History of Bangalore

An interesting past and a bright future combine in this beautiful city

An epigraph in Begur, a place near the city shows Bangalore to be over 1000 years old. It was then a part of the Ganga Kingdom and was known as "Benga-val-oru" or the City of Guards. The Cholas took control of the kingdom next.

A popular legend has it that in the 11 th century, a Hoysala King by the name of Veera Ballala II lost his way in the forest while hunting. An old lady served the king boiled beans. The grateful king named the place as "Benda-kaal-ooru" or the City of Boiled Beans.

In 1537 Kempe Gowda I, a feudal chieftain under the Vijaynagara Empire was instrumental in establishing the foundations of the then Bangalore. His successor Kempe Gowda II built temples, tanks and the four watchtowers that mark the boundaries of Bangalore.

The Adil Shahi Sultans of Bijapur were next to reign the throne in 1638. The Mughals occupied the throne in 1686 but leased Bangalore to the Mysore ruler Chikkadevaraja Wodeyar I 1689. Hyder Ali, who was then Wodeyar's Commander-in-chief and Tipu Sultan, converted the city into a fortress, which was an important part of their kingdom.

The British came in 1831 and influenced the city's landscape to a great extent.

In the present times, Bangalore is a modern, youthful and vibrant city, which is literally churning out IT professionals to meet the demand of this growing sector. Known as India's Silicon Valley, Bangalore's name is etched high amongst cities making technological and industrial progress. Bangalore contributes to almost half of software exports from India.

Despite all the strides that the city is making, the infrastructure of the city is something to be desired about. Authorities are slowly but surely waking up to this fact.