When the Hockey stadium was home to fishes ...

Till a century back, the KSHA Hockey Stadium was underwater … serving as a “Kere“ or lake for the people in Shanti Nagar and Richmond town.

Mud tank - now the cricket ground 

As a source of abundant water for the various needs of life in the area, it was also why the Muneshwara (Shiva) temple, opposite to the Richmond park, is called the “Kere Muneshwara” Temple.

The kids taking notes 

What it was .... the 'Kere'

Amanda shares the history of the “Mud Tank”

Now the site of the Karnataka State Hockey Stadium and the adjoining Cricket field, the original water tank that stood here was built to supply water to the adjacent village of Akkithimmanahalli (now ‘Shantinagar’) during or before the time of Kempegowda (late 16th century).

Childhood accounts through the 1950s describe the pleasure of fishing for minnows in the tank. The ring of large Rain Trees surrounding the original tank was planted by the British over 100 years ago. When Cauvery water became widely available, the tank stopped being maintained and became a breeding ground for malaria-carrying mosquitos.  It was fully drained in the 1970s, and the Hockey Stadium was built on the reclaimed land in the 1980s.  The grounds have now been elevated, but in heavy rain, the area still floods as it is a natural low groundwater collection point.

Re-creation spot today

Our Exhibit is on the 31^st of March and then on the 6^th and 7^th of April. Do join us, we start in the park.

Please do reach out to Tanya ( 98451 31025) or Cauvery (99720 45903) to join us for the displays !!