All Topics  
Bangalore

 
Bangalore

   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link






 

Bangalore



 
 
Bangalore , officially Bengaluru (Kannada: ????????, ), is the capital of the India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
n state
States and territories of India

India is a Federal_republic union of states comprising twenty-eight State s and seven Union Territory. The states and territories are further Subdivisions of India into districts and so on....
 of Karnataka
Karnataka

Karnataka is a States and territories of India in the southern part of India. It was Unification of Karnataka on November 1, 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act....
. Located on the Deccan Plateau
Deccan Plateau

The Deccan Plateau, also known as the Peninsular Plateau or the Great Peninsular Plateau, is a large plateau in India, making up the majority of the southern part of the country, ranging in elevation from 100 metres in the north to 1000 metres in the south....
 in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city
List of most populous cities in India

The following is a list of the most populous cities in India. Population statistics indicated in this article are estimates for the year 2009. Note that this is a list of city populations and does not indicate urban agglomeration populations....
 and fifth-most populous urban agglomeration
List of most populous metropolitan areas in India

This article lists the top hundred metropolitan areas in India by population as of 2008. The combined population of these 100 metros accounts for approximately one-seventh of the national population....
.

Though historical references to the city predate 900 CE
Common Era

Common Era, abbreviated as CE, is a designation for the calendar system most commonly used in the Western world, and also internationally, for numbering the year part of the calendar date....
, a modern written history of continuous settlement exists only from 1537, when Kempe Gowda I
Kempe Gowda I

Kempe Gowda I was a chieftain of Yelahanka , a feudatory of the Vijayanagara Empire. At first, he called the town he discovered "Benda-kaal-ooru", which means 'where he cooked his beans'....
, who many regard as the architect of modern Bangalore, built a mud-brick fort at the site and established it as a province of the imperial Vijayanagara Empire
Vijayanagara Empire

The Vijayanagara Empire was a South Indian empire based in the Deccan Plateau. Established in 1336 by Harihara I and his brother Bukka Raya I, it lasted until 1646 although its power declined after a major military defeat in 1565 by the Deccan sultanates....
.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Bangalore'
Start a new discussion about 'Bangalore'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Quotations


Bangalore is a brand the world identifies India with. It is also the single biggest reason why India has become such a hot investment destination. ~ Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India. Union Budget 2005-2006, 12 Feb. 2006






Encyclopedia


Bangalore , officially Bengaluru (Kannada: ????????, ), is the capital of the India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
n state
States and territories of India

India is a Federal_republic union of states comprising twenty-eight State s and seven Union Territory. The states and territories are further Subdivisions of India into districts and so on....
 of Karnataka
Karnataka

Karnataka is a States and territories of India in the southern part of India. It was Unification of Karnataka on November 1, 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act....
. Located on the Deccan Plateau
Deccan Plateau

The Deccan Plateau, also known as the Peninsular Plateau or the Great Peninsular Plateau, is a large plateau in India, making up the majority of the southern part of the country, ranging in elevation from 100 metres in the north to 1000 metres in the south....
 in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city
List of most populous cities in India

The following is a list of the most populous cities in India. Population statistics indicated in this article are estimates for the year 2009. Note that this is a list of city populations and does not indicate urban agglomeration populations....
 and fifth-most populous urban agglomeration
List of most populous metropolitan areas in India

This article lists the top hundred metropolitan areas in India by population as of 2008. The combined population of these 100 metros accounts for approximately one-seventh of the national population....
.

Though historical references to the city predate 900 CE
Common Era

Common Era, abbreviated as CE, is a designation for the calendar system most commonly used in the Western world, and also internationally, for numbering the year part of the calendar date....
, a modern written history of continuous settlement exists only from 1537, when Kempe Gowda I
Kempe Gowda I

Kempe Gowda I was a chieftain of Yelahanka , a feudatory of the Vijayanagara Empire. At first, he called the town he discovered "Benda-kaal-ooru", which means 'where he cooked his beans'....
, who many regard as the architect of modern Bangalore, built a mud-brick fort at the site and established it as a province of the imperial Vijayanagara Empire
Vijayanagara Empire

The Vijayanagara Empire was a South Indian empire based in the Deccan Plateau. Established in 1336 by Harihara I and his brother Bukka Raya I, it lasted until 1646 although its power declined after a major military defeat in 1565 by the Deccan sultanates....
. During the British Raj
British Raj

British Raj primarily refers to the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; it can also refer to the period of dominion, and even the region under the rule....
, it became a centre of colonial rule in South India
South India

South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the Union territories of India of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of area....
. The establishment of the Bangalore Cantonment
Bangalore Cantonment

The Bangalore Cantonment was a military cantonment of the British Raj based in the Indian city of Bangalore. The cantonment covered an area of 13 square miles, extending from the Resident on the west to Binnamangala on the east and from the tanning in the north to Agram in the south....
 brought in large numbers of migrants from other parts of the country.

Today, as a large and growing metropolis, Bangalore is home to some of the most well-recognized colleges and research institutions in India. Numerous public sector heavy industries
Heavy industry

Heavy industry does not have a single fixed meaning as compared to light industry. It can mean production of products which are either heavy in weight or in the processes leading to their production....
, software companies
List of IT companies in Bangalore

Bangalore , India is home to a number of information technology companies. The following list only mentions companies which have their technology related operations in Bengalooru. See table below to find a partial list....
, aerospace
Aerospace

Aerospace comprises the atmosphere of Earth and surrounding outer space. Typically the term is used to refer to the industry that researches, designs, manufactures, operates, and maintains vehicles moving through Aircraft and Space exploration....
, telecommunications, and defense organisations
Defense industry

The defense industry, also called the military industry, comprises government and commerce industry involved in research, development, production, and service of military equipment and facilities....
 are located in the city. Bangalore is known as the Silicon Valley of India
Silicon Valley of India

The Silicon Valley of India is a nickname of the Indian city of Bangalore. The name signifies Bangalore's status as a hub for information technology companies in India and is a comparative reference to the original Silicon Valley, based around Santa Clara Valley, California, a major hub for IT companies in the United States....
 because of its preeminent position as the nation's leading IT employer and exporter. A demographically diverse city, Bangalore is a major economic hub and the fastest growing major metropolis in India.

Etymology

The name Bangalore is an anglicised version of the city's name in the Kannada language
Kannada language

Kannada is one of the major Dravidian languages of India, spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka. Kannada, whose native speakers are called Kannadigas , number roughly 35 million, making it the 27th most spoken language in the world....
, Benga?uru. The earliest reference to the name "Bengaluru" was found in a ninth century Western Ganga Dynasty stone inscription on a "vira gallu" (??? ?????) (literally, "hero stone
Hero stone

Hero stone is an Indian memorial commemorating the honorable death of a hero in battle in India. A hero stone can display a variety of adornments, including bas relief panels, statues, and figures of carved stone....
", a rock edict extolling the virtues of a warrior). In this inscription found in Begur
Begur

Begur may refer to:* Begur, Bangalore, India* Begur, SpainExcess long comment to prevent listing on...
, "Bengaluru" is referred to as a place in which a battle was fought in 890. It states that the place was part of the Ganga Kingdom until 1004 and was known as "Bengaval-uru", the "City of Guards" in Halegannada
Halegannada

Halegannada is the Kannada language which has transformed from the fifth century CE during the reign of the Kadambas of Banavasi .The Modern Kannada language has evolved in four phases over the years....
 (Old Kannada. An article, published in The Hindu
The Hindu

The Hindu is a leading English language Indian daily. With a circulation of 1.17 million copies, The Hindu is the Third largest circulated English Daily in India after Times of India and Hindustan Times and slightly ahead of Economic Times and has its largest base of Newspaper circulation in South India, especially Tamil Nadu....
, states:
An inscription, dating back to 890 CE, shows Bengaluru is over 1,000 years old. But it stands neglected at the Parvathi Nageshwara Temple in Begur near the city...written in Hale Kannada (Old Kannada) of the 9th century CE, the epigraph refers to a Bengaluru war in 890 in which Buttanachetty, a servant of Nagatta, died. Though this has been recorded by historian R. Narasimhachar in his Epigraphia of Carnatica (Vol. 10 supplementary), no efforts have been made to preserve it.


