Bangalore

Bangalore exudes modernity, albeit with touches of a long-standing culture clash. Brigade Road, St. Marks Road, Fraser Town, Cubbon Road, and Queen's Circle have all retained their names from the British days, and there's a divide (although it's one that's fading) between the fairly cosmopolitan Cantonment area, the upscale Kormangala section to the south, and the more traditional City area near the city's main market. The yuppies and expats in Kormangala and in gated communities outside of town lead a semi-Western lifestyle, and the Cantonment retains a military flavor, with barracks and a parade ground contrasting with luxury hotels and large international banks and offices. At the other side of Cubbon Park from the Cantonment, the City's more traditional inhabitants guard middle-class values and a section once ruled by the princely state of Mysore. M. G. Road and Brigade Road constitute the center of the Cantonment, where quaint old buildings sit opposite latter-day shopping malls. In contrast, the K. G. Road area, also known as Majestic for the major movie theater there, has offices, shops, hawkers, travelers, and the city's main train and bus stations.

It was the feudal lord Kempegowda who founded the city in AD 1537, and his son, Kempegowda II, developed it. Both paid allegiance to the Vijayanagar empire, and after the fall of that empire in 1638, the city came under the rule of the Sultan of Bijapur, Mohammed Adil Shah. Shah, who was pleased with the services of his trusted lieutenant Shahji Bhonsle (father of the Maratha King Shivaji), gave him the city as a gift. Between Shahji Bhonsle and his son King Shivaji, the Marathas ruled Bangalore for 49 years until they lost it to the Moghuls, who in turn (supposedly) leased it to the Wodeyars of Mysore (though another version of the story maintains that the Wodeyars bought the city for the relatively small sum of 3 lakh (300,000 rupees).

In 1759, the city was taken over by Hyder Ali. Bangalore flourished during his reign. Remembered as a brave warrior, his son Tipu Sultan fought against the British; Tipu's exceptional military tactics and valiance earned him the title of the Tiger of Mysore, as Mysore was the city from which he ruled. After Tipu died during the British siege of his island fortress, Srirangapattana, the British took over his territory and (nominally) reinstated the Hindu Wodeyars on the Mysore throne—though the British maintained a large presence in Mysore city to oversee the administration. Shortly after, they built Bangalore's Cantonment. In 1881 the British returned much of Mysore to the Wodeyars, who held great influence over the region until independence in 1947 and the eventual abolition of princely rule. After Independence, Bangalore became the capital of Karnataka (the new name for Mysore state).

Thanks to its pleasant climate and green environs, Bangalore was often called the "Pensioners' Paradise" and the "Garden City." However, in the 1980s it began to attract the telecommunications and technology industries, and it became India's fastest-growing city. This boom attracted multinational corporations, and, aided by the cantonment's long-standing Western identity, the city is now extremely cosmopolitan (some would say materialistic), with trendy boutiques, pizza parlors, coffee shops, and pubs. Indeed, beer is imbibed with gusto in nearly 200 establishments, though local authorities now enforce an 11 or 11:30 PM closing time. All this growth hasn't come without a price—the traffic snarls and under-maintained roads here are some of the worst in India, frequent power outages are a near daily event for some locals, and galloping housing costs have priced out more and more of the poor and middle class.