B. Jayaram

Bangalore Jayaram (23 April 18724 December 1936) was an Indian cricketer who had represented the London County Cricket Club in the early 1900s, and was also a part of the All-Indian cricket team in England in 1911.

Early life Jayaram was born on 23 April 1872 in Bangalore in the then princely state of Kingdom of Mysore in the southern region of modern-day India. He studied geology at Central College and obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree.

During his time at Central College he had developed as a right handed all-rounder. He famously scored 185 runs against the Yorkshire Regiment in 1891 and led his team to an unlikely win over the visitors. The game, however, was not granted first-class status. Jayaram was the first Indian member of the Bangalore Gymkhana Cricket Club.

Career

First-class Cricket Jayaram started his career with the Mysore Civil Service after finishing his college in 1895 working for the state's geological department. He was sent to London to study at the Royal School of Mines. During his time in London, he met English cricketer W. G. Grace and made an impression with his cricketing prowess. The press reports from the period compared him to Indian prince Ranjitsinhji.

Jayaram played for London County Cricket Club and was a regular at the club's nets. He made his first-class debut for the club in 1903 playing against Surrey at The Oval. During the same tour he scored 11 and 22 in the game against Warwickshire at Birmingham, while the team lost by 10 wickets. He had a successful run during the team's matches in Scotland and Ireland, where he scored 30 and 81 against Scottish Universities at Perth, 78 against Woodbrook Cricket Club at Bray, and 57 against Ulster at Belfast. The building was built to English design on land over one and half acres and was built by Kolar Gold Fields contractor, Ooragam Bianna. The house was named after his favourite golf club, the Mashie Niblick. The lodge's gardens won the first prize at the Bangalore Horticulture shows. The lodge itself drew praise for its architecture, with the Yuvaraja of Mysore sending his acquaintances to study the building's design while he was building his own house. The lodge was also noted as "the best maintained and decorated premises" for the visit of Prince of Wales in 1921. Dance and dinner parties at the lodge brought the ultra-westernized elite of the city including the English, the Iyengars, Coorgis, and the Bengalis, together with couples dancing the waltz. Dinners included champagne, imported wines, and liqueurs, and was followed by ballroom dancing. Catering for these parties would be handled by Spencer and Co, with food including canned products from Heinz, and other items including chicken biryani, fish, prawns and pickles, served on banana leaves on white linen covered tables.

The building was later renovated and converted into the Chennamma Memorial School.

In 1916, Jayaram was appointed the director of the Mysore Geological Department. He retired from the geological department in 1927. After his retirement, he set up a farm around 16 miles from Bangalore on the way to Nandi Hills. In the orchard he had apples imported from Australia, and planted.

Personal life Jayaram was married to Lakshmidevi. Having spent time in Bangalore and in England, he was noted to have been westernized to being referred to as a British Sahib in India. Contrary to orthodox Indian Hindu traditions, he was known to eat from a can of bully beef at lunch, with a dedicated chef serving him western food in a separate dining room at his lodge. He was also an accomplished violinist. He bought a pair of violins from Italy which were over a hundred years old on his return from the British Isles in 1923.

Jayaram died on 4 December 1936 at his farm in Bangalore. He was aged 64.