An apocryphal, though popular, anecdote recounts that the 11th-century Hoysala king Veera Ballala II
Veera Ballala II

Veera Ballala II was the greatest monarch of the Hoysala Empire. This is proven by his successes against the Seuna, Southern Kalachuri, Pandya and the waning Kalyani Chalukya and Chola dynasties....
, while on a hunting expedition, lost his way in the forest. Tired and hungry, he came across a poor old woman who served him boiled beans. The grateful king named the place "benda-kaal-uru" (literally, "town of boiled beans"), which eventually evolved into "Bengaluru".

On 11 December 2005, the Government of Karnataka
Government of Karnataka

The Government of Karnataka is a democratically elected body with the Governor as the constitutional head. The Governor who is appointed for a period of five years appoints the Chief Minister and his council of ministers....
 announced that it had accepted a proposal by Jnanpith Award
Jnanpith Award

The Jnanpith Award is a literary award in India. Along with the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship, it is one of the two most prestigious literary honours in the country....
 winner U. R. Ananthamurthy
U. R. Ananthamurthy

Udupi Rajagopalacharya Ananthamurthy , is a leading contemporary writer and critic in the Kannada language and is considered as one of the most important representatives of the Kannada literature#Navya and one of the most naive communists....
 to rename
Indian renaming controversy

The process of renaming of cities in India started after the end of the British imperial period in 1947 and continues to date. There were political controversies about several renamings....
 Bangalore to Bengaluru. On 27 September 2006, the Bruhath Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) passed a resolution to implement the proposed name change, which was accepted by the Government of Karnataka and it was decided to officially implement the name change from 1 November 2006. However, this process has been currently stalled due to delays in getting clearances from the Union Home Ministry
Ministry of Home Affairs (India)

Ministry of Home Affairs is an Government of India Ministry . It is an interior ministry responsible for domestic policy.The Minister of Home Affairs holds Cabinet rank as a member of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of India....
.

History

Bangalore Ladycurzonhospital
After centuries of the rule of the Western Gangas
Gangas

The Western Ganga Dynasty was an important ruling dynasty of ancient Karnataka in India. They are known as Western Gangas to distinguish them from the Eastern Ganga Dynasty who in later centuries ruled over modern Orissa....
, Bengaluru was captured by the Cholas
Chola Dynasty

The Chola Dynasty was a Tamil people dynasty that ruled primarily in southern India until the 13th century. The dynasty originated in the fertile valley of the Kaveri River....
 in 1024 CE which later passed on to the Chalukya-cholas in 1070. In 1116 the Hoysala Empire
Hoysala Empire

The Hoysala Empire was a prominent South Indian Kannadiga empire that ruled most of the modern day States and territories of India of Karnataka between the 10th and the 14th centuries....
, overthrew the Cholas and extended its rule over Bangalore. Modern Bangalore was founded by a vassal
Vassal

A vassal in the terminology that both preceded and accompanied the feudal of medieval Europe, is one who enters into mutual obligations with a monarch, usually of military support and mutual protection, in exchange for certain guarantees, which came to include the terrain held as a fiefdom....
 of the Vijayanagara Empire, Kempe Gowda I, who built a mud-brick fort and a Nandi Temple
Nandi Temple

Nandi Temple is located in Basavanagudi, a neighborhood of Bangalore, the capital of the state of Karnataka, India. The temple is exclusively for the worship of the sacred bull in Hinduism, known as Nandi bull, Lord Shiva's vahana, or animal mount....
 in the proximity of modern Bangalore in 1537. Kempe Gowda referred to the new town as his "gandubhumi" or "Land of Heroes".

Within Bangalore Fort
Bangalore Fort

Bangalore Fort was originally built by Kempe Gowda a feudatory of the Vijaynagar Empire and the founder of Bangalore as a mud fort . It was converted into a stone fort by Haider Ali in 1761.It was a stronghold of Tipu Sultan that was captured by army of the British East India Company led by Lord Cornwallis on 21 March 1791 during the 3rd Mysore Wa...
, the town was divided into smaller divisions – each called a "pete" . The town had two main streets – Chikkapete Street
Streets of Old Bangalore

Chickpete Street and Dodpete Street were two of the main streets at the time of the founding of the Indian city of Bangalore in 1537. The intersection of these two streets formed Dodpete Square....
, which ran east-west, and Doddapete Street, which ran north-south. Their intersection formed the Doddapete Square — the heart of Bangalore. Kempe Gowda's successor, Kempe Gowda II, built four famous towers that marked Bangalore's boundary. During the Vijayanagara rule, Bangalore was also referred to as "Devarayanagara" and "Kalyanapura" ("Auspicious City"). After the fall of the Vijayanagara Empire, Bangalore's rule changed hands several times. In 1638, a large Bijapur
Bijapur

Various places in India.*Bijapur, Karnataka*Bijapur Sultanate*Bijapur District*Bijapur, Chhattisgarh - an assembly constituency under Bastar . This are is in Bijapur district, Chhattisgarh, Chhattisgarh...
 army led by Ranadulla Khan and accompanied by Shahji Bhonsle
Shahaji

Shahaji Raje Bhosale was the eldest son of Maloji Raje Bhosale of Verul . He brought the house of Bhonsle into prominence. The princely states of Kolhapur, Satara and Thanjavur are Bhosale legacies....
 defeated Kempe Gowda III and Bangalore was given to Shahji as a jagir
Jagir

In Pakistan and India, a Jagir was a small territory granted by the ruler to an army chieftain in fairly short terms usually of three years but not extending beyond his lifetime, in recognition of his military service....
. In 1687, the Mughal
Mughal Empire

The Mughal Empire was a Muslim imperial power of the Indian subcontinent which began in 1526, ruled most of the Indian Subcontinent by the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and ended in the mid-19th century....
 general Kasim Khan defeated Ekoji, son of Shahji, and then sold Bangalore to Chikkadevaraja Wodeyar (1673–1704) of Mysore for 300,000 rupees. After the death of Krishnaraja Wodeyar II in 1759, Hyder Ali
Hyder Ali

Hyder Ali, Haider Ali or Haidar 'Ali , was the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. He is said to have induced his brother to employ a Parsi people to purchase artillery and small arms from the government of Bombay Presidency, and to enrol some thirty sailors of different European nations as gunners, and is t...
, Commander-in-Chief of the Mysore Army, proclaimed himself the de facto
De facto

De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning the fact" or in practice but not necessarily ordained by law. It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or technique that are found in the common experience as created or developed without or contrary to a regulation....
 ruler of Mysore. The kingdom later passed to Hyder Ali's son Tippu Sultan, known as the Tiger of Mysore. Bangalore was eventually incorporated into the British Indian Empire after Tippu Sultan was defeated and killed in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War
Fourth Anglo-Mysore War

The Fourth Anglo-Mysore War was a war in South India between the Kingdom of Mysore and the British East India Company under the Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley....
 (1799). The British returned administrative control of the Bangalore "pete" to the Maharaja
Maharaja

The word Maharaja is Sanskrit for "great king" or "high king" . Due to Sanskrit's major influence on the vocabulary of most languages in India, the term 'maharaja' is common to many modern languages, such as Oriya language, Punjabi language, Bengali language, Hindi, Gujrati, etc....
 of Mysore, choosing only to retain the Cantonment
Cantonment

A cantonment is a temporary or semi-permanent military quarters. The word cantonment is derived from the French language word :fr:canton meaning corner or district....
 under their jurisdiction. The 'Residency' of Mysore State was first established at Mysore in 1799 and later shifted to Bangalore in the year 1804. It was abolished in the year 1843 only to be revived in 1881 at Bangalore and to be closed down permanently in 1947, with Indian independence. The British, found it easier to recruit employees in the Madras Presidency
Madras Presidency

Madras Presidency , also known as Madras Province and known officially as Presidency of Fort St. George, was a province of British India....
 and relocate them to cantonment area during this period. The Kingdom of Mysore relocated its capital from Mysore
Mysore

Mysore ; renamed to Mysuru|??????) is the second largest city in the state of Karnataka, India. It is the headquarters of the Mysore district and the Mysore division and lies about southwest of Bangalore, the capital of Karnataka....
 city to Bangalore in 1831. Two important developments during this period contributed to the rapid growth of the city: the introduction of telegraph connections and a rail connection to Madras in 1864. In the 19th century, Bangalore essentially became a twin city
Twin city

Twin city or twin town may refer to:*Twin cities : two towns or cities that are geographically close to each other, and often referred to collectively...
, with the "pete", whose residents were predominantly Kannadigas, and the "cantonment" created by the British, whose residents were predominantly Tamils
Tamil people

