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Mangalore

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Mangalore, (called Mangalūru in Kannada), 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. There are several languages spoken there, including Tulu, Konkani, Kannada, and Byari (somewhat of a mixture of Tulu and Malayalam).

The landscape is dominated by 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.

History

The city Mangalore was named after the local Hindu deity Mangaladevi. The administrative headquarters of Dakshina Kannada district in the southwestern corner of the Karnataka, 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 the 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 it Mikala. The neighbouring Malayalis officially use the word Mangalapuram.

Transportation

Mangalore is connected to the rest of India and the World by road, rail, air and sea. It is notable here that a native of Mangalore U Srinivas Mallya(a Member of the Indian Parliament) 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 pass through Mangalore connecting the city to the rest of the country. NH-17, which runs from Panvel(in Maharashtra) to Cranganur Junction(near Edapally in Kerala), passes through Mangalore giving it an 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 town of Madikeri.

Currently this cluster of highways is inadequate to handle the traffic that flows through the region. Hence the Union Government has decided to upgrade the national highways connecting New Mangalore Port to Surathkal on NH 17 and B.C. Road junction on NH 48 to four-lane under the port connectivity programme of the National Highway Development Project (NHDP). The ground breaking ceremony for the work on this project which involves a total of 37.5 km stretch of road was started in October 2005 and is expected to be completed in 30 months time.

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 picturesque 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. The Broad gauge track connecting Mangalore to Bangalore via Hassan will be completed by May of 2006.

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 travel time 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 aircraft. 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. The proposed new terminal will reduce distance between Mangalore city and the airport by seven kilometres. Currently flights are available daily to Mumbai and Bangalore.

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 its cashew nuts. The latter are brought from many coastal areas (notably from Kerala; the National Cashew research centre is near by at Puttur.

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:-

  • Corporation Bank (founded in 1906 by Late Khan Bahadur Haji Abdulla Haji Kasim Saheb Bahadur)
  • Canara Bank (founded in 1906 by Late Shri Ammembal Subba Rao Pai)
  • Karnataka Bank, (founded in 1924 one of the larger private sector banks which escaped nationalisation)
  • Syndicate Bank, though established in nearby Manipal, was co-founded in 1924 by Dr. T M A Pai and Sri Upendra Ananth Pai from Manipal, along with a Mangalorean Sri V S Kudva.
  • Vijaya Bank (founded in 1931 by Late Shri A B Shetty)

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.

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

Traditional Areas

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 presence 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, and others. 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),
  • National Institute of Technology, Karnataka (NITK)(formerly Karnataka Regional Engineering College (KREC)) ,
  • St. Aloysius College (founded in 1880),
  • Government College (founded in 1868; now renamed as University College)and
  • St. Agnes College
  • Canara College
  • Sharada College
  • Father Muller Charitable Institutions (founded in 1880)

Since the 1980s, 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 26 post graduate departments offering different Post Graduate programmes on the Campus, the University has 118 affiliated colleges (including two constituent colleges) imparting education in the field of arts, commerce and management, science, 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

Temples

Beaches

Nature

  • Kadri Park
  • Pilikula Nisargadhama
  • Light House Hill

Churches

Other Sights

  • New Mangalore port.
  • Pilikula park-boating centre.
  • Major hospitals of KMC, AJShetty with transplanting facility.
  • Sulthan Battery, Boloor

Mangalore pictures

  • Sunset at Panambur beach
    Sunset at Panambur beach
  • A view of the Kadri Park
    A view of the Kadri Park
  • Light House
    Light House
  • Fishing in Mukkah, near Mangalore
    Fishing in Mukkah, near Mangalore

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
  • Kollur near Kundapura, Sri Mukambika Temple.
  • Anegudde Ganapathi Temple near kundapura.
  • Hattiangadi Sidhivinayaka temple.
  • Madhur Mahaganapathi temple, Kasaragod.
  • Sri Krishna Temple at Kumble and Mujungavu.
  • Anatapura temple near Kumble, with crocodile in temple-tank.
  • Kukke Sri Subrahmanya Temple, with Kumaradhara river behind it
  • Kumaraparvatha, a welknown trekking spot

Major educational institutions

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