Bangalore Travel Guide

Bangalore: Overview

Legend goes that King Veeraballa of Vijayanagara once lost his way in forest. Hungry and tired, he came upon a lone hut in the thick forest where he met an old woman.When he asked for food, she gave him baked beans ('Benda Kalu' in Karnataka).The King found this humble meal taste better than the richest fare.To commemorate this incident, he called the place "Benda Kalu Ooru" (place of baked beans). Bangalore today is getting popular though for a different variety of Beans-JavaBeans.Capital of the Southern state of Karnataka, Bangalore today is Asia's fastest growing cosmopolitan city. It is home to some of the most high tech industries in India. The I.T industry views Bangalore as the 'byte-basket' of India. Bangalore is also home to some of India's premier scientific establishments. Blessed with a salubrious climate, gardens & parks , natural lakes, architectural landmarks, shopping malls, the best restaurants and pubs in this part of the globe, business opportunities, Bangalore is the ideal gateway to India and beyond. Bangalore offers something for everyone-music and dance concerts (Western and Indian), dramas, exhibitions, carnivals, conferences and more.

Go disco-hopping or pub-crawling, shop till your feet give away,relax in the swankiest restaurants or with your favourite movie stars-in the movie hall or simply tee off to glory. Welcome to Bangalore.The earliest records of a place named 'Bengaluru' were found in a 9th century temple in an area that is now known as 'Old Bangalore'. Once the feudal lord Kempe Gowda was hunting in this area, a rabbit turned and attacked his dog. This made a great impression on the lord and he gave the place a title of gandu bhoomi (the place of heroes) and in 1537, with the assistance of the local king, he constructed three districts protected by a walled fort on the site.

During the next three centuries, Bangalore existed very much in the shadow of its neighboring city Mysore, and control of the town changed hands many times. The year 1831 marked a major turning point for the city. Claiming misrule by the king Krishna Raja Wodeyar III, the British took control of the Mysore Kingdom and, possibly influenced by the city's mild climate, moved the administrative capital to Bangalore. New telecommunication systems were laid, rail connections built, fine government buildings constructed and the city's famous parks and gardens established. After independence, Bangalore maintained its position as the Karnataka state capital, and continues to flourish.

For many years, Bangalore was known throughout India as the most green, liberal and forward-thinking city. In recent years, these attributes have propelled Bangalore to the forefront of the high-tech industry boom in India, and it currently ranks as India's most developed city and one of the world's fastest growing urban areas.

The name Bangalore appears to come from an Anglicization of the native name "Bengaluru" - an adaptation of the earlier name in Kannada: Benda Kaale Uru (The Town of Boiled Beans). Apparently this rather humble name was bequeathed to the city by king Vira Ballala. Once while lost in the area, he was offered boiled beans by an old woman, and it was out of gratitude that he named the area after this simple offering

Few Cities in the World have the power to attract and motivate a casual visitor to move there permanently. Bangalore is one of those rare cities which makes people who are new to the City to call themselves proud Bangaloreans Bangalore, a real cool place on Planet Earth is the capital of Karnataka, a major state in the southern part of India. It is indeed cool - the people, the place and of course the weather. This website is dedicated to Bangalore and its cool people.

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