Bangalored!

Hah!!...the most common lunch or eat out in the city must definitely be the darshini's.You cant miss them,,they are all over the place..Whoever said Indians are not very innovative,can take a walk,coz this is fast food..our style:).. Here is an article posted on Discover Bangalore.com worth reading. "It's like the Starbucks or the McDonalds of America or the Tim Hortons of Canada. The Darshinis of Bangalore have come to stay. The fast food outlets dishing out hot crunchy Masala Dose, soft idlis, crispy Vade and hot piping coffee are all over Bangalore now. Bangalore literally has thousands of Darshinis under several individual managements serving south Indian vegetarian food. They usually are identified with small round steel tables and diners standing around them eating Dosas, idlis, vada's, curd rice, Vegetable Pulao, rice with sambar, lemon rice, Bisibele bath, Uppittu, kesaribaath and coffee. The low-cost and "on the go" breakfast and lunch are a big hit...

I have lived my entire life near Golf course and Race Course in Blore(hehe,,cant specify more than this).But little did I know that Gandhi visited the Kumara Krupa Guest house which is a stone's throw away from my house.Hmmm,why didnt it strike me earlier when "the Gandhi Bhavan" is just near it? "Source: The Hindu Date:Friday, Oct 01, 2004 FROM TIME immemorial, some rocks have been sanctified and recognised as `Divine,' bestowing peace and happiness to mankind. In the Ramayana, after the abduction of Sita, Rama and his brother Lakshmana went in search of her. Just before reaching Kishkinta in the Southern region, he came across a small black granite rock and rested on it for a while. Touching the rock, he blessed it saying it may be worshipped for 700 years in Kali Yuga, bestowing mankind with all boons. Sri Raghavendra Swamy decided to enter Brindavan alive at Manthralaya in 1671 AD. Dewan Venkanna made all arrangements for the function and a beautiful Brindava...

India 's first low-cost airline, Air Deccan from Bangalore started service on August 25 , 2003 . The airline's fares for the Delhi - Bangalore route were 30% less than those offered by its rivals such as Indian Airlines , Air Sahara and Jet Airways on the same route. The success of Air Deccan spurred the entry of more than a dozen low-cost airlines in India. Another airline based from Bangalore - Kingfisher airlines started in May 2005.Though it can be counted among the low cost carriers,it also promotes itself as a luxury carrier with its In-Flight Entertainment System, a first among Indian airlines. Its quite a ironic thing that both these airlines can now more or less be called partners after Kingfisher acquired a 26% stake in Air Deccan recently.On one side Air Deccan is a no-frills airline while Kingfisher is known for luxury. Whatever the future brings,it definitely has contributed the skies opening up literally and my personal hope,after a very long wait -The Bangal...

I dont know how many remember but the Radio City group was India's first private FM radio station and was started on July 3, 2001.I still remember the starting days as I had just started my first job and radio was a completely new medium of entertainment for me. Born and bred on the idiot box,listenening to popular and my favourite hindi songs available 24 hours round the clock soon caught up.I used to wonder how the cassette companies would survive if everyone was going to tune into this new station.I couldnt care less as after some days I got my dose of entertainment by just switching on the radio button.Mornings used to be more fun especially while getting ready for work while listening to the cool talk of the RJ's at that time. I still think the first two RJ's of those days -Rohit Barker and Vera were the best and no one has matched their professionalism till date.Though the RJ's were mostly english or hindi speaking they set the tone or style for today's multi...

Ever since I started this blog,I have been waiting for my favourite magazine- The India Today to dedicate a coverpage on Bangalore city for any reason that would make me prouder of my hometown.I have grown up with this magazine and believe each of its coverpage is a masterpiece in recording India's modern history. Sadly,this week we have nothing to be proud of given that a person born and bred in India has become faces of terrorism worldwide.I suggest you pick up this week's magazine for the entire story which makes all of us in the city and the country worried.

Blog from Ibnlive.com - Posted by D P Satish Whenever I visit my home state of Karnataka, friends and relatives ask,, "Why don't you come back to Bangalore, where you can happily eat Idli, Dosa, Mosaranna and Chitranna. Why do suffer in hot and dusty Delhi, eating the same roti and sabzi day in and day out?" Good, heart warming advice for a hardcore Kannadiga like me indeed. But is food only attraction in Bangalore? Certainly not. But surely it is one of the best things about Bangalore. At least it was. The city has a hundred labels, such as Garden City , Knowledge City , IT City, and Pub City.. But Food City describes Bangalore better than all other labels.. But sadly, the best eateries of Bangalore are dying. Bangalore's famed hotels (so called by the Kannadigas even if they offer only food and no lodging !) are disappearing one after another. These hotels are not just eating places. They are institutions. When two Bangaloreans settle down for snacks (favourite Dos...