Tamil people , are an ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, a state in India, and the Sri Lankan Tamils of Sri Lanka. They speak Tamil language , with a recorded history going back five millennia....
. Bangalore was hit by a plague
Bubonic plague

Plague is a deadly infectious disease caused by the Enterobacteriaceae Yersinia pestis . Plague is a zoonotic, primarily carried by rodents and spread to humans via fleas....
 epidemic in 1898 that dramatically reduced its population. New extensions in Malleshwara and Basavanagudi
Basavanagudi

Basavanagudi is a residential and commercial locality in the Indian city of Bangalore. The residential area is located in South Bangalore and borders Jayanagar....
 were developed in the north and south of the pete. Telephone lines were laid to help co-ordinate anti-plague operations, and a health officer was appointed to the city in 1898. In 1906, Bangalore became the first city in India to have electricity, powered by the hydroelectric plant situated in Shivanasamudra
Shivanasamudra

Shivanasamudra is a small town in the Mandya District of the state of Karnataka, India. It is situated on the banks of the river Kaveri and is the location of the second Hydro-electric Power station in Asia, which was set up in the year 1902....
. Bangalore's reputation as the Garden City of India began in 1927 with the Silver Jubilee
Silver Jubilee

A Silver Jubilee is a celebration held to mark a 25th anniversary....
 celebrations of the rule of Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV. Several projects such as the construction of parks, public buildings and hospitals were instituted to beautify the city. After Indian independence in August 1947, Bangalore remained in the new Mysore State
Mysore State

The Kingdom of Mysore was one of the three largest princely states within the erstwhile British British Raj. Upon India gaining its independence in 1947, the Maharaja of Mysore merged his realm with the Union of India....
 of which the Maharaja of Mysore was the Rajapramukh. Public sector employment and education provided opportunities for Kannadigas from the rest of the state to migrate to the city. Bangalore experienced rapid growth in the decades 1941–51 and 1971–81 , which saw the arrival of many immigrants from northern Karnataka. By 1961, Bangalore had become the sixth largest city in India, with a population of 1,207,000. In the decades that followed, Bangalore's manufacturing base continued to expand with the establishment of private companies such as Motor Industries Company
Mico

Mico may refer to:* MICO, former name for Bosch* a Bulgarian tsar - see Mitso Asen* a type of monkeys, a subgenus of the marmoset genus Callithrix - see Mico ...
 (MICO; a subsidiary of Robert Bosch GmbH
Robert Bosch GmbH

Robert Bosch Gesellschaft mit beschr?nkter Haftung is a German diversified technology-based corporation which was started in 1886 by Robert Bosch in Stuttgart, Germany....
), which set up its manufacturing plant in the city. Bangalore experienced a growth in its real estate
Real estate

Real estate is a law term that encompasses land along with anything permanently affixed to the land, such as buildings, specifically property that is fixed in location.
 market in the 1980s and 1990s, spurred by capital investors from other parts of the country who converted Bangalore's large plots and colonial bungalow
Bungalow

A bungalow is a type of single-story house that originated in India. The word derives from the Gujarati word ba?glo, which in turn came from Hindustani ba?gla....
s into multi-storied apartments. In 1985, Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments

Texas Instruments , better known in the electronics industry as TI, is an United States company based in Dallas, Texas, Texas, United States, renowned for developing and commercializing semiconductor and computer technology....
 became the first multinational
Multinational corporation

A multinational corporation or transnational corporation is a corporation or enterprise that manages production or delivers services in more than one country....
 to set up base in Bangalore. Other Information Technology companies followed suit and by the end of the 20th century, Bangalore had firmly established itself as the Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley is the South Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California, United States. The term originally referred to the region's large number of Integrated circuit innovators and manufacturers, but eventually came to refer to all the high-tech businesses in the area; it is now generally used as a metonym for the high-tech s...
 of India
.

Geography


Bangalore lies in the southeast of the South India
South India

South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the Union territories of India of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of area....
n state of Karnataka. It is in the heart of the Mysore Plateau (a region of the larger Precambrian
Precambrian

The Precambrian is an informal name for the supereon comprising the eon of the geologic timescale that came before the current Phanerozoic eon....
 Deccan Plateau) at an average elevation of 920 m (3,018 ft). It is positioned at and covers an area of 741 km˛ (286 mi
Mile

A mile is a Units of measurement of length, usually used to measure distance, in a number of different systems. In contemporary English contexts, mile most commonly refers to the statute mile of 5,280 Feet or the nautical mile of 1,852 meters ....
˛). The majority of the city of Bangalore lies in the Bangalore Urban
Bangalore Urban

Bangalore Urban is a district of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore Urban district came into being in 1986, with the partition of the erstwhile Bangalore district into Bangalore Urban and Bangalore Rural districts....
 district of Karnataka and the surrounding rural areas are a part of the Bangalore Rural
Bangalore Rural

Bangalore Rural District is one of the 27 districts in Karnataka. It was formed in 1986, when Bangalore district was divided into Bangalore Rural and Bangalore ....
 district. The Government of Karnataka has carved out the new district of Ramanagara from the old Bangalore Rural district.

The topology of Bangalore is flat except for a central ridge
Ridge

A ridge is a geological feature that features a continuous elevational crest for some distance. Ridges are usually termed hills or mountains as well, depending on size....
 running NNE
NNE

As an abbreviation, NNE may stand for:*Non-viable National Economy*Boxing the compass*Novo Nordisk Engineering...
-SSW. The highest point is Doddabettahalli
Doddabettahalli

Doddabettahalli is a village and the highest point in Bangalore, India . It is located in the Bangalore North Taluk....
, which is 962 m (3,156 ft) and lies on this ridge. No major rivers run through the city, though the Arkavathi
Arkavathy River

File:Source of Arkavathy River.jpgArkavathy River or Arkavathi River, is a river in India, originating at Nandi Hills, India of Chikkaballapur district....
 and South Pennar
South Pennar river

The South Pennar River is known as Dakshina Pinakini in Kannada language and Thenpennai in Tamil language. It is also referred as Ponnaiyar ....
 cross paths at the Nandi Hills
Nandi Hills, India

Nandi Hills or Nandidurg is a hill fortress of southern India, in the Chikkaballapur district of Karnataka state. It is located just 16 km 24 km from Chickballapur town and approximately 60 km from the city of Bangalore....
, 60 km (37 mi.) to the north. River Vrishabhavathi
River Vrishabhavathi

The Vrishabhavathi River is a minor river that flows north of the Indian city of Bangalore. The Vrishabhavathi is a tributary of the Arkavathy River. The majority of the sewage emanating from Bangalore is carried by these two rivers....
, a minor tributary of the Arkavathi, arises within the city at Basavanagudi and flows through the city. The rivers Arkavathi and Vrishabhavathi together carry much of Bangalore's sewage
Sewage

Sewage is the mainly liquid waste containing some solids produced by humans which typically consists of washing water, feces, urine, laundry waste and other material which goes down Plumbing fixture from households and industry....
. A sewerage system, constructed in 1922, covers 215 km˛ (133 mi˛) of the city and connects with five sewage treatment
Sewage treatment

Sewage treatment, or domestic wastewater treatment, is the process of removing contaminants from wastewater and household sewage, both runoff and domestic....
 centers located in the periphery of Bangalore.

In the 16th century, Kempe Gowda I constructed many lakes to meet the town's water requirements. The Kempambudhi Kere, since overrun by modern development, was prominent among those lakes. In the earlier half of 20th century, the Nandi Hills waterworks
WaterWorks

WaterWorks is a water park owned by Cedar Fair, located at the back of Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia. Admission to WaterWorks is included in the price of admission to the main Kings Dominion park....
 was commissioned by Sir Mirza Ismail
Mirza Ismail

Sir Mirza Muhammad Ismail, Order of the Indian Empire, Kt, Order of the British Empire was a Diwan of the Kingdom of Mysore. A childhood friend of the monarch Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV, he acted as the king?s private secretary and later worked as the Diwan from 1926-41....
 (Diwan
Diwan (title)

The originally Persian title of diwan has at various points in the Muslim history, designated various differing though similar functions....
 of Mysore, 1926–41 CE) to provide a water supply to the city. Currently, the river Kaveri provides around 80% of the total water supply to the city with the remaining 20% being obtained from the Thippagondanahalli and Hesaraghatta reservoirs of the Arkavathi river. Bangalore receives 800 million litre
Litér

Lit?r is a village in Veszpr?m , Hungary.External links ...
s (211 million US gallons) of water a day, more than any other Indian city. However, Bangalore sometimes does face water shortages, especially during the summer season- more so in the years of low rainfall. A random sampling
Random sample

A sample is a subject chosen from a population for investigation. A random sample is one chosen by a method involving an unpredictable component....
 study of the Air Quality Index (AQI)
Air Quality Index

The Air Quality Index is a standardizationized indicator of the air quality in a given location. It uses the measure of particulates and contaminatants in the air to determine how clean the air is....
 of twenty stations within the city indicated scores that ranged from 76 to 314, suggesting heavy to severe air pollution around areas of traffic concentration.

