Mangalore

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Mangalore v • d • e Karnataka • India
Mangalore
District(s)	Dakshina Kannada
Coordinates	12.85° N 74.833° E
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
Area • Elevation	111.18 km² (43 mi²) • 8.83 m (29 ft)
Population • Density	882,856 (2001) • 416.3/km²
Mayor	Vijaya Arun
Codes • Postal • Telephone • Vehicle	• 575001 • +0824 • KA-19
Website: www.mangalorecity.gov.in

Coordinates: 12.85° N 74.833° E

Mangalore (proposed to be renamed Mangalũru) (Kannada:ಮಂಗಳೂರು, Tulu:ಕುಡ್ಲ, Konkani:ಕೊಡಿಯಾಲ್, Beary:Maikala) pronunciation (help·info) is the chief port city of the state of Karnataka, India. It is situated on the west coast of the country on the Arabian Sea, with the Western Ghats to Mangalore's east.

Mangalore is the administrative headquarters of the Dakshina Kannada (South Kanara) district in the southwestern corner of Karnataka, and developed as a port on the Arabian Sea - to this day it remains one of the major ports of India. Lying on the backwaters formed by the Netravati and Gurupura rivers, it has long been a roadstead along the Malabar Coast.

Mangalore is known for its beaches, temples and industries. There are several languages spoken there, including Tulu, Konkani, Kannada, and Beary.

The landscape is dominated by the characteristic coconut palms accompanying rolling hills and streams flowing into the sea. The landscape is dotted with tiled-roof buildings, topped with the famous Mangalore tiles made with the local hard red clay and typically walled with laterite blocks. Older houses are commonly found with elaborate wood-work.

[edit] Origin of the name

The city Mangalore was named after the local Hindu deity Mangaladevi.^[1] According to legend Matsyendranath, one of the important protagonist of the Nath cult had arrived at Mangalore with the princess of the South, Premaladevi, he converted the princess to his cult and she became his follower. He renamed her Mangaladevi. It is believed that they could not proceed further as Mangaladevi died after a brief period of illness and a temple was consecrated in her name at Bolar. Later the Mangaladevi temple was renovated by the Alupa king, Kundaverma Alupendra II in 968 AD.

[edit] Other names

The cosmopolitan nature of Mangalore is centuries old. This is reflected in the names used by the various linguistic groups in this region. In the native Tulu language, the city is known as ‘Kudla’ meaning ‘junction’ as the city is situated at the confluence of the two rivers – Netharavathi and Phalguni. Konkanis use the variant Kodial. The Bearys, a Muslim community who speak a dialect of their own, call it Maikala. The southern Kerala people officially use the word Mangalapuram.

On the occasion of "Suvarna Karnataka" in 2006, the state government stated that the city would be called Mangaluru in future in English. [1]

[edit] History

Town Hall, Mangalore

There are many historical references regarding to the town. Cosninos Indigo Plsustes referred to the port of Mangarouth ^[2]. Pliny, a Roman historian made references of River Nithrias, and Greek historian Ptolemy referred to Nitre. Both the references probably referred to River Netravathi. Roman writer Arien called Mangalore Mandegora. A copper inscription belonging to 7th century called Mangalore, Mangalapura. This region, given away as a reward to sage Parashurama by Samudraraja, is well known for its Kadali fruits. It is the land of enchantment of Sahyadri mountains, where the great sages Kanva, Vysa, Vashista, Vishwamitra and other in the Loral past spent their days of meditation.

The ancient history proved Mangalore had been the capital of Alupa dynasty till 14th century. A traveler, Ibn Batuta who had visited the town in 1342 stated that he arrived at a place named Manjurun or Mandjaur situated on a large estuary. He had mentioned that the town was trading centre and Persian and Yemen merchants were involved in trading activities. In 1448, Abdul Razak, a Persian Ambassador passed via this route to Vijayanagar. He said that he had seen a glorious temple here. The inscriptions at Moodabidri stated a king Mangaras Odeya was the governor of Mangaluru Raajya during the reign of Vira Harihararaya II of Vijayanagar dynasty. Another inscription stated that Deeva Raaja Odeya ruled the Mangalura Raajya in 1429 during the reign of Vijayanagara King Veera Devaraya II.

