Bangalore

Bangalore is believed to have been founded in 1537 by Kempe Gowda (c. 1510 - 1570). During the time of the Puranas, this region was known as 'kalyanapuri'. The Mauryan Emperor, Chandragupta Maurya, renounced his throne, to become a Jain Monk at Shravanabelogola, a Jain piligrimage center, south west of Banglore.After the arrival of the British, it was given the anglicised name of "Bangalore". The name Bangalore derives itself 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 the event.

Bangalore, popularly known as city of gardens and city of lakes, is famous for its pleasant climate and cosmopolitan lifestyle. Many people are fluent in more than one language. Kannada, the state language of Karnataka, is widely spoken here. There are also a large number of people with Telugu and Tamil as their mother tongues, together said to almost match the number of those whose mother tongue is Kannada. English is widely understood, and spoken with variable fluency, ranging from smatterings of Englpiesh (short for English in pieces) to convent-taught near-accentless English. Thanks to movies and television, Hindi is also widely understood. With the rapid growth of the information technology industry in Bangalore, English is becoming a standard.

Set in the heart of the South - the Deccan Plateau, with an average elevation of 900 m above sea level, Bangalore has pleasant weather, with highs ranging from around 24°C in winter to 35°C during summer, despite being between the very tropical latitudes of 12° 39' N and 13° N.

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. But the city infrastructure and hygiene standards has been slow in keeping up with business and technology development.

Bangalore is also known as the "Garden City of India", "Pub City of India", and the "Fashion Capital of India". It is home to over 200 pubs. Some notable places to the night life in Bangalore are The Club Inferno, Insomnia, iBar, Urban Edge, Club X, Styx (a pub for hard rock fans), fBar (fashion, et al) and Opium.

Institutions

• Indian Institute of Science (IISc), India's premier educational institution
• Indian Institute of Management (IIMB)[1]
• The headquarters of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)
• The University of Agricultural Sciences
• Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT)
• National Law School of India University (NLSIU)[2]
• National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT)
• National Centre for Software Technology (NCST), now C-DAC
• Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (CAIR)

Landmarks

• Vidhana Soudha, home of the Karnataka Legistative branch
• Attara Kacheri, home of the Karnataka High Court
• The Nandi Temple -- Basavanagudi (Kannada word, meaning Bull Temple)
• Lalbagh
• Cubbon Park
• Sankey Tank
• Visvesvaraya Industrial And Technological Museum (VITM)

Interest Groups

• Birdwatchers' Field Club of Bangalore

External links

• The Bangalore Cyber Police
• Links to various departments
• Kashyapa's site about Lalbagh

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