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VALENTINE’S DAY: LOVERS HOLDING ROSES MADE THEIR PRESENCE IN LALBAGH GARDEN ONLY IN 1995

By P.T. Bopanna

The first time I got to hear about Valentine’s Day was in 1992 when Prince (now King) Charles visited Bengaluru.

I used to live in Basavanagudi and my house was close to the famous Lalbagh botanical garden in Bengaluru. I was a regular walker in Lalbagh for over 20 years, before I shifted to my present rented house in Jayanagar.

Being a regular walker, I remember the first time lovers holding red roses made their presence in Lalbagh around 1995. Till then not many people knew about valentine’s day.

In 1996, the late Siddarth Hegde started his Café Coffee Day chain and the first shop was opened on Brigade Road. The place attracted lot of youngsters and also foreigners.

And it was around that time the IT sector started in Bengaluru. And Siddarth introduced the novel concept where you could have your coffee and also browse internet by paying extra. There were a dozen computers.

By then, Bengaluru had emerged as the pub capital of India. The emergence of Café Coffee Day chain and the nascent IT sector all combined led to the popularity of Valentine’s Day in Bengaluru.

Now let me come back to the first time I heard about the Valentine’s Day. In 1992, I was working with Times of India, and gate-crashed into a function where Prince Charles was visiting the British Council Library on St. Mark’s Road.

It was around that time rumours had begun floating in the British press on the troubled marriage of Charles and Princess Diana.

Though presspersons were not allowed, I coolly walked in to the British Library as I knew the librarian.

When the Prince walked in, I was hovering around him. The guests had lined up in the library. He shook hands with each guest in the receiving line and exchanged pleasantries.

If I remember correct, it was when he was greeting writer Poile Sengupta the latter mentioned that Princess Diana was not there with him, though it was a Valentine’s Day. Charles had a hearty laugh and moved on! And I was happy that I managed to land a ‘royal scoop’ story.

It was during that visit, that differences between the royal couple became an open secret after Princess Diana visited the Taj Mahal and sat alone on the bench.

Photo: Priya Kishore. Photo for representation only

Source: Round and About with P T Bopanna, Rolling Stone Publications (2022). Paperback copy of the book available on Amazon: