Whitefield: Between a colonial past and a post-liberalisation future Premium

Most people new to the city associate Whitefield with the IT hub, upscale malls, vehicular congestion and never-ending water woes. But the suburb also has a long history dating back to 1882, as Deepa, who developed a keen interest in the locality’s heritage since her husband’s family, the Pecks, was among the earliest inhabitants of Whitefield, constantly reiterates. According to her, the man in the photograph, David Emmanuel Starkenburgh White, after whom the area is named, founded Whitefield then on land granted to the Eurasian and Anglo-Indian Association by Chamrajendra Wadiyar X, the Maharaja of Mysore.

The stolid-looking, grey-bearded gentleman has a piercing gaze, one that seems to follow us as we file past his photograph hung on the thick walls of the Whitefield Club. “That is a picture of Mr. White,” says Deepa Peck, a long-time resident of Whitefield who is leading us on a heritage walk around the neighbourhood.

Most people new to the city associate Whitefield with the IT hub, upscale malls, vehicular congestion and never-ending water woes. But the suburb also has a long history dating back to 1882, as Deepa, who developed a keen interest in the locality’s heritage since her husband’s family, the Pecks, was among the earliest inhabitants of Whitefield, constantly reiterates. According to her, the man in the photograph, David Emmanuel Starkenburgh White, after whom the area is named, founded Whitefield then on land granted to the Eurasian and Anglo-Indian Association by Chamrajendra Wadiyar X, the Maharaja of Mysore.

Back then, Whitefield was envisioned as an agricultural settlement, with the early Whitefielders referred to as the settlers, explains Deepa. Whitefield was built in two concentric circles: the Inner Circle, consisting of wedge-shaped residential plots, at the centre of which was the Village Green, from which four radial roads lead to the Outer Circle, comprising larger tracts of land with residences, she further explains. “To the east was the Main Road with residences on either side,” says Deepa, adding that the initial idea of a self-sufficient farming settlement never really took off, partly because of water scarcity. “Water problems are nothing new here. It has been a problem since 1882,” she remarks wryly. Also, “most of the settlers had little or no agricultural background.”

At that time, the Whitefield Settlers Association, headed by Mr. White, was the sole governing body that looked after the affairs of Whitefield - long before it came under the Panchayat, and today, the BBMP. “However, with the advent of apartments and gated communities, each having their own RWA, the Settlers’ Association didn’t have much relevance,” states Deepa, who currently holds the office. In fact, at the last AGM, it was decided that the Whitefield Settlers’ Association would amalgamate with Whitefield Rising, a citizen’s movement in the area, since “it seemed better to be under the aegis of a larger, unifying umbrella.”

The idea for this walk goes back to a project done as part of Gully Tours City Explorer, the walking tour company’s annual flagship programme, which seeks to create more ambassadors for the city. “As part of the programme, participants were divided into groups and asked to design a walk on any given topic,” says Dr. Gayathri Talapula, who is also part of the walk. “Our group chose Whitefield because some of us live here, and we’ve always been intrigued by its past.”

As part of their research, the group explored the older areas of Whitefield, like the inner and outer circles, visiting some of the old houses and speaking to the people living there to get “all possible information about the past of Whitefield,” says Gayathri, who, with her group, designed the heritage walk. During their research, they met Peck, who is deeply interested in the legacy of Whitefield and takes people on these small walks. Gayathri wishes to launch the Whitefield walk officially later this year.

Some of the other stops we make include the small but lovely Memorial Church, consecrated in 1886; the quaint Perfect Peace, one of the first few bungalows to be built in the area, today owned by inventor Paul D’Souza and his mother; the larger Our Lady of Lourdes Church behind which is a stately hillock meant to represent Calvary; the run-down remains of Meer Saheb’s General Store and Waverly Inn, neglected and overrun with dense undergrowth.