Karnataka's history dates back to the 3rd Century BC. The succession of able administrators from the Hoysalas, Chalukyas and the mighty Vijayanagara rulers, to the arrival of the Mughals in the 17th century and the British in the 18th Century have contributed to the mix of culture and heritage that is as rich as it is ancient.
Karnataka is bordered by the Arabian Sea in the west, Goa in the northwest, Maharashtra in the north, Andhra Pradesh in the east, Tamil Nadu in the south and Kerala in the southwest. Topographically, Karnataka consists of the Arabian Sea Coast , Western Ghats , Deccan Plateau and Eastern Ghats .
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Facts at a glance
Capital: Bangalore
Districts: 28
Languages: Kannada, Tulu, Konkani, Kodava, Hindi, English
Currency: Indian Rupee
Area: 1,91,791 sq km
Religions : Hinduism, Islam, Christianity and Jainism
Population : 5,27,33,958 (2001 census)
Time : GMT + 5:30
Climate: Salubrious for the major part of the year. Karnataka enjoys a tropical climate with three distinct seasons-hot and dry from February to May (average temperature 34 degrees Celsius and 75% humidity); rainy with plenty of sunshine from June to October (average day temperature 29 degrees Celsius and 87% humidity); and cool from November to January (temperatures range from 32 degrees Celsius to below 20 degrees Celsius with a drop in humidity).
Much lower temperatures are experienced in the North and Northeast during nighttime. The South has a tropical rainforest climate with temperatures averaging 28 degrees Celsius almost all year round.
The people of Karnataka have been living in intimate and mutually beneficial contact with all their immediate neighbours namely, the Marathas, the Andhras, the Tamilians and the Malayalis. Adi Shankara established one of his principal monasteries at Sringeri. Sri Ramanuja made a sojourn of several years at Melukote. He brought the families of several Srivaishnava devotees along with him. There is a group known as Sanketis, speaking a Tamil dialect. They migrated into Karnataka from Tamil Nadu from a place called Shencottah. The names of other group indicate the place of their origin. Badaga Nadu means people who came from the North.
The Okkaligas have maintained their identity for over a thousand years. They have existed as a separate class from the time of the Gangas of Talkad. The Voddas (masons) once classed as a criminal tribe, came originally from Orrisa. The Lambanis were camp followers of the invading Maratha armies in the 17th century. Hyder Ali encouraged gardeners called Tigalas to migrate from Tamil Nadu to Bangalore and thus, helped in the laying out of Lal Bagh.
A large number of Malayali families have migrated into the Mysore district. Tradesmen (Byaris), priests and plantation labourers from Kerala have always found lucrative jobs in Coorg and South Kanara. The Kannada spoken in this area is influenced considerably by the speech habits of the southern neighbours. The public sector industries established in Bangalore attract thousands of skilled workers from Kerala.
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