Girinagar

ಗಿರಿನಗರ Girinagar
—  neighbourhood  —
ಗಿರಿನಗರ Girinagar Location of ಗಿರಿನಗರ Girinagar in Bangalore and India
Coordinates	12°56′32″N 77°32′44″E
Country	India
State	Karnataka
District(s)	Bangalore Urban
Parliamentary constituency	Bangalore South
Assembly constituency	Basavanagudi, Vijayanagar
Zone	Bangalore South
Ward	158, 162
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)
Area • Elevation	• 865 metres (2,838 ft)
Codes • Pincode • 560026, 560085 • Telephone • +91-80 • Vehicle • KA 41

Girinagar (Kannada: ಗಿರಿನಗರ) (formerly known as Writer's Colony) is a residential area in South West Bangalore, very close to Mysore Road. This medium sized locality is surrounded by Nayandahalli in the west, Byatarayanapura and Deepanjali Nagar in the north, Srinagar and Banashankari in the east and Hosakerehalli in the south.

Etymology

Girinagar was named after the former President of India V.V. Giri.

Geography

Girinagar is at a lower altitude (865 m) compared to the rest of Bangalore, which has an average elevation of 900 m. Also this area is very hilly, with steep roads, being on the slope of the plateau. To the west of Girinagar is a hill, known as Hirannaya Gudda in Kannada. This area lies in the Vrishabhavathi Valley region of Bangalore.

Basically Girinagar is divided into 4 phases, with the 2nd phase being the largest. It also subsumes areas such as T Block, Muneshwara Block, Nagendra Block, Avalahalli, Ganapathi Nagar and Chamundi Nagar.

Culture

Girinagar is one of the more older, conservative areas of Bangalore, with a predominantly Kannada speaking population. The population is also predominantly Hindu. This area is not very cosmopolitan and tradition is the order of the day. But nowadays the youngsters here have a blend of both modern as well as traditional values.

Being in Southwest Bangalore, Girinagar is well connected to the Bangalore Central Business District, but is very far away from the IT Corridor. However, with a lot of major employers opening office locations in South Bangalore, and with a series on new malls and multiplexes coming up shortly in its vicinity, Girinagar has maintained its desirability for the upwardly-mobile, family-oriented.

Temples

It is known as the spiritual hub of Bangalore, along with Mahalakshmi Layout and Thyagarajanagar due to the numerous temples and religious activities in the area. Some of the famous temples here are-

• Karyasiddhi Anjaneya Temple- It attracts devotees from all parts of Bangalore. The temple is also the Bangalore branch of the Avadhoota Datta Peetham, started by Parma Pujya Sri Sri Sri Ganapathi Sachchidananda Swamiji.
• Sri Ramashrama- The Bangalore branch of the Malnad based Havyaka community's religious institution Shree Ramachandrapura Matha.
• Sri Sai Mandiram Trust- A famous Sri Shirdi Sai Baba temple in 2nd phase.
• Sri Vasavi Kanyakaparameshwari temple- A very famous temple of the Telugu speaking Arya Vysya community.
• Sri Raghavendra Swami Mutt
• ISKCON Sri Jagannath Mandir- A new branch of ISKCON started in April 2011.

Also there is a temple street in the 1st Phase of Girinagar. This street has 5 temples next to each other. They are Sri Sita Ramachandra Lakshmana Swamy Temple, Sringeri Mutt Sri Sharada Devi Temple, Sri Anjaneya Swamy Temple, Sri Lakshmi Venkateshwara Swamy Temple and Sri Mahaganapathi Temple.

Cultural institutions

Girinagar is probably one of the few localities in Bangalore where Indian culture is still the order of the day. Western based culture has still not caught up here unlike in eastern Bangalore areas like Indiranagar and Koramangala.

There are many institutions conducting classes in classical music, dance, yoga, vedas and even Sanskrit. Some of these institutions are-

• Aksharam- It is a Sanskrit school which is the Bangalore branch of the Sanskrit promoting non profit organisation, Samskrita Bharathi
• Yogashri- This is located in the famous Vivekananda Park in Girinagar 1st phase. Yogashree is one of the most prominent wings of Hindu Seva Prathistana an NGO in the service of mankind for the last three decades. Yogashree has the unique achievement of training over 40,000 people in yoga, to its credit.
• Shankara Veda Patshala
• Padmavathi School of Performing Arts- A dance school which teaches Kathak, Bharata Natyam and Odissi. Conducts classes regularly on weekends.

During the evenings, there are also many classical dance and music performances in the temples or in the cultural institutions in the area.

Attractions

BDA Park and Vivekananda Park are the major tourist attractions in Girinagar, apart from the temples mentioned in the previous section. The latter is famous for its statue of Swami Vivekananda, giving the park its name. Another famous attraction is the hill in Girinagar, or Hirannaya Gudda.

