History and culture |
The earliest reference to the name, in the form ‘Bengalooru’, is seen in a ninth century Ganga inscription (hero-stone) from Begur, referring to a battle that was fought in that place. The present name of the city, Bangalore is an anglicised form of Bengalooru which according to the popular belief is derived from Bengaalu– synonymous of Benda kaalu or boiled beans and ooru meaning a town. Tradition associates Hoysala King Vira Ballala (12th century) with the origin of this name. Vira Ballala, during one of his hunting expeditions in this region, lost his way and after hours of wandering reached the hut of an old woman. This woman is believed to have offered cooked beans to the king. Pleased with her hospitality, the king named the place as ‘benda kaala ooru’ (town of boiled beans). But it is interesting to note that there was already evidence for name of the place much before Hoysalas. Kamath (1990) notes that Bangalore is said to have got its name from benga, the local Kannada language term for Pterocarpus marsupium,a species of dry and moist deciduous tree, and ooru, meaning town. However, the founding of modern Bangalore is attributed to Kempe Gowda, a scion of the Yelahanka line of chiefs, in 1537 (Kamath, 1990). Kempe Gowda is also credited with construction of four towers along four directions from Petta, the central part of the city, to demarcate the extent of city growth (Figure 2). By the 1960s the city had sprawled beyond these boundaries (Asian Development Bank, 2001).
Later on, the city was administered by the Wodeyars, rulers of Mysore, until it was given as Jagir (with rights for general administration and collection of taxes) to Hyder Ali during late 18th century. Hyder Ali and later, his son, Tippu Sultan, were responsible for growth and development of Bangalore in a significant way with the construction of summer palace and Lalbagh. Indeed, Bangalore was already the commercial capital during Tippu’s time and the second important city after Srirangapatna, Tippu’s capital. During the early 19th century, the city was known to have almost all coins in circulation from different places and kingdoms, thus evidencing a flourishing trade and commerce (Buchanan, 1870). The fall of Bangalore in the Second Mysore War of 1792, may also have led to the fall of Tippu Sultan in Third Mysore War of 1799, after which Bangalore became a base for the British troops and saw the establishment of the Cantonment in 1802. British control over Bangalore was initially established indirectly through the Maharaja of Mysore. By 1831, the administration of the city was taken over by the British, and in 1862 two independent municipal boards were established: Bangalore City Municipality (in the older areas), and Bangalore Civil and Military Station Municipality. At Independence, Bangalore was notified as the capital of Mysore (now Karnataka) State. In 1949, the two municipalities were merged and the Bangalore City Corporation was formed. Subsequently, to keep up with the pace of growth and development, there have been reorganizations with respect to the zones and wards within the corporation, rising from 50 divisions in 1949 to 95 wards in 1980s, 100 wards in 1995 and now about 150 wards. With the 2006 notification, the Bangalore City Corporation is now reorganized as Greater Bangalore City Corporation (Footnote 2).
Bangalore, in spite of the buzz around IT-based and related commercial activities, has retained much of its unique cultural ties keeping its date with its history, culture and tradition. The city is known for historical temples such as the Someshwara temple in Halasuru (neighbourhood of Bangalore) built during 12–13th century by Cholas, Basavanagudi (Bull Temple) built by Kempe Gowda during 16th century, Kaadu Malleshwara temple built during 17th century in Dravidian architecture, and Gavi Gangadhareshwara temple, all nestle in the middle of the city. Apart from the numerous temples that have mushroomed around the city, Bangalore also has one of the six basilicas in the country, built during the 17th century, St. Marks Cathedral built during 1808, the oldest mosque, Sangeen Jamia Masjid built by the Moghuls during the 17th century, and the popular Jamia Masjid near the City Market built during the 1940s. The ‘Bengalooru Karaga’ is a major annual fair associated with the Dharamaraya temple, is considered to be the actual fair of the erstwhile city, and is still persistent in the older central parts of the city. Karaga, a five-day festival of Tigalas, a community who migrated from Tamil Nadu, has many unique features such as intense religious fervour, strict rituals, unchanged traditions over centuries, a fixed route and stops for the procession, welcome and respect shown at all the temples on route. The annual groundnut fair, ‘Kadalekai Parishe’ takes place in a part of old city, Basavanagudi (Figure 3) during November–December. More recently, an annual cultural fest called ‘Bengalooru Habba’ (‘habba’ in Kannada means festival) is held during the first week of December hosting various cultural programmes like music, dance and drama. The involvement of all sections of people and the unique communal harmony displayed by the special prayer at Tawakkal Mastan Darga (mosque) are also remarkable (Chandramouli, 2002).
