bangalore or bengaluru, india

The origin of Bangalore’s name dates back to the 12^th century and there is a story attached to it: The King Veera Ballala gets lost in a forest and meets this old woman while searching his way back. The old woman offers him boiled beans—thus naming the place ‘Benda – Kal – Ooru’ (the land of cooked beans) which of course changed to Bengaluru over time.

Today Bangalore is the capital city of Karnataka even though it was initially the capital of Mysore. When the state of Karnataka was formed in 1956, then Bangalore was declared as the capital. I guess this is the reason why they have High Court of Karnataka located here in Bangalore.

Today, Bangalore has a population of over 12 million, thus making it the third most populous city amongst the biggest cities and towns in India with the highest traffic density.

Karnataka High Court, Bangalore

What makes Bangalore quite popular though is it is often referred to as ‘Silicon Valley of India’ because of the growing IT sector and startups. On top of that Indian technological organisations ISRO, Infosys, Wipro and HAL, they all have their headquarters located here. It is also the centre of Kannada Film industry.

Vidhana Soudha in Bangalore is the seat of the state legislature of Karnataka.

Food in Bangalore
It is incredibly easy to find vegan and vegetarian food here. As a matter of fact, PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals) India called Bangalore India’s most vegan-friendly city. Another good thing about being a vegetarian in India is that Bengalureans love it when you tell them you are vegetarian. You immediately earn their respect.

While we’re on the subject of food, there is a lesser-known fact this place is that this is the place where famous South Indian delicacy, Rava Idli was invented. Rava idli (as seen above) is a popular breakfast food and a variation of traditional idli. It is made with semolina, curd and some whole spices. Here’s a recipe if you’re interested in making your own.