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Halasuru formerly known as Ulsoor, is one of the oldest neighborhoods Bangalore. It is located in east Bangalore, and begins roughly near the eastern terminus of MG Road. It is renowned for its numerous temples and the Ulsoor Lake. Even though the lake dates to Kempegowdas’ time, the present lake was created by Sir Lewin Bentham Bowring, the then Commissioner of Bangalore.
The village of Halasuru is said to have been gifted to Kempe Gowda I (1513-1569), the founder of Bangalore, by the Vijayanagar emperors. The Ulsoor Lake was built by his successor, Kempe Gowda II, and is the only surviving tank built by the Gowda kings in Bangalore. The first British military station was set up in Halasuru in 1807.
There used to be a jackfruit orchard near the Ulsoor Lake, and the Kannada name for jackfruit being ‘Halasina Hannu’ the area came to be known as Halasuru. During the British rule, the name was anglicized to 'Ulsoor', but in 2004, the neighborhood was officially renamed 'Halasuru'. As of 2006, almost all signs in the area have been changed to reflect the name change.
The residential areas here include Car Street, Bazaar Street and Temple Street which exemplify interesting elements of vernacular architecture and ample evidence of British town-planning. There are several old temples in Halasuru, which are scattered throughout the area. The oldest temple is the Halasuru Someshwara Temple. The largest Sikh shrine in Bangalore, the Sri Guru Singh Sabha, is situated on the banks of the Ulsoor Lake.
There are two proposed Bangalore Metro Rail stations that will be located in Halasuru:
- Ulsoor (Located on Old Madras Road, at the end closer to MG Road)
- CMH Road
Indiranagar, named after former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, is a suburb of Bangalore, located about 4 km east of M G Road and a bustling commercial and residential area.
It is enclosed by the Old Madras Road in the North, Airport Road in the South, Ulsoor in the West and Jeevanbheemanagar in the East. The commercial area of Indiranagar is along and around the Chinmaya Mission Hospital (CMH) Road, which accommodates almost everything from cafes, supermarkets, to appliance stores and restaurants. Just like other parts of Bangalore, the arterial roads in Indiranagar too are named after the width of the roads, the busy 100 Feet Road connects the Airport Road and Old Madras road, which forms an important link to the Intermediate Ring Road, and houses a lot of life style showrooms and cafes. The small but affluent "Defence Colony", formed in the mid-1960s, when the government of Karnataka provided land to the Mysore sub-area Housing Cooperative Society, which allotted it to serving and retired armed forces personnel, with its large bungalows, and neat tree-lined lanes is located along this stretch.
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) the government aeronautics and defence establishment is on the periphery of Indiranagar. Indiranagar is now slowly transforming into an important commercial hub, with a lot of small and medium sized companies setting shop here. Quite a few of the old houses have given way to apartment buildings and shops, particularly on the eastern portion of CMH Road between 80 Feet Road and 100 Feet Road. On the other side of 100 feet road is the other public sector giant Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML). Work on the Bangalore Metro Rail in this started in July 2008 and the width of CMH road currently available for use is very limited and not recommended for vehicular traffic.
The Indiranagar Club, National Public School, New Horizon Public School, Chinmaya Mission Hospital are some important landmarks.
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