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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