Bangalore is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the fifth largest city in its area and third largest city in India in its population. The other names of Bangalore are The Silicon Valley of India, The Garden City, Fashion Capital of India, The Fruit Market of the South, The Stone City, Floriculture Capital of India and The Pub City of India. The city of Bangalore was renamed on 1^st November 2006 by the Government of Karnataka as Bengaluru.

History of Bangalore

In ancient days, Bangalore was ruled over by Cholas, Chalukyas and Hoysalas. The city was founded by Kempe Gowda I of Vijayanagara Empire. In 1687 it went into the hands of the Mughals and it was sold to Chikkadevaraja Wodeyar. After the death of Krishnaraja Wodeyar II in 1759, Hyder Ali assumed the throne. He was succeeded by his son Tippu Sultan who was defeated in the Third Anglo Mysore war in 1791 by the British forces. In 1799 it went into the hands of British who entrusted the rule of Bangalore with Maharaja of Mysore. Bangalore was made as the residency of Mysore State in 1804. Bangalore became the capital of the kingdom of Mysore in 1831. It became a part of Indian Union in 1947 and Bangalore remained the capital of Mysore State and in 1973 Mysore state was renamed as Karnataka.

Geography and Climate of Bangalore

Bangalore is located at an altitude of 3021 feet above mean sea level and covers an area of 1280 square kilometers. The total population of Bangalore is 6, 532, 577 as of 2005 with an average density of 5, 103 people per square kilometer. It is located at the center of the Mysore Plateau. The city has tropical savanna climate and has both west and dry seasons. This enjoys a pleasant climate all through the year with a temperature of 15 degree in winter to 33.6 degree centigrade in summer. Northwest monsoon and southeast monsoon brings rainfall to the city in August, September and October.

A small tributary of Arkavathi known as River Vrishabhavathi flows through Bangalore. River Cauvery, Thippagondanahalli reservoir and Hesaraghatta reservoir of Arkavathi River supplies water. There are a number of lakes in Bangalore namely Ulsoor Lake, Sankey Tank, Madiwala Lake, Lalbagh Lake, Puttenahalli WS Lake, Hebbal Lake, Agara Lake, Kengeri Lake, Vengaihnakere Lake, Beniganahalli Lake, Nagavara Lake, Bellandur Lake and Hesaragatta Lake.

Some of the areas of Bangalore are Ashok Nagar, Chikkabanhalli, Malleswaram, Mattadahalli, Ganganagar, Dasarahalli, Nagavara, Tirumanahalli, Vijay Nagar, Kuvembu Nagar, Yeshwantpur, Shivaji Nagar, Mahalakshmipura, Vijaynagar, Attikoppe, Jayanagar, Padmanabha Nagar, BTM Layout, Bommanahalli, Devarabisanahalli, Marathahalli, Koramangala, LB Shastri Nagar, Indira Nagar, ITI Colony, International Technology Park, Azad Nagar, Swathantra Nagar, etc.

Economical and Educational Details About Bangalore

Bangalore is one of the important economic centers of India with an annual export of Rs. 43, 221 crore. The per capita income of Bangalore is Rs. 74, 709. The growth rate of the city is 10.3%. There are more than 10, 000 millionaires and 60, 000 super rich people in Bangalore. 30% of India’s IT professionals are working in Bangalore.

Some of the companies that are established in Bangalore are Bharat Electronics Limited, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, Bharat Earth Movers Limited, Hindustan Machine Tools, National Aerospace Laboratories, etc.

The IT companies are located in three areas in Software Technology Parks of India, International Tech Park and Electronic City. Some of the IT companies located here are Infosys, Wipro, iGate, TCS, Accenture, Cisco, Microsoft, Intel, Google, IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Yahoo, Oracle Corporation, Aptech, BFL Software, Ampersand Software, CMC, Citicorp, Compaq India, Digital Equipment, Intel Asia Electronics Inc., Mascot Systems, Motorola Information Systems Group, Multimedia Studio Ltd, Nashsoft Systems, NIIT Ltd, Oracle Software, Peutronics Pvt Ltd, Satyam Computer Services, Sun Microsystems, Sonata Software, Sybase India, Tata Elxsi, Tata Honeywell, Tata Infotech, Verifone, Wipro Infotech Group, etc.

The schools are run by various boards like Secondary School Leaving Certificate, ICSE, CBSE, IB and NIOS. Some of the schools in Bangalore are ASC Public School, B. P. Indian Public School, Baldwin Boys High School, Bangalore Public School, Bethany High School, Bishop Cotton Boys School, Cambridge School, Carmel Convent School, Good Shepherd Convent, Impact Institutions, Innisfree House School, Mallya Aditi International School, Little Flower Public School, New Horizon Public School, Oxford Senior Secondary School, Sacred Heart Girls High School, Sree Rama Vidhyalaya, etc.

