Lalbagh+Bull Temple+Tipu Palace+Market+Lunch=Bangalore City Tour

Lalbagh, literally the red garden, is the famous botanical garden of Bangalore. It was laid down by Hyder Ali in the 1760's. Spread out over an area of 240 acres (about 100 hectares) this garden boasts of 800 genera, 2,100 species of plants and nearly 8,500 trees. Some other highlights of Lalbagh are - a 3 billion year rock; a 20-million year old fossil; the iconic Glass House modeled after the Crystal Palace in London; a mango tree planted by Hyder Ali himself; a British-era band stand; a tree branch which appears like the face of Ganesh; a 200-year old and most ominous-looking White Silk Cotton tree; a 300-ft tall Cook Pine tree named after the famous Captain Cook; trees planted by famous visitors to the Park over the years such as Queen Victoria, Khan Abdul Gafar Khan, Nikita Krushchev, Dag Hammerskjold, etc; and so on. A walk through the park is not only refreshing but also informative and invigorating.

The Big Bull of Bangalore has been drawing visitors to himself since 1537 when he was created by the Founder of Bangalore Magadi Kempe Gowda. Apparently, Kempe Gowda found a huge monolithic rock here which looked like a bull in its natural form and so he decided to give it a real look. The Bull (or Nandi) is the vehicle of Lord Shiva who is one of the three principal Hindu Gods. This is the fourth biggest among the seven monolithic big bulls found in South India. The Bull Temple and its environs are famous for Ground Nut Fair which is held in November every year. At the foothills of the hillock where the Nandi sits, there is a Ganesh temple famously called the Butter Ganesh. There are many more temples which are found in the whole complex which are worth visiting.

Vidhana Soudha is the most important landmark of Bangalore. It is the Parliament of the State of Karnataka and the seat of power. It was built in 1956 by Kengal Hanumanthayya, the then Chief Minister. It is very interesting to note that a critical remark made by a Russian delegation member in 1950 prompted the CM to initiate this building. And he chose to build it right across the British vestige in a way to dominate it. Built in neo-dravidian architecture, Vidhana Soudh can be considered as one of the Top 10 parliament buildings in the World. This building can only be seen from the outside since entry is not allowed.

Tipu Palace is a 220 year old palace which served as the summer residence of the King. It is built in teak wood and in typical Islamic architecture, showing the diwas-e-am and diwan-e-khas. A brief history of Tipu Sultan, his trysts with the French, the Anglo-Mysore wars, his contributions and controversies are all worth discussing at this venue. A visit to the Museum in the premises throws more light on how he came to be known as the Grandfather of Rocket Science in the whole world!

If you ever wanted to see typical India in action, the Krishna Rajendra Market is the place. There is enough and more in this Market and its environs for all your sensory organs. Vendors, workers, coolies, hawkers, buyers, cows, dogs, cylces, rickshaws, bikes, scooters, etc jostle for space with each other. Heaps of vegetables, fruits, flowers, spices, etc are found everywhere. But there is order, in this disorder! Come and experience this pulsating and throbbing Indian Market of essentials.