Bangalore is booming, and a look at some of its nicknames says why: “India’s Silicon Valley”, “Fashion Capital of India”, “The Pub City of India”, and on. Home to well over 6 million people, and a base for 10,000 industries, Bangalore is India’s fifth largest city and the fastest growing city in Asia.The capital of the state of Karnataka, Bangalore is situated halfway betwen the coasts in southern India. The city was founded in the 16th century, and witnessed great southern dynasties like the Kadambas, the Hoysalas and Vijayanagar emperors. Legend has it that the name Bangalore comes from “boiled beans” (Benda Kaluru), which were served by a humble old lady to a hungry ruler in the 10th century.Surprisingly, despite some adverse environmental impact of industrial development in Bangalore, another of its nicknames is “The Garden City”. That’s thanks to many local parks, along with pink cassias, golden acacias, and jacarandas which bloom throughout the city.Many international visitors come to Bangalore for its excellent schools and universities, such as the Indian Institute of Science. While enjoying the warm weather year-around, tourists can also use the city as a central base for day trips to other Karnataka attractions. And Bangalore doesn’t only produce fine silk and software. “The Fruit Market of the South” is great for grapes, mangoes and guavas.Last but not the least, Bangalore is even gaining the status of the “Floriculture Capital” due to the present blossoming of flower exports from the city. Because of its rich stone resources, Bangalore is also known as the “Stone City”, for its granite deposits.
Bangalore is connected to all the four metropolitan cities and other major places by air. Indian Airlines and private carriers operate regular flights to the Silicon Valley of India from Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras. Trivandrum, Hyderabad, Goa, Kochi, Ahmedabad, Kannur and Mangalore, are the other cities on the air route of IA and private airlines. A few international flights come in directly from Singapore, Dubai, London, Oman, Hong Kong and Saudi.
Bangalore Airport is 30 km from the Institute. Transfer to the city by taxi takes about 45 minutes and costs about Rs. 250. Prepaid taxi service is also available. Regular volvo bus services by BMTC is avilable to different parts of the city at the cost of Rs. 150 to 250.
Bangalore is connected to the National Capital by weekly Rajdhani Express and daily Karnataka Express. It is also well connected with Bombay by Udayan and Kurla Express, to Madras by Madras Mail, Lal Bagh Shatabdi and Brindavan Express and also to Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Calcutta, Hyderabad, and Mangalore by express trains. Mysore (140 km) is just 2.5 to 3 hours from Bangalore by train but it is preferable to do it by road.
Bangalore is well connected with Bombay and Pune through National Highway No. 4, to Hyderabad (565 km) and Kanyakumari (719 km) through National Highway No. 7 and Mangalore (349 km) on NH 48. Madras is approachable via Dharmapuri and Vellore (340 km). Buses of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala State Transport Corporations, and a large number of private roadways connect Bangalore with all the major centers in the region.
The interstate bus terminus of Bangalore is situated in Subashnagar near Majestic Circle and faces the Bangalore City Railway Station.
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