Bangalore
2000 years of Bangalore
Bangalore as a geographical entity has existed for 500 million years when the Deccan trap was formed. Our city is on a highland that seperate the river valleys of the Dakshina Pinakini and the Arkavati. The focus of this story is 2000 years of Bangalore.
The region in which Bangalore is now located was a part of the Stavahana empire around 2000 year ago. Roman coins excavated in the northern parts of our city attest the transoceanic contacts that our ancestors had established. The region was later ruled successively by the Gangas, the Cholas, the Hoysalas, and the Vijayanagar kings.
Historically, the name Bengalooru occurs for the first time on a 9th century stone inscription in Begur, a village in south Bangalore taluk. (So the story of the 12th century Hoysalla king Ballala II, while on a hunting expedition, being pleased with an old woman’s offering him boiled beans, and calling the place Benda Kalooru or town of boiled beans in here honour is just a legend after all.) This Bangalore hamlet was part of Gangavadi 96000, the numeral being a revenue –pin code of those days.
The city of Bangalore was founded by Kempegowda I, a Chief of the Yelahanka province in the Vijaynagar empire.
Hale (old) Bengalooru at Kodigehalli (near Hebbal) may have been the source of the new city’s name. To build the city, the Vijayanagar emperor gave grants of the revenue of twelve hoblis including Hale Bengalooru, Varthur, Begur , Ulsoor, Jigani, Banavara and Talaghattapura, Kempegowda’s daughter-in-law sacrificed here life to help build the fort. A temple in her memory was built at Koramangala.
Kempegowda I built the four watch towers and temples in Ulsoor, Basavanagudi, Gavipura and near the fort.
The borders of city were today’s K.G. Road, Cottonpet Road, City Market and Cubbon Pet. The central bus station area was Dharamambudi lake and Kantheerava stadium was sampangi lake. Different categories of traders and artisians were allocated commercial areas like Chikkapet, Balepet, Tharagupet. Today’s Avenue Road and Chikpet Main Road were the principal streets.
In the next two centuries, Bangalore was under the rule of the Bijapur Sultans, the Marathas (Chatrapati Shivaji’s marriage took place here!) and the Mughals.
In 1690, Mysore’s Chikkadevaraja Wodeyar purchased Bangalore for 3 lakh pagodas from the Mughals. In 1759, Hyder Ali fortified the town into a cantonment. A 16 acre Lal Bagh was laid by him.
After the death of Tipu Sultan in 1799, the Mysore Wodeyars ruled the region till 1947. Between 1831 and 1881, British Commissioners were the direct rulers and Bangalore was their headquarters.
After independence, Bangalore became the capital of Mysore State and of the Greater Mysore State in 1996. As we all know, Bangalore today is the science and technology capital of India, and one of the world’s major IT centres.
