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Mangalore

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Mangalore, originally called Mangalooru, is the chief port city of the state of Karnataka, India. It is the capital of Dakshina Kannada (South Kanara) district. Situated on the west coast of the country on the Arabian Sea, the Western Ghats lie to Mangalore's east.

Mangalore is known for its beaches, temples and industries. The city is virtually a Tower of Babel, with the sounds of several languages mingling on the streets. The main languages of Mangalore are Tulu, Kannada, Konkani, and Byari (somewhat of a mixture of Tulu and Malayalam).

Still largely green, Mangalore is an ideal getaway for those wanting a slightly laid back holiday. The approach to Mangalore is impressive, whether by road, rail or air, with the characteristic coconut palms accompanying rolling hills and streams running towards the sea. The landscape is dotted with tiled-roof buildings, topped with the famous Mangalore tiles made with the local hard red clay and typically walled with laterite blocks. Older houses are commonly found with elaborate wood-work.

Mangalore's location on a narrow coastal strip between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea has attracted a multitude of settlers from all over the region and the wider world, and the town is renowned for the industriousness of its people and natural splendour.

History

Mangalore was named after the local Hindu deity Mangaladevi. The administrative headquarters of Dakshina Kannada district in the southwestern corner of Karnataka (formerly Mysore) state (southern India), Mangalore developed as a port on the Arabian Sea, and is still one of major ports of India. Lying on the backwaters formed by the Nethravathi and Gurpur rivers, it has long been a roadstead along the Malabar Coast. Engaged in Persian Gulf trade in the 14th century, Mangalore was occupied by the Portuguese in the mid-16th century. In the 18th century its control was contested by Mysore sultans Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan on one hand and the British on the other. Under the Mysore sultans (1763) it became a strategic ship building base, which was ceded to the British in 1799 after numerous sieges.

Other names

The cosmopolitan nature of Mangalore is centuries old. This is reflected in the names used by the various linguistic groups in this region. The native Tuluvas call it Kudla. Konkanis use the variant Kodial. Bearys, a Malayalee muslim group, call Mikal. The neighbouring Malayalees officially use the word Mangalapuram.

Transportation

Mangalore is well connected to the rest of India and the World by road, rail, air and sea. It is very notable here that one of the sons of Mangalore U Srinivas Mallya Member of Parliment was intrumental in getting the National Highway system, the Mangalore Airport and the New Mangalore Port to Mangalore. In his tribute there is a statue of him along NH 17 near the Kadri Park, and another at the entrance of the New Mangalore Harbour.

Roads

Three National Highways (NH) pass through Mangalore connecting the city to the rest of the country. NH-17, which runs from Panvel, Maharashtra to Cranganur Junction, near Edapally in Kerala, passes through Mangalore giving in excellent North South connectivity. NH-48 runs eastward from Mangalore to the state capital Bangalore. NH-13 runs north-east from Mangalore to Sholapur. A state highway connects it to the city of Mysore passing through the hill city of Madikeri.

Railways

The Mangalore Railway Station used to be the last station connecting Mangalore to the state of Kerala in the south and to the rest of the country. While the British had left behind an extensive railway network when they left India, the stretch between Mangalore - Mumbai, and Mangalore - Hassan had never been connected.

A metre gauge railway track was built through the Western Ghats in the east, connecting Mangalore with Hassan. While this provided a very pictureisque journey, it was not very successful, and the tracks were removed several years later to be replaced with a broad gauge line. However due to lack of funds, and official apathy, the conversion project was halted for several years. It has since resumed and some sections of this track are now functional.

There had similarly always been a strong need to connect Mangalore to Mumbai. Hence the Konkan Railway came into being. The project was completed in 1998 and since then the journey times to the north of the country have come down considerably.

Sea

The Mangalore Harbour provides a connection by sea to the rest of the world. Currently dry, bulk and fluid cargos are handled by the port, providing an important gateway to the state of Karnataka. It is also the station for the Coast Guard. The modern port 10 km north of the town, is now India's ninth largest cargo handling port.

Air

The Mangalore Airport (IATA: IXE) currently has a small 1.6 km (5,200 ft) runway which can only handle Boeing 737 sized aircrafts. A new international length (2.9 km) runway is under construction and is due to open by early 2006. This should facilitate the arrival of larger aircraft to Mangalore, and a new terminal building has been planned in order to handle the inevitably larger load from international flights. While currently flights are only available daily to Mumbai and Bangalore, there is reported interest from Middle Eastern carriers such as Emirates, Qatar Airways and Gulf Air, as well as Indian airlines Air India, Indian Airlines and Jet Airways, to commence international flights into Mangalore.

Industry

Mangalore's economy is dominated by agricultural processing and port-related activities. Imports include tropical timber from south-east Asia for furniture making, a necessity since India places major restrictions on its own teak felling. The port handles 75% of India’s coffee exports and the bulk of it cashew nuts. The latter are brought from many coastal areas (notably from Kerala, where 90% of India’s cashews are grown); the National Cashew research centre is near by at Puttur.

The district is a leader in more than one way in banking, private entrepreneurship and in general awareness amongst people. The city of Mangalore has given birth to four nationalised banks as well as general insurance companies, leading to the (perjorative) nickname "the Cradle of Banking Industry".

