A City Lost in Time

A conversation with author and journalist, Stanley Carvalho:

Past and Curious: Forty Tales of Good Old Bangalore, by Stanley Carvalho, is a book about Bangalore (now Bengaluru), before it became a city filled with traffic, IT industries, and big buildings. Meant for people who knew the old Bangalore, this book provides a blast from the past.

While talking about his book, Mr. Carvalho reminisced about the old city. It was a cantonment town in the 1800s, filled with vast lakes and trees, known for its cool climate, which the British turned into a city. Bangalore used to be “idyllic, calm, and quiet,” says the author. “This book was a long time coming.”

When he was young, back in the 60s, Bangalore was filled with cycles, a sight you would never dream of seeing today. People had gardens in their backyards and grew fresh produce; cows would come to their doorsteps to give them milk, vendors appeared in the streets instead of asking you to come to town to shop, and circuses visited town regularly.

The neighborhood felt like a community, with doors always open to visitors, who announced their arrival with a simple knock. There wasn’t any need to schedule a meeting days in advance. People could visit, safe in the knowledge that someone would be at home.

When Mr. Carvalho wrote the book, he wanted people to “know what Bangalore was.” He said he wanted the youth to know “what a beautiful life we all had.” This book is filled with stories about the lakes, theatres, greenery, trees, playing games outside, cycling, the restaurants, dining in cars, boating, dancing in discotheques, and even the postman who was like a member of his family.

This book is “a book of memories.” Bangalore is “the same place but seemed different.” It’s meant to “give readers a peek into this charming old Bangalore.”

The book was illustrated by Paul Fernandes, a renowned artist from the city itself, and a school senior to Mr. Carvalho. He completed the illustrations for the book in the very short time of a fortnight. Since they grew up together, they shared a good working relationship. The author couldn’t think of anyone better to illustrate his book.

Mr. Carvalho confirmed that he was not against change or development, but stressed that the city planners should have “ensured that the city remained what it was at one time.” He lamented that “development should be positive, for a better life.”

This book is perfect for people who want a glimpse into the past of this huge metropolitan city they are living in, the one where it takes hours to get to work and back home, where something is always happening. It shows people what they could have had, had they been born a few decades earlier, and what could have been preserved if only the city was planned out better.