Bangalore University was established in 1886 and has about 500 colleges affiliated to it. Other famous institutions are Indian Institute of Science, National Centre for Biological Sciences, National Institute of Design, National Law School of India University, Indian Statistical Institute, Indian Institute of Management, International Institute of Information Technology, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, St. John’s Medical College, Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Raman Research Institute, etc. Bangalore is also the training center for the Indian Air Force and its two arms, the Madras Engineering Group and Central Military Police.

Culture of People in Bangalore

Bangalore enjoys cosmopolitan culture with its pubs and nightlife. Still native people of the city give more importance to their cultures and traditions. Udipi cuisine is famous here though food stalls serving various other foods are also popular. The typical dishes of people are chapatti, akki roti, bisi bela bath, khara bath, kesari bath, ragi mudde, uppittu, mysore masala dosa, maddur vade, saaru, vangi bath, etc.

The festivals and events celebrated here are Bangalore, Karaga, Deepavali, Ganesh Chaturthi, Ugadi, Sankranthi, Eid Ul fitr, Christmas, Pongal, Holi, Mahashivaratri, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Varamahalakshmi, Raksha Bandhan, Independence Day, Janmastami, Ganesh Chathurthi, Dusera, New Year, Raksha Bandhan, Onam, St. Mary’s Feast, Parsi New Year, etc.

The fairs and exhibitions conducted here are Kadlekai Parishe, Chitra Santhe, Aero India, Bangalore Restaurant Week, etc. Indian classical music and classical dance shows are conducted all through the year. Some of the art galleries here are Abstract Art Gallery, After Hours Art Studio, Anand Art Gallery, Apparao Art Gallery, Art Flute, Art House, Bhavya Art Gallery, Crimson Art Resource, etc.

Some of the newspapers and magazines published in Bangalore are Vijaya Karnataka, The Times of India, Prajavani, Deccan Herald, Mid-Day, Bangalore Mirror, The Hindu, etc.

Some of the famous personalities born in Bangalore are Lara Dutta, Aiswarya Rai, Vijay Mallayya, R K Laxman, Shakuntala Devi, Girish Karnad, Rajkumar, Rajnikanth, K. M. Cariappa, Sir M. Visveswaraya, SM Krishna, R. K. Narayan, Bhimsen Joshi, Purandara Dasa, C. V. Raman, Sudha Murthy, Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath, Rahul Dravid, Robin Uthappa, Syed Girmani, Arun Netravali, Azim H Premji, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Nandan M. Nilekani, N. R. Narayana Murthy, etc.

Transport Facilities in Bangalore

Bengaluru International Airport is situated in Devanahalli about 30 km from the main city and is the fourth busiest airport in India with 280 planes coming and going every day. The airlines like Kingfisher Airlines, Jet Airways, JetLite, IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir provides domestic transport. The international services are Air India, Qatar Airways, Emirates, Etihad Airways, SriLankan Airlines, Thai Airways, AirAsia, Singapore Airlines, Dragonair, British Airways, Air France, Lufthansa, etc.

There are two bus stands in Bangalore, Kempegowda Bus Station for buses that come from outside the city and Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation for buses within the city. The transports like Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation, KPN Travels, Durgamba Motors, Bangalore Bus Tickets Online, etc. offer bus services.

There are two main railway stations in Bangalore namely The Bengaluru City railway station and Yeswantpur Junction. Other small railway terminals are Bengaluru East, Bengaluru Cantonment and Krishnarajapuram. The Bangalore Metro is the new suburban rail service started recently.

There are three major bus stands within the city namely Kempegowda bus stand, City Market and Shivajinagar bus stand. Apart from them there are other bus stops like Chandra Layout, Shantinagar, Jayanagar, Banashankari, BTM Layout, Vijaynagar, Malleswaram, Yeshwantpur, Domlur, Kadugodi, Vidyaranyapura, Srinagara, Rajarajeshwari Nagar, Basaveshwara Nagar, Yelahanka and Koramangala. Cabs, cars, auto-rickshaws and taxis are also available for transport within the city.

Infrastructure of Bangalore City

You can see many skyscrapers in certain areas of the city. Especially in electronic city the IT buildings are breathtaking. Due to limited space multi-storey buildings are common here. There are many clubs in the city that cater to various tastes of the people. Some of them are Bangalore Club, Century Club, The Bangalore Golf Club, Bowring Institute, Bangalore City Institute, Bangalore Turf Club, Catholic Club, Citi Nest, Cosmopolitan Club, Country Club, Eagleton Golf Village, East Cultural Association, Estate Club, Indira Nagar Club, Jade Garden, etc.

