The road named after the noted Kannada litterateur, Dr D V Gundappa, is a stretch with a bustling shopping centre and though not an arterial road, is a busy stretch that intersects through a large area of Basavanagudi residential area.
The road is unique in that it was named after the great litterateur even while he was living unlike most roads in the City. Also the fact that he lived there himself added to the uniqueness. Old timers remember that Gundappa was annoyed that the road had been named after him without his permission.
D V Gundappa (1889-1975) was a matriculate who started working as a journalist at the age of 16. Two years later, he started publishing his own newspaper. He become a luminary of Kannada literature writing on subjects that covered philosophy and literature as well as sociology and history. He was also an activist associated with institutions like Popular Education League and the Social Service League. In 1945, he set up the Gokhale Institute of Public Affairs, a forum intended to awaken national consciousness among people. He was also the Founder-Editor of the institute’s journal, ‘Public Affairs’.
The serpentine road which is about two kms long begins at the Nagasanda Circle and crosses over Model House Street, Subbrama Chetty Road, Mallikarjuna Temple Road, Govindappa Road, Police Station Road, Bugle Rock Road, Gandhi Bazar Road and ends on Vani Vilas Road near the starting point of the flyover.
The road is choc-a-block with shops and commercial establishments of every kind — jewellers, opticians, stationery, utensils, shoes, travel goods, sweetmeat shops and even a bangle store, a rarity these days. The old and new co-exist here and thus you have branded clothes and accessories along with Khadi Grama Udyog Bhavan. You can get everything from pappads and pickles to pizzas and pastries.
When it comes to eateries, there is a wide choice. There are trendy restaurants that serve multi-cuisine food, Darshinis or the old style restaurants like Modern Tiffin Room (opposite Shankar Temple) and Mahalakshmi Tiffin Room; bakeries and traditional sweet shops including an outlet of Dharwad Misra pedha and New Arya Bhavan Sweets.
Abalashrama is a well-known landmark on this road. It was established by Venkatavarada Iyengar and his wife in 1905 to rehabilitate orphan girls and destitute women. In fact Iyengar set an example by marrying Krishnamma, a childhood widow.
The burning ideals of Arya Samaj, his zeal for helping deprived women and his wife’s support sowed the seeds. Initially they converted their own modest home in Basavanagudi but later, in 1911, it moved to a spacious premises on DVG Road. It was registered as a society in 1943-44 and when an elected body took over the reins to run the organisation, it started functioning as a full-fledged formal institution.
Since then, it has not only been providing shelter and food for the residents, but has also strived to integrate them into the social mainstream by providing education and vocational training and have also successfully arranged marriages. Currently they are constructing their new building.
