Whitefield, the Bengaluru suburb, is named after David Emmanuel Starkenburgh White of Madras. Mr. White (1832-89) as the founder of the Anglo-Indian and Domiciled European (AIDE) Association of South India, spearheaded the land grant for Whitefield from The Maharaja of Mysore Chamarajendra Wodeyar X of Mysore. The goal was to have a self-contained settlement of Eurasians and Anglo-Indians, with agriculture as the primary mode of sustenance.

The association worked with Dewan Rangacharlu, and in April 1882 five sites totalling 3,900 acres were approved. But finally, only 542 acres at Whitefield were developed.   The idea of the Whitefield layout was an integrated settlement. It was planned with a Circle in the middle (the Whitefield Circle of 6.4 acres still exists), and then four concentric circles with 90 homes.  This has to follow smaller plots on the inside, with increasingly larger plots on the outside that will house common areas like the club, inn, church, etc. The center space will hold the school and the library.

Whitefield faced challenges from early on, especially from an agricultural perspective. The Eurasians and Anglo-Indians were not conversant with farming. Add to that the water scarcity in the area.  Transport was a challenge – the nearest railway station Kadugodi (now Whitefield) was two miles away. The only transport was a bullock cart, for which one has to request Ms. Rose White, widow of David White. Also, post sundown no Indians were to stay in the area.   For quite a while the families relocated did not scale beyond 20 in number. But common facilities like Memorial Church, Whitefield Club, The General Store, and Waverly Inn came up.

Whitefield colony saw a downward spiral post-independence when many of the original residents migrated to the UK, Australia, Canada, etc. Then came to IT boom, and much of the land was taken up by the Tech Parks, residences, and commercial amenities.

Whitefield today is the shadow of what it was, but some structures still survive. The Inn, the Church, the Club, and the last houses standing (The Emerald House, Perfect Peace) – all of them are exquisite pieces of heritage and beauty.

Dipankar resides in Bengaluru and has a deep interest in things social, historical, and political. By profession, he is a management consultant, and by passion a curious storyteller.

 Sources:

Picture 1 & 3:  https://maddy06.blogspot.com/2023/04/white-and-whitefield.html

Picture 9: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/02666030.2011.556013