Bangalore

Template:Bangalore infobox Bangalore (ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು in Kannada) is the capital and largest city of the state of Karnataka in India. With about 6 million inhabitants, it is India's third largest city and fifth largest metropolitan area [1] [2].

After India gained independence in 1947, Bangalore evolved into a manufacturing hub for heavy industries such as Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Indian Space Research Organization. Within the last decade, the establishment and success of high technology firms in Bangalore have lead to the growth of Information Technology (IT) in India. IT firms in Bangalore employ about 30% of India's pool of 1 million IT professionals.

The city is also the Training Center for the Indian Air Force, the Madras Engineering Group (MEG) and Central Military Police, the latter two being arms of the Indian Army.

Bangalore is a 1 point "World City", and one of only three "World Cities" of India [3].

The IPA for Bangalore is /'bæŋgəlʊɹ/ and not /'bɑŋgəlʊɹ/. The closest approximation of the city's name in Kannada is /'bɛŋgəɫurʊ/. See lateral approximant.

Geography and weather

Bangalore is situated in the Deccan Plateau, with an average elevation of 920 m above sea level. Due to its elevation Bangalore enjoys a pleasant and equable climate throughout the year. The highest temperature recorded is 38.9 °C (102.02 °F) on May 22,1935 and the lowest is 7.8 °C (46.06 °F) in 1884. Winter temperatures rarely drop below 12 °C (54 ° F) and summer temperatures seldom exceed 38 °C (100 °F). [4] [5]

Bangalore receives about 900 mm of rain anually, the wettest months being September, October and May in that order. The summer heat is moderated by fairly frequent thunderstorms and occasional squalls cause power outages and local flooding. The heaviest rainfall recorded in a 24 hour period is 179.7 mm recorded on October 1, 1997. Most of the rainfall occurs during late afternoon/evening or night and rain before noon is infrequent.[6]

A popular belief amongst Bangaloreans is that Bangalore's climate is no longer as pleasant as it used to be. This is attributed this to the city's rapid expansion over the past many years. However climatic records provide no evidence to support the claim.

History

The beginning

Bangalore is believed to have been founded in 1537 by Kempe Gowda (1510 - 1570). During the time of the Puranas, this region was known as "Kalyanapuri" or "Kalyananagara", the "City Auspicious". The Mauryan Emperor, Chandragupta Maurya, renounced his throne to become a Jain Monk at Shravanabelagola, a Jain piligrimage center, southwest of Bangalore.

Bengaluru

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A map of Banaglore city.

Bengaluru was first mentioned in records from the Ganga era as a small hamlet, the location of which coincides with modern Halebengaluru near Kodigehalli (not far from Hebbal). It is said that when Kempe Gowda built his new capital town in about 1537, he called it Bengaluru as his mother and wife belonged to the hamlet of Halé Bengaluru (Old Bangalore) .

Another version suggests that the name Bangalore derives from Benda kalu, which means Boiled beans. It is said that a humble old lady served a 10th century ruler, King Veeraballa of Vijayanagara who lost his way in the forest. He liked the food so much he named the place Benda Kaluru, meaning "the city of boiled beans", to commemorate his experience. After the arrival of the British, the city was given the anglicized name of "Bangalore".

The rulers

The reign of Bangalore changed hands several times. It was ruled by the Adil Shahi sultans of Bijapur until 1638, when it was captured by the Maratha ruler Shahji Bhonsle. After 50 years of Maratha rule Bangalore was conquered by the Mughals in 1686. The city was leased to the Mysore ruler Chikkadevaraya by the Mughals around 1689 and Chikkadevaraya expanded the Bangalore fort to the south and built the Venkataramana temple in this fort area. This new fort in granite was strengthened by Haider Ali who secured Bangalore as a jahgir in 1759. The British under Lord Cornwallis conquered the place in 1799 after defeating Tipu Sultan.

Plague

Bangalore was hit by a plague epidemic in 1898. The epidemic took a large toll and many of the temples were built during this time. Many of these temples are called "Maramma" temples after the plague deity. It is believed that this epidemic helped in the development of Bangalore and improvements in sanitation and health facilities helped in modernizing Bangalore. A plague officer was appointed and the city was divided into four wards.