Bangalore has a handful of freshwater lakes and water tank
Water tank

Water tanks are liquid storage containers, these tanks are usually storing water for human consumption. The need for water tank systems is as old as civilized man....
s, the largest of which are Madivala tank, Hebbal
Hebbal

Hebbal is an area of Bangalore, India which was once indicative of the North endpoint of the city. Though originally famous for Hebbal Lake, it is now better known for the serpentine maze of flyovers that network the Outer Ring Road and Bellary Road....
 lake, Ulsoor lake and Sankey Tank
Sankey Tank

Sankey tank , a manmade lake or Irrigation tank is situated in the western part of the city in the middle of the suburbs of Malleshwaram, Vyalikaval and Sadashiva Nagar....
. Groundwater occurs in silt
Silt

Silt is soil or Rock derived granular material of a Particle size between sand and clay. Silt may occur as a soil or as suspended sediment in a surface water body....
y to sand
Sand

Sand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles.As the term is used by geologists, sand particles range in diameter from 0.0625 to 2 millimeters....
y layers of the alluvial sediments. The Peninsular Gneissic Complex (PGC) is the most dominant rock unit in the area and includes granite
Granite

Granite is a common and widely occurring type of Intrusion , felsic, igneous rock rock . Granite has a medium to coarse texture, occasionally with some individual crystals larger than the groundmass forming a rock known as Porphyry ....
s, gneiss
Gneiss

Gneiss is a common and widely distributed type of Rock formed by high-grade regional metamorphic rock processes from pre-existing formations that were originally either igneous rock or Sedimentary rock rocks....
es and migmatite
Migmatite

Migmatite is a rock at the frontier between igneous rock and metamorphic rocks. They can also be known as diatexite.Migmatites form under extreme temperature conditions during prograde metamorphism, where partial melting occurs in pre-existing rocks....
s, while the soils of Bangalore consist of red laterite
Laterite

Laterite is a surface formation in hot and wet tropical areas which is enriched in iron and aluminium and develops by intensive and long lasting weathering of the underlying parent rock....
 and red, fine loam
Loam

Loam is soil composed of sand, silt, and clay in relatively even concentration , considered ideal for gardening and agricultural uses. Loam soils generally contain more nutrients and humus than sandy soils, have better infiltration and drainage than silty soils, and are easier to tillage than clay soils....
y to clay
Clay

Clay is a naturally occurring material composed primarily of fine-grained minerals, which show plasticity through a variable range of water content, and which can be hardened when dried and/or fired....
ey soils.

Vegetation
Vegetation

refers to the flora system of a specific region....
 in the city is primarily in the form of large deciduous
Deciduous

Deciduous means falling off at maturity or tending to fall off and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe....
 canopy
Canopy

Canopy may refer to:*Canopy , an overhead roof or structure that provides shade or other shelter*Baldachin, a cloth or permanent architectural feature that hangs over an altar or throne as a symbol of authority...
 and minority coconut
Coconut

The Coconut Palm is a member of the Family Arecaceae . It is the only species in the genus Cocos, and is a large palm, growing to 30 m tall, with pinnate leaf 4-6 m long, pinnae 60-90 cm long; old leaves break away cleanly leaving the trunk smooth....
 trees. Though Bangalore has been classified as a part of the seismic zone II (a stable zone), it has experienced quakes of magnitude as high as 4.5.

Climate

Due to its high elevation, Bangalore usually enjoys salubrious climate throughout the year, although freak heat waves can make things very uncomfortable in the summer. The coolest month is January with an average low temperature of 15.1 °C and the hottest month is April with an average high temperature of 33.6 °C. The highest temperature ever recorded in Bangalore is 38.9 °C
Celsius

Celsius is a temperature scale that is named after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius , who developed a similar temperature scale two years before his death....
 and the lowest ever is 7.8 °C (on January 1884). Winter temperatures rarely drop below 12 °C (54 °F), and summer temperatures seldom exceed 36–37 °C (100 °F). Bangalore receives rainfall from both the northeast and the southwest monsoon
Monsoon

A monsoon is a seasonal prevailing wind that lasts for several months. The term was first used in English in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and neighboring countries to refer to the big seasonal winds blowing from the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea in the southwest bringing heavy rainfall to the region....
s and the wettest months are September, October and August, in that order. The summer heat is moderated by fairly frequent thunderstorm
Thunderstorm

File:FoggDam-NT.jpgA thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a form of weather characterized by the presence of lightning and its effect: thunder....
s, which occasionally cause power outages and local flooding. The heaviest rainfall recorded in a 24-hour period is recorded on 1 October 1997.

Civic Administration

Bangalore City officials
Administrator S. Dilip Rau
Municipal Commissioner Dr. S. Subramanya
Police Commissioner Shankar Bidari


The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP, Greater Bangalore Municipal Corporation
Municipal corporation

A municipal corporation is the legal term for a local government, including city, county, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs....
) is in charge of the civic administration of the city. It was formed in 2007 by merging 100 wards of the erstwhile Bangalore Mahanagara Palike, with the neighbouring 7 City Municipal Councils (CMC), one Town Municipal Council and 110 villages around Bangalore.

Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike is run by a city council. The city council comprises elected representatives, called "corporators", one from each of the wards (localities) of the city. Elections to the council are held once every 5 years, with results being decided by popular vote. A mayor and commissioner
Commissioner

Commissioner is in principal the title given to the holder of a commission, in the sense of a mandate, whether individually or shared, notably as member of a collegial commission....
 of the council are also elected through a quota system from a Scheduled Castes and Tribes
Scheduled Castes and Tribes

Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are Indian population groupings that are explicitly recognized by the Constitution of India, previously called the "depressed classes" by the British India, and otherwise known as untouchable ....
 candidate or to an Other Backward Class
Other Backward Class

The Central Government of India classifies some of its citizens based on their social and economic condition as Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and Other Backward Class ....
 female candidate. Members contesting elections to the council represent one of more of the state's political parties. However, elections to the newly-created body are yet to be held, due to delays in delimitation of wards and finalising voter lists. There are expected to be about 150 wards, up from the 100 wards of the old Bangalore Mahanagara Palike. Elections are tentatively scheduled to be held in early 2008.
Bangalore Highcourt
Bangalore's rapid growth has created several problems relating to traffic congestion and infrastructural obsolescence that the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike has found challenging to address. A 2003 Battelle Environmental Evaluation System (BEES) evaluation of Bangalore's physical, biological and socioeconomic parameters indicated that Bangalore's water quality and terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem
Ecosystem

An ecosystem is a natural unit consisting of all plants, animals and micro-organisms in an area functioning together with all of the non-living physical factors of the environment....
s were close to ideal, while the city's socioeconomic parameters (traffic
Traffic

Traffic on roads may consist of pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, streetcars and other conveyances, either singly or together, while using the public way for purposes of travel....
, quality of life
Quality of life

Quality of life is the degree of well-being felt by an individual or group of people.Quality of life cannot be measured directly, however the perception of QOL is made up of of two components: the physical and the psychological....
) scored poorly. The BMP has been criticised by the Karnataka High Court, citizens and corporations for failing to effectively address the crumbling road and traffic infrastructure of Bangalore. The unplanned nature of growth in the city resulted in massive traffic gridlock
Gridlock

Gridlock is a term describing an inability to move on a transport network. The term originates from a situation possible in a grid network where intersections are blocked, prohibiting vehicles from moving through the intersection or backing up to an upstream intersection....
s that the municipality attempted to ease by constructing a flyover
Flyover

Flyover may refer to:*Flyover , a high-level overpass that crosses over a highway interchange or intersection*Flypast, a ceremonial or honorific flight of one or more aircraft...
 system and by imposing one-way traffic systems.