Various powers have fought for control over Mangalore. The major dynasties that ruled the town till the arrival of Portuguese were Kadambas, the Western Chalukyas, Rastrakutas, Alupas and Hoysalas. In 1520 the Portuguese took control of the area from Vijayanagara rulers, but in 1695, the town was burned by the Arabs in retaliation for Portuguese restrictions on Arab trade. Mysore sultan ruler Hyder Ali (1722–1782) conquered Mangalore in 1763, and it was under his administration till 1768, before being annexed by the British between 1768 and 1794. Later in 1794 Hyder Ali's son Tippu Sultan again took control of the area, but it was re-conquered by the British upon the fall of Srirangapatana in 1799. A part of the Madras Presidency up to Indian independence, Mangalore was merged into a unified Karnataka state in 1956.

[edit] Language and religion

Tulu, Kannada, Konkani and Beary bashe and Belchad are the widely spoken languages that are understood among Mangaloreans along with English. The official language is the state language Kannada.

Hinduism is followed by large number of the population. Among the indigenous Hindus, the Billavas, Bunts and Mogaveeras form the biggest groups, also Shivalli Brahmins and Gowd Saraswat Brahmins form a considerable portion of the Hindu population. Besides the Hindu pantheon of gods, divine spirits are also worshipped here.

St Aloysius Chapel

A significant part of the population of Mangalore consists of followers of Christianity; Konkani-speaking Catholics and Born Again Christians are the highest in number among the Christians. The Protestants (of various denominations) consist of an appreciable number of locals who speak Kannada, and Malayali population. Muslims constitute minority of the population, among them Beary form the 80% of total Muslim population and speak their own dialect called Beary bashe. There is also sizeable group of people who were basically land owners, following Jainism. Some famous Jain centers of pilgrimage are located here like Gomateshwara Betta in Karkala and Dharmastala and some more Jain temples in Moodabidri. Buddhism also flourished here in the early centuries. Mangalore may be renamed to its pre-colonial Kannada name Mangal Ooru or Mangalnagar.

[edit] Transportation

Mangalore's location makes it accessible by all forms of transport: road, rail, air and sea. It is notable here that a native of Mangalore U. Srinivas Mallya (a Member of the Indian Parliament) was instrumental in getting the National Highway system, the Mangalore Airport and the New Mangalore Port to Mangalore. In his tribute there is a statue of him along NH 17 near the Kadri Park, and another at the entrance of the New Mangalore Harbour.

[edit] Roads

Jyothi Talkies

Three National Highways pass through Mangalore connecting the city to the rest of the country. NH-17, which runs from Panvel (in Maharashtra) to Cranganur Junction (near Edapally in Kerala), passes through Mangalore in a north-south direction, while NH-48 runs eastward to the state capital Bangalore. NH-13 runs north-east from Mangalore to Sholapur, and a state highway connects it to the city of Mysore passing through the hill town of Madikeri. There are about 300 buses from Bangalore to Mangalore on daily basis.

Currently this cluster of highways is inadequate to handle the traffic that flows through the region, resulting in a NHAI has decided to upgrade the national highways connecting New Mangalore Port to Surathkal on NH-17 and B.C. Road junction on NH-48.^[3] Under the port connectivity programme of the National Highway Development Project (NHDP), a 37.5km stretch or these highways will be upgraded from two-lane to four-lane roads.

[edit] Local public transport

Mangalore's city bus service is operated by private operators, with routes covering the full extent of the city and beyond. There are two distinct sets of routes for the buses, with the city routes being covered by city buses, and the intercity routes being covered by service and express buses. Service buses essentially touch all towns and villages on the intercity route, while express buses reach their destination with very limited or no stops in between.

Another mode for local transportation is the autorickshaw. This three wheeled vehicle operated within the city, often reaching places not covered by the routes of the city buses. While they are costlier than a bus ride, they are very convenient and a popular mode of transport.

[edit] Railways

The Mangalore Railway Station used to be the last station connecting Mangalore to the state of Kerala in the south and to the rest of the country. While the British had left behind an extensive railway network when they left India, the stretch between Mangalore - Mumbai, and Mangalore - Hassan had never been connected.

