Karnataka

Capital : Bangalore
Principal Languages : Kannada

Geography:

As the eighth largest state in India, Karnataka sits on the western edge of the Deccan Plateau. With Goa and Maharashtra to its north, Andhra Pradesh to its east, and Tamil Nadu and Kerala to its south, Karnataka lies on the Arabian Sea and controls 6% of India's water resources, including the Krishna, Cauvery, Godavari, and Palar Rivers. The state is typically divided into four regions: the Northern Karnataka Plateau, the Central Karnataka, Plateau, the Southern Karnataka Plateau, and the Karnataka Coastal Region. Across the state as a whole, one can find mountain ranges, valleys, rolling hills, and flat lands.

Important Cities - Towns and Religious - Tourist Place :

Badami (later captial of Chalukyas, famous for rock-cut temples), Bandipur (Wildlife Sanctuary), Bangalore (Vidhana Soudha, Cubbon Park, Chamaraja Sagar, Lalbagh Botanical Gardens, Fort, Tipu Sultan's Place, Bull Temple, Nandi summer resort), Belgaum (Fort, Gokak Falls), Bellary, Belur (Chenna Kesava Temple), Bhadravati, Bidar, Bijapur (known for Gol Gumbaz, Ibrahim Roza, Asar Mahal, Upli Buruj, Anand Mahal, Mecca Masjid), Chikmagalur, chitradurga, Devangere, Dharward, Gulbarga, Halebid (Joyasaleswara and Kedareswar5a Temples), Hampi (ruins of Vijayanagar empire), Hassan, Hubli, Jog Falls (Gersoppa Falls), Karwar (Port and beach), Kolar Gold Fields, Madikeri, Mandya, Mangalore (Port and beach), Mysore (known as "garden city" is famous for Brindavan Gardens and Dussehra Festivities, Chamundi Hills, Maharaja's Place), Raichur, Ranganathittoo (bird sanctuary), Shimoga, Shravanbelagola (famous for Gomatesbwara statue and pilgrinmage centre for Jains), Somanathapura, Sringeri, Srirangapatnam (capital of Tipu), Tumkur, Tungabhadra Dam. Badami, Aihole and Pattadkal are known for rock-cut and structural temples. Gokarna, Udupi, Dharmasthala, Melkote, Gangapura and Saundatti are famous pilgrimage centres.

Climate :

Climates vary in Karnataka along similar lines as the geographic regions of the state, because the largest influence on weather comes from altitude. Coastal Karntaka, including the western portion of the Karnataka Hills, experiences a very hot and rainy climate. As a minimally elevated area, this tropical monsoon climate is common. Moving inland into southern Karnataka, which if full of hills and plateaus and some mountainous terrain, one sees hot, dry weather for the most part. The northern portion of the inland Karnataka sees hot weather and near-arid precipitation levels as a result of its distance from the Arabian Sea.

Location :

Located in south India, Karnataka is bounded north by Maharashtra, east by Andhra Pradesh, south by Tamil Nadu and Kerala, west by the Arabian Sea

Culture:

Most people of Karnataka are of Dravidian descent; remains of this ancestry lay in the common languages of the state, which are descendants of Dravidian languages. The crafts of the Karnataka cannot be named Dravidian, but they are distinctly Indian, in that they combine craftsmanship with an artist's touch. Thanks to abundant forest resources, woodcarving has been a long held tradition of the Kannadigas and a point of pride for their state. Despite recently declining in popularity for obvious reasons, ivory carving was once a widespread trade. Unhindered by exterior forces, sandalwood carvings still provide intriguing works of art that represent Karnataka. Many of the common celebrations and festivals of Karnataka are special to the state and unknown in other areas. The Paryaya Festival of the Krishna temple in Udupi signifies a change in control of the shrine to a different religious order. Exclusively in Bangalore, one can find celebrations of the Karaga Festival, honoring the goddess Shakti and involving an intricate and arduous ceremony centered on a pot. Cuisine of the state is even more distinct, in that it varies depending on which region of the state one might find himself in. A typical meal might include kosambari (a salad of lentils, spices, chilies, mustard, coconut, and cucumber) or chitranna (rice made with lime juice, green chili and turmeric). The best-known Karnataka sweet is the obbattu, a skillet fried thin chappti filled with jaggery, coconut, and sugar.

History :

Karnataka has a glorious heritage of over two thousand years. The great Vijaynagar Empire and the Bhamani Kingdoms flourished here in medieval age. In the modern history, the great Tipu Sultan of Mysore under the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, brought together the Kannada-speaking people distributed in five State of Mysore and coorg, the Bijapur, Kanara and Dharwar districts and the Belgaum district (except one taluk) in former Bombay, the major portions of the Gulbarga, Raichur and Bidar districts in former Hyderabad, Raichur and South Kanara district (apart from the Kasaragod taluk) and the Kollegal taluk of the Coimbatore district in Madras. Earlier known as Mysore, the State was renamed Karnataka in 1973

Economy :

Karnataka is Predominantly agricultural. About 65 percent of the working population is engaged in agriculture and allied activities which generate about 49 percent of the State's income. Out of the total land area of the State the net area sown forms 56 percent. about 22 percent of the total cultivated area is under irrigation. Rice, ragi, jowar, wheat, millets and pulses are the major food crops of Karnataka. Sugarcane, cotton, oilseeds, mulberry, Tobacco, coconut, arecant, coffee, cashew, cardamom, pepper, oranges and grapes are the main cash crops. Forests occupy 20 percent of the area of the State. The State is rich in mineral resources. High grade iron ore, copper, manganese, chromite and china clay are the important minerals available in the State. Karnataka is the only State where gold mining is carried on. The large industries manufacture machine tools, aircraft, electronic products, watches and telecommunication equipment. Other flourishing industries of Karnataka are textiles, sugar, soap, chemical and pharmaceutical goods, fertilizer, paper, cement. Glass, ceramics, porcelain and electrical goods. Important public sector undertaking are Bharat Heavy Electrical, Hindustan aeronautics Limited and Hindustan Machine Tools, etc. Kudremukh Iron Ore Project at Malleswaram in Chikamagalur District is a Major development the project of the State. Karnataka stands first in the production of raw silk accounting for about 85 percent of the raw silk produced in the country. Sandal soap and sandal oil of Karnataka are well known in world markets. Karnataka also stands first in the production of electronic equipments. In fact, Bangalore is known as the "Electronic City of India". Karnataka is the first State in the country to have generated electricity in Gokak Falls in 1887.The important power projects are : Kalinadi, Varahi, Gerusoppa (Sharavathi) and Shivasamudaram Hydro Electric Projects. A thermal power station is located at Raichur and another diesel unit at Yelahanka near Ban galore. An atomic power plant is also being installed at Kaiga near Karwar. important seaport : New Mangalore Important airports : Bangalore, Belgaum and Mangalore.

States and Union Territories of India