Some of the flyovers and one-ways mitigated the traffic situation moderately but were unable to adequately address the disproportionate growth of city traffic. In 2005 both the Central Government
Government of India

The Government of India , officially referred to as the Union Government, and also as Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of a federal union of States and territories of India, collectively called the Republic of India....
 and the State Government allocated considerable portions of their annual budgets to address Bangalore's infrastructure. The Bangalore Mahanagara Palike works with the Bangalore Development Authority
Bangalore Development Authority

The Bangalore Development Authority of Bangalore, India, is a governmental organization that oversees planning and development of infrastructure, provision of development-related sites and services, and the housing needs of underprivileged citizens in Bangalore....
 (BDA) and the Bangalore Agenda Task Force
Bangalore Agenda Task Force

The Bangalore Agenda Task Force is meant to be a partnership between the citizens, corporates and the administrative agencies ? the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike, Bangalore Development Authority, Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation, BWSSB, BESCOM, BSNL, and Bangalore Police....
 (BATF) to design and implement civic projects. Bangalore generates about 3,000 tonnes of solid waste
WASTE

WASTE is a peer-to-peer and friend-to-friend protocol and software application developed by Justin Frankel at Nullsoft in 2003 that features instant messaging, chat rooms and file browsing/sharing capabilities....
 per day, of which about 1,139 tonnes are collected and sent to compost
Compost

Compost , sometimes known as brown manure, is the end result of controlled aerobic decomposition of organic matter known as composting. It is used in landscaping, horticulture and agriculture as a soil conditioner and fertilizer to add vital humus or humic acids....
ing units such as the Karnataka Composting Development Corporation. The remaining solid waste collected by the municipality
Municipality

A municipality is an administrative entity composed of a clearly defined territory and its population and commonly denotes a city, town, or village, or a small grouping of them....
 is dumped in open spaces or on roadsides outside the city. The Bangalore City Police
Bangalore City Police

Bangalore City Police is the premier enforcer of law and order in the city of Bangalore, India. The BCP works under the jurisdiction of the Karnataka State Police....
 (BCP) has six geographic zones, includes the Traffic Police, the City Armed Reserve, the Central Crime Branch and the City Crime Record Bureau and runs 86 police stations, including two all-women police stations. As capital of the state of Karnataka, Bangalore houses important state government facilities such as the Karnataka High Court, the Vidhana Soudha
Vidhana Soudha

The Vidhana Soudha, located in Bangalore , is the seat of the state Karnataka legislature of Karnataka. It is an imposing building, constructed in a style sometimes described as 'Neo-Dravidian', and incorporates elements of Indo-Saracenic, Rajasthani Jharokha and Dravidian styles....
 (the home of the Karnataka state legislature) and Raj Bhavan
Raj Bhavan (Karnataka)

Raj Bhavan is the official residence of the Governors of Karnataka. It is located in the capital city of Bangalore, Karnataka. The present governor of Karnataka is Rameshwar Thakur....
 (the residence of the Governor of Karnataka). Bangalore contributes two members to India's lower house
Lower house

A lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house.Despite its theoretical position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide the lower house has come to wield more power....
 of parliament
Parliament

A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom....
, the Lok Sabha
Lok Sabha

The Lok Sabha is the direct election lower house of the Parliament of India. As of 2008 there have been fourteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India....
, and 24 members to the Karnataka State Assembly. In 2007, the Delimitation Commission of India reorganised the constituencies based on the 2001 census
Census

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population....
, and thus the number of Assembly and Parliamentary constituencies in Bangalore has been increased to 28 and 3 respectively. These changes will take effect from the next elections. Electricity
Electricity

Electricity is a general term that encompasses a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena such as lightning and static electricity, but in addition, less familiar concepts such as the electromagnetic field and electromagnetic induction....
 in Bangalore is regulated through the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited (KPTCL). Like many cities in India, Bangalore experiences scheduled power cuts, especially over the summer, to allow electricity providers to meet the consumption demands of households as well as corporations.

Economy

Bangalore's economy (2002–03 Net District Income) makes it a major economic centre in India. With an economic growth of 10.3%, Bangalore is the fastest growing major metropolis in India . Additionally, Bangalore is India's fourth largest fast moving consumer goods
Fast Moving Consumer Goods

Fast Moving Consumer Goods , are products that are sold quickly at relatively low cost. Though the absolute profit made on FMCG products is relatively small, they generally sell in large quantities, so the cumulative profit on such products can be large....
 (FMCG) market. The city is the third largest hub for high net worth individuals and is home to over 10,000 dollar millionaires and about 60,000 super-rich people who have an investable surplus of and respectively. As of 2001, Bangalore's share of in Foreign Direct Investment
Foreign direct investment

Foreign direct investment in its classic form is defined as a company from one country making a physical investment into building a factory in another country....
 was the fourth highest for an Indian city.

In the 1940, industrial visionaries such as Sir Mirza Ismail and Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya played an important role in the development of Bangalore's strong manufacturing and industrial base.

The headquarters of several public sector undertaking
Public Sector Undertaking

In India, public sector undertaking is a term used for a government-owned corporation . The term is used to refer to companies in which the government owned a majority of the company equity....
s such as Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited , based in Bangalore, India, is one of Asia's largest aerospace companies. Under the management of the Indian Ministry of Defence , this Government-owned corporation company is mainly involved in aerospace industry, which includes manufacturing and assembling aircraft, navigation and related communication equipme...
 (HAL), National Aerospace Laboratories
National Aerospace Laboratories

National Aerospace Laboratories , is India's second largest aerospace firm after Hindustan Aeronautics . It was established by the CSIR India at Delhi in 1959 and its headquarters was later moved to Bangalore in 1960....
 (NAL), Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), Bharat Electronics Limited, Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) and Hindustan Machine Tools
HMT

HMT may refer to:* Halo Mapping Tools An application that can be used to modify the PC game Halo Combat Evolved and Halo 2.* Harbor maintenance tax...
 (HMT) are located in Bangalore. In June 1972 the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)
Indian Space Research Organisation

The Indian Space Research Organisation is the primary body for space research under the control of the government of India. It was established in its modern form in 1969 as a result of coordinated efforts initiated earlier....
 was established under the Department of Space and headquartered in the city.

Bangalore is called the Silicon Valley of India because of the large number of Information Technology companies located in the city which contributed 33% of India's IT exports in 2006-07. Bangalore's IT industry is divided into three main "clusters"
Business cluster

A business cluster is a geographic concentration of interconnected businesses, suppliers, and associated institutions in a particular field. Clusters are considered to increase the productivity with which companies can compete, nationally and globally....
 — Software Technology Parks of India, Bangalore (STPI); International Technology Park Bangalore (ITPB), formerly International Technology Park Ltd. (ITPL)
International Tech Park, Bangalore

International Tech Park Bangalore International Tech Park Bangalore or simply ITPB, developed and managed by Ascendas is India?s first hi-tech park of its kind designed to provide a complete ?work & play? environment for IT and technology-related businesses....
; and Electronics City
Electronics City

Electronics City is an electronics industrial park spread over 332 acres in Konappana Agrahara and Doddathogur villages, just outside Bangalore, India....
. UB City, the headquarters of the United Breweries Group, is a high-end commercial zone. Infosys
Infosys

Infosys Technologies Limited is a Multinational corporation information technology services company headquartered in Bangalore, India. It is one of India's largest IT companies with over 100,000 professionals as of Sep 30, 2008....
 and Wipro, India's second and third largest software companies are headquartered in Bangalore as are many of the global SEI-CMM Level 5 Companies.

The growth of Information Technology has presented the city with unique challenges. Ideological clashes sometimes occur between the city's IT moguls, who demand an improvement in the city's infrastructure and the state government, whose electoral base is primarily the people in rural Karnataka. Bangalore is a hub for biotechnology
Biotechnology

Biotechnology is technology based on biology, especially when used in agriculture, food science, and medicine. United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity defines biotechnology as:...
 related industry in India and in the year 2005, around 47% of the 265 biotechnology companies in India were located here; including Biocon
Biocon

Biocon is India's leading biotechnology enterprise. Established in 1978, the company today is an integrated biotechnology enterprise focused on the development of biopharmaceuticals....
, India's largest biotechnology company.