A metre gauge railway track was built through the Western Ghats in the east, connecting Mangalore with Hassan. While this provided a very picturesque journey, it was not very successful, and the tracks were removed several years later to be replaced with a broad gauge line. However, due to lack of funds, and official apathy, and political backtracking and hard lobbying by the surface transport sector(REf: Times of India 6th April 2007)^{[citation needed]}, the conversion project was halted for several years. It has since resumed and some sections of this track are now functional. The broad gauge track connecting Mangalore to Bangalore via Hassan is open for freight traffic since May 2006.^[4] Movement of passenger traffic was supposed to start after December 2006. A certification on track safety is still awaited. As per news reports, passenger traffic will resume in May 2007

When India got independence Mangalore was not connected to Mumbai by rail. The railway network established by the British terminated at Mangalore. Since independence there was a strong need to connect Mangalore to Mumbai and hence the Konkan Railway came into being. The project was completed in 1998 and since then the travel time to the north of the country have come down considerably.

[edit] Sea

Sunset at Panambur beach

The Mangalore Harbour provides a connection by sea to the rest of the world. Currently dry, bulk and fluid cargos are handled by the New Mangalore Port, providing an important gateway to the state of Karnataka. It is also the station for the Coast Guard. The modern artificial harbour 10 km north of the town, is now India's ninth largest cargo handling port.^[5]

[edit] Air

Mangalore International Airport (IATA: IXE) is located near Bajpe, around 20km north-east of the city centre. Until 2005, its small 1.6 km (5,200 ft) runway meant that it could only handle Boeing 737-sized aircraft. However, on January 10, 2006 an Airbus 319 of Kingfisher Airlines was the first aircraft in that class to land on this runway.^[6] A new international length (2.9 km) runway was constructed and commissioned on 10 May 2006. With this Mangalore Airport is the first airport in Karnataka to have two runways,^[7] and a runway which is made fully of concrete.^[8]

With larger aircraft now able to fly to Mangalore, a proposal to build a new terminal building, which will reduce the distance between Mangalore city and the airport by about 7km, is under consideration. Construction of the terminal building would start likely in January 2007 and take about 19 months time according to the Airports Authority of India.^[9]

At present, daily flights are available to Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai, and international flights are available to the Gulf countries. On 3 October 2006, an Air-India Express Boeing 737-800 (flight IX-802) from Dubai became the first international flight to land at Mangalore, touching down at 6:11 (IST).^[10] Now there are flights from Mangalore to Abu Dhabi, Muscat, Bahrain and Doha. The frequency of flights to Mangalore from Dubai has been increased to five times a week. The number of passengers using Mangalore Airport has gone up by 100% last year.(From 2.6 lakhs to almost 5 lakhs)

[edit] Industry

Mangalore's economy is dominated by agricultural processing and port-related activities. Imports include tropical timber from south-east Asia for furniture making, a necessity since India places major restrictions on its own teak felling. The port handles 75% of India’s coffee exports and the bulk of its cashew nuts. The latter are brought from many coastal areas (notably from Kerala); the National Cashew research centre is nearby at Puttur. Mangalore roof tiles are famous all over India. The roof tiles made from red clay and baked, is used as roof in many parts of the country. There is rapid decline in this industry due to use of RCC roofs.

Mangalore is home to the automobile leaf spring industry. In 1950 the Canara Workshops Ltd started production under the brand name Canara Springs, and in 1976 Lamina Suspension Products Ltd stared production under the brand name Lamina. Thereafter various small scale manufacturers have put up shop in the industrial area at Baikampady to manufacture leaf springs. Over the period there has been a lot of consolidation because of some of the smaller units shutting down. Currently there are about six or seven units producing about one thousand metric tonnes of leaf springs per month. They cater almost entirely to the replacement or after market of South India. Beedi rolling industry is also famous in Mangalore.

The major industries in Mangalore are Mangalore Chemical and Fertilizers Ltd., Kuduremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd., Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd, BASF, ELF GAS.

