The Land of the Boiled Bean

I kid you not. In the local Kannada language, Bengaluru (ಬೆಂದಕಾಳೂರು) literally means ‘land of the boiled bean’. Apparently the city got its name from King Veera Ballala II who, while on a hunting expedition in around 1210, lost his way and eventually came across a poor old woman who served him boiled beans. The grateful king named the place "benda kaal-uru" (literally, "town of boiled beans"), which was eventually simplified to "Bengalūru". It is more commonly known as (and still referred to even there) by the Anglicised name, Bangalore. And so commenced my first trip not only to Bangalore, but to the state of Karnataka.

The little tourist information-cum-shopping guide in my hotel room suggests that Bangalore is ‘a place you feel cut off from India and yet a part of it’ as well as a city that ‘let’s you be’. I found these statements to be very accurate portrayal of the city. Even though it’s India’s third largest city, there was a feeling of space, of greenery and of a certain calm – although this may have been partly due to the local Diwali holiday which sees most people spending time with loved ones and thankfully off the roads. I started my tour by visiting the Bangalore Palace – the home of the former Royal Family of Mysore which was built in 1880 and modeled on Windsor Castle. I then headed off to the Vidhana Soudha – the State Legislature as well as the surrounding Cubbon Park. Keeping with it’s reputation of being the ‘Garden City of India’ I then went to Lal Bagh, the local ‘botanical gardens’ (a term I use loosely). Lal Bagh houses an exact replica of Crystal Palace in London as well as a floral clock which they locals love to remind you is one of the most accurate of its type in the world (within 3 seconds a year). Impressive. I also managed a visit to the Bull Temple which is a typical Dravidian style temple built to appease a vagrant bull which persisted in devouring all the groundnuts in the surrounding fields despite the best efforts of the local villagers to keep it away. Apparently it worked and the bull behaved itself after the temple was built.

The later part of the day saw me take afternoon tea (masala chai and kulfi) on my hotel balcony while basking in the afternoon sun. Yes, it IS a hard life! The evening saw the start of the Diwali fireworks which were amazing to watch. There was a real buzz in the city. I really enjoyed my brief stay in Bangalore. It’s one of the nicer cities I have visited in India. If your travels take you to this part of the world, I’m sure like me, you won’t be disappointed. You can see my pictures from Lal Bagh here and my other sightseeing here. A short Diwali firework video can be found here.

My morning cup of Assam

The famous floral clock