The city grew by lakes and boulders

Bengaluru had about 285 tanks, but called lakes, in the 1960s. Most of them were built during the pre-colonial days. They were all interlinked with canals, and surplus water from each flowed into the next in a series. Unfortunately, the city lost many of its water bodies to mindless urbanisation.

Today, not many may be familiar with the Kalu Kuttai lake that stretched from an old house next to the ITC factory (it has since moved to Doddajala) to the edge of Jaibharathnagar. During the ‘60s, the tranquil lake in Maruthi Sevanagar was a popular escape for youngsters from the surrounding areas. They loved swimming or frolicking in its still waters. The lake would fill up in monsoons and flood its banks. Strewn with rocks and boulders, it was rather deep in the middle, and nobody ventured into the danger zone. But unfortunately, there was no aquatic life in these waters save for some tadpoles and children fished for them and took them away in bottles only to be cast away by their parents. Frogs were found in plenty back in those days unlike now.

As youngsters, we saw duck sellers from villages trudging to town with their flocks, descend on the lake, and allow the raft of birds to swim in the lake. Ducks are a rare sight now in the city. Thankfully, the memory of these delightful birds is preserved by the master illustrator Paul Fernandes in his painting of a man leading a paddling of ducks by the Fraser Town
underbridge.

Back when the lake was alive, travel-weary traders also stopped for a breath by the lake and parked their baskets or pots on the flat stone caps mounted on two vertical granite supports before going on their way again. These stone stands, around five feet tall and 2-feet wide, have disappeared too as the city grew.

An old-timer living in Fraser Town regaled me with a story on how he and his friends had a whale of a time at the lake. They would strip on the banks and plunge off the rocks into the tranquil waters. A gang of pranksters once made away with their clothes leaving the swimmers embarassed and aghast. Thankfully, the gang returned with the clothes and ended their agony.

In the old days, townies seldom ventured into this part of Bengaluru. Vast swathes of vineyards and agricultural lands stretched for miles around the place. Barring the Imperial Tobacco Company and a few scattered houses, we seldom saw human activity. But like many other water bodies, the lake made way for a residential colony.

The MEG Officers’ Colony that sprang up on the lakebed, now has houses of several army officers. A few rocks still stand in the middle of a small park in the settlement as if to remind us of the lake that once existed. I wonder if the current residents of the area have any knowldge of its exciting past.