Transport

Bangalore is served by the newly-built Bengaluru International Airport (IATA code: BLR) which started operations from 24 May 2008. The city was earlier served by the HAL Airport which was India's fourth busiest airport. Air Deccan
Air Deccan

Kingfisher Red, formerly known as Simplifly Deccan and previously as Air Deccan, is an airline based in Bangalore, India. It is India's first low-cost carrier and is a subsidiary of Kingfisher Airlines....
 and Kingfisher Airlines have their headquarters in Bangalore.

A rapid transit system
Rapid transit

A rapid transit, subway, underground, elevated railway or metro system is an railway electrification system public transport rail transport in an urban area with high capacity and frequency, and which is grade separation from other traffic....
 called the Namma Metro is being developed and is expected to be operational by 2011. Once completed, this will encompass a 33 km (20.5 mi) elevated and underground rail network, with 32 stations in Phase I and more being added in Phase II. Bangalore is well connected to the rest of the country through the Indian Railways
Indian Railways

Indian Railways , abbreviated as IR , is the state-owned railway company of India, which owns and operates most of the country's rail transport....
. The Rajdhani Express
Rajdhani Express

Rajdhani Express is a passenger train service in India connecting National Capital New Delhi with other important destinations, especially capitals of States in India....
 connects Bangalore to New Delhi
New Delhi

New Delhi is the capital city of India. With a total area of 42.7 km2, New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi and serves as the seat of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi ....
, the capital of India. The city is also connected to Mumbai
Mumbai

Mumbai— formerly Bombay, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. The city proper has approximately 14 million people and, along with the neighbouring suburbs of Navi Mumbai and Thane, Mumbai forms the World's largest urban agglomerations according to the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects report with around 19...
, Chennai
Chennai

Chennai , formerly Indian renaming controversy , is the fourth largest metropolitan area of India and the capital city of the Indian states and territories of India of Tamil Nadu....
, Kolkata
Kolkata

, Indian renaming controversy , is the Capital of the Indian States and territories of India of West Bengal. It is located in East India on the east bank of the River Hooghly....
, Hyderabad and Kochi, as well as other major cities in Karnataka. Three-wheeled, black and yellow auto-rickshaws, referred to as autos, are a popular form of transport. They are metered and can accommodate up to three passengers. Taxi service within Bangalore is provided by several operators commonly referred to as Citi taxis which can carry up to four passengers and are usually metered and more expensive than auto-rickshaws.

Buses operated by Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation
Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation

B.M.T.C. stands for Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation....
 (BMTC) are also a means of public transport available in the city. While commuters can buy tickets on boarding these buses, BMTC also provides an option of a bus pass to frequent users. BMTC also runs air-conditioned, red-coloured Volvo buses on major routes. The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation
Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation

Sorry, no overview for this topic
 runs 10,400 buses, connecting Bangalore with other parts of Karnataka as well as other states.
English
English language

English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England and has lingua franca status in many parts of the world as a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century onwa...
, other major languages spoken in the city are Hindi
Hindi

Standard Hindi, also known as High Hindi, Nagari Hindi or Literary Hindi is a Standard language register of Hindi. It is one of the 22 official languages of India, and is used, along with English language, for administration of the central government....
, Telugu and Tamil
Tamil language

Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has Official language in India, Sri Lanka and Singapore....
.

According to the 2001 census of India, 79.37% of Bangalore's population is Hindu, roughly the same as the national average
Demographics of India

This article is about the demographics features of the population of India, including population density, Ethnic group, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population....
. Muslim
Muslim

:A Muslim , , is an adherent of the religion of Islam. The feminine form is Muslimah . Literally, the word means "one who submits "....
s comprise 13.37% of the population, which again is roughly the same as the national average, while Christian
Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism#Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus and interpreted by Christians to have been prophesied in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament....
s and Jains account for 5.79% and 1.05% of the population, respectively, double that of their national averages. Anglo-Indians also form a substantial group within the city. Women make up 47.5% of Bangalore's population. Bangalore has the second highest literacy rate (83%) for an Indian metropolis, after Mumbai. Roughly 10% of Bangalore's population lives in slum
Slum

A slum, as defined by the United Nations agency UN-HABITAT, is a run-down area of a city characterized by substandard housing and squalor and lacking in tenure security....
s — a relatively low proportion when compared to other cities in the developing world such as Mumbai (42%) and Nairobi
Nairobi

Nairobi is the capital city and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi Province. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai language phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters"....
 (60%). The 2004 National Crime Records Bureau
NCRB

NCRB or the National Crime Records Bureau is a governmental agency of India responsible for collecting and analysing crime statistics as defined by the Indian Penal Code . The NCRB is headquartered in New Delhi....
 statistics indicate that Bangalore accounts for 9.2% of the total crimes reported from 35 major cities in India. Delhi and Mumbai accounted for 15.7% and 9.5% respectively.

Culture

Glass House, famous for its flower shows, is now a heritage
Cultural heritage

Cultural heritage is the legacy of physical Cultural artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations....
 monument
Monument

A monument is a type of structure either explicitly created to commemorate a person or important event or which has become important to a social group as a part of their remembrance of past events....
.]]

Bangalore is known as the "Garden City of India" because of its greenery and the presence of many public parks, including the Lal Bagh
Lal Bagh

File:Lalbagh Glasshouse night panorama.jpgLal Bagh Botanical Garden is a well known botanical garden in Bangalore, India The garden was commissioned by the ruler of Mysore State, Hyder Ali....
 and Cubbon Park
Cubbon Park

Cubbon Park is a landmark ?lung? area of the Bangalore city, located within the heart of city in the Central Administrative Area. Originally created in 1884, when Major General Richard Sankey was the then British Chief Engineer of Mysore state, it covered an area of and subsequent expansion has taken place and the area reported now is...
. Dasara
Mysore Dasara

Dasara is the Nadahabba of the state of Karnataka. It is also called as Navaratri and is a 10-day festival with the last day being Vijayadashami, the most auspicious day of Dasara....
, a traditional celebratory hallmark of the old Kingdom of Mysore
Kingdom of Mysore

The Kingdom of Mysore was a kingdom of southern India, traditionally believed to have been founded in 1399 in the vicinity of the modern city of Mysore....
, is the state festival and is celebrated with great vigour. Deepavali, the "Festival of Lights", transcends demographic and religious lines and is another important festival. Other traditional Indian festivals such as Ganesh Chaturthi
Ganesh Chaturthi

Ganesha Chaturthi or Ganesha Festival is a day on which Ganesha, the son of Shiva and Parvati, is believed to bestow his presence on earth for all his devotees....
, Ugadi
Ugadi

Ugadi is the new year's day for the people of the Deccan region of India. While the people of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh use the term Ugadi for this festival, the people of Maharashtra term the same festival, observed on the same day, Gudi Padwa....
, Sankranthi
Sankranthi

Sankranthi, or Sankranti , is a festival that signifies the beginning of the harvest season for the farmers of Indian Sub-Continent. This is a harvest festival celebrated not only all over India but other South East Asian Countries as well....
, Eid ul-Fitr
Eid ul-Fitr

Eid ul-Fitr or Id-ul-Fitr , often abbreviated to Eid, is a Muslim holidays that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting....
, and Christmas
Christmas

Christmas , also referred to as Christmas Day, is an annual holiday celebrated on December 25 that commemorates the birth of Jesus. The day marks the beginning of the larger season of Christmastide, which lasts Twelve Days of Christmas....
 are also celebrated. Bangalore is home to the Kannada film industry, which churns out about 80 Kannada movies each year.. One of the most notable contributors to Sandalwood, as the Kannada Movie Industry is referred to, was the late Dr. Rajkumar.

The diversity of cuisine is reflective of the social and economic diversity of Bangalore. Roadside vendors, tea stall
Tea stall

Tea stalls are small-time vendors who primarily sell tea, coffee and milk along small road-side Retailing#Shops and Storess in India. Tea stalls have a movable kitchen set up either with a kerosene or an Liquified petroleum gas stove....
s, and South Indian, North Indian, Chinese and Western
Western world

The term Western world, the West or the Occident can have multiple meanings dependent on its context . Accordingly, the basic definition of what constitutes "the West" varies, expanding and contracting over time, in relation to various historical circumstances....
 fast food are all very popular in the city. Udupi
Udupi cuisine

Udupi cuisine is a world-renowned cuisine of South India. It forms an important part of the Cuisine of Karnataka and takes its name from Udupi, a city on the southwest coast of India in the state of Karnataka....
 restaurants are very popular and serve predominantly vegetarian, regional cuisine.

