Basavanagudi is one of Bangalore's oldest and most traditional neighbourhoods, a welcome contrast to the tech parks and glass towers of the north. The area takes its name from the Bull Temple — basava means bull — and has a distinctly South Indian Brahmin character that has remained largely intact even as the rest of the city has transformed around it. The streets are lined with old houses, small temples, and coffee houses that feel unchanged from fifty years ago.
Gandhi Bazaar, the main commercial street, is good for fresh produce, flowers, and the local cotton garments and household goods that are much cheaper here than in malls. VV Puram food street, a short walk away, is the best place in Bangalore for evening street food. The whole neighbourhood rewards slow walking — the density of small temples, old trees, and traditional domestic architecture gives a sense of what Bangalore was before it became a tech capital.