[edit] Modern industry

Major information technology and outsourcing companies have started locating their facilities in Mangalore. IT major Infosys was one of the first to move in and establish a large presence. Wipro also plans to set-up its development facility soon in Mangalore. Outsourcing major MPhasis BPO was one of the first outsourcing companies to set up their facilities near the city. First Indian corporation,a division of First American corporation has set up shop in the Manasa Towers on MG Road.

Three dedicated IT parks are currently under construction. Two such parks are under construction, one Export Promotion Industrial Park (EPIP) at Ganjimatt and a second IT SEZ near Mangalore University. A third IT SEZ is being proposed at Ganjimat. Another IT SEZ of 2 million square feet is under construction at Thumbay by the BA group. This will include a business centre, convention centre, Mall and helipad facility.^[11]

The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation ONGC plans to invest over Rs. 35,000 crore in a new 15 million tonnes refinery, petrochemical plant and power and LNG plants at the Mangalore Special Economic Zone. This will be the first Petroleum, Chemicals, Petrochemicals Investment Region (PCPIR) of the country.^[12]

The recent investors meet in Mangalore received proposals worth more than 3,000 crores in the IT and Hospitality sectors. 67,000 new jobs would be created in Mangalore by TCS, Wipro, KEL and a few other companies.^{[citation needed]} This does not however include the massive expansion by Infosys.

Thus, with rapid strides in the nearby future Mangalore is well on its course to be one of the most promising future Metropolis of India. Is expected to house a number of well known IT Companies in the nearby future, thereby providing a serious alternative to Bangalore for the aspiring IT professionals. According to International edition of 'India Today' (November 28-December 4'th,2006),Mangalore is the fastest growing non metro in the south followed by Kochi.

[edit] Banking and finance

Three of the nineteen nationalised banks were established in Mangalore during the first half of the 20th century. The three banks are:-

• Corporation Bank (founded in 1906 by Late Khan Bahadur Haji Abdulla Haji Kasim Saheb Bahadur)
• Canara Bank (founded in 1906 by Late Shri Ammembal Subba Rao Pai)
• Vijaya Bank (founded in 1931 by Late Shri A B Shetty)

In addition to these three there was one more which was established in nearby Manipal, and one more which was not nationalised. These two banks are:-

• Syndicate Bank, (co-founded in 1924 by Dr. T M A Pai and Sri Upendra Ananth Pai in Manipal, along with a Mangalorean Sri V S Kudva.
• Karnataka Bank, (founded in 1924 one of the larger private sector banks which escaped nationalisation)

These banks are considered quality institutions across the country - the national character taken on with nationalisation has been combined with the culture and quality of service inculcated by the founders. Prior to nationalisation, these banks were stewarded by very efficient and competent teams of managers, predominantly Mangaloreans. During this tremendous growth phase, these banks spawned a whole generation of bankers from Mangalore across these firms from the top to bottom. A large proportion of the Konkani, Bunt and brahmin community from Mangalore were at one point employed by these banks.

While Karnataka Bank and Corporation Bank are still head quartered in Mangalore, Vijaya Bank and Canara Bank are head quartered in Bangalore and Syndicate Bank is head quartered in Manipal. Even to date, a large proportion of employees at all levels in these banks are of Mangalorean origin.

[edit] Traditional areas

Fishing in Mukkah, near Mangalore

Mangalore developed as a fishing town and this has been maintained to this day, with the local diet maintaining a high proportion of fish. The fishing industry employs thousands of people, and their produce is exported from around the region.

The nationalisation of the banking sector was a big blow to the Mangalorean economy, but it has not affected the entrepreneurial spirit of the population. Mangalorean firms have had a major presence in the tile, beedi, coffee and cashewnut industry, although the tile industry has been in decline due to the predominance of concrete in the modern construction.

[edit] Education

With the growth of the banking institutions in the early 20th Century, Mangalore had a large middle class and affluent population. Also, Mangaloreans have always placed high emphasis on education. The combination of the above two factors resulted in the establishment of some quality educational institutions, including:-

Click here for partial list of educational institutions

Since the 1980s, there have been a large number of professional institutions established in a variety of fields including engineering, medicine, dentistry and hotel management. These institutions attract students from all over the country due to the quality of their programs.

