BACKGROUND & HISTORY

Bangalore is the capital of Karnataka. The presence of a large number of Indian defense and scientific labs and institutes of higher learning has given Bangalore an orientation towards science and technology. In recent years this has borne fruit in a big way -- it is India's IT capital with a score of hitech firms setting up not just branches but their global R&D; centres as well...

Bangalore is also an attractive city to work in, with an ambience quite different from other Indian metros. The character of today's Bangalore was created mainly by the British influence in the Mysore kingdom of yesteryears, the extended military areas and the large labs mentioned earlier.

The cool weather was preferred by the British who never really adjusted to the heat of Indian plains. Until recently Bangalore was sedate, pleasant, and predictable. Now however visitors say it is becoming --still becoming --an exciting, even upsetting, vibrant city.

HISTORY

Around the 1500's there were many groups set on aggrandizement, like the Vijayanagar empire, South Indian sultanates, the Marathas and others. An upwardly mobile chieftain named Mr. Kempe Gowda established a fortified encampment. This gradually developed into the city of Bangalore. Later Tipu Sultan of Mysore built a park and palace here. (In fact before Tipu was defeated by the British he was about to set up a rival joint stock company to compete with the East India Company, which ran most of the British possessions in India of those days.) The town of Mysore closeby was the ceremonial capital, while Bangalore was the commercial capital of the princely state of Mysore.

The Mysore kingdom which the British thought it politic to restore, was considered very progressive compared to contemporary horror stories. Far sighted statesmen who ran the state were very quick on the uptake so to speak, thus Mysore had India's first iron and steel works, besides hydroelectric power generation and the like --as far ago as 1903. Bright and talented people from all over India were attracted by Mysore state, so there is today a remarkable level of culture and sophistication in Karnataka state and Bangalore city.

Today, executives of global multinationals too find it excellent : many large global IT firms have a presence there. However the pace of change has been very rapid. The earlier city was "over- planned" in some visitors' opinion. But this careful and tidy planning has gone haywire now. It is a boom town but the infrastructure has to catch up.

TOP