City planning

Telephone lines were laid to help coordinate anti-plague operations. Regulations for building new houses with proper facilities of sanitation came into effect. A health officer was appointed in 1898 and the Victoria Hospital was inaugurated in 1900 by Lord Curzon, the then Viceroy. It is also believed that the advent of railways was a causal factor for the epidemic.

The plague of 1898 also led to the expansion of Bangalore. Basavanagudi (named after the Basaveshwara Temple or the Bull Temple in the Sunkenahalli village) and Malleshwaram (named after the Kadu Malleshwara Temple in the old Mallapura village) were created during this time. Kalasipalyam (near the old fort) and Gandhinagar were created between 1921-1931. Kumara Park came into existence in 1947 and Jayanagar in 1948.

Bangalore is a former cantonment and Civil and Military Station after 1881 and has roads named according to military conventions such as Artillery Road, Brigade Road, Infantry Road and Cavalry Road. The South Parade (presently Mahatma Gandhi Road) was to the south of the Parade Ground. The cantonment area was administered by a Resident and his quarters was called the Residency and hence the Residency Road. In around 1883, three extensions were added to the Municipal area of the Cantonment, namely, Richmond Town, followed by Benson Town and Cleveland Town.

Culture and education

Statue of the founder Indian Institute of Science, JN Tata

Bangalore is the largest city in the state of Karnataka and is a cosmopolitan city. Kannada, the state language of Karnataka, is widely spoken here. Many people are fluent in more than one language.In Bangalore there are people speaking languages such as Kannada 31%, Tamil 27%, Telugu 17%, Hindustani/Urdu 15%, other languages 10%.[7].English is widely understood, and spoken with variable fluency. The large number of central government and defence establishments with many employees from northern India, movies and television have made Hindi a widely understood language in the city. With the rapid growth of the information technology industry in Bangalore, English is becoming a standard.

A majority of Bangalore's population consists of expatriates from other parts of India as well as foreign nationals, a trend that existed even in colonial Bangalore. This is evident in the Tamil inscriptions on the memorial set up near Brigade Road by the then British rulers for the Indian soldiers who lost their lives in various wars.

Bangalore is home to the Indian Institute of Science, the Indian Institute of Management (IIM, Bangalore), the National Law School of India University, the Indian Institute of Information Technology - Bangalore,the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), and the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences. Bangalore also has a large number of Engineering and Medical science institutions. Some important engineering colleges include Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering (D.S.C.E.), Bangalore Institute of Technology (B.I.T),Rashtreeya Vidyalaya College of Engineering (RVCE), U.V.C.E, P.E.S Institute of Technology,M.S.Ramaiah Institute of Technology and B.M.S College of Engineering. Important medical colleges are Bangalore Medical College, St Johns Medical College and K.I.M.S .

Economy

The Vidhana Soudha is the seat of Karnataka's Legislative assembly

One of the important factors spurring Bangalore's growth was that the Central Government invested heavily in public sector industries in Bangalore, partially due to the fact that it is geographically disconnected from India's rivals Pakistan and China. This led to the concentration of technical and scientific manpower in Bangalore, and is a factor in leading the "IT revolution" in Bangalore.

NewsWeek proclaimed Bangalore to be one of the 12 "Capitals of Style", along with Paris, London and Los Angeles.

Manufacturing industries

Long before Bangalore was called the Silicon Valley of India, the city made its name as headquarters to some of the largest national heavy industries of India. The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) headquarters was based in Bangalore, and was for the most part dedicated to R&D activities for indigenous fighter aircraft for the Indian Air Force. Today, HAL develops and maintains an impressive fleet of fighter aircraft and trainers for the Indian Airforce including Sukhoi 30 Flankers and Jaguars.

Airshows showcasing inventories from HAL and international corporations such as Sukhoi, Lockheed Martin, Mirage and BAE Systems are held at the Yelahanka Airforce base near Bangalore once every two years.

The National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) is also headquartered in Bangalore and is dedicated to the development of aerospace technologies. NAL has a staff strength of over 1,300 employees and often works in conjunction with HAL.

