The fascinating history of Bangalore dates back to 11th century AD when the Chola King Veera Ballalla ruled the Deccan plateau or the South of India. Once on a hunting trip to the forest, the king lost his way. Tired and hungry he encountered a poor, old lady in the forest who offered him shelter for the night and served him boiled beans for

dinner. To show his gratitude to this lady for having saved his life, the King constructed a town and named it as “Benda Kalooru” which means “city of boiled beans”. However, historical evidences show that Bengalooru was recorded much before king Ballalla’s time in a 9th century temple inscription in the village of Begur.

The city was under the control of Hoysalas until the establishment of the Vijayanagara Empire in 1336. In 1537, a local chieftain, Kempe Gowda designed this town and gave it its modern shape. After the fall of the Vijayanagar Empire, Bangalore changed hands several times. It was captured by the Maratha chief Shahaji Bhonsle, father of Shivaji, then working for the Adil Shahi sultans of Bijapur in 1638. During the siege of Bangalore, Shivaji’s elder brother Shambaji was killed by Shahaji’s rivals, led by the Ghorpade of Mudhol.

In 1759, Krishna raja Wodeyar II offered Bangalore to Hyder Ali as a jagir. Hyder Ali fortified the southern fort and made Bangalore an army town. When Tipu Sultan died in the 4th Mysore war in 1799, the British gave the kingdom, including Bangalore back to Krishna raja Wodeyar III. The British Resident stayed in Bangalore. In 1831, alleging misrule by Krishna raja Wodeyar III, the British took over the administration of the Mysore Kingdom.During British era, Bangalore bloomed with modern facilities like the railways, telegraphs, postal and police departments.

In 1881, the British returned the city to the Wodeyars. Diwans like Mirza Ismail, and sir Vishweshwarayya were the pioneers to help Bangalore attain its modern outlook.With the direct rule of the British Commissioners based in Bangalore, it became the State Administrative Headquarters. The destiny of Bangalore thus took a historic turn, making it eventually a major city of India and one of the fastest growing in the world. After independence, choosing Bangalore as the capital of Karnataka was very logical. It was also linked to major cities of the country. Today Bangalore is one of the fastest growing cities of the world with a base of 10,000 industries.