26-05-2025
Rare 1969 photo of Bengaluru's Chinnaswamy Stadium foundation ceremony goes viral
A rare photo capturing the foundation stone-laying ceremony of Bengaluru's iconic Chinnaswamy Stadium has gone viral on social media, taking cricket fans down memory lane.
Shared by X user Harish Itagi, the black-and-white image shows M Chinnaswamy himself performing a pooja at the site on May 18, 1969, 56 years ago.
"It's an iconic picture," Itagi wrote, noting the photo's historical value and the stadium's place as the home of Karnataka cricket.
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The original source of the photo remains unknown, though it continues to circulate widely online.
The foundation stone for what was originally known as the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) Stadium was laid in 1969.
While the stadium is now synonymous with the state's cricketing achievements, many are unaware of its origins and the man it is named after. Mangalam Chinnaswamy, born in Mandya 124 years ago, was not just a cricket enthusiast but a visionary administrator.
A lawyer by profession, he served the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) for nearly four decades, first as secretary and later as president, until his retirement in 1990.
Chinnaswamy also held several key positions at the national level, including serving as the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) between 1977 and 1980. He played a pivotal role in securing land for the stadium next to Cubbon Park, convincing the then Mysore government to lease it to the KSCA for 100 years.
In 1987, four years before his passing and reportedly against his own wishes, the KSCA renamed the stadium in his honour, acknowledging his decades-long service to Indian cricket.
Apart from his cricketing legacy, Chinnaswamy was also a founder of Bengaluru's MES group of educational institutions, further cementing his contribution to the city's development.
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(With inputs from Roopa Pai)