Some of the resorts in Bangalore are Angana – The Country Inn, Angsana Oasis Spa and Resort, Chairman’s Resort, Eagle Ridge, Eagleton – The Golf Village, ELIM Resorts, Estate Club, Fantasy Golf Resort, Golden Palms Resort and Spa, Howsala Village Resort, Holiday Village, Parkfield Resotel, Patels Inn, Plantains Trail, The Prakruthi Club, Wild Valley Form Resorts, etc. Some of the hotels in Bangalore are Grand Ashok, Ista Hotels, Kamath Yatri Nivas, Le Meridien Park Plaza, Royal Orchid, The Leela Palace, The Oberoi, The Bell, Angsana, Royal Orchid, Hotel Maurya, Hotel Rama, Hotel Empire International, Airavatam Guest House, The Basil, Safina Hotel, Vintage Residency, etc.

The malls in the city are Cosmos, The Forum, Lido Mall, Garuda Mall, Gopalan Mall, Mantri Mall, Sigma Mall, Poorva Mall, Mega Mall, Meenakshi Mall, Prestige Eva Mall, etc. Apart from them there are more than a dozen of them under construction.

Some of the major hospitals in Bangalore are Apollo Hospital, Bangalore Institute of Oncology, Bangalore Medical College, BGS Hospital, Cadabams Rehab Center, Chinmaya Mission Hospital, Columbia Asia Hospital, Columbia Asia, Dr. Agarwal Eye Hospital, Fortis Hospital, Global Hsopitals, Gokula Curie Institute of Oncology, HCG Oncology, HOSMAT Hospital, KIMS Hospital, M. S. Ramaiah Super Specialty Hospital, Mahabodhi Mallige Hospital, Manipal Hospital, Minto Eye Hospital, Narayana Hrudayalaya, Narayana Nethralaya, Sparsh Hospital, Sanjay Gandhi Hospital, Sri Sathya Sai Super Specialty Hospital, Victoria Hospital, etc.

The important temples in Bangalore are The Bull Temple, The Maha Bodhi Society Temple, ISKCON Hare Krishna Temple, Maruthi Mandir, Gavi Gangadeshwara Cave Temple, Venkataramana Swamy Temple, Dodda Ganapathi, Vasanthapura, Shiva Temple, Banaswadi Hanuman Temple, Ragi Gudda, Sri Raja Rajeshwari Temple, DakshinaMukhy Nandeeshwara Temple, Mukti Naga Temple, Meenakshi Sundaram Temple and Sri Ramakrishna Ashram. The churches in the city are Holy Trinity Church, St. Mary’s Basilica, Shelter House Church, etc.

Tourist Spots in Bangalore

Vidhana Soudha: This landmark of Bangalore houses the Legislative Assembly of Bangalore and its 22 departments in its 300 rooms.

Cubbon Park: It was built in 1864 by Lord Cubbon and spreads over 300 acres and has amusement park for children. It is situated close to State Central Library and the High Court.

Vishvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum: This is a science exhibition displaying the wonders of the science with five galleries Engine Hall, Electronic Technology Gallery, Kimbe Paper Metals Gallery Popular Science Gallery and Children’s Science Gallery. A must see place.

Government Museum: Built in 1877 and houses old paintings, inscriptions and sculptures and has adjoining Venkatappa Art Gallery.

Ulsoor Lake: It spreads over an area of 1.5 square kilometers and was constructed by Kempe Gowda. It has a boat club and is one of the major tourist spots in Bangalore.

Bangalore Palace: It was built in 1880 by Wodeyar in the Tudor style and spread over 45, 000 square feet.

The Fort and Tipu Sultan’s Palace: It was built by Kempe Gowda in 1537 and it bears testimony to the struggle of Tipu Sultan against British rule. There is a museum close to it.

Gandhi Bhavan: It has a picture gallery depicting the life history of Mahatma Gandhi.

Lal Bagh Gardens: It is a botanical garden that spreads over 240 acres of land and houses rare trees. Glass House within it is popular.

Attara Kacheri: This is the High Court of Karnataka State.

Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium: It was established in 1989 and has an observatory with a telescope and a sky theater.

Jumma Masjid: This oldest mosque was built by Aurangazeb.

Karanataka Folk Museum: This houses artifacts and rare masks and has a collection of audios and videos of folk music and folk dances.

Other centers of attraction in Bangalore are aquarium, Bal Bhavan, Siva Statue, Sri Gavi Gangadhar – Eshwara Temple, ISKCON Temple Complex and some religious places. If you want to visit all these places you should stay there for at least a week. All these details about Bangalore will help you to plan your trip.

Article Posted By : Sumazla  On November 25, 2011lView All Articles

Suhaina Mazhar is a freelance content writer and blogger with five years experience in content writing. http://sumazla.blogspot.com is her blog.

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