CROWN OF THE GARDEN CITY

The following site is of the Cubbon Park (It is situated near Gandhi Nagar in Bangalore). 

In this blog I will be analysing how different the park is on Weekends when compared to Weekdays.Further, I will present my analysis of the site on the basis of Sight, Smell and Sound. 

This mesmerising park was laid by Sir Mark Cubbon.

 The Park in Bangalore spreads over an approximate area of 250 acres. This landmark also consists of various neo-classical building such as the high court, public library and the Government Museum. 

It has a beautiful spread of green foliage & is a home to about 6000+ trees and wildlife. Park can be referred to as the "Lungs Of Bangalore" due to its lavish greenery.

The Cubbon park has a wide variety of famous "hangouts" such as the bird park, the children's park that reminds us of the cheerful innocence of childhood, the dog park which reminds us how dogs are definitely better than humans, the famous "Putani express" that takes you for an elating journey around the park,  band stand where people can show off there talents on the open stage,  charming ponds, mini amusement parks and overall gorgeous greenery. 

The stunning beauty of the park has inspired people to call Bangalore, the 'Garden City' of

India. It lies in the heart of Bangalore, the park is adorned with trees, beautiful flowerbeds

and lawns. It's a wonderful place to visit for people who feel like enjoying some peace and

solitude. The fairy fountains are lit in the evening, with this the park presets a beauty that is

beyond description. There are lot of classes being conducted in Cubbon Park, ranging from

yoga to pottery to aerobics etc.

Hence, the Cubbon Park is a "must visit place" for tourists and people of Bangalore.

photo Reference- https://www.holidify.com/places/bangalore/cubbon-park-sightseeing-1286.html 

 THE DOG PARK

The park has a charming section called as the “Dog Park”. For a dog lover this is THE place to go. Especially on Sunday, the place is filled with dogs that will light up our day. 

In terms of sight I recognised that on weekdays there were not many dogs & people. Mostly because, they have tight schedules on weekdays as they seemed to have preferred walking their dogs quickly outside the park. On weekends between 6:30am-9:00am there are a lot of dogs prancing around the park. In terms of Sound I recognised that on weekdays since there are a very few dogs, the sounds of nature such as the rustling of leaves and birds chirping is a lot more prominent than the sound of dogs barking. On the contrary, on weekends the area is filled with dogs of all breeds having 

the “time of their week”.

 Hence, the sound of them barking and jumping around is very prominent.

in terms of smell I observed that on weekdays the dog park does not have a very distinct "dog smell". on these days there is a strong smell of trees, flowers, mud and overall the natural environment. however, on weekends there is a strong smell  of Dogs mainly in the morning and for a little while in the evening because during the weekends the dog owners are relatively free to spend quality time with their pets at the charming park. 

Another fond memory I have of this place is the touch of these lovely dogs. Some of them had long, clean and soft fur, whereas some of their fur was rough, short and dusty. My personal favourite was the Stray dog or what I like to call the “Great Indian Breed”.

Photo  reference- 

https://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/Doggies’-day-out/article14414677.ece

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MuYhcqgWOI

AS A POLITICAL PLATFORM

 Places like Cubbon Park can be used as a political platform. For instance. On 13/01/2020 The CAA protests at the park had shown a musical twist. Here, A bunch of 30 professional musicians decided to protest at this public park. 

Since the public often hesitates to support the traditional protests against the governments the protesters presented their front In the form of a rap.  

Here, we can see how this “space” is being politicised. It is merely a land with greenery that is used by some to relax and some to protest. 

photoreferences https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizenship_Amendment_Act_protest

BANDSTAND

The Cubbon park has a wonderful forum where people can show off their talents.

this structure is like a 'treasure house' of fond memories for most Bangaloreans.

Many trained professionals have danced, sang & spoken at this hub of cherished performances. This spot at Cubbon park is brimming with excitement on weekends. In terms of sight i noticed that the main performances at bandstand are on weekends and not on weekdays, as a lot more people will be available as audience. in terms of sound I noticed that on weekdays there is almost complete silence. There are a very few people around the bandstand during this time. However, on weekends, I could hear the music from the performers on stage from a mile away, a little chitter-chatter from the audience and a lot of cheering after the performance was heard.  During the weekdays, this area felt very ordinary. When I would touch the stage, the chars or even the ground below my feet I would feel very ordinary. However, on weekends I could feel the vibrations of the loud music from the performance throughout this space.

