Bangalore

Bangalore  is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city^[6] and fifth-most populous urban agglomeration. As of 2009, Bangalore was inducted in the list of Global cities and ranked as a "Beta World City" alongside Geneva, Copenhagen, Boston, Cairo, Riyadh, Berlin, to name a few, in the studies performed by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network in 2008Though historical references to the city predate 900 AD, a modern written history of continuous settlement exists only from 1537, when Kempe Gowda I, a vassal of the imperial Vijayanagara Empire built a mud-brick fort at the site and established it as a province of the empire. During the British Raj, it became a centre of colonial rule in South India. The establishment of the Bangalore Cantonment brought in large numbers of migrants from other parts of the country.

Today as a large city and growing metropolis, Bangalore is home to many of the most well-recognized colleges and research institutions in India. Numerous public sector heavy industries, software companies, aerospace, telecommunications, and defence organisations are located in the city. Bangalore is known as the Silicon Valley of India because of its position as the nation's leading IT exporter.A demographically diverse city, Bangalore is a major economic and cultural hub and the fastest growing major metropolis in India.^].

 Geography

The Hesaraghatta Lake in Bangalore

Bangalore lies in the southeast of the South Indian state of Karnataka. It is in the heart of the Mysore Plateau (a region of the larger Precambrian Deccan Plateau) at an average elevation of 920 m (3,018 ft). It is positioned at 12°58′N 77°34′E / 12.97°N 77.56°E / 12.97; 77.56 and covers an area of 741 km² (286 mi²).^[27] The majority of the city of Bangalore lies in the Bangalore Urban district of Karnataka and the surrounding rural areas are a part of the Bangalore Rural district. The region consisting the Bangalore Urban and Rural districts is known as the Bangalore (region). The Government of Karnataka has carved out the new district of Ramanagara from the old Bangalore Rural district.

The topology of Bangalore is flat except for a central ridge running NNE-SSW. The highest point is Vidyaranyapura Doddabettahalli, which is 962 m (3,156 ft) and lies on this ridge.^[28] No major rivers run through the city, though the Arkavathi and South Pennar cross paths at the Nandi Hills, 60 km (37 mi.) to the north. River Vrishabhavathi, a minor tributary of the Arkavathi, arises within the city at Basavanagudi and flows through the city. The rivers Arkavathi and Vrishabhavathi together carry much of Bangalore's sewage. A sewerage system, constructed in 1922, covers 215 km² (133 mi²) of the city and connects with five sewage treatment centers located in the periphery of Bangalore.^[29]

In the 16th century, Kempe Gowda I constructed many lakes to meet the town's water requirements. The Kempambudhi Kere, since overrun by modern development, was prominent among those lakes. In the earlier half of 20th century, the Nandi Hills waterworks was commissioned by Sir Mirza Ismail (Diwan of Mysore, 1926–41 CE) to provide a water supply to the city. Currently, the river Kaveri provides around 80% of the total water supply to the city with the remaining 20% being obtained from the Thippagondanahalli and Hesaraghatta reservoirs of the Arkavathi river.^[30] Bangalore receives 800 million litres (211 million US gallons) of water a day, more than any other Indian city.^[31] However, Bangalore sometimes does face water shortages, especially during the summer season- more so in the years of low rainfall. A random sampling study of the Air Quality Index (AQI) of twenty stations within the city indicated scores that ranged from 76 to 314, suggesting heavy to severe air pollution around areas of traffic concentration.^[32]

Bangalore has a handful of freshwater lakes and water tanks, the largest of which are Madivala tank, Hebbal lake, Ulsoor lake and Sankey Tank. Groundwater occurs in silty to sandy layers of the alluvial sediments. The Peninsular Gneissic Complex (PGC) is the most dominant rock unit in the area and includes granites, gneisses and migmatites, while the soils of Bangalore consist of red laterite and red, fine loamy to clayey soils.^[]

Vegetation in the city is primarily in the form of large deciduous canopy and minority coconut trees. Though Bangalore has been classified as a part of the seismic zone II (a stable zone), it has experienced quakes of magnitude as high as 4.5.^[33]

