 Hoardings
destroy the skyline of cities. But there is one in the city
with a difference. The magnificent Manjula Mantapa, an-arch-cum-hoarding
at a corner of T Siddalingaiah Circle on Kasturba Road in the
city heralds touching and humane messages. It was installed
by Keerthi Creations and sponsored by The Hindu, a
national newspaper. The arch is painted gold and represents
Karnataka's heritage and culture in its structure. About 60,000
commuters glance at the gigantic hoarding and the message painted
on it according to N Rajashekar, the regional sales manager
of The Hindu. The chief circulation manager of The Hindu,
M R Sivakumar is stated to have come forward to offer funds
from The Hindu publication to display the public interest ads.
 The
man behind the imposing ad structure is Keerthi Creation's
owner, Gopinath J Relekar. He built the beautiful Manjula
Mantapa Arch in memory of his sister, Manjuladevi
who was interested in social service. "Multinational companies,
including one of world fame, offered me lakhs of rupees to put
their commercial ads on the Manjula Mantapa. I
refused the offer since I am not after money but committed to
herald only public interest messages," Mr Gopinath proudly
said when bangalorebest.com contacted him. According
to him the ad hoarding is the first of its kind in India which
is committed to the good of society.
A similar welcome arch has been installed by Keerthi Creations
near Janapada Loka on Mysore Road exclusively to encourage folk
art and culture. Jyothi Prabha Kakade is the designer of the
two arches, Mr Gopinath reveals.
 Manjula
Mantapa, which is also used as a welcome arch for VVIPs
visiting the city, was inaugurated by the then chief Minister,
H.D. Deve Gowda on May 19, 1996 for the 'Fourth National
Games-96'. On that occasion, Mr Gowda was enthralled
by the imposing hoarding and described it as the 'Jewel
of Bangalore'. During that national sports event, the
gigantic hoarding, situated near the Kanteerava Stadium, displayed
each day's sports events. Afterwards the Manjula Mantapa
with The Hindu's sponsorship, was used to render public
interest messages like "Love and care for our elders. They
give us the future."
The hoarding has so far displayed 126 public interest
message ads pertaining to blood donation, eye donation, organ
donation, patriotism, leprosy, traffic rules, compassion to
animals, death homage to Mother Teresa and Princes Diana
(thousands of Bangaloreans paid homage  at
the hoarding by keeping bouquets at that time), civic amenities,
population awareness, pollution, ecology, protection of monuments,
etc. Manjula Mantapa displays public interest ads suggested
by the state government.
Blood donation camps and marriages of those cured of leprosy
have been organised at the Manjula Mantapa in association with
the Indian Red Cross Society and Bangalore University. The then
Commissioner of the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike, Mr Ravindra,
who attended the marriage function, whole heartedly appreciated
the task of Manjula Mantapa and announced jobs in BMP
for the married couple.
 The
ad arch is fabricated from nine and a half tonnes of steel.
It has small towers on top of each pillar with a bigger one
in the centre. The middle one has three cupolas and the other
two towers have one cupola each on top. The gold paint used
on the arch has been specially imported from America which ensures
the glitter lasts long, says Mr Gopinath. A solar clock
presented by HMT is installed on the arch below the tower.
The hoarding is lit up at night.
As far as the duration of the ads is concerned, some remain
for a very short time, depending on the occasion. But usually
the message is changed once in 10 to 15 days. At present the
arch displays a greeting -"All the best, India" - wishing the
Indian Athletic team success in the Sydney Olympics.
And we at bangalorebest.com wish this hoarding well.
May its tribe increase.
Y.RamaMohan
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12:33:19 AM 
