To the east of the royal city, Mysuru, amongst the verdant fields of neighbouring Mandya district and the Srirangapatna taluk, around which flows the beautiful Cauvery river, lies the quaint village panchayat of Palahalli (under pincode 571438, Srirangapatna H.O - contact ph 08236-252075 ). Historical records indicate a vibrant political and cultural activity in this entire region from early 4th century onwards, having been ruled by Ganga dynasty, followed by Cholas briefly, then the Hoyasala kings and Vijayanagar empire till finally this region came under the influence of Mysuru with the Wodeyars, whose imprint is visible in modern Mysore, where several majestic buildings exist today as landmarks - hospitals, ayurveda centers, hotels, etc. Srirangapatna and Talakadu to its south west were the dominant centers of administration prior to Wodeyars developing Mysore.

However, if we leave inscriptions and records aside, human society thrived in these regions when entire south India was sought by Romans who traded for gold coins, several of which have been revealed during excavations at various sites. Ptolemy and Pliny refer to green emerald stones found in nearby H.D.Kote taluk, Kittur, some 75KM south of Palahalli, the seat of Punnata or Punanadu. Beyond coins and inscriptions, if one delves into more ancient times, the Mysore Gazetteer reveals, Mysore was known as 'Mahisura' apparently after the infamous asura who dominated these lands, till he was ultimately quelled by the Goddess Durga in the form of powerful Shakti avatar Sri Chamundi Devi. Mysore landscape is dominated by a temple dedicated to this slayer of evil and restorer of good; built around 900 years back by the Hoysalas and later towers added to it by Vijayanagara kings.

Around 25Km North of this Mahashakti pitham, is Palahalli village. Palahalli is itself well known for a 'cosmopolitan harmonious society' with a multi-religious groups inhabiting this village; according to census of India 2011, over 1600 families live here adding to a population close to 6,600 people. The same census indicates a 73% literacy rate with males at 80% and females at 68%! Also, average Sex Ratio of Palahalli village is 986 which is higher than Karnataka state average of 973. Around December, Palahalli is known to host an annual event dedicated to Lord Shiva known as Shambulingeshwara fair. Roughly, 40% of the Palahalli population is classified as workers. The verdant green sights that greet visitors to this area is due to its irrigation by the revered Cauvery. Palahalli is around 690 MSL altitude.

Cauvery mentioned in Puranas, her waters have been used for thousands of years to irrigate these regions, irrespective of the recent challenges affecting this river basin of yore (read this nice historical note, and this on its foreseeable future). History is replete with references to 'kaluve' or canals and 'kere' or tanks with the oldest anicut being the Madhavamantri katte raised over 1000 years back and still functioning, in spite of some recent breaches, constructed by the Vijayanagara kings. Of course, dams and canal fed irrigation in downstream Cauvery delta by Cholas predates the harnessing Cauvery in upstream areas of the Mysore plateau. Crops like paddy, ragi dominated these areas besides sugarcane, tapioca, betelnut among others. To quote from the Mysore Gazetteer "Chikkadevaraja Vamshavali, a Kannada_ poem of the 17th century while describing Shrirangapattana, mentions 14 kinds of paddy grown there, viz. Kaniveyasanna, Satyagaladasanna, Goveyasanna, Punuguvasanesanna, Piriyarajanna, Jeerrigerajanna, Segasurajanna, Kasturirajanna, Somashali, Bilumallige, Kembuti, Konevale, Pushpamanjali and Malalakanti. He also says that the place is: full of orchards of fruits spoken of already and flower gardens of molle, mallige, sampagi, suragi, surahonne etc. Among the fruits, while speaking of banana gardens, he refers to Rasa, Putta, Raja, Deva, Kabba, Paccha, Nadu and Madhuralinge types."

The Krishnarajasagar dam project realized around 1926 by great Sir M.Visvesvaraya greatly expanded the irrigation capacity of Cauvery to cover over 1.25 lakh acres with its capacity of 44.83 tmc water storage. The canal abutting Birdsong itself has its water flowing from the Chikka Devaraya Sagar Anicut built upstream, close to Brindavan gardens. This anicut was originally commissioned in 1673 A.D. and took about 30 years to construct (520 meter span, 10 bays) - [source: India-WRIS]

Palahalli panchayat, whose jurisdiction to which Birdsong layout belongs is also well known since Tipu Sultan's time for wrestling; more traditionally known as 'panja-kushti' with a recent newsworthy Palahalli girl Ms.Rita Priyanka. Srirangapatna area is also well known for its decorated bullock carts and painters of Ganjam.

More recently, with the new road over bridge near the Palahalli railway station, the double line expansion of Mysuru - Bengaluru railway; all of which are adjacent to Birdsong layout, one can expect more development in these vicinities, hopefully one that balances the local ethos and its history with modern convenience. From Birdsong, Palahalli area, there are a lot of tourist attractions nearby, the Ranganathittu bird sanctuary , also known as 'Pakshi Kashi' being the closest at 2km from Birdsong. Here is a site that covers local conveniences around Palahalli. Birdsong is roughly 135 km from Bangalore when approached via Mysore-Bangalore highway.