Shashi's Musings: Bengaluru Footpath Walk: 01-Jan-2026

I had the pleasure and privilege of walking the 26 Km Bengaluru Footpath Walk on the 01-Jan-2026. Led by Arun Pai, we walked with a goal to test Bengaluru's footpath 'walkabilitiy'. The route was well chosen and for the most part, we had good walking space.

Arun shared a lot about the history of the places we walked through. We were greeted and joined by several BBMP commissioners along the way and they pledged to keep improving Bengaluru's footpaths.

Here are the key highlights:

The tree-lined street along the metro in Jayanagar which we call as RV Road is named Lakshman Rao Boulevard and is the brainchild of IAS Officer N. Lakshman Rao.
Jayanagar was established in the year 1948 and is named after Mysore Maharaja, Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar. It was inaugurated by India's first Governor General, C. Rajagopalachari.
Came to know about all the old villages that got renamed. The Green Line metro station names are new name, whereas the stations on the Purple line extension are named after the old villages.

The 'T' in the 4th T Block, Jayanagar stands for Thayappanahali.

Was surprised to find the walkway along the storm water drain (Raja Kaluve) from Shanthi Nagar Bus Stop to Ejipura. We walked till Hosur road on this walkway. While it was smelly at times, it was good to see the local government taking efforts to establish such a walkway.
Met and spoke with a diverse set of people, including 9 & 11 year old brothers who walked the entire stretch and a 23-year old young man who has 2 patent applications pending.

Here are a few pictures of our beautiful city Bengaluru. Let's live together and make it an inclusive city regardless of origin and language.