Bangalore
About the city
Bangalore is the capital city of the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the seventh largest city in India. Bangalore is also known as the Garden City because of its many beautiful gardens and parks. Though the origin of Bangalore is ancient, the present-day city was founded in the 16th century and has since continued to be an important administrative center. Because of the high concentration of IT industry, it also called the Silicon Valley of India.Bangalore is booming, and a look at some of its nicknames says why: "India's Silicon Valley," "Fashion Capital of India," "The Pub City of India," and on. Home to well over 6 million people, and a base for 10,000 industries, Bangalore is India's fifth largest city and the fastest growing city in Asia.The capital of the state of Karnataka, Bangalore is situated halfway between the coasts in southern India. The city was founded in the 16th century, and witnessed great southern dynasties like the Kadambas, the Hoysalas and Vijayanagar emperors. Legend has it that the name Bangalore comes from "boiled beans" (Benda Kaluru), which were served by a humble old lady to a hungry ruler in the 10th century.
Religious Places
In the year 1120 AD, the Chola King, Veera Ballalla ruled the Deccan plateau or the South of India. On a hunting trip in the forest he lost his way. After a long search he met an old lady in the forest who offered him shelter for the night and served him baked beans for dinner. To show his gratitude to this lady for having saved his life, the King constructed a town and named it as Benda Kalooru, which means Baked Beans. Later in 1537, a local chieftain, Kempe Gowda helped design this town and give it its modern shape.Today Bangalore, the capital of Karnataka ranks as one of the fastest growing cities in Asia. Its pleasant climate, friendly people, and its highly educated population have made this the Silicon Valley of India with almost all Computer related multinationals setting up their India head office at Bangalore. Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister termed this as "India's city of the future".
Bangalore is the "Garden City of India" with its many gardens and boulevards. Its pleasant climate and laid-back charm attracted many senior citizens and thus later on came to be called at "the retired man's paradise". and of course what is Bangalore without all its Pubs. Its is now also called the Pub City with over 200 Pubs all over the town.
Bengaluru (Bangalore)
Beautiful Bengaluru, the capital of Karnataka is one of the pretties and cleanest cities of India. It is popularly called as the ‘Garden city' and has earned several other epitaphs like an ‘Air-conditioned city', for its salubrious climate throught the year; the ‘Silicon valley' of India, for its rapidly growing software market and the ‘City of Draught Beer' etc. The foundation of the present day Bangalore was laid in 1537, by Kempe Gowda, a Magadi chieftain, owing allegiance to the king of vijayanaga. The cantoment area of Bangalore was developed by the British in early 19th century, after the fall of Tipu sultan.This delightful park, was laid out in the 18th century by Hyder Ali and his son Tipu Sultan Get yourself an Ayurvedic massage at the Ayurveda Gram Spa Village (Tel: 5765 1090) Explore the colourful, crowded lanes of Chikpet, Brigade Road and Commercial Street and feast your eyes on the city's hippest crowd. Brigade Road and other major commercial centers in Bangalore, are a slice straight out of America. Visit the Bangalore Club and have a look at Winston Churchill's unpaid bar tab. Eat the butter masala dosas at the Darshinis and Shanti Sagars spread across the city. Rent a bicycle or just walk around the city in the early morning hours. The busiest of roads never look more peaceful and grand.
Take your kids to Jawahar Bal Bhavan. The children's centre there screens children's movies and offers courses ranging from pottery to aero-modelling. The Laser shows at Nasa on Church Street are big crowd pullers. A do not miss
Visit the Jakkur Aerodrome and watch planes and helicopters taking off. There are air shows held here sometimes and if it is happening while you are here, DO NOT miss it. Akin to a carnival in the sky, you can catch the MiG's, Mirage and Sukhoi fighter planes, the much sought after Hawks, all indulging in sky robotics. Around sunset, you could take a drive along the Koramangala ring road, armed with some snacks and coffee, park yourself and watch planes take off and the traffic go by peaceful. It is breathtaking.
Bangalore (Bengaluru), the garden city popular for its scenic surroundings and pleasant climate, is the capital of the state Karnataka. Located about 1000 m above sea level, the city known for its sprawling gardens, well designed shopping arcades, art galleries, exotic restaurants & pubs has its own style and sophistication. The city which used to be the largest British military cantonment in South India during the British Raj, is home to large number of migrants from Tamil Nadu, andhra Pradesh and North India. It is one of the fastest growing industrial and commercial centres in India in the areas of aerospace, electronics, defence and mainly IT sector- software services which is reflected in the city being referred to as the Silicon Valley of India.
