Bangalore Travel Guide:
Introduction
Bangalore is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and fifth-most populous urban agglomeration. As of 2009, Bangalore was inducted in the list of Global cities and ranked as a "Beta World City" alongside cities such as Dallas, Miami, Boston, Kuwait City, Lima, Munich, in the studies performed by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network in 2008.
Though historical references to the city predate AD 900, a modern written history of continuous settlement exists only from 1537, when Kempe Gowda I, a vassal of the imperial Vijayanagara Empire built a mud-brick fort at the site and established it as a province of the empire. During the British Raj, it became a centre of colonial rule in South India. The establishment of the Bangalore Cantonment brought in large numbers of migrants from other parts of the country.
Today as a large city and growing metropolis, Bangalore is home to many of the most well-recognized colleges and research institutions in India. Numerous public sector heavy industries, software companies, aerospace, telecommunications, and defence organisations are located in the city. Bangalore is known as the Silicon Valley of India because of its position as the nation's leading IT exporter. A demographically diverse city, Bangalore is a major economic and cultural hub and the fastest growing major metropolis in India.
Climate
Bangalore experiences a tropical savanna climate (Köppen climate classification Aw) with distinct wet and dry seasons. Due to its high elevation, Bangalore usually enjoys a more moderate climate throughout the year, although occasional heat waves can make things very uncomfortable in the summer. The coolest month is January with an average low temperature of 15.1 °C and the hottest month is April with an average high temperature of 33.6 °C. The highest temperature ever recorded in Bangalore is 38.9 °C(recorded in March 1931) and the lowest ever is 7.8 °C (recorded in January 1884). Winter temperatures rarely drop below 12 °C (54 °F), and summer temperatures seldom exceed 36–37 °C (100 °F). Bangalore receives rainfall from both the northeast and the southwest monsoons and the wettest months are September, October and August, in that order. The summer heat is moderated by fairly frequent thunderstorms, which occasionally cause power outages and local flooding. The heaviest rainfall recorded in a 24-hour period is 179 millimetres (7.0 in) recorded on 1 October 1997.
Culture
Dasara, a traditional celebration of the old Kingdom of Mysore, is the state festival and is celebrated with great vigour.
Bangalore is known as the Garden City of India because of its greenery and the presence of many public parks, including the Lal Bagh and Cubbon Park.
The city celebrates its most important and oldest festival, "Karaga Shaktyotsava" or Bangalore Karaga. Deepavali, the "Festival of Lights", transcends demographic and religious lines and is another important festival. Other traditional Indian festivals such as Ganesh Chaturthi, Ugadi, Sankranthi, Eid ul-Fitr, and Christmas are also celebrated.
Bangalore is home to the Kannada film industry, which churns out about 80 Kannada movies each year.