Bangalore is also a major center of Indian classical music and dance. Classical music and dance recitals are widely held throughout the year and particularly during the Ramanavami and Ganesha Chaturthi festivals. The Bengaluru Gayana Samaja has been at the forefront of promoting classical music and dance in the city. The city also has a vibrant Kannada theater scene with organisations like Ranga Shankara
Ranga Shankara

Ranga Shankara is a performance space in Bangalore that proffers itself as a premier place for theatre performances. The auditorium was envisioned by Arundati Nag, in remembrance of her late husband, Shankar Nag, who was a renowned actor in the Kannada film industry....
 leading the way. Bangalore is also sometimes called as the "Pub
Public house

A public house, the formal name for a pub in Britain, is a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic beverage for consumption on or off the premises in countries and regions of United Kingdom influence....
 Capital of India" and is one of the premier places to hold international rock concerts. Sister Cities Minsk
Minsk

Minsk is the Capital and largest city in Belarus, situated on the Svislach River and Nemiga rivers. Minsk is also a headquarters of the Commonwealth of Independent States ....
, Belarus
Belarus

Belarus is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered by Russia to the north and east, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the north....
. San Francisco, California
California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
, United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
. Cleveland, Ohio
Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern United States U.S. state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region , Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads in North America....
, United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
. Kharkiv
Kharkiv

Kharkiv , or Kharkov is the second largest city in Ukraine.It was the first capital of Soviet Ukraine, now the Capital of the Kharkiv Oblast , as well as the administrative center of the surrounding Kharkiv Oblast within the oblast....
, Kharkiv oblast
Kharkiv Oblast

Kharkiv Oblast is an administrative divisions of Ukraine in eastern Ukraine. The oblast borders Russia to the north, Luhansk Oblast to the east, Donetsk Oblast to the south-east, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast to the south-west, Poltava Oblast to the west and Sumy Oblast to the north-west....
, Ukraine
Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south....


Sports

Cricket
Cricket

Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games team sport that originated in southern England. The earliest definite reference is dated 1598, and it is now played in more than 100 countries....
 is one of the most popular sports in Bangalore. A significant number of national cricketers have come from Bangalore, including former Indian cricket team
Indian cricket team

The Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , the richest cricket board in the world, it is a List of International Cricket Council members#Full Members of the International Cricket Council with Test cricket and One Day International status....
 captain Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid

Rahul Sharad Dravid is an Indian cricketer, and a former captain of the Indian national cricket team, of which he has been a regular member since 1996....
, current test
Test cricket

Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. It has long been considered the ultimate test of playing ability between cricketing nations....
 captain Anil Kumble
Anil Kumble

Anil Kumble is a former India national cricket team cricketer and captain of the Indian Test cricket team. He is a right-arm leg spin bowler and a right-hand batsman....
 and Robin Uthappa
Robin Uthappa

Robin Venu Uthappa is an Indian cricketer. His father is Venu Uthappa, an international field hockey referee from Kodagu, Karnataka, and mother Roselyn is a home maker and hails from Kozhikode, Kerala....
 (others
List of people from Bangalore

Medical and Health Experts * Dr. H. Sudarshan - graduated from Bangalore Medical College. Went on to win the Right Livelihood Award and Padma Sri for work with the Soliga tribe of Biligirirangan Hills....
). Many children play gully cricket
Forms of cricket

In cricket, other than Test cricket, One Day International matches, Twenty20 matches and First class cricket matches, other forms of the sport do exist....
 on the roads and in the city's many public fields. Bangalore's main international cricket stadium is the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium
M. Chinnaswamy Stadium

The M. Chinnaswamy Stadium , located in Bangalore, Karnataka, is one of the premier cricket stadiums of India. Flanked by picturesque Cubbon Park and uptown MG Road, this three-decade-old stadium is situated in the heart of the city of Bangalore....
, which has a seating capacity of 40,000 and has hosted matches during the 1987 Cricket World Cup
1987 Cricket World Cup

The 1987 Cricket World Cup was the fourth edition of the tournament. It was held from October 8 to November 8, 1987 in India and Pakistan - the first held outside England....
 and 1996 Cricket World Cup
1996 Cricket World Cup

The 1996 Cricket World Cup was won by Sri Lankan cricket team who beat Australian cricket team by 7 wickets at the final in Gaddafi Stadium.The 1996 World Cup was played in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka....
.

The Indian Premier League
Indian Premier League

The Indian Premier League , is a Twenty20 cricket competition created by the Board of Control for Cricket in India and chaired by the Chairman & Commissioner IPL, BCCI Vice President Lalit Modi....
 (IPL) franchise Bangalore Royal Challengers and the Premier Hockey League
Premier Hockey League

The Premier Hockey League is a professional league competition for field Hockey clubs in the top division of the Indian hockey system. There are, at present, seven teams in the PHL....
 (PHL) franchise Bangalore Hi-fliers
Bangalore Hi-Fliers

The Bangalore Hi-Fliers are the Premier Hockey League team from the IT Hub of India, Bangalore, Karnataka. The team is led by Tushar Khandekar a member of Indian Hockey team....
 are based in the city. India's Davis Cup
Davis Cup

The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. The largest annual international team competition in sports, the Davis Cup is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format....
 team members, Mahesh Bhupathi
Mahesh Bhupathi

Mahesh Shrinivas Bhupathi is a professional tennis player. He is married to Shvetha Jaishankar Bhupathi, an Indian model whom he met at a party....
 and Rohan Bopanna
Rohan Bopanna

Rohan Bopanna is an Indian professional tennis player, and Indian singles number 2.Bopanna, who started playing tennis at age 11, reached his career high singles rankings on 27 February 2006 when he reached the 230th position in the ATP Rankings....
 also reside in Bangalore. The city hosts the Women's Tennis Association
Women's Tennis Association

The Women's Tennis Association, formed in 1973, is the principal organizing body of women's professional tennis. It organizes the WTA Tour, the worldwide professional tennis tour for women, which has for sponsorship reasons been known since 2005 as The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour....
 (WTA) Bangalore Open
Bangalore Open

The Bangalore Open is a tennis tournament held in Bangalore, India. The tournament began in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh in 2003, and moved to Bangalore in 2006....
 tournament annually. Beginning September, 2008, Bangalore will also host the Kingfisher Airlines Tennis Open
Kingfisher Airlines Tennis Open

The Kingfisher Airlines Tennis Open is a professional tennis tournament played on Tennis court#Hard courts. It is currently part of the ATP International Series of the ATP Tour....
 ATP
Association of Tennis Professionals

File:ATP Tennis.pngThe Association of Tennis Professionals or ATP was formed in 1972 to protect the interests of male professional tennis players....
 tournament annually.

Bangalore has a number of elite clubs, like Century Club,The Bangalore Golf Club, the Bowring Institute
Bowring

Bowring is a surname of English people origin. At the time of the British Census of 1881 , its relative frequency was highest in Dorset , followed by Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Gloucestershire, Northamptonshire, Hampshire, Surrey, the Channel Islands, Shropshire and Somerset....
 and the exclusive Bangalore Club
Bangalore Club

Located in Bangalore, India, the The Bangalore Club is the oldest club in the city, founded in 1868. It counts among its previous members Winston Churchill and the Maharajah of Mysore....
, which counts among its previous members Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, Order of the Garter, Order of Merit, Order of the Companions of Honour, Territorial Decoration, Fellow of the Royal Society, Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, Queen's Privy Council for Canada was a Politics of the United Kingdom known chiefly for his leadership of the United King...
 and the Maharaja of Mysore. The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited SC is based in Bangalore. Other sports personalities from Bangalore include national swimming champion Nisha Millet
Nisha Millet

Nisha Millet is a swimmer from Bangalore, Karnataka, India. Nisha Millet, and the Arjuna Award winner, was the only woman in the 2000 Sydney Olympics swim team for India....
, world snooker
Snooker

Snooker is a cue sport that is played on a large baize-covered snooker table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions....
 champion, Pankaj Advani
Pankaj Advani

Pankaj Advani is a World Champion in snooker and English billiards from India....
 and former All England Open badminton
Badminton

Badminton is a List of sports#Racquet sports played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs , who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net....
 champion Prakash Padukone
Prakash Padukone

Prakash Padukone a Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin is a badminton player from Karnataka, India, who was awarded the Padma Sri in 1982.Career...
.