It's quite interesting to observe this particular "space". It is just an elevated platform whose whole meaning changes when there are artists performing on it. With the presence of performers, the landmark changes from just a "platform" to a"stage".

THE CHILDREN'S PARK

 

At the children’s park There is a toy train ride. Its name is the “Putani Express”. This express is mainly for children (adults are free to accompany) & they are taken for a wonderful ride around the park on a cute track. On the ride I observed sights of small ponds with some man- made islands in the middle, small sheds where people would rest after a tiring jog, a mini kids amusement park which had an eye catching giant “dragon swing” and then in about 15 minutes the train arrives back             at the station. 

This ride on a whole was a cheerful reminder of the innocence of childhood and how little things like this would light up the day of a child. To my observation, on weekends, I could sight a lot more people on board on the train. The reason for this could be that adults and children are often free from the routines of day to day life on weekends and hanging out at the park is a good way to relax. In terms of sound, I recognised that on weekdays at this junction there are a lot of people hence the sound of their “chitter-chatter” overpowers all other sounds. Whereas, on weekdays the sounds of nature overpowers the voices of people since there are fewer people. I observed that the kids park was a lot dirtier on weekends than weekdays as on weekdays there are not many there to litter. This was a very unfortunate observation. It shows the irresponsibility of people towards the public assets of a city. 

In turns of smell, I observed that there was a strong smell of various snacks and chai prevalent at the mini train station ( called Jawahar Bal Bhawan ) mainly on the weekends this is because a lot more food vendors  are available on weekends than on weekdays as they would get better business with more customers. On weekdays there is a wonderful overpowering smell of fresh leaves, mud  & the smell ponds while we were riding the lovely Putani express.

In terms of Touch, I noticed many people enjoying the touch of the trees and flowers while they were  rushing around the park on the tracks of the little express.

PHOTO reference- https://karnatakatravel.blogspot.com/2011/03/toy-train-cubbon-park-and-visvesvaraya.html

https://lbb.in/bangalore/jawahar-bal-bhavan-cubbon-park-98f16b/

FORMATION OF INFORMAL GROUPS

There are lot of sessions, games & classes being conducted in Cubbon Park, ranging from singing, yoga, pottery, aerobics, simple board games etc. While analysing the park during different dates and timings I came up with various observations.

In terms of sight I noticed that on weekdays there were not many classes being conducted besides yoga & aerobics which is supposed to be practiced regularly to keep healthy 

On weekends I observed that there were a lot more classes being conducted for different age groups. This could be because during the week most people are busy and on weekends they like to use the free time to gain skills.

I also observed that the park has a lot of elderly people on weekdays as well as weekends. This is probably because by  that time and age they might have retired from their jobs and it’s their time to enjoy some Peace & Solitude in the beauty of the park. In terms of sound I observed that it was not very noisy (In terms of peoples chitter-chatter, singing etc)  during weekdays because there are not many informal groups and classes in the park premises. However, during weekends the place is brimming with life, movement and people so there is collective sound of vehicles, kids laughing, singing etc. In terms of smell, I observed that on weekdays there is a catchy smell of various delicious eatables in the air. These included chats, corn, cotton candy, tea and my personal favourite coffee. The taste of these “street delicacies” just made my day. 

Compared to weekends there was not a very strong smell of the street food. Instead the smell of nature overpowered this smell. I figure this is because the street vendors recognise that their presence on weekends will not be very profitable. I made a pretty unfortunate observation that when a lot of people were present at the park (weekends) there was also the smell of trash which was scattered around &  on weekdays when there were not many people the trash being spread around was minimal. 

photo references- 

https://pencilandchai.com/drawers-at-garden-city-cubbon-park/

http://nirmukta.com/2013/05/23/bengaluru-freethinkers-may-2013-meet/

GALLERY

Furthermore…

This wonderful garden is evidently a spot of pride for the Bangaloreans. Why wouldn’t it be? I have never been to a more peaceful, green and joyful place. During my time here, I observed how different the place is on weekends when compared to weekdays. I mean this in terms of the various senses ranging from smell, sound, sight, taste to touch. 

This space could have just been a barren land which could be taken over by some builders to construct skyscrapers. However, this lush greenery can never be uprooted. I’m sure no one would ever let that happen.