Apr 08 2025 to Apr 08 2025 6:30 p.m.

Where

Bangalore International Centre

7 4th Main Rd, Stage 2, Domlur 560071

Event Description

What makes a city uniquely itself? Is it its geography, history, location, demographic? Is it its leaders, influencers, inspirations? Or is it something else, an undefinable but palpable spirit, wrought over centuries of a combination of all these, that seeps into the soil and charges the air, infecting residents and visitors alike?

Two decades of exploring, discovering, researching – and reading, writing, and talking – about her hometown have convinced Roopa Pai, author, columnist, and co-founder of the heritage walks and tours company, BangaloreWalks, that the latter is true – cities are neither born nor made, they become. Her collection of evocative essays on the city have now been compiled into a book, Becoming Bangalore, published by Hachette India.

In her conversation with Brinda S Narayan, Roopa will dive into the city’s history to tease out bits of the Bangalore jigsaw – a chieftain’s decision, a Commissioner’s inclusiveness, a scientist’s quest for excellence, a Dewan’s conviction, a missionary’s zeal, a Maharani’s foresight, an entrepreneur’s vision, an industrialist’s generosity, an activist’s passion, a common man’s ambition, a writer’s pride in his language – in an effort to track down the genesis of Bangalore’s modern, progressive, liberal spirit.

What she hopes will emerge from that discussion are tantalizing hints that reveal how a little 16th century settlement on a hill became India’s most charismatic city.

A Q&A with the audience will follow.

Speakers

Roopa Pai
Writer & Translator
Roopa Pai is a third-generation Bangalorean who has carried on a very public love affair with her city for as long as she can remember. This computer engineer is also one of India’s best-known children’s writers, whose many bestselling books are enjoyed as much by adults as by children. For over 20 years now, she has also been leading children and adults on heritage walks around her beloved city and state, as part of her job with a company she co-founded, Bangalore Walks. She has recently translated 100 poems of the celebrated Kannada poet, KS Nisar Ahmed, into English; the collection will soon be published as a book.

Becoming Bangalore is her second book on the city. She is also the author of Cubbon Park: The Green Heart of Bengaluru, the first-ever history of the 155-year-old park.

Brinda S. Narayan
Writer & Blogger
After working in the corporate sector for fifteen years, Brinda S. Narayan turned to writing in midlife. She is the author of No Trespassing (Westland, 2019), a psychological thriller set in a Bangalore-based gated community and Bangalore Calling (Hachette India, 2011), a collection of linked stories set in a call center. Her third book, a young adult novel co-authored with Aruna Sankaranarayanan, will be published by Hachette India in 2025. She loves reading, walking in parks and baking YouTube-inspired desserts. She blogs about people and books at https://brindasnarayan.com/blog/