Space technology

In June 1972, the Government of India set up the Space Commission and Department of Space (DOS). India's premier space research organization, the ISRO was created under the DOS and headquartered in Bangalore. The main objective of ISRO includes development of satellites and launch vehicles. Aryabhatta, India's first satellite, was developed and successfully launched by ISRO. Since then, the organization has successfully launched numerous other satellites such as Bhaskara, Rohini, APPLE and the INSAT series, and successfully deployed PSLVs and GSLVs. ISRO also heads India's ambitious moon program.

Bangalore is also a major manufacturing base and houses such public sector manufacturing giants as Bharat Heavy Electronics Limited (BHEL), BEL, Indian Telephone Industries(ITI) and Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML).

"Silicon Valley"

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Infosys Technologies headquarters

Bangalore is called the "Silicon Valley of India" due to the large number of computer and technology companies, as well as the related infrastructure, located there. Many multinational corporations, especially computer hardware and software giants, have operations in Bangalore. Electronics City, located in the southern outskirts of Bangalore, is an industrial park spread over 330 acres (1.3 km²). Whitefield, located in the northeastern outskirts of the city is another technology hot spot. The government has plans to develop a Information technology corridor linking Whitefield and Electronics City. Over 200 Information Technology corporations have facilities in Bangalore.

Biotechnology

Biotechnology is a growing field in the city. Bangalore accounts for at least 97 of the approximately 240 biotechnology companies in India. Interest in Bangalore as a base for biotechology companies stems from Karnataka's comprehensive biotechnology policy, described by the Karnataka Vision Group on Biotechnology [8].

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Biocon, Bangalore

In 2003-2004, Karnataka attracted the maximum venture capital funding for biotechnology in the country - $8 million. Biocon, headquartered in Bangalore, is the nation's leading biotechnology company and ranks 16th in the world in revenues.

Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology (IBAB) which is initiated by Biotechnology vision group,ICICI,Biocon which is located in ITPL is trying to shape revolutionary scientists in the field.

Urban life

Bangalore is known as the "Garden City of India", and there are many public parks, including the Lal Bagh and Cubbon Park which attract a lot of people, tourists and locals alike, especially over the weekends.

The locals are generally referred to as Bangaloreans and the definition permiates class, religion and even language. Bangalore has significant proportions of groups that would otherwise be considered "minorities" in India, including Muslims, Christians and Anglo-Indians.

Religious festivals are celebrated with great enthusiasm. The festival of Deepavali transcends demographic and religious lines and is celebrated with great valor. Dussera, a traditional celebratory hallmark of the old Kingdom of Mysore is another important festival.

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Brigade Road, Bangalore is an important commercial and entertainment area

Bangalore is home to the Kannada film industry which churns out about 80 movies each year. Kannada movies are very popular in the city. Movies from other parts of South India including Tamil movies and Telugu movies are popular, as are Bollywood and Hollywood movies.

The diversity of the cuissine available is reflective of the social and economic diversity of Bangalore. Roadside vendors, tea stalls, South Indian, North Indian, Chinese and Western fast food are all very popular in the city.

Cricket in Bangalore, just as in the rest of the nation, is the most popular sport. Significant numbers of India's national team have come from Bangalore, including Rahul Dravid, Venkatesh Prasad, Anil Kumble, Erapalli Prasanna and B.S. Chandrashekar. Many of the city's children play Gully cricket on the roads and in city's many public fields. Bangalore's main international cricket stadium is the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, which was the venue for the India-Pakistan cricket quater-final during World Cup 1996.

Bangalore has an active night culture and is home to over 200 clubs and bars. Popular nightspots in Bangalore include Pecos, The Club Inferno, Insomnia, Spinn, iBar, Urban Edge, Club X, Styx (a pub for hard rock fans), Purple Haze, Legends Of Rock, TGIF, fBar (a fashion themed club) and Opium.

Apart from urban and night life Bangalore has a number of elite clubs, like the Bangalore Golf Club, the Karnataka State Cricket Club (which boasts several of members of the Indian cricket team) and the Bangalore Club which is so exclusive it has a 25 year waiting list and counts among its previous members Winston Churchill and the Maharajah of Mysore. The Bangalore Club is much like a miniature city with supermarkets, recreational facilities, libraries and auditoriums, not to mention a number of bars.