Education

Until the early 19th century, education in Bangalore was mainly run by religious leaders and restricted to students of that religion. The western system of education was introduced during the rule of Mummadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar
Mummadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar

Mummadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar was the ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Mysore Kingdom in India. Also known as Krishnaraja Wodeyar III, he belonged to the Wodeyar dynasty and ruled his state for nearly seventy years, from 25 June 1799 to 27 March 1868....
, when two schools were established in Bangalore. Subsequently, Wesleyan Mission established a school in 1851 and the Bangalore High School which was started by the Government in 1858.

In post-independent India, schools for young children are mainly based on the kindergarten
Kindergarten

is a form of education for young children which serves as a transition from home to the commencement of more formal schooling. Children are taught to develop basic skills through creative play and social interaction....
 form of education. Primary and secondary education in Bangalore is offered by various schools which are affiliated to one of the boards of education, such as the Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC), ICSE
Indian Certificate of Secondary Education

The Indian Certificate of Secondary Education examination is an examination conducted by the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations for class 10, i.e., grade 10....
 and CBSE. Schools in Bangalore are either government run or are private (both aided and un-aided by the government). After completing their secondary education, students typically attend Pre Univiersity
Pre University Course

Pre University Course, popularly known as PUC is an intermediate course of duration two years conducted by state education boards in India.A person desiring admission to any Indian university must pass this course....
 (PUC) in one of three streamsArts
Liberal arts

The term liberal arts refers to the education derived from the Classical education curriculum....
, Commerce
Commerce

Commerce is a division of trade or production, costs, and pricing which deals with the Trade of goods and service from production, costs, and pricing to final consumer....
 or Science
Science

In its broadest sense, science refers to any systematic knowledge or practice. In its more usual restricted sense, science refers to a system of acquiring knowledge based on scientific method, as well as to the organized body of knowledge gained through such research....
. Upon completing the required coursework, students enroll in general or professional degrees in univerities. The Bangalore University
Bangalore University

Bangalore University is a public university located in Bangalore, Karnataka State, India. The university is one of the oldest in India, dating from 1886, and is renowned as one of the leading major universities in India....
,established in 1964, provides affiliation to about 500 colleges, with a total student enrollment exceeding 300,000. The university has two campuses within Bangalore – Jnanabharathi and Central College.

Indian Institute of Science
Indian Institute of Science

The Indian Institute of Science is a Indian-Government designated, premier , research institution of higher learning located in Bengaluru, India....
, which was established in 1909 in Bangalore, is the premier institute for scientific research and study in India. Nationally renouned professional institutes such as the National Law School of India University
National Law School of India University

The National Law School of India University is an institution for under-graduate and graduate legal education. Based in Nagarbhavi, a quiet suburb in the western extremities of the city of Bangalore, the NLSIU was established in 1987 after a was enacted for that purpose by the Legislative Assembly of the State of Karnataka, and has officia...
 (NLSIU), the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM-B) and the Indian Statistical Institute
Indian Statistical Institute

Indian Statistical Institute engages in the research, teaching, and application of statistics to the natural sciences and social sciences. Founded by Professor Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis in Kolkata in 1931, while statistics was a relatively new scientific field, the institute gained the status of an Institution of National Importance by an...
 are located in Bangalore. The city is also home to the premier mental health institution in India National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences
NIMHANS

The National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences is located in Bangalore, and is one of Asia's most reputable hospitals. The National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences , a multidisciplinary institute in the field of mental health and neurosciences, was the result of the amalgamation of the erstwhile mental hospital and th...
 (NIMHANS), a premier mental health institution is located in Bangalore.

Media

The first printing-press was established in Bangalore in the year 1840. In 1859, Bangalore Herald became the first English bi-weekly newspaper to be published in Bangalore and in 1860, Mysore Vrittanta Bodhini became the first Kannada newspaper to be circulated in Bangalore. Currently, Vijaya Karnataka
Vijaya Karnataka

Vijaya Karnataka is a Kannada newspaper. It is the largest circulated Kannada daily and published from a number of cities in Karnataka. The news paper along with other sister publications was recently bought by the Bennett, Coleman & Co....
 and The Times of India
The Times of India

The Times of India is a leading English language broadsheet daily newspaper in India. It is owned and managed by Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd....
 are the most widely circulated Kannada and English newspapers in Bangalore respectively, closely followed by the Praja Vani and Deccan Herald both owned by the Printer's (Mysore) Limited - the largest print media house in Karnataka.

Bangalore got its first radio station when All India Radio
All India Radio

File:AIR FM Tower Mangalore 0203.jpgAll India Radio , officially known as Akashvani is the radio broadcaster of India and a division of Prasar Bharati , an autonomous corporation of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India....
, the official broadcaster for the Indian Government, started broadcasting from its Bangalore station on 2 November 1955. The radio transmission was AM
Amplitude modulation

Amplitude modulation is a technique used in electronic communication, most commonly for transmitting information via a radio carrier wave....
, until in 2001, Radio City
Radio City

Radio City can refer to several things:* Radio City , 1974 album by Big Star* Radio City * Radio City 96.7* Radio City Music Hall, home of the Rockettes...
 became the first private channel in India to start transmitting FM
Frequency modulation

In telecommunications, frequency modulation conveys information over a carrier wave by varying its frequency . In analog signal applications, the instantaneous frequency of the carrier is directly proportional to the instantaneous value of the input signal....
 radio from Bangalore. In recent years, a number of FM channels have started broadcasting from Bangalore. The city also has various clubs for HAM radio enthusiasts.

Bangalore got its first look at television when Doordarshan
DoorDarshan

Doordarshan is the public television Broadcasting of India and a division of Prasar Bharati, a public service broadcaster nominated by the Government of India....
 established a relay centre here and started relaying programs from 1 November 1981. A production center was established in the Doordarshan's Bangalore office in 1983, thereby allowing the introduction of a news program in Kannada on 19 November 1983. Doordarshan also launched a Kannada satellite channel on 15 August 1991 which is now christened DD Chandana
DD Chandana

DD Chandana is a Kannada channel owned and operated by Prasar Bharathi under Doordarshan; supported by Doordarshan studios in Bangalore and Gulbarga....
. The advent of private satellite channels in Bangalore started in September 1991 when Star TV
STAR TV

Satellite Television for the Asian Region is an Asian TV service owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. It is based in Hong Kong, with programming offices in India and Australia, as well as in other south Asian countries....
 started to broadcast its channels. Though the number of satellite TV channels available for viewing in Bangalore has grown over the years, the cable operators play a major role in the availability of these channels, which has led to occasional conflicts. Direct To Home services are also available in Bangalore now.

The first internet service provider
Internet service provider

An Internet service provider is a company that offers its customers access to the Internet. The ISP connects to its customers using a data transmission technology appropriate for delivering Internet Protocol datagrams, such as dial-up, DSL, cable modem or dedicated high-speed interconnects....
 in Bangalore was STPI, Bangalore which started offering internet services in early 1990s. This internet service was however restricted to corporates, until VSNL started offering dial-up internet
Dial-up access

Dial-up Internet Access is a form of Internet access via telephone lines. The user's computer or router uses an attached modem connected to a telephone line to dial into an Internet service provider's node to establish a modem-to-modem link, which is then used to router Internet Protocol packets between the user's equipment and hosts on the...
 services to the general public at the end of 1995. Currently, Bangalore has the largest number of broadband internet connections in India.

See also

  • Tourist attractions in Bangalore
    Tourist attractions in Bangalore

    Bangalore , officially Bengaluru , is the capital of the Indian States and territories of India of Karnataka. It is also known as the "Garden City of India" ...
  • Karnataka
    Karnataka

    Karnataka is a States and territories of India in the southern part of India. It was Unification of Karnataka on November 1, 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act....


Further reading

  • Hasan, Fazlul. Bangalore Through The Centuries. Bangalore: Historical Publications, 1970.
  • Plunkett, Richard. South India. Lonely Planet
    Lonely Planet

    Lonely Planet Publications is one of the largest travel guidebook publishers in the world. It was the first popular series of travel books aimed at backpacking and other low-cost travellers....
    , 2001. ISBN 1864501618
  • Vagale, Uday Kumar. . Digital Libraries and Archives. 2006. Virginia Tech. 27 April 2004.
  • Hunter, Cotton, Burn, Meyer. . 2006. Oxford, Clarendon Press. 1909.
  • "Bangalore." . 1911 ed.
  • Hayavadana Rao, The Mysore State Gazetteer, 1929


External links