Climate

Bangalore experiences a tropical savanna climate (Köppen climate classification Aw) with distinct wet and dry seasons. Due to its high elevation, Bangalore usually enjoys a more moderate climate throughout the year, although occasional heat waves can make things very uncomfortable in the summer.^[34] The coolest month is January with an average low temperature of 15.1 °C and the hottest month is April with an average high temperature of 33.6 °C.^[35] The highest temperature ever recorded in Bangalore is 38.9 °C(recorded in March 1931) and the lowest ever is 7.8 °C (recorded in January 1884).^[36][37] Winter temperatures rarely drop below 12 °C (54 °F), and summer temperatures seldom exceed 36–37 °C (100 °F). Bangalore receives rainfall from both the northeast and the southwest monsoons and the wettest months are August, September and October, in that order.^[35] The summer heat is moderated by fairly frequent thunderstorms, which occasionally cause power outages and local flooding. The heaviest rainfall recorded in a 24-hour period is 179 millimetres (7.0 in) recorded on 1 October 1997.^[38]

 Economy

Bangalore's 52,346 crore (US$ 11.88 billion) economy (2006–07 Net District Income) makes it one of the major economic centres in India,^[52] with the value of city's exports totalling 43,221 crore (US$ 9.81 billion) in 2004-05.^[53] With an economic growth of 10.3%, Bangalore is the fastest growing major metropolis in India,^[54] and is also the country's fourth largest fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) market.^[55] With a per capita income of 74,709 (US$ 1,695.89) in 2006-07,^[52] the city is the third largest hub for high net worth individuals and is home to over 10,000 dollar millionaires and about 60,000 super-rich people who have an investable surplus of 4.5 crore (US$ 1 million) and Rs. 50 lakh (US$ 113,500) respectively.^[56]

The headquarters of Infosys, India's second largest IT company, is located in Bangalore

The headquarters of several public sector undertakings such as Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) and Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT) are located in Bangalore. In June 1972 the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was established under the Department of Space and headquartered in the city.

Bangalore is called the Silicon Valley of India because of the large number of information technology companies located in the city which contributed 33% of India's Rs. 144,214 crore (US$ 33 billion) IT exports in 2006-07.^[57] Bangalore's IT industry is divided into three main clusters — Software Technology Parks of India (STPI); International Tech Park, Bangalore (ITPB); and Electronics City. UB City, the headquarters of the United Breweries Group, is a high-end commercial zone.^[58] Infosys and Wipro, India's second and third largest software companies are headquartered in Bangalore, as are many of the global SEI-CMM Level 5 Companies.

The growth of IT has presented the city with unique challenges. Ideological clashes sometimes occur between the city's IT moguls, who demand an improvement in the city's infrastructure, and the state government, whose electoral base is primarily the people in rural Karnataka.^[59] The encouragement of high-tech industry in Bangalore, for example, has not favoured local employment development, but has, instead, increased land values and forced out small enterprise.^[60] Bangalore is a hub for biotechnology related industry in India and in the year 2005, around 47% of the 265 biotechnology companies in India were located here; including Biocon, India's largest biotechnology company.^[61][62]

Infosys, Wipro, Tata Consultancy Services, Accenture and many other high-tech companies have their offices in Banglore.

 Transport

The new Bengaluru International Airport is located in Devanahalli.

 Air

Bangalore is served by the newly built Bengaluru International Airport (IATA code: BLR) which started operations from 24 May 2008. The city was earlier served by the HAL Airport which was India's fourth busiest airport. Kingfisher Airlines has its registered office in Bangalore^[66]. It is now the fourth busiest airport in India in terms of passenger traffic and the number of air traffic movements (ATMs) with about 280 per day.^]

 Rail

A rapid transit system called the Namma Metro is being built, and as of February 2010 was expected to be partly operational by December 2010.^[] Once completed, this will encompass a 42.3 km (26.3 mi) elevated and underground rail network comprising 41 stations. It is expected to connect central locations in Bangalore to Devanahalli and the Chikballapur regions.^[ Bangalore comes under the South Western Railway zone of the Indian Railways. Bangalore City Railway station and Yesvantpur Junction connect it to the rest of the country through the Indian Railways. The Bangalore Rajdhani Express connects the city to New Delhi, the capital of India. Bangalore is also connected by rail to most cities in Karnataka, as well as Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bhopal, and other major cities in India.^[71] The sprawling Rail Wheel Factory is Asia's second largest manufacturer of Wheel & Axle for Railways and headquartered in Yelahanka, Bangalore.

Three-wheeled, green and yellow auto-rickshaws, referred to as autos, are a popular form of transport. They are metered and can accommodate up to three passengers. Taxi services within Bangalore is provided by several operators. Taxis, commonly called City Taxis, are usually available only on call. Taxis are metered and are generally more expensive than auto-rickshaws.

