
Situated
in the southern part of India, the state of Karnataka spreads over the
Deccan Plateau. At 300B.C., it had formed the southern tip of the Mauryan
Empire. Its boundaries enlarged or receded swaying to the drum beats of
history & today it accounts for a sixteenth area of India & has a
population of about 45 million. Its language is Kannada & its people are
known as kannadigas. The three distinct regions are a narrow coastal area
along Arabian Sea; high hills, the Western Ghats; & sprawling plains
towards the east.
Karnataka popularly known for Carnatic Music through out the World has
given much more to the World than Carnatic Music, a unique form of Classical
Music patronized by many across the continents. Karnataka with all its
richness in culture and traditional grandeur is also one of the fastest
growing states in terms of industries and facilities. Karnataka is also
known as the Capital of Agarbathi (Incense Sticks), Arecanut, Silk, Coffee
and Sandal Wood. All this is apart from the fact that it has been the
culture center for hundreds of years and its testimony stands spread across
the state pulling millions of tourists from all parts of the world to
Karnataka. Karnataka was known as Karunadu (elevated land) in ancient times.
It is also believed that the name Karnataka has come from "Kari-nadu"
meaning the land of black soil say the scholars, & some others hold that
Karunadu also means beautiful country; either way the land is celebrated as
beautiful throughout its ancient literature.
The western strip across the Arabian sea is humid & warm in summer,
water-soaked in monsoon, profuse with coconut grooves & paddy fields
criss-crossed by strips of silvery streams & sparkling stretches of
sand.
The hilly uplands of Malanad, One of the wettest regions of the world,
where the bamboo flourishes wild & areca, teak, rosewood & matti are
grown. It is also the home of the stately gaur & langur. In its southern
reaches frequent kheddas are held to capture roaming groups of elephants.
Also the swift deer & the deadly tiger, roam animatedly in the forests.
The east of the ghats is strikingly bare. This elevated stretch is supposed
to be the oldest land on the earth where ancient rocks of earth are seen
jutting in & out odd shapes. Rivers like Cauvrey, Sharavathi &
Ghataprabha pass through upgraded valleys & resulting in water-falls &
occasional rapids. The torrential fall of these rivers have been harnessed
to generate hydroelectric power.
The Capital par excellence
The capital par excellence Bangalore today has become an Industrial
Metropolis. It is also called India's science city. Sophisticated industries
in the public sector employ thousands and thousands of workers. It is also
called the Electronics city because most of the country's basic electronic
industries are based here. It is the fastest growing city in Asia.
Aircraft building, telecommunication, aeronautics, machine manufacture,
etc., have taken giant strides here. Bangalore was known for its salubrious
climate, which however is now being debated because of the accelerated
progress of modern industry. It is also called an air-conditioned city and a
pensioner's paradise.
Karnataka is beautiful not only in the eyes of her sons and daughters. She
captivates any one who sets eyes on her. It was the great Mauryan Emperor
Chandragupta who traversed all the way from Magadha to distant
Sravanabelagola to lay his remains in this land before entering the Kingdom
of God.
The course of Karnataka's history and culture takes us back to pre-historic
times. The earliest find of the Stone Age period in India was a hand axe at
Lingasugur in Raichur district. The Ashoka's rock edicts found in the state
indicates that major parts of Northern Karnataka were under the Mauryas.
Chandragupta Maurya, the great Indian emperor abdicated the throne and
embraced Jainism at Sravanabelagola. Adding new dimensions to the cultural
and spiritual ethos of the land, many great dynasties left their imprint
upon the aesthetic development of Karnataka's art forms. Prominent among
them were the Chalukyas, the Hoysalas and the mighty Vijayanagara Empire.
The Chalukyans built some of the very early Hindu temples in India. Aihole
turned up as an experimental base for the dynamic creations of architects.
The Hoysalas who ruled from the 11th to the 13th century chiseled their way
into the pages of glory by building more than 150 temples each one is a
masterpiece in its own way. The amazing dexterity and fluidity of
expressions at Somnathpur, Halebid and Belur open themselves to the
wide-eyed wonder in one's eyes. Vijayanagara, the greatest of all medieval
Hindu empires and one of the greatest the world over, fostered the
development of intellectual pursuits and fine arts. "The eye of the
pupil has never seen a place like it and the ear of intelligence has never
been informed that there existed anything to equal it in the world" is
what Abdur Razaaq the Persian ambassador had to say about Krishnadevaraya's
time.
The Vijayanagara Empire with its capital at Hampi fell a victim to the
marauding army of the Deccan Sultan in 1565 A.D. As a consequence of this,
Bijapur became the most important city of the region. This city is a land of
monuments and perhaps no other city except Delhi has as many monuments as
Bijapur. The Bahmani Shahis and the Adilshahis of Bijapur have played a
notable part in the history of Karnataka by their contribution to the field
of art and architecture and also by their propagation of Islam in the state.
Hyder Ali and his valiant son Tipu Sultan are notable figures in the
history of the land. They expanded the Mysore kingdom on an unprecedented
scale and by their resistance against the British, became personages of
world fame. Tipu was a great scholar and lover of literature. His artistic
pursuits were also many and he made rich gifts to the Hindu temples. Tipu
Sultan "Tiger of Karnataka" was killed in 1799 A.D., and the
Mysore throne was handed over to the Wodeyar's. The whole of Karnataka came
under the control of the British in the beginning of the 19th century. The
new state was named as new Mysore and the Maharaja of Mysore was appointed
Governor by Independent India. This unified state was renamed as Karnataka
on November 1, 1973.
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