Stories from Bengaluru's Buses, Metro & Beyond by Arun Bharadwaj is a love letter to Bengaluru told through its public transport. Across 28 chapters, the author rides end-to-end on BMTC bus routes, the Namma Metro Purple Line, and suburban rail corridors, not as a commuter in a hurry, but as a deliberate observer and narrates what he sees out the window.
Each chapter is built around a specific route: its history, the neighbourhoods it passes through, the landmarks that line the way, and the layers of the city, colonial, princely, modern, that reveal themselves stop by stop. A bus route through Malleshwaram surfaces an ancient inscription. A ride on Route 80A uncovers the story of a church built in 1895 on land gifted by the Mysore royal family. The DEMU train to Nelamangala traces the Arkavathy River's decline alongside the city's growth.
The writing weaves together heritage, urban history, and personal observation, punctuated throughout by "Did You Know?" fact boxes. The book makes the case that Bengaluru's streets and transit routes are themselves an archive, and that the best way to read the city is from a bus seat, watching it roll by.
It's well-suited for Bengalureans curious about their city's past, heritage enthusiasts, urban explorers, and anyone who has ever wondered what lies along the route their daily bus takes.