The Indian IT hub of Bangalore is about to be rebranded as Bengaluru in recognition of the original name of Bengaluru in the local Kannada lingo.

The original name of Bangalore was Benda Kaal Ooru. This rather unsavoury name came about when a king named Vira Ballala lost his way on a hunting expedition and was eventually offered boiled beans by an old lady. In recognition of this act of kindness, he named the place Benda Kaal Ooru.

Along came the British and, since they really couldn't be arsed to say Benda Kaal Ooru, they simplified the name to Bangalore. Nor can the locals apparently be arsed to say Benda Kaal Ooru, since the new moniker is the "phonetic variation" of the hard-to-pronounce original.

The new name was announced by chief minister of Karnataka state, Dharam Singh, in response to a demand from a group of Kannada-language writers. One of them, UR Ananthamurthy, reckons the locals already call the place Bengaluru, so no big deal.

The first printing-press was established in Bangalore in the year 1840. In 1859, Bangalore Herald became the first English bi-weekly newspaper to be published in Bangalore and in 1860, Mysore Vrittanta Bodhini became the first Kannada newspaper to be circulated in Bangalore. Currently, Vijaya Karnataka and The Times of India are the most widely circulated Kannada and English newspapers in Bangalore respectively.

Bangalore got its first radio station when All India Radio, the official broadcaster for the Indian Government, started broadcasting from it's Bangalore station on November 2, 1955. The radio transmission was AM, till in 2001, Radio City became the first private channel in India to start transmitting FM radio from Bangalore. In recent years, quite a number of FM channels have started broadcasting from Bangalore. The city also has various clubs for HAM radio enthusiasts.

Till the early 19th century, education in Bangalore was mainly undertaken in schools that were run by religious leaders and restricted to pupils of that religion. The western system of education came into vogue during the rule of Mummadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar when two schools were established in Bangalore. This was followed by a school established by the Wesleyan Mission in 1851 and the Bangalore High School which was started by the Government in 1858.

In the present day, schools for young children in Bangalore are mainly based on the kindergarten form of education. Primary and secondary education in Bangalore is offered by various schools which are affiliated to any one of the boards of education like the Karnataka state board, ICSE, CBSE, National Open School (NOS), IGCSE and IB. There are three kinds of schools in Bangalore viz. government (run by the government), aided (financial aid is provided by the government) and un-aided private (no financial aid is provided). After completing their secondary education, students typically enroll in Junior College (also known as Pre-University) in one of three streams Arts, Commerce or Science. Upon completing the required coursework, students enroll in general or professional degrees.

Bangalore is known as the "Garden City of India"  because of its climate, greenery and the presence of many public parks, including the Lal Bagh and Cubbon Park. Deepavali, the "Festival of Lights", transcends demographic and religious lines and is celebrated with great vigour. Dussera, a traditional celebratory hallmark of the old Kingdom of Mysore, 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. Most Kannada movies are musicals, and their soundtracks are very popular in the city. The popularity of Kannada movies has spawned a new colloquial dialect, Bangalore Kannada, which draws upon youth culture and influences from English and other Indian languages.

The diversity of cuisine available is reflective of the social and economic diversity of Bangalore. Roadside vendors, tea stalls, and South Indian, North Indian, Chinese and Western fast food are all very popular in the city. Udupi restaurants are very popular and serve predominantly vegetarian, regional cuisine.

With an estimated population of 5,281,927 in the year 2007, Bangalore is the third most populous city in India and the 27th most populous city in the world. With a decadal growth rate of 38%, Bangalore was the fastest-growing Indian metropolis after New Delhi for the decade 1991-2001. Residents of Bangalore are referred to as Bangaloreans in English or Bengaloorinavaru in Kannada. While Kannadigas are the majority of the population, the cosmopolitan nature of the city has caused people from other states of India to migrate to Bangalore and settle there. Scheduled Castes and Tribes account for 14.3% of the city's population. Kannada, the official language of the state of Karnataka, is widely spoken in Bangalore.

Bangalore's HAL Airport (IATA code: BLR) is India's fourth busiest and functions as both a domestic and international airport and is well connected to several destinations in the world. Unlike most airports in the country which are controlled by the Airports Authority of India, the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited owns and operates this airport, and also uses it to test and develop fighter aircraft for the Indian Air Force. With the liberalisation of India's economic policies, many domestic carriers such as SpiceJet, Kingfisher Airlines, Jet Airways and Go Air have started servicing the city, which has lead to congestion problems at this airport. This situation is expected to be eased when the new Bangalore International Airport, which is being constructed in Devanahalli in the outskirts of Bangalore, becomes operational. Currently targeted to be inaugurated in April 2008, this airport will have two runways and is being built to handle 11 million passengers per year. Air Deccan and Kingfisher Airlines have their headquarters in Bangalore.

Bangalore's Rs. 260,260 crore (USD 60.5 billion) economy (2002-03 Net District Income) makes it a major economic centre in India. Indeed, Bangalore is India's fourth largest and fastest growing market. Bangalore's per capita income of Rs. .49,000 (US$ 1,160) is the highest for any Indian city. The city is the third-largest hub for high net worth individuals (HNWI / HNIs), after Mumbai and Delhi.

Bangalore is home to over 10,000 individual dollar millionaires and around 60,000 super-rich people who have an investable surplus of Rs. 4.5 crore and Rs. 50 lakh respectively. As of 2001, Bangalore's share of Rs. 1660 crore (US$ 3.7 billion) in Foreign Direct Investment was the third highest for an Indian city. In the 1940s industrial visionaries such as Sir Mirza Ismail and Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya played an important role in the development of Bangalore's strong manufacturing and industrial base.

