Jayanagar, One of the oldest and Bengaluru city’s most beloved neighbourhoods celebrated its 75 years of establishment on August 20th, 2023. Known as the country’s most meticulously planned neighborhood after independence, it was built in 1948 by the City Improvement Trust Board (CITB), now known as the Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA).
source: The Hindu
A year after India gained independence, prominently known as Rajaji, the then governor-general of India Chakravarti Rajagopalachari, inaugurated the momentous event after arriving at Kanakanapalya and laid the foundation stone for the iconic Ashoka Pillar, now an entry point to the locality, to mark the beginning of civil works for Jayanagar. Rajaji used a silver karne (trowel in Kannada) presented to him on the occasion to lay the foundation stone with cement. Initially, the layout had 5,750 sites and covered a lavish 1,262 acres, making it larger than any of the other planned neighborhoods in the city — many claim Jayanagar was the largest planned layout in Asia at the time of its inception. The neighborhood stretches from Ashoka Pillar in one corner to Jayadeva Hospital in the other, and the area from Ashoka Pillar to Madhavan Park was where many VIPs resided at the time.
source: Deccan Herald
Over time, Jayanagar has carved itself as one of the central areas in Bengaluru city, known for its high property values and educational institutions, like home to institutions like Vijaya College, National College-Jayanagar, and NMKRV College for Women. Although details of how the neighborhood’s name, Jayanagar came into use remains a mystery, it is presumed that the name “Jayanagar” pays homage to the last Mysore Maharaja, Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar, symbolizing “victory city.” The T in 4th T Block stands for Thayappanahalli, and the story of Jayanagar 4th T Block is the most interesting as Thayappanahalli was named after its chieftain Thayappa, and its residents vehemently objected to the renaming of their area as 4th Block. CITB officials and local politicians had to convince them.
source: The Hindu
Jayanagar 4th Block, later turned into a commercial hub after the famous Jayanagar Shopping Complex was opened in 1974. Jayanagar 3rd Block was the talk of the town in the early 1980s when the then Karnataka chief minister R Gundu Rao inaugurated the swimming pool by stripping it down to his swimming trunks and diving into the pool. Iconic landmarks like National College (founded in 1965), Nanda Theatre (constructed in 1969), and the popular City Library (established in 1968 near South End Circle) have contributed to shaping the essence of this locality over the years.
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