City woes

Roads, infrastructure and traffic

For most of the period after Indian independence, Bangalore, though a B-1 status city, was not considered to be one of India's "4 major metropolitan cities" and did not have the infrastructure required to support a population of 5 million. The fastest growing city in Asia now has to struggle with a constantly and rapidly increasing population of technocrats and blue collar workers.

The local administration has attempted to overcome some of the shortcomings in the road systems by imposing one-way traffic systems and attempting to build a flyover system in the city. These initiatives have met with limited success. A flyover near the Domlur sector has been delayed twice, for about five months each time. The flyover near the Jayadeva Institute of Cardiology on Bannerghatta Road has also been delayed. Some of the flyovers and one-ways have mitigated the traffic situation moderately, but the volume of traffic continues to grow. Some roads near Airport Road and the residential areas in Koramangala, two relatively important places in the city, were dug up for renovation instantly but have remained in this state for over two years. This has contributed to the discontent among the public.

Rapid economic growth has been brought about by the IT and other associated industries. This has led to an escalation of the vehicular population to about 1.7 million, and which is growing at 8% per annum. Along with the unplanned nature of the rise and growth of these industries and the city's design the economic growth has also lead to massive traffic criss-crossing the city through the day.

Recent developments of self-contained apartment complexes/townships and such other ghettoization of the IT workforce and has led the State Government to plan for IT / Bio-Technology corridors at the outskirts of the city.

Bangalore's infrastructural woes have led to protests by students and IT workers in the city. In July 2004 Wipro's Azim Premji threatened to pull his company out of the city unless there was a drastic improvement in infrastructure over the next few years.

In 2005 the Central and State Governments allocated sizeable funding from their annual budgets towards the improvement of Bangalore's infrastructure. The new international airport and the planned metro system were specifically mentioned as projects to be funded. The State Government also announced plans to improve the city's roadways and introduce new traffic management plans.

Airport issues

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The HAL Airport has been an issue of contention between successive State and Central governments and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.

The city's roads were not designed to accommodate the massive traffic that now prevails in Bangalore. As the city expands and absorbs other towns into it, the necessity for proper planning and road infrastructure to commute through the city increases.

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited owned and operated the airport that was subsequently used for commercial civil aviation by the Government of Karnataka. Most airports are controlled by the Airports Authority of India. This led to a prolonged three way tussle for operational ownership between the HAL, the Government of Karnataka and the Indian Air Force, which tests many of its indigenous aircraft there.

Eventually a full scale international airport was planned at Devanahalli, 30 kilometers from Bangalore. The project, initially conceived in 1991, was repeatedly delayed due to red tape and tussles between the private companies involved and the Central and State Governments. Clearance for the construction of the $288 million airport was eventually granted in June 2004. The major stakeholders of this project include Siemens-Zurich Airport-L&T consortium, Airports Authority of India and Karnataka State Investment and Industrial Development Corporation. Construction work on the airport began in March 2005.

Direct international flights to Bangalore are currently limited. The German airline Lufthansa is the only airline with non-stop flights to Bangalore from Europe, with service to Frankfurt's Main International Airport. Air India and Indian Airlines also fly direct to many parts of Asia including Singapore, Dubai, Sharjah and Muscat. Currently, people coming to Bangalore on business visits from the United States, where many IT companies have a vested interest in the growth of the city, have to fly to Europe or Asia and then take a connecting flight to Bangalore.

However, the recent liberalization of the India's skies has lead to an influx of new international carriers. Starting in October 2005, three more international airlines will add service between Bangalore and Europe. Air France with service to Paris' Charles de Gaulle International Airport, British Airways' with service to London's Heathrow International Airport, and Northwest Airlines with service to Seattle's Seattle-Tacoma International Airport with a stop in Amsterdam's Schipol International Airport.

Slum population

According to the Census of India 2001 results, 345,200 people or 8% of the population live in slums in Bangalore. The sex ratio of the slum population was 948 females/1000 males, as compared to the overall sex ratio of Bangalore of 915 females/1000 males.

Slum Jagathu is a Bangalore based magazine for and by slum dwellers.

Bangalore Division

Bangalore Division comprises the districts of Bangalore (Urban and Rural), Chitradurga, Davangere, Kolar, Shimoga, and Tumkur. The administrative headquarters of the division is Bangalore.

External links

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