Bangalore
The capital city of Karnataka, Bangalore, the fifth largest city in India,
is the perfect blend of natural beauty and man-made marvels of architecture
and technology. Blessed with a salubrious climate and dotted with beautiful
parks, its tree-lined avenues, its trendy, yuppie downtown, and the software
flood, Bangalore truly offers one a picture of striking contrasts.
Bangalore is fast emerging as one of the most industrialized cities in
India, keeping pace with the latest trends and fashion. Bangalore is renowned,
not only for its own beauty and technological advances, but also for its
easy access to the marvels of the land around it. These intriguing sites
of Bangalore include gardens, universities, temples and ancient ruins.
The city of Bangalore also is a gateway to Southern India. Bangalore is
well connected to other major cities. Today it has almost become the fastest
growing city in Asia. The bazaars and shopping malls of Bangalore offer
a fine selection of silks, sandal wood souvenirs, handicrafts and fragrant
incense sticks. Communication is very simple in this city where people
can converse in English, Kannada and Hindi with equal ease.
Bangalore -- located 1,000m above sea level is one of the most 'happening'
places in India. Bangalore, which literally means the 'town of baked beans',
was founded by Kempe Gowda, a chieftain of the Vijayanagar Empire, around
the 16th century. He built four towers in four directions to specify its
boundaries. However, Bangalore has far exceeded these limits since.
Origin of Name - Bangalore
Bangalore was first known as 'Benguluru'. The earliest reference to the
name Benguluru was found in a 9th century Ganga inscription on herostone.
This inscription was found in Begur and Benguluru is referred to as a
place in which a battle was fought. Most scholars believe that the name
has a floral origin and is derived from the tree 'Benga', also known as
the Indian Kino.
The place that was referred to as 'Benguluru' in the Ganga inscription
was originally a hamlet and is found even today in a place called Kodigehalli,
which is not too far away from Hebbal. Today however, this hamlet is called
'Halebenguluru' or 'Old Bangalore'.
According to one of the stories associated with it, in the year 1120
AD, the Chola King, Veera Ballalla ruled the Deccan plateau or the South
of India. On a hunting trip to the forest, he lost his way. Famished and
exasperated, 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 helped him out, the King
constructed a town and named it as 'Benda Kalooru', which means 'Baked
Beans'.
It is believed that when Kempe Gowda I built the new capital in 1537
AD, he used a more anglicised version of the name Benguluru and called
the town Bangalore. Kempegowda- I's mother and wife both belonged to the
township that is known as Halebenguluru today.
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