On 10 September 1980, the Mangalore University was established. It caters to the higher educational needs of Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Kodagu districts. The University Campus has become a major centre for advanced academic studies and research. Although Mangalore University is one of the youngest universities in the country, it has within its ambit some of the oldest and prestigious institutions of higher learning. Besides 26 post graduate departments offering different Post Graduate programmes on the Campus, the University has 118 affiliated colleges (including two constituent colleges) imparting education in the field of arts, commerce and management, science, law and education.Counted among the premier dental institutions in the country, the A.B. Shetty Memorial Institute of Dental sciences is located near the managlore university.

[edit] Culture

Photo of a 100 year old peepal tree in Mangalore that was moved to a new place instead of being cut down when the concrete four lane road from Lady Hill to Durga Mahal road was laid.

Mangalore is a multi-cultural city that speaks four local langauages Konkani, Kannada, Beary and Tulu apart from Hindi, Urdu and English. The communities include Konkani (Gaud Saraswat Brahmins, Saraswats, Roman Catholics), Tuluva (Bunts, mogaveeras, Billavas , Dalits etc), kannada speaking brahmins, and Beary speaking muslims.

With several famous pilgrim centres, a trip to Mangalore is incomplete without watching the classic Yakshagana - an elaborate dance - drama performance unique to Karnataka. A night-long event, with people adorned vibrantly, and dancing to the beat of drums, Yakshagana performance attracts thousands of people.

Hulivesha (Tiger dance) is a unique form of folk dance in Dakshina Kannada that fascinates the young and the old alike. Since tiger is considered as the favored carrier of Goddess Sharada (the deity in whose honor Dussera is celebrated), this dance is performed during the Dussera celebration. It is also performed during other festivals like Krishna Janmasthami. Bhuta Kola or spirit worship is practised here. Bhuta kola is usually done at night. Kambala or buffalo race is also conducted in water filled paddy fields. Korikatta (Cockfight) is another favourite sport for village people.

Theru/ Rathotsava (Car Festival) is one of the major festivals for the konkani community. The Car festival of the Sri Venkatramana Temple is very famous and attracts over one lakh visitors to this festivals predominantly the konkani community from the South Kanara district.

Mangalore has had a tradition for strength in education, and accordingly has become a focus for local media. Despite its relatively small size, it has its own versions of national English-language newspapers like the Deccan Herald, The Times of India, and The Hindu, as well as several local-language publications.

Annual festivals are promoted during summer every year. This has been used to promote commaraderie and has been called as Karavali Utsav, Kudlostava to promote the local cultural events.

[edit] Cuisine

Mangalorean cuisine is largely influenced by South Indian Cuisine. Mangalorean curry uses a lot of coconut and curry leaves. Ginger, garlic and chilli is also used in curry. Mangalorean fish curry is known for its taste in the whole of coastal Karnataka.

Some of the famous dishes are: Kori Rotti, Bangude Pulimunchi, Beeja-Manoli Upkari, Boothai Gasi, Kadubu among others. The Konkani cummunity has its specialities that include Pathrado, beebe-upkari (cashew based), val val, avnas ambe sasam.

[edit] Meteorology

A view of the Kadri Park

The most pleasant months in Mangalore are from December to February - at this time of the year the humidity and temperatures are the lowest by Mangalore standards. Day time temperatures fall below 30°C and night time temperatures fall below 20°C.

This pleasant season is soon followed by a "hot" summer season from March to May, when temperatures rise as high as 38°C. However, a high relative humidity of more than 90% makes it feel above 40°C.

This is soon followed by the monsoon season. Mangalore receives very heavy rainfall compared with other urban centres in India. Rains measuring up to 4000 mm fall during the period from June to September. The rains finally subside in September, with the occasional rainfall catching people unaware in October.

[edit] Nearby places

Mangalore is the chief city of the Tulu Nadu region. Known for its religious places of worship, the region is also blessed with green fields, water falls, beautiful beaches, and a rich variety of flora and fauna.

Click here for partial list of nearby places

[edit] Notable people from Mangalore

Click here for list of Notable people of Mangalore

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Mangalore City Corporation Website
• Mangalore University
• Mangalore City Website