BENGALURU (BANGALORE)

ABOUT BENGALURU (BANGALORE):

• Beautiful Bengaluru, the capital of Karnataka is one of the prettiest and cleanest cities of India.
• It is popularly known as the ‘Garden City’ and has earned several other epitaphs like an ‘Air –condition City’, for its climate throughout the year; the ‘Silicon Valley’ of India, for its rapidly growing software market and the ‘City of Draught Beer’ etc.
• Foundation of the present day Bangalore was laid in 1537, by Kempe Gowda.
• A Magadi chieftain, owing allegiance to the king of Vijayanagar.
• The cantonment area of Bangalore was developed by the British in early 19^th century, after the fall of Tipu Sultan.

MODE OF COMMUNICATION:

• Airport: Bengaluru International Airport, Bengaluru (BLR), 35 kms away from Bengaluru city centre.
• Rail: Bangalore City Railway Station, Bengaluru, 4 kms away from Bengaluru city centre.
• Road: Well connected with NH 47 and NH 48.

ATTRACTIONS OF BENGALURU (BANGALORE)

• Vidhan Soudha:
  • Majestic structure towering over the Cubbon Park, houses the Secretariat and the State Legislature, as well as several other State government offices.
  • Magnificent edifice built of granite in the neo – Dravidian style of architecture is one of the most spectacular buildings of India.
  • Four storeyed building covering a total plinth area of over 5,00,000 sq. ft.
  • It was conceived and executed by Kengal Hanumanthaiah, the former Chief Minister of Karnataka in 1956.
  • The structure is beautifully illuminated on Sunday evening.

• Attara Kacheri (High Court):
  • Magnificent two storeyed two building housing the High Court of Karnataka was built in 1867.
  • It lies in front of the Vidhan Soudha and was originally built the house the Secretariat.

• Lalbagh Botanical Gardens:
  • Beautiful garden was laid out in 1760, by Haider Ali and later developed by his son Tipu Sultan.
  • Sprawls over an area of 240 acres and is one of the most beautiful botanical parks of the country.
  • In 1840, an excellent glass house was built resembling the famous Crystal Palace of London.

• Cubbon Park & Museum:
  • Park designed by Lt. Gen. Mark Cubbon, in 1864, covers an area of over 300 acres in the heart of the city.
  • Studded with some splendid sculptures and red Gothic building, which house the Public Library, the High Court, the Government Museum and the Technological & Industrial Museum.
  • Children’s Park inside the garden is exclusively for kids.
  • Jawahar Bal Bhavan here has a children’s centre.

• The Government Museum & Venkatappa Art Gallery:
  • Established in 1886, and is one of the oldest museums of India.
  • Art gallery here has paintings and sculptures done by K. Venkatappa, a renowned artist from the royal court of Mysore.

• Visweswaraiah Industrial & Technological Museum:
  • Interesting museum is dedicated to Sir M. Visweswaraiah, the architect of modern Karnataka.

• Shiva Statue & ISKCON Temple:
  • Beautiful Hare Krishna shrine on the hillock is a fine blend of modern technology and spiritual harmony.
  • A fine view of the surroundings.
  • A 65 feet tall Shiva statue is one of the new attractions of the city.

• The Fort:
  • Originally a mud brick structure built by Kempegowda in 1537.
  • Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan rebuilt the structure in the 18^th century.
  • Most of the fort was badly damaged during the wars with British.

• Tipu Sultan’s Palace:
  • Construction of the palace was started by Haider Ali and completed by his son, Tipu Sultan in 1791.
  • Wooden building resembling the Daria Daulat Bagh at Srirangapatnam and houses a museum.

• Maharajah’s Bangalore Palace:
  • Magnificent granite palace built in 1887, by the Goodyear’s of Mysore resembles the famous Windsor Castle in England.

• Karnataka Folk Art Museum:
  • Displays a wide range of folk arts, costumes, toys and extensive recorded music collection.

• Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium:
  • Modern planetarium was built in 1989.
  • An attractive Musical Fountain with dancing waters is set opposite the planetarium.

• Dodda Ganapathi Temple:
  • One of the oldest temples of Bengaluru.
  • A huge monolithic statue of Lord Ganapathi, which attracts a large number of devotees.

• Sri Gavi Gangadhareswara Temple:
  • Shiva temple built by Kempe Gowda is famous for a unique event at sunrise on ‘Makar Sankranti’ (14^th January).
  • Sun rays pass through an arch between the horns of the Nandi bull outside the temple and illuminate the idol of Lord Gavi Gangadhareswara inside the main shrine.

• Dharamraja Temple (Nagarathpet):
  • Enshrines fine images of Lord Krishna and Sri Dharamraja Swami, the hero of epic Mahabharta.
  • Sacred shrine is also associated with the famous Karaga festival celebrated in March/ April.

• Basavangudi or the Bull Temple:
  • Built by Kempegowda on the Bugle Hill in Dravidian style.
  • A large monolith of Nandi, the celestial bull measuring 4.57 metres in height and 6.10 metres in length in breathtaking.

• St. Mary’s Basilica:
  • Originally built in 1818, by Abbe Dubois.
  • It was transformed into a huge Gothic style church by Rev. Kleiner in 1882.

• Venkataramanaswamy Temple:
  • Ancient temple near Tipu Sultan’s Palace was built by Maharaja Chikka Devaraya Wodiyar.
  • It was destroyed during the third Mysore war and was restored by Maharaja Chikka Krishna Devaraya.

• Ulsoor Lake:
  • One of the eight lakes by Kempe Gowda around Bangalore.
  • 1.5 sq. kms has picturesque tiny islands and boating facilities are available.

 ATTRACTIONS AROUND BENGALURU (BANGALORE)

• Whitefield:
  • 16 kms away from Bengaluru city centre.
  • Famous for the ashram of world renowned saint philosopher Sri Satya Sai Baba.
  • International Tech Park, one of the most modern and successful software tech park in the country is also located here.
  • Export oriented software centre has contributed immensely in making Bangalore the ‘IT Capital’ or the ‘Silicon Valley of India’.

• Bannerghatta National Park:
  • 22 kms away from Bengaluru city centre.
  • Beautiful Park covers an area of 104 sq. kms amidst thickly wooded hills.
  • Inhabited by bison, elephant, panther, wild boar, jackal, lion tailed monkey etc.
  • There is also a lion and tiger safari, a crocodile and snake farm and a mini zoo.

• Hesaraghatta Lake:
  • 25 kms away from Bengaluru city centre.
  • Beautiful lake set amidst lush fertile landscape is famous for its boating and wind surfing facilities.
  • Region teems with orchards, poultry and sheep farms.
  • An Indo-Danish dairy project has also been established here.

• Devarayanadurga:
  • 71 kms away from Bengaluru city centre.
  • Beautiful hill resort is famous for Namada Chilume, a natural water spring, said to be created by Lord Rama.

• Nandi Hills:
  • 60 kms away from Bengaluru city centre.
  • It was the summer resort of Tipu Sultan, who strengthened the existing fortifications on the hills in 18^th century.
  • Later on, it becomes a favourite resort of the British.
  • There are two ancient temples dedicated to Lord Shiva and Amrita Sarovar Lake.

• Nrityagrama:
  • 28 kms away from Bengaluru city centre.
  • Unique experimental village is dedicated to the gurukula tradition of learning to revive the Indian classical dance and music.
  • It is a winner of rural architecture award.
  • Vasantha Habba, the annual festival celebrated here attracts a large number of visitors.

• Muthyala Maduvu (Pearl Valley):
  • 40 kms away from Bengaluru city centre.
  • Scenic site is named after the small pool created by the waterfalls, which looks like a ‘pond of pearl’.
  • There is also a small temple over here.