Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore is remembered in different ways across India. In Bangalore, the neighbourhood R.T. Nagar has been named after him in addition to the Ravindra Kalakshetra and a few other institutions in north Bangalore. So what is Rabindranath Tagore Nagar or R.T. Nagar all about?
Then and now
The hallmark of Bangalore is its linguistic and cultural diversity and R.T. Nagar is an example of this, considering that one can hear Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Urdu and Bengali spoken in the area.
The locality was developed as a small layout by the Bangalore Development Authority in the 1970s, but over the last few decades, R. T. Nagar has grown into a busy commercial and residential hub.
Nearby villages such as Matadahalli in the south, Gangenahalli in the west and portions of Hebbal to the north are now considered a part of R.T. Nagar, and Rehmat Nagar, Sultanpalya, Dinnur and MLA Layout (many of its residents are current or former MLAs) are among the smaller neighbourhoods in the locality.
“The inflow of people and the radius of R. T. Nagar have increased over a period of time. For some years now, I have been finding persons from West Bengal, Bihar and the north eastern states settling here as well. But apartment complexes are fewer here than in other parts of Bangalore. This is perhaps why R.T. Nagar is still a quaint little neighbourhood where neighbours, especially senior citizens who have known each other for long meet in the park regularly,” said Sunand Sampath, founder and chairperson of Iquest Outdoor Leadership and Adventure Consultants.
He has worked and lived in the area for around 20 years. And, as someone who has been visiting R.T. Nagar frequently for the last six years, I cannot disagree.
The 25-year old Bangalore School of Music is one of the more well-known institutions here. Apart from it are offices of Government of India establishments such as the Ministry of Defence and Doordarshan Kendra. Another important landmark in the neighbourhood is the Parachute Regiment Training Centre which has earned accolades for various conventional wars. Also, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is located in Ganganagar which skirts R.T. Nagar.
Overcrowded
In some parts of R.T. Nagar such as MLA Layout, there are wide, clean and well tarred roads and a reasonable amount of green cover. On the other hand, the expansive R.T. Nagar Main Road which has become fairly overcrowded is comparable to any other arterial road in the city with umpteen shops, restaurants and retail outlets.
“Dinnur Main Road which has multiple furniture stores and small traders is very narrow and does not have a footpath. People have to be cautious when they walk,” remarked another resident.
Two facets of R.T. Nagar that stand out are that the area is well connected by public transport and has good amenities. This is perhaps the reason why many still choose to live in the area, despite steep real estate prices.