Cinemas

Girinagar has only 1 main theatre, Venkateshwara situated in the Muneshwara Block Main Road. It shows mainly Sandalwood films. But there are other theatres Vijay, Kokila, Chowdeshwari, Kamakya, Eshwari and Chandrodaya located in adjacent neighbourhoods.

Business, retail and finance

The growth in population and economic activities can be gauged by the presence of the banks, retail and financial institutions at Girinagar. Over the years, its infrastructure has grown rapidly enabling businesses in this area. Predominantly, this is a residential area. It is a home user market and all major home appliances retail chain stores such as LG Best Shoppe, Spencer's Daily, Nilgiris, More etc. have their operations here.

There are several banks here: State Bank of Travancore, Corporation Bank, Vijaya Bank, Syndicate Bank, Canara Bank, HDFC Bank to name a few.

Restaurants

The restaurants in this area are predominantly South Indian darshinis. Some of the well known eateries here are Padmanabha Food Kemp, Sri Manjunatha Darshini, Davanagere Benne Dosa and Sri Guru Chats to name a few. Multicuisine restaurants and global food chains are absent in this area.

Educational institutions

Schools in the neighbourhood include Auden Public School, Purnapramati, Shantinikethana English School, Vijayabharathi Vidyalaya, Martin Luther Public School, St Pauls English School and Janadeepthi English School. However except for Auden Public School, the other schools are new or quite ordinary and most of the sudents in the locality usually study in schools in Basavanagudi, Banashankari and Jayanagar.

PESIT, PES Degree College, Little Flower Public School, Auden High School, Websters School and the Karnataka state office of the NCERT are all located in adjacent neighborhoods.

Health care

Hospitals with good facilities are present in Girinagar, like Radhakrishna Hospital, Vinayaka Hospital, Vittal Eye Hospital, Kammavari Sangham Hospital, to name a few. Also present are many physiotherapy centres to serve the elder citizens of the area. Many gyms are also dotted all over Girinagar.

Administration

Girinagar lies in the Bangalore South parliamentary constituency. The Current sitting Member of Parliament of Bangalore South is Shri. Ananth Kumar (BJP). Most of Girinagar lies in the Basavanagudi assembly constituency. The current sitting Member of Legislative assembly is Shri. Ravi Subramanya (BJP), who resides in Girinagar. However the part of Girinagar north of 50 Feet Road viz. Avalahalli, 3rd Phase, Muneshwara Block and Ganapathi Nagar sublocalities lies in the Vijayanagar assembly constituency. The current sitting Member of Legislative assembly is Shri. M. Krishnappa (INC).

Girinagar is also a ward in the Bangalore South zone of the BBMP (ward no. 162). It ranges from Nagendra Block in the east to Hosakerehalli Road in the west, from 50 Feet Road in the north to ORR in the south. and spans 1.77 km². The ward has been reserved for women and the current corporator is Smt. H.S. Lalitha (BJP). However the northernmost part of Girinagar (north of 50 Feet road) lies in the Deepanjali Nagar ward (ward no. 158), also in the Bangalore South Zone and spans 2.09 km². This ward also is reserved for women and the current corporator is Smt. Malathi (BJP).

Transportation

Girinagar is one of the well known areas of Bangalore and most modes of transport in Bangalore will get you in and out of Girinagar, including public buses, autorickshaws or city taxis.

The main roads in Girinagar are the 50 Feet Road (connecting the ORR and Basavanagudi), 80 Feet Road (connecting Hosakerehalli Road and Nagendra Block), Nehru Road (connecting 50 Feet Road and Girinagar 2nd phase) and Hosakerehalli Road (connecting Mysore Road and ORR). Arterial roads like Mysore Road and the ORR are just 1 km from Girinagar.

Girinagar is well connected by BMTC buses from Majestic and Shivajinagar. The buses are not very frequent but regular. The routes from Majestic are 10 (Marcopolo AC route), 36A, 36B, 36E and 36G which can be boarded from platform 10 in Majestic. The routes from Shivajinagar are 37E and 37F, which can be boarded from platform 10 in Shivajinagar.

Notable residents

• Ravi Subramanya, MLA, Bharatiya Janata Party
• M.N. Vidyashankar, IT secretary, Government of Karnataka
• Sunil Rao, Sandalwood actor
• Dr. R.T. Rama, notable theater personality and a Sandalwood actor
• Dr. Aralumallige Parthasarathy, an international scholar, expert on Dasa Sahitya
• Hema Panchamukhi, Sandalwood actress
• Sanjay Subramanyam, Magician
• Vijay Bharadwaj, Former Indian cricketer