Bangalore
is draped over the Deccan Plateau at an altitude of 949 meters (3113 ft.) above
sea level, which gives it possibly the best climate among all the cities in
India. Legend has it that Bangalore got its name from the words “Bendha KaaLu”
(which means boiled beans in the local language Kannada). King Veera Ballala of
the Vijayanagara kingdom was once lost in a forest and happened to stumble upon
a lonely cottage. An old woman that lived there could offer the starving king
only boiled beans “Bendha kaaLu” and the place came to be known as “Bendha
kaaLu ooru” (ooru in Kannada means a city). BendhakaaLooru later came to be
known as BengaLooru in Kannada and Bangalore in English. However, historical
evidence shows that “BengaLooru” was recorded much before King Ballala's time
in a 9th century temple inscription in the village of Begur. Even today
"BengaLooru" exists within the city limits in Kodigehalli area and is
called as "HalebengaLooru" or "Old Bangalore."
The
present day city was designed by Kempe Gowda in the year 1537. During one of
his hunting bouts, which was his favourite past time, Kempe Gowda was surprised
to see a hare chase his dog and thus named the place as "gandu
bhoomi" (heroic place). Kempe Gowda I, who was in charge of Yelahanka,
built a mud fort in 1537 and with the help of King Achutaraya, built the little
towns of Balepet, Cottonpet and Chickpet, all inside the fort. Today, these
little areas serve as the major wholesale and commercial market places in the
city. Kempe Gowda's son erected the four watch towers to mark the boundaries of
Bangalore which are traceable even today and they stand almost in the heart of
the present city.
IIn
the year 1638, Shahajirao Bhonsle, father of Shivaji, captured the city. In
1687, Aurangzeb's army captured Bangalore and sold it to the Wodeyars for a
paltry sum of Rs.300,000. The Wodeyars then built the famous Lal Bagh in 1759,
one of Bangalore's most beautifully laid out gardens. In the same year, Hyder
Ali received Bangalore as a jagir from Krishnaraja Wodeyar II. He fortified the
southern fort and made Bangalore an army town.
When
Tipu Sultan died in the 4th Mysore war in 1799, the British gave the kingdom,
including Bangalore, to Krishnaraja Wodeyar III but the British resident stayed
in Bangalore.
In
the beginning of the 19th century, the General Post Office was opened and the
Cantonment was established nine years later in 1809. In 1831, alleging misrule
by Krishnaraja Wodeyar III, the British took over the administration of the
Mysore Kingdom.
Under
the British influence, Bangalore bloomed with modern facilities like the
railways, telegraph, postal and police departments. The first train was flagged
out of the city in 1859 and five years later in 1864, the lovely Cubbon Park
was built by Sankey. The end of the century saw the building of Attara Kacheri
and the Bangalore Palace. The 20th century saw the arrival of the first
motorcar in the city.
In
1881, the British returned the city to the Wodeyars. Dewans like Sir Mirza
Ismail and Sir M Visveswaraya were the pioneers to help Bangalore attain its
modern outlook.
From
then on, the city has grown in magnitudes, emerging into what you see and know
of today. Bangalore is India's fifth largest and the fastest growing city in
Asia
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