Banking and Finance

Three of the nineteen nationalised banks were established in Mangalore during the first half of the 20th century. The three banks are:-

  • Karnataka Bank, one of the larger private sector banks which escaped nationalisation, was also established in Mangalore.
  • Syndicate Bank, though established in nearby Manipal, was co-founded by Dr. T M A Pai and Sri Upendra Ananth Pai from Manipal, along with a Mangalorean Sri V S Kudva.

These banks are considered quality institutions across the country - the national character taken on with nationalisation has been combined with the culture and quality of service inculcated by the founders. Prior to nationalisation, these banks were stewarded by very efficient and competent teams of managers, predominently Mangaloreans. During this tremendous growth phase, these banks spawned a whole generation of bankers from Mangalore across these firms from the top to bottom. A large proportion of the Konkani and Bunt community from Mangalore were at one point employed by these banks.

Corporation Bank and Vijaya Bank are still headquartered in Mangalore. Canara Bank is now headquartered in Bangalore and Syndicate Bank is headquartered in Manipal. Even to date, you will find that a large proportion of employees at all levels in these banks are of Mangalorean origin.

Traditional Areas

Fishing in Mukkah, near Mangalore

Mangalore developed as a fishing town and this has been maintained to this day, with the local diet maintaining a high proportion of fish. The fishing industry employs thousands of people, and their produce is exported around the region.

The nationalisation of the banking sector was a big blow to the Mangalorean economy, but it has not affected the entrepreneurial spirit of the population. Mangalorean firms have had a major presense in the tile, beedi, coffee and cashewnut industry, although the tile industry has been in decline due to the predominance of concrete in the modern construction.

Modern Industry

In the last 25 years, the old line industries have now given way to the modern Industries, which have since crept in, in the form of the Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilizers Limited, Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL), National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), Infosys Technologies Ltd. and a host of other projects proposed for the district, such as the power plants of Jaiprakash Industries and NTPC, downstream units of MRPL, etc. It should be noted that as on date the proposed powerplants of Jaiprakash Industries and NTPC are yet to take off.

Education

With the growth of the banking institutions in the early 20th Century, Mangalore had a large middle class and affluent population. Also, Mangaloreans have always placed high emphasis on education. The combination of the above two factors resulted in the establishment of some quality educational institutions, including:-

  • Kasturba Medical College (founded by Dr. T M A Pai of Manipal),
  • Karnataka Regional Engineering College (KREC),
  • St. Aloysius College (first school started in 1880), and
  • St. Agnes Institutions

Since the 1980's, there have been a large number of professional institutions established in a variety of fields including engineering, medicine, dentistry and hotel management. These institutions attract students from all over the country due to the quality of their programs.

On 10 September 1980, the Mangalore University was established. It caters to the higher educational needs of Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Kodagu districts. The University Campus has become a major centre for advanced academic studies and research. Although Mangalore University is one of the youngest universities in the country, it has within its ambit some of the oldest and prestigious institutions of higher learning. Besides 22 post graduate departments offering different Post Graduate programmes on the Campus, the University has 105 affiliated colleges (including two constituent colleges)imparting education in the field of arts, commerce and management, science, engineering, law and education.

Culture

With several famous pilgrim centres, a trip to Mangalore is incomplete without watching the classic Yakshagana - an elaborate dance - drama performance unique to Karnataka. A night-long event, with people adorned vibrantly, and dancing to the beat of drums, Yakshagana performance attracts thousands of people.

Hulivesha (Tiger dance) is a unique form of folk dance in Dakshina Kannada that fascinates the young and the old alike. Since tiger is considered as the favored carrier of Goddess Sharada (the deity in whose honor Dussera is celebrated), this dance is performed during the Dussera celebration. It is also performed during other festivals like Krishna Janmasthami.


Meteorology

The most pleasant months in Mangalore are from December to February - at this time of the year the humidity and temperatures are the lowest by Mangalore standards. Day time temperatures fall below 30°C and night time temperatures fall below 20°C.

This pleasant season is soon followed by a "hot" summer season from March to May, when temperatures rise as high as 38°C. However, a high relative humidity of more than 90% makes it feel above 40°C.

This is soon followed by the monsoon season. Mangalore receives very heavy rainfall compared with other urban centres in India. Rains measuring up to 4000 mm fall during the period from June to September. The rains finally subside in September, with the occasional rainfall catching people unaware in October.

Attractions

File:Staloysiuschurch.jpg
St Aloysius College Chapel
Sunset at Panambur beach
A view of the Kadri Park

Temples

Beaches

  • Panambur Beach
  • Tannirubhavi Beach
  • Surathkal Beach & Light House
  • Ullal Beach

Nature

  • Kadri Park
  • Pilikula Nisargadhama
  • Light House Hill

Churches

Other Sights

  • Seemanthi Bai Museum.
  • New Mangalore port.

Nearby places

Mangalore is the chief city of the Tulu Nadu region. Known for its religious places of worship, the region is also blessed with green fields, water falls, beautiful beaches, and a rich variety of flora and fauna.

  • Udupi Shree Krishna Temple.]
  • Malpe Beach.
  • Kaup (pronounced Kaapu) Light House & Beach.
  • Dharmasthala
  • Turtle Bay, Kundapur.
  • Udupi/Sri Krishna Temple
  • Karkala
  • Kateel Sri Durga Parameshwari Temple
  • Bekal Fort near Kasaragode

Major educational institutions

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