Garden City meets Silicon Valley. Carnatic music meets pub culture. No city in India is quite the perfect fusion of the arts and science, Indian and western, traditional and modern, dynamic and relaxed as Bangalore. The city conjures varied images of science and technology, gardens, pubs, art, culture and pretty houses. At the helm of India's technological advancement, the city has carved for itself a niche on the world map. Recently it was in the eye of a storm as the outsourcing hub for the United States and continues to draw business and immigrants everyday. Unfortunately, this has also led to increased pollution and traffic, and multi-storeyed buildings are fast replacing Bangalore's beautiful independent bungalows and gardens. However, Bangalore retains its unique chic and charm, continues to enjoy a blissful climate and remains perennially young at heart.
Orientation
India s third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area, Bangalore lies on the Mysore plateau in southwestern Karnataka and is the capital of the state. The district of Bangalore is bound by Kolar district in the northeast, Tumkur district in the northwest, Chamarajanagar district in the south, Mandya district in the southwest and Tamil Nadu in the southeast. Bangalore itself has its centre at Kempe Gowda Circle while human traffic often crowds the busy streets of Gandhi Nagar and Chickpet which has the main shopping areas and which lie adjacent to the bus and railway station. 5 km from here, along Mahatma Gandhi Road and east of Cubbon Park, lie the GPO and tourist information centres. Most government offices and museums lie in and around Cubbon Park while most of the historical sights in Bangalore are found south of the City Market. This old part of the city also extends along Cottonpet Bhashyam Road.History
Pre-20th Century History
Historical references to the city, including an inscription found near Begur suggest that this area was part of the Ganga Dynasty until 1004 AD. It was called Benga-val-oru or the City of Guards. In literary works, Bangalore is also called Kalyananagara or the Auspicious City . From 1015 to 1116 AD, the Cholas of Tamil Nadu ruled over the city until the Hoysala Empire took over. However the history of Modern Bangalore only began in 1537 when Kempe Gowda I built a mud fort here, making it a province of the Vijaynagara Empire. After the fall of the Vijaynagara Empire, Bangalore s rule changed hands several times between the Marathas and the Mughals. In 1759, Hyder Ali, Commander-in-Chief of the Mysore Army received Bangalore as a jagir or gift from Krishna Raja Wodeyar II. He fortified the southern fort, making Bangalore an army town. But after his son Tipu Sultan was defeated and killed in 1799 in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore war, the British finally incorporated Bangalore into the British East Indian Empire with administrative control of the area handed over to the Maharajah of Mysore who relocated his capital from Mysore city to Bangalore in 1831. Under the British Raj, Bangalore developed as a centre of colonial rule and the Bangalore Cantonment led to a high population of migrant workers from both South and North India settling here.Modern History
In 1927, several development projects were undertaken and led to the construction of parks, hospitals and public buildings. This was done in honour of the Silver Jubilee of the rule of Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV and marked the beginning of Bangalore s reputation as the Garden City of India. After India's Independence, Bangalore developed into a manufacturing hub for public sector heavy industries with an emphasis on aerospace, space and defence in particular. In the 1990s, Bangalore gradually developed into India's Silicon Valley accounting for 35 percent of India's software exports and foreign investments in the city. It continued to expand in the form of the establishment of multinational companies and foodchains. However, as a result, employment in other sectors including the manufacturing industry, declined rapidly.Recent History
Today, Bangalore is the hub of outsourcing activity with a large number of call centres and backend offices for firms in the US and Europe. For this reason, the city has been cause for much controversy in the US where outsourcing is viewed by many as the bane of the country's unemployment. Bangalore's IT industry and call centres have drawn a large population of Indians from other cities as well as foreigners to settle here in recent times. This has also caused an increase in real estate prices and added to the city's traffic and pollution. On December 11, 2005, the government of Karnataka decided to rename Bangalore to its Kannada name, Bengaluru. However, the political leadership changed soon after and it is still not clear as to whether the name change is to be implemented.Shopping At Bangalore
Good buys from Bangalore can include the followingSilk : Bangalore is known for some of the best silk manufactured in the world. Reputed shops generally offer good material and good bargains if you are in the city during a popular festival.
Handicrafts and Handlooms : A paradise for a tourist is the many Handicraft shops in the town. The specialty of this town is Sandal Wood.