Bangalore rocks, standing tall

Bangalore is known for its undulating landscape, interspersed by rocky outcroppings here and there. Though some of these granite edifices have been turned concave by quarrying over the years, a few famous landmarks still remain.
The imposing Lal Bagh rock, Ragi Gudda in Jayanagar, the Bugle Rock in Basavangudi, Mount Joy, Ramanjaneya Gudda and Kumara Parvata in Hanumanthnagar towered over the settlements around them and used to be visible from miles away. And alternatively, a view from atop one of these mounds afforded an unrestricted view of the city. But the rapidly transforming city scape has changed all that.
Standing on Lal Bagh's rock and watching planes make a gradual descent at the HAL Airport on the eastern horizon used to be a popular pastime. Not anymore, for, not only have commercial flights stopped landing at the airport but even if they did, new high rises limit the view to just 200 metres.
Climbing on to one’s terrace, one could get an unrestricted view of at least one of these giant rock formations, for, the only things taller than these landmarks were the tall fir trees here and there. One did not have to scale a multi-storied building to get a view of the city's green expanse. With landmarks jutting out of green clumps, one could tell one locality from the other by just standing on one’s first floor.
Besides these mounds within the city, for many years till recently, two other great edifices associated with Bangalore’s history always remained visible to the city’s residents.
The blue, two-humped outline of the Savandurga hill dominated the western horizon of most parts of south Bangalore for many years. Though it is around 60 km from the city, close to Kempegowda's Magadi, the hazy blue hill never failed to catch the eye, dwarfing everything else around it since it is the highest natural feature for miles around.
While the grey contours of the hill show up early in the morning as it bathes in the sunlight, by noon, it turns to a moody blue and finally a dark purple as the flaming ball of fire slowly disappears behind its peaks. And during monsoons, it assumes a heavenly aspect as the two peaks just jut out of the grey-white clouds that hang over the hill like a halo.
Similarly, the citizens of the north of the city boasted a faint view of the majestic Nandi Hills, which showed up distinctly on clear mornings.
And like Magadi's Savandurga, Nandi Hills too, associated with Tipu Sultan, is closely linked to the city’s history.

vijaysimha@newindianexpress.com