the terraces and balconies of our multistoried buildings, our municipal corporation, the BBMP, which has eliminated all the lakes, hills and parks of Bengaluru is now trying to create oases of green, making use of some nooks and corners of our concrete jungle. Anyway, I appreciate the effort. 

Whenever I gather enough courage to dare the hostile street dogs guarding their territory and enter a new street in the semi-darkness of the early morning, I am pleasantly surprised to find a small, well lit, well maintained oasis of green. A BBMP park. All of them boast, apart from a walking track, many flowering plants, well maintained lawns, trees, benches and an exercise area. 

During the last one month of my stay at Padmanabhanagar, Bengaluru, I have found the existence of seven such parks within a radius of one kilometer from my house. The latest and the best being the Banagiri Park behind the well known landmark, the Devegowda petrol pump. Apart from the above-mentioned fixtures of all parks, it also contains half a dozen sturdy street dogs (luckily for me, they did not display any signs of hostility but I did carry a stick with me for my moral support!) and a cement rhinoceros .  

Even though I resent the conversion of ‘Banagiri’, which means a ‘woody hill’ in kannada, (Bana meaning a garden/woods and Giri is a hill) into a concrete ‘bana’ I liked the bit of the natural rocks which have been retained in the park, indicating the existence of a hill, sometime back. I felt that it added to the beauty of the park. I think I will mark the park in my walking route, everyday, when I am here. Here are some pictures taken this morning.