Buses operated by Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) are an important means of public transport available in the city, and are highly reliable.^[73] While commuters can buy tickets on boarding these buses, BMTC also provides an option of a bus pass to frequent users.^[73] BMTC runs air-conditioned luxury buses on major routes, and also operates shuttle services from various parts of the city to the Bengaluru International Airport.^[74] The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation operates 6,918 buses on 6,352 schedules, connecting Bangalore with other parts of Karnataka as well as other states. The main bus depots that BMTC maintains are the Kempegowda Bus Station, Shantinagar Bus Depot, and Shivajinagar Bus Depot.

 Demographics

The Nandi Temple is a famous temple located in Basavanagudi, Bangalore.

With an estimated population of 5.8 million in 2001,^[4] Bangalore is the third most populous city in India and the 28th most populous city in the world.^[76] Bangalore was the fastest-growing Indian metropolis after New Delhi between 1991–2001, with a growth rate of 38% during the decade. Residents of Bangalore are referred to as Bangaloreans in English Bengaloorinavaru in Kannada^[77]

The cosmopolitan nature of the city has resulted in the migration of people from other states to Bangalore,^[78] which has in recent years given rise to tensions between immigrants and locals.^[79] Scheduled Castes and Tribes account for 14.3% of the city's population. Besides Kannada, other major languages spoken in the city are English, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi.^[80] A good number of Konkani speakers have settled in Bangalore since last century from Canara districts of Karnataka and Goa.^[81] Similarly Marathi is spoken by considerably small section of society.^[82]

According to the 2001 census of India, 79.4% of Bangalore's population is Hindu, roughly the same as the national average.^[83] Muslims comprise 13.4% of the population, which again is roughly the same as the national average, while Christians and Jains account for 5.8% and 1.1% of the population, respectively, double that of their national averages. Anglo-Indians also form a substantial group within the city. Women make up 47.5% of Bangalore's population. Bangalore has the second highest literacy rate (83%) for an Indian metropolis, after Mumbai. Roughly 10% of Bangalore's population lives in slums^[84]—a relatively low proportion when compared to other cities in the developing world such as Mumbai (50%) and Nairobi (60%).^[85] The 2008 National Crime Records Bureau statistics indicate that Bangalore accounts for 8.5% of the total crimes reported from 35 major cities in India.^[86]

 Culture

The Lal Bagh Glass House at night; famous for its flower shows, it is now a heritage monument.

Bangalore Karaga, one of the oldest and most important festivals in the heart of Bangalore.

Yakshagana -- a theatre art often performed in the town hall

Dasara, a traditional celebration of the old Kingdom of Mysore, is the state festival and is celebrated with great vigour.

Bangalore is known as the Garden City of India^[87] because of its greenery and the presence of many public parks, including the Lal Bagh and Cubbon Park.

The city celebrates its most important and oldest festival, "Karaga Shaktyotsava" or Bangalore Karaga.^[88] Deepavali, the "Festival of Lights", transcends demographic and religious lines and is another important festival. Other traditional Indian festivals such as Ganesh Chaturthi, Ugadi, Sankranthi, Eid ul-Fitr, and Christmas are also celebrated.

Bangalore is home to the Kannada film industry, which churns out about 80 Kannada movies each year.^[89]

The diversity of cuisine is reflective of the social and economic diversity of Bangalore. Roadside vendors, tea stalls, and South Indian, North Indian, Chinese and Western fast food are all very popular in the city. Udupi restaurants are very popular and serve predominantly vegetarian, regional cuisine. Bangalore has a wide and varied mix of restaurant types and cuisines and Bangaloreans deem eating out as an intrinsic part of their culture, so much that Bangalore Restaurant Week - an event that involves some of the best restaurants in Bangalore - is being held between November 12 to 21, 2010.

Bangalore is also a major center of Indian classical music and dance. Classical music and dance recitals are widely held throughout the year and particularly during the Ramanavami and Ganesha Chaturthi festivals. The Bengaluru Gayana Samaja has been at the forefront of promoting classical music and dance in the city.

The city has a vibrant English and regional language theater scene with organizations such as Ranga Shankara and Chowdaiah Memorial Hall leading the way. Bangalore is also sometimes called as the "Pub Capital of India" and is one of the premier places to hold international rock concerts.^[90]