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I have edited the below list from what is already available on the web. Most of the people are just associated with the city and not necessarily completely from here.And yes,there are many missing as they may not be known in other parts of the country.I hope to keep adding worthwhile names to this list:) Models/Media (i cant possible name every model out here:) -Lara Dutta -Prasad Bidapa Business -Vijay Mallya - the flamboyant entrepreneur.Has various ventures like Kingfisher Beer , Kingfisher Airlines Entertainment/Movies -Girish Karnad -Guru Dutt - Hindi movie actor born and brought up in Karnataka. Graduated from Bangalore Central College -Rajnikant - Worked in Bangalore before becoming a Tamil movie superstar -Dr. Rajkumar - I am sure you must have now seen his poster stuck on every glass building in blore! Government -Deve Gowda(First PM of India from Karnataka,not a blorean in a true sense though) -H.T. Sangliana - best known as Super Cop! Mathematics -Shakuntala Devi Science...

With most people having internet at home,cybercafes may not be that much of a rage anymore.Just a decade ago,cyber cafe's were new and welcomed hundreds-thousands of people who just were getting the hang of the web.Initially,the cost of surfing was Rs. 75 to 80 per hour which came down to Rs.10,thanks to a number of cyber cafes mushrooming in every neighbourhood. There are few other cafes which claim to be the India's first as they were opened around the same time.But the general assumption is that the Cafe Coffee day outlet on Brigade Road was India's first cyber cafe!It opened in 1996 as an internet cafe while also selling varieties of their now famous coffee. That's not all, a few more cyber firsts in the country: - the same Cafe Coffee day chain has brought in India's first wireless cyber cafe in Blore(around 2003). - first cyber crime police station in 2001,Blore. Click here for their offcial website.

Here are some of the multiple sobriquets/nicknames kept for Bangalore.They keep changing and the old one's no longer hold good! 1) Garden City : this one must be the most popular.Somebody once told me the nickname stuck during pre-independence era where most houses in the city had a garden.I dont know how far this is true but i am sure it hardly applies to the current era!And you thought,it was only because of Cubbon park and Lalbagh this is a Garden city,eh? 2) Pensioner's paradise: this one's a popular one of yesteryears where many people preferred to live in Blore after retirement.The pensioners though now have long and gone:) 3) Pub City: It must have been pretty prestigious(and shady too) to be called the "pub capital of India" back in 80's - 90's.Today,the shutter shuts at 11:30pm.Go to a friend's place instead!And yeah,beware of the cops on streets at late night waiting to fine drunkards. 4) Silicon Valley of India,IT City: I will pass this o...

MTR(Mavalli Tiffin Rooms) is ofcourse the most legendary and respected food brand from this city.Started in 1924,it still draws crowds in huge numbers who patiently wait in queue to eat their authentic and even more tastier dishes.I am sure you know all this already. However, did you also know ... the Rava idli was invented by them? Here's the fact from them direct.

- While the rest of India drives on the left side of the road; Bangaloreans drive on what's left of the road. - In the rest of India, there's no flyover with a traffic intersection; in Bangalore, they have a traffic signal and criss-crossing traffic atop a flyover. - In the rest of India, one-way roads mean traffic can only move one way; in Bangalore, there are two ways traffic can move on a one-way road. It's easier to smile at the above traffice jokes than being stuck in the infamous traffic of the city.My only hope to this madness is that everyone accepts we dont have civic sense.Forget the governing bodies taking any initiatives,we as people have never tried to make a difference coz we just dont seem to have the time.If even a few people try not to be in such a tearing hurry,we could make things more pleasant on the roads. Keeping my expert comments on one side(we all have something dont we?)...here is a good article on the one way system: Source: Times of India,Jun 200...

Ahem,this one's finished it's circulation in email forwards a million times over.I would hence like to paste this here and check a few years later if any of it still holds good?(or it it it ever had:).I wouldn't argue with the facts about two wheelers and traffice density though! Source: Karnataka Tourism website -Bangalore has the impeccable record of highest growh within a span of 20 years [as of 2005] -Bangalore has the highest number of 2-wheelers in the world. -Bangalore has the dubious reputation for the highest 2-wheeler thefts. -Bangalore has the highest number of pubs in India. -Bangalore has the highest number of breweries in the world. -Bangalore has the highest number of public sectors and government organisations in India. -Bangalore has the highest density of traffic in the world. -Bangalore is considered the fashion capital of the East comparable to Paris. -Bangalore has the highest number of Anglo-Indians in India. -Bangalore was the first city in India to ...

