Haunting legacy of DC bungalows

Though the power has waned over the years, deputy commissioner/collector, DC for short, continues to hold sway. S/he is the the eyes and ears of any government and remains Primus Inter Pares amongst officials at district level. The official residence a DC occupies is typically big, in the middle of a sprawling land. DC Bungalows have always been the envy of other officers.

The bungalows have undergone changes inside, to suit the requirements of successive occupants, but the outer grandeur remains. While many have had to give up the space around them, DC BUNGALOWs are an important landmark even now.

Each of these Bungalow has its own story to tell and interesting anecdotes emerge both on the building and its occupants. In many places like Hassan, Kolar, Chitradurga, and Dharwad, DC Bungalows are in the heart of the town and others stand grand away from town.

In Karwar, located on a hilltop, overlooking the Arabian sea, the bungalow has a beauty of its own. But, beware. Wild animals, including tigers, seem to have wandered inside, may be to monitor the DC’s work! Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s elder brother was a District Judge here in 1882 and the poet spent some time here when he was 22 years old.

In Mangalore, though inside the town, the verandah of the Bungalow gives an excellent view of the Arabian Sea at a distance. Sir Thomas Munro, who became Governor of Madras Presidency later, was the first Collector here in 1799 and subsequently had longer innings in a much bigger DC Bungalow at Bellary. In Tumkur located in Sira Road on outskirts, the basement of the mansion was home to many snakes.

Jnanapith recipient and the father of short stories in Kannada, Masti Venkatesha Iyeangar was a DC in Chikkamagalur. A panoramic view of the Bababudagiri range perhaps inspired many of his works. H L Nagegowda, another well known Kannada writer, also a DC in Chikkamagalur, may have drawn similar inspiration.

In district headquarters like Bidar, Bijapur and Gulbarga, palaces of the erstwhile rulers and heritage buildings serve either as DC Office or quarters.

As an assistant commissioner Bagalkot in 1964, I have myself seen a portion of DC Bungalow at Bijapur being used as a godown! Bijapur faced severe famine in 1964 and the imported American wheat was transported in huge quantities from FCI Godowns in Hyderabad to Bijapur for distribution in fair price shops. As there was a shortage of godown space, Maharudraiya, my boss and the then DC Bijapur, gave the entire ground floor of the bngalow to store the wheat.

The DC Bungalow of Mysore is a beautiful building with a big compound, in an excellent location next to the State Guest House. But it fell into bad times in the 50s after a grown up daughter of a DC committed suicide there. Subsequent office bearers and their families were reluctant to occupy the premises. It took a strong Muslim Officer from Hyderabad Karnataka to dispel this fear! No complaints heard thereafter.