Bangalore is headquarters to several public manufacturing heavy industries such as Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), Bharat Electronics Limited, Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) and Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT). In June 1972 the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was established under the Department of Space and headquartered in the city.

Bangalore is called the "Silicon Valley of India" because of the large number of Information Technology companies located in the city which contributed 33% of India's Rs. 144,214 crore (US$ 32 billion) IT exports in 2006-07. Bangalore's IT industry is divided into three main "clusters" Software Technology Parks of India, Bangalore (STPI); International Technology Park Bangalore (ITPB), formerly International Technology Park Ltd. (ITPL); and Electronics City. Infosys and Wipro, India's second and third largest software companies, have their largest campus in Electronics City. As headquarters to many of the global SEI-CMM Level 5 Companies, Bangalore's place in the global IT map is prominent.

Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP, Greater Bangalore Municipal Corporation) is in charge of the civic administration of the city. It was formed in 2007 by merging 100 wards of the erstwhile Bangalore Mahanagara Palike, with the neighbouring 7 City Municipal Councils (CMC), one Town Municipal Council and 110 villages around Bangalore.

Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike is run by a city council. The city council comprises elected representatives, called "corporators", one from each of the wards (localities) of the city. Elections to the council are held once every 5 years, with results being decided by popular vote. A mayor and commissioner of the council are also elected through a quota system from a Scheduled Castes and Tribes candidate or to an Other Backward Class female candidate. Members contesting elections to the council represent one of more of the state's political parties. However, elections to the newly-created body are yet to be held, due to delays in delimitation of wards and finalising voter lists. There are expected to be about 150 wards, up from the 100 wards of the old Bangalore Mahanagara Palike. Elections are tentatively scheduled to be held in early 2008.

Bangalore lies in the southeast of the South Indian state of Karnataka. It is in the heart of the Mysore Plateau (a region of the larger Precambrian Deccan Plateau) at an average elevation of 920 m (3,018 feet). It is positioned at [show location on an interactive map] 12.97° N 77.56° E and covers an area of 741 km² (286 mi²). The majority of the city of Bangalore lies in the Bangalore Urban district of Karnataka and the surrounding rural areas are a part of the Bangalore Rural district. The Government of Karnataka has carved out the new district of Ramanagaram from the old Bangalore Rural district.

The topology of Bangalore is flat except for a central ridge running NNE-SSW. The highest point is Doddabettahalli, which is 962 m (3,156 ft) and lies on this ridge. No major rivers run through the city, though the Arkavathi and South Pennar cross paths at the Nandi Hills, 60 km (37 mi.) to the north. River Vrishabhavathi, a minor tributary of the Arkavathi, arises within the city at Basavanagudi and flows through the city. The rivers Arkavathi and Vrishabhavathi together carry much of Bangalore's sewage. A sewerage system, constructed in 1922, covers 215 km² (133 mi²) of the city and connects with five sewage treatment centers located in the periphery of Bangalore.

After centuries of the rule of the Western Gangas, Bangalore was captured by the Cholas in 1024 which later passed on to the Chalukya-cholas in 1070. In 1116 the Hoysala Empire, overthrew the Cholas and extended its rule over Bangalore. Modern Bangalore was founded by a vassal of the Vijayanagara Empire, Kempe Gowda I, who built a mud fort and a Nandi Temple in the proximity of modern Bangalore in 1537. Kempe Gowda referred to the new town as his "gandu bhoomi" or "Land of Heroes".

Within the fort, the town was divided into smaller divisions called petes. The town had two main streets: Chickkapete Street, which ran east-west, and Doddapete Street, which ran north-south. Their intersection formed the Doddapete Square the heart of Bangalore. Kempe Gowda's successor, Kempe Gowda II, built four famous towers that marked Bangalore's boundary. During the Vijayanagara rule, Bangalore was also referred to as "Devara-yanagara" and "Kalya-napura" ("Auspicious City"). After the fall of the Vijayanagara Empire, Bangalore's rule changed hands several times. In 1638, a large Bijapur army led by Ranadulla Khan and accompanied by Shahji Bhonsle defeated Kempe Gowda III and Bangalore was given to Shahji as a jagir. In 1687, the Mughal general Kasim Khan defeated Ekoji, son of Shahji, and then sold Bangalore to Chikkadevaraja Wodeyar (1673-1704) of Mysore for 300,000 rupees. After the death of Krishnaraja Wodeyar II in 1759, Hyder Ali, Commander-in-Chief of the Mysore Army, proclaimed himself the de facto ruler of Mysore. The kingdom later passed to Hyder Ali's son Tippu Sultan, known as the Tiger of Mysore. Bangalore was eventually incorporated into the British East Indian Empire after Tippu Sultan was defeated and killed in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War (1799). The British returned administrative control of the Bangalore "pete" to the Maharaja of Mysore, choosing only to retain the Cantonment under their jurisdiction. The 'Residency' of Mysore State was first established at Mysore in 1799 and later shifted to Bangalore in the year 1804. It was abolished in the year 1843 only to be revived in 1881 at Bangalore and finally to be closed down in 1947 with the departure of the British. The British, found it easier to recruit employees in the Madras Presidency and relocate them to cantonment area during this period. The Kingdom of Mysore relocated its capital from Mysore city to Bangalore in 1831. Two important developments during this period contributed to the rapid growth of the city: the introduction of telegraph connections and a rail connection to Madras in 1864.