Articles by Roopa Pai
The Sundarams: Bangalore’s first couple of aviation
In 1935, Capt V Sundaram became a licensed pilot. In 1937, he became the first Indian to get a commercial pilot’s licence. In 1950, his wife Usha Sundaram became PM Nehru’s personal pilot
Updated on Oct 01, 2024 06:30 AM IST
The first ladies of the Kannada Kadambari
Born in 1917 in Mysore, Kannada’s first woman humourist T Sunandamma’s delightful writings were first published in the legendary Kannada humour monthly, Koravanji, in 1942
Updated on Sep 17, 2024 06:58 AM IST
The silk root: The international story of Mysore silk
The festival of janmashtami also means that it’s time to pull out the silks after months of slopping about in jeans and dri-fits in Bengaluru
Updated on Aug 27, 2024 05:04 AM IST
Girls getting schooled: an old Bengaluru story
Not Sophia High School, Canarese (Kannada) girls’ school on Mission Road predates Sophia’s by, hold your breath, over one hundred years.
Updated on Aug 16, 2024 05:16 AM IST
A Mysore nawab and his French Connection
The French East India Company (EIC) was late to the India party; it arrived in 1664, well after the British EIC (1600) and the Dutch EIC (1602).
Updated on Jul 30, 2024 07:00 AM IST
A Gujarati bride for a Mysore prince
A quick glance at the marital alliances of the Wadiyars since 1900, when Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV (16) was married to an 11-year-old princess from the Kathiawar region, shows a significant number of princes and princesses from royal families of Gujarat and Rajasthan joining the royal Mysore bloodline
Updated on Jul 16, 2024 04:02 PM IST
A yoga story for International Yoga Day
One of the pioneers of ’Hatha Yoga’ was Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, widely regarded as the ‘Father of Modern Yoga.’
Updated on Jun 20, 2024 08:58 AM IST
A Canadian crop doctor in Bengaluru
Leslie Coleman set up the Hebbal Agricultural School (today part of the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS), on the same campus) in 1913, and served as its first Principal
Updated on Jun 04, 2024 07:34 AM IST
The swimming sensation of Kempambudhi Kere
Bengaluru's rich swimming legacy dates back to the 1920s, with notable champions like Nisha Millet and Dhinidhi Desinghu leading the way.
Updated on May 07, 2024 08:12 AM IST
A magnificent Mysorean and his flying machines
India’s first aviator SV Setty dreamt of building India’s first aircraft in Bangalore, but WWI (1914-1918) put his plans on hold.
Updated on Apr 26, 2024 08:18 AM IST
Desperately seeking water: An old Bengaluru story
Water security, not just for agriculture but also for drinking, became a serious priority for the Mysore government in 1880s
A stadium located at (and in) the city’s heart
The win was also a nice tribute to the beloved stadium that celebrates its 50th anniversary this year
Updated on Mar 13, 2024 02:26 PM IST
The dazzling 20/20 vision of Ram Krishna Baliga
In 1976, The Times of India reported on the vision of KEONICS to make Karnataka the 'electronics state.' RK Baliga played a key role in establishing Electronics City in Bengaluru.
Updated on Feb 29, 2024 09:00 AM IST
Books and the Ooru: A Valentine’s Day love story
Sudha Murthy reiterated that what had first drawn her to ‘Murthy’ was how voraciously – and eclectically – he read
Updated on Feb 15, 2024 09:08 AM IST
Why Bengalureans have been good sports
Bengaluru’s vibrant sporting culture is not acknowledged as much as its podium-finish performances in other races, including IT, biotech, education, aerospace, microbreweries, or start-up unicorns
Updated on Jan 31, 2024 08:34 AM IST
Dehave Degula: The game-changing ideas of Basavanna
There is no denying the ever-present need to showcase Basavanna’s liberal, inclusive ideas in every kind of forum
Updated on Jan 16, 2024 08:00 AM IST
An Anglo-Indian corner of a Bengaluru field
Whitefield was conceived as a home for Bangalore’s Eurasian and and Anglo-Indian communities
In Bengaluru, ghosts of Christmases past
Once again, the old Cantonment churches will draw legions of the faithful to midnight mass to celebrate the birth of the Christ Child.
Updated on Dec 19, 2023 08:47 AM IST
Bangarada Manushya: The legacy of Dr Rajkumar
To Kannadigas, November 15 marks a bittersweet anniversary – it was the day on which, 23 years ago, their beloved Annavaru, ‘Natasarvabhouma’ Dr Rajkumar, who had been abducted and held hostage by the dreaded bandit Veerappan, was finally released
Remembering Rashtrakavi: A Kuvempu tribute
November is a good time to remember the greatest Kannada poet of the 20th century Kuvempu, who passed 29 years ago on the 11th of the month.
Updated on Nov 07, 2023 03:52 PM IST
A birthday history for a beloved state
The rise of Kannada as a prominent language and the movement for unification of Karnataka.
Updated on Oct 25, 2023 08:40 AM IST
A missionary, a palace, and the Bhagavad Gita
Dasara is almost here in Bengaluru, Karnataka, with the annual Nadahabba. The city's historic connection to Mysuru and the Bengaluru Palace is explored.
A Kannada humour magazine that is pure gold
Let’s dive into the journey of a small independent Kannada humour magazine Aparanji as it paces towards its 40th birthday on October 7.
Published on Sep 26, 2023 01:15 AM IST
The man who engineered a revolution
Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya, a celebrated Indian engineer born on September 15, is honored on National Engineer's Day for his contributions to the field.
Updated on Sep 12, 2023 12:32 AM IST
The man who built a satellite in a shed
Let us shift our attention away from the lander to Chandrayaan-3, the satellite that carried it there, and to the story of India’s satellite dream, which began in 1972 in six rough industrial sheds outside Bengaluru
Updated on Aug 29, 2023 02:15 PM IST
The Tragic Tale of the ‘Gandhi of the South’
The column talks about one of the first recruits for the Non-Cooperation movement from Karnataka, a38-year-old lawyer Karnad Sadashiva Rao, the scion of a prosperous family of professionals from Mangaluru
Updated on Aug 01, 2023 01:20 PM IST
Roopa Pai
The man who brought ISRO to Bengaluru
India's national space agency, ISRO, is in the spotlight for its efforts to land a spacecraft on the moon.
Updated on Jul 20, 2023 05:28 PM IST
Roopa Pai
The little known origins of Kannada Press Day
A total of 7,850 copies of the MS were lithographed at the Basel Mission Press between 1st July 1843 and February 15, 1844
Updated on Jul 05, 2023 01:16 AM IST
Roopa Pai
Liquor into printing ink: A newspaper story
The column talk about the journey of Kanekal Nettakallappa Guruswamy from a liquor baron to a founder of Deccan Herald and Prajavani
Updated on Jun 20, 2023 01:02 AM IST
Roopa Pai
The man who dreamed up Vidhana Soudha
The problem with being Bengalurean (a very different thing from ‘living in Bengaluru’) is that many of the benefits of being one can only be experienced, not articulated.
Updated on Jun 07, 2023 04:43 PM IST
Roopa Pai
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