BANGALORE Bangalore Urban  Location :  South Karnataka                       Area in Sq.Kms : 2,190  Percent of State's Area : 1.14                     Population in 1991 : 4,839,162  Rank :1                                                      Numder of Taluks : 3  Number of Grama Panchayats : 115           Number of Taluk and Urban                                                                   Agglomerations : 4 Bangalore Rural  Location :  South Karnataka                     Area in Sq.Kms : 5,815  Percent of State's Area :3.03                    Population in 1991 : 1,673,194  Rank :14                                                  Numder of Taluks : 8  Number of Grama Panchayats : 227         Number of Taluk and Urban                                                                  Agglomerations : 9  Important jatra :   Place Month Deity/Saint No of days Approximate attendence  Bangalore April Dharmaraya(Karaga) 1 5 lakh Bangalore November Basavanna(Groundnut fair) 1 50,000 Kumarashaila August Kumaraswamy 3 3 lakh Huskur February-March Madduramma 1 40,000 Magadi April Ranganatha Swamy 1 1 lakh Melinajuganahalli December Ghati Subramanya Swamy 1 1 lakh Bangalore is the capital of Karnataka from 1956. Earlier, it was the headquaters of the Yelahanka Nadaprabhus who ruled under Vijayanagara empire and built the new town with the fort. Kempegowda Ist  is believed to have raised the fort in 1537 as per the orders of Emperor Achutharaya of Vijayanagar. The old Gavipura natural cave shrine of Gangadhara came to be expanded and the monolithic Basava in Basavanagudi was got engraved by this family. In 1637 Bijapur Army conquered Bangalore and granted Bangalore as Jagir to Shahji, Shivaji's father. Shahji and his son Ekoji had Bangalore under their control till 1687 when it was conquered by the Mughul army and the city was given on lease to Chikkadevaraya of Mysore. He built the Venkataramana temple and a new fort beside the existing fort Bangalore which had grown as an industrial and commercial centre under the Kempegowda family.Later Bangalore was granted  as Jagir to Hyder and when he usurped power from the Wodeyars, he strengthened the new fort by using granite blocks.                  He built a palace near the Venkataramana temple and started Lalbagh, the famous Botanical garden of Bangalore. Bangalore was captured by the British in 1791 under the leadership of Lord Cornwallis and it was returned to Tipu after he signed a treaty with them. Under Haider, Bangalore grew as a prosperous commercial city also catering to the needs of luxury of the Srirangapattana court. But under Tipu, its trade declined. The British who defeated Tipu in 1799 handed it over to the Mysore Hindu Prince. Dewan Purnaiah rebuilt the demolished fort. The Atjaralacjeri, High court building, Central College, and Museum building were raised in the European Renaissance style and english education was introduced into Bangalore. The city came to have a municipality in 1862 and the Cantonment area also had a seperate Municipality. The two came to to be merged in 1949 to form the Bangalore City Corporation.              Places to visit in and around Bangalore