Geographical insight into Bengaluru!!

Friday, January 16, 2015

Field trips are an essential component for students to learn beyond the classroom and experience the interconnectedness of learning. The Grade 2 students are inquiring to understand 'how the geography of a place provides an insight into its history and the people that live there. To make the learning purposeful students went on a field trip around Bengaluru to understand the geography and history of the place they live in.

Our students went through a time travel machine, taking them way back to 1537, to the era of Kempe Gowda, the city's founder who planned his township around lakes. Standing on the bridge at Kempambudhi Lake at Gavipuram, students were enlightened with the odyssey of lakes, - Why Bengaluru is called the city of Lakes? The students being “Inquirers” questioned, “How / why did Kempegowda make so many lakes?” To find this the students walked to different heights at Gavipuram to see how the terrain is hilly, up and down and the valley formed is dammed to build lakes. They share that most of Bengaluru is hilly lending itself to building lakes. Right through the ages, Haider Ali, Tipu Sultan, the Wodeyars and the Britishers recognised this simple fact and accorded high importance to the preservation of the city's lakes. But in present day most lakes are being replaced by concrete jungle which effects the environment of the city.

The students travelling through time move into 1760, and headed toward Tipu Sultan’s Armoury passing by the Bangalore Fort to gather information on Tipu Sultan, a great ruler of Bengaluru. At this point the students asked, “Tipu build his summer palace in Bangalore because it is cooler than Srirangapatnam. But, why is Bengaluru cooler?” At this point our guides introduced the word “Plateau” and shared how the altitude of Bengaluru and the geographical condition makes it a cool and pleasant city. This has left our enthusiastic students wanting to know more about plateau and the climatic conditions of Bengaluru.

The last stop was at Holy Trinity Church, the time travel machine took the students further into 1850, the British era in Bengaluru. It was shared through maps and stories how the British extended the city further and built the cantonment. Most of the building was built in the Greco Roman style. The roads and building were named after the British army or their Officers. The British also preferred Bangalore to Mysore because of its weather.

This field trip was a great experience to understand where they are in place and time. It also helped them to make connection to the different time and how the time has brought about the changes in the place they live in. Moreover the field trip has left our 'Inquirers' curious and wanting to know more about the geography and the history of the place they live.