Ok,I know its not a new thing about Bangalore being famous for it's export of roses(one would wonder where is the place?)..Here is an interesting article from the local newspaper- Deccan Herald from Feb last year.Every Valentine's day ,expect such an article in all the local newspapers(year over year:) Love blooms in Bangalore roses From Bala Chauhan DH News Service Bangalore: In the global hierarchy of rose cultivation during the Valentine’s season, Bangalore ranks “second” in the world, producing as it does 28 million stems after Ecuador’s 55 million and well ahead of Pune’s 2 million. The global market of roses during the Valentine’s season, beginning February 2 to 10, is “180 million stems out of which 30 million stems are from India. Red roses comprise 80 per cent of this chunk. The consumption of roses in the domestic market is 10 million stems, out of which 90 per cent is red,” says Ramakrishna Karuturi, managing director, Karuturi Networks Limited, a leading flower ex...

Air India and Indian Airlines were the only two carriers that were having international flights out of Bangalore until recently.Post 2000,major international airlines started flying directly out of Bangalore to their hubs,opening more doors of opportunities for the city.To the best of my knowledge Lufthansa,Malaysian Airlines,Royal Nepal Airlines were the first few entrants.One no longer had to go to Chennai or Mumbai to get that connecting flight abroad. It makes me proud to see so many airlines making a beeline for Bangalore..coz there sure are loads of passengers.Lets keep our fingers crossed for the long awaited,much promised,supposed to be world class - Bangalore International Airport @ Devanahalli :) Airlines flying out of Bangalore as of now!! 1) Air France (Paris-Charles de Gaulle) 2) Air India (Chicago-O'Hare, Dubai, Frankfurt, London-Heathrow, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Jeddah, Riyadh,Kuwait) 3) British Airways (London-Heathrow) 4) Emirates (Dubai) 5) Gulf Air (Muscat, Bahr...

Here are some amazing pictures from the Aero India show 2007 (Feb 2007,Air Force station,Yelahanka,Bangalore). All photos posted here are from the slide show on IBNlive.com's website.

Bangalore's first WTA tournament was called "Bangalore Open" in 2006.This year however due to the change in sponsorship,its's termed as "The Sony Ericsson International". Click here for the official website. The initial hype about this year's tournament was the participation of Serena Williams who later pulled out at the last minute due to an injury.

Perhaps I am dumb or just had my eyes/ears closed for all these years.Did you know the rock in Lalbagh Gardens is the oldest rock formation in the country or perhaps the world?? You cannot miss it as it is at one of the entrances of the botanical garden.On top of this huge rock formation is the Kempegowda Tower(one of the four towers,Kempegowda laid the during the foundations of the city around the 16th century.)- which is the only thing I knew! Excerpt from a post in Bangalorewalks.com : "This rock ,now designated a National Geological Monument, is one of the oldest rock formations in the world (composed of granitic gneiss) and dated as being 3000 million years old, was formed by volcanic action when it was part of Gondwanaland. This part of Gondwanaland moved north into the Asian continent creating the Himalayas. Thus the rock we see at Lalbagh is half as old as the earth itself and part of eternity"

Aircrashes and tragedies are something no one likes remembering.However,the Indian Airlines (Air Bus A 320) crash in Bangalore on 14th Feb 1990 is something that stands out in my memory as I had visited the crash site a week after the incident.An accident of this nature will get wide media coverage even today but it was a first in those days and its even more big when it happens so close to you. India Today magazine carried out a fantastic coverpage of the actual scene of the crash with a lady running out of the burning flight which is permanently etched in my mind.I am trying to search for this cover page to post it here. Displayed in this post are pictures pulled out from random search in google. Description Controlled flight into terrain during approach. Aircraft hit about 400 meters short of the runway. Four of the seven crew members and 88 of the 139 passengers were killed. Location and date of the crash Date 14/02/1990 Time 13:03 Location Bangalore, India Plane information Seri...

The Premier Hockey League (PHL) founded in 2005 has a team from Bangalore called the "Bangalore Lions".Displayed above is thier official logo.ING Vysya Life Insurance is the official team sponsor the team which is why you will understand the "Lion" part of it.You can purchase the team's merchandise at almost all Adidas exclusive showrooms in Bangalore. As per the official website,the by line of this team:"Representing the IT hub of the nation, they are the trend-setters".The team was earlier known as the "Bangalore Hi-Fliers" in the first edition of PHL. The first edition in 2005,was won by the Hyderabad Sultans.But in 2006 the name change proved lucky as Bangalore Lions won the PHL championship!! A bit more about the hockey league: it is a new domestic field hockey competition introduced in India.The tournament was initiated to revive the sport which lost spectator interest to cricket in recent times.This is a collaboration between Indian ...

I like this idea a lot.I had seen the 360 degree views for major cities like London or New York years back but never thought there could be one on Bangalore.Here is the link where you could view the same.It has all the vital places of Bangalore on video. http://www.bangalorebest.com/360panorama/index.asp