Mangalore derives its name from the local Hindu deity Mangaladevi. It developed as a port on the Arabian Sea – remaining, to this day, a major port of India. Lying on the backwaters of the Netravati and Gurupura rivers, Mangalore is often used as a staging point for sea traffic along the Malabar Coast. The city has a tropical climate and lies on the path of the Arabian Sea branch of the South-West monsoons. Mangalore’s port handles 75% of India’s coffee exports and the bulk of the nation’s cashew exports.
It is a centre for the export of coffee and cashew nuts. The city has a modern port now. The major home industries are Beedi’s, Tiles, cashew and coffee curing and fishing. It has a panorama of palm-fringed beaches, lush green fields and enchanting forests. It is sheltered by the soaring western ghats on the east and the mighty Arabian sea roaring along its western shores. With an important port, this coastal town is a major commercial centre. Though developed as a business and commercial centres Mangalore still retains its old world charm-old tile-roofed buildings amidst coconut groves, fishing boats silhouetted against the darkening skyline, fishermen hauling in rich catch of fish, sea food served in spicy coconut curries.
This land is hailed as "Parashurama Srusti". The Taulava kings ruled this land of beauty and plenty in the days of yore. Goddess Devi who is Vindhyavasini, in her resplendent glory, once felt an irresistible desire to grace the Taulava kingdom by her holy presence. Accordingly she chose her benevolent "adsthana" the place situated to the south of the Kadali Kshetra of Lord Manjunatha. Sage Parashurama, through his perspective gaze of knowledge, came to know of the Transcendental Mother’s bening arrival. Offering his obeisance to her, he hailed the goddess in slokas of scintillating brilliance and charm. The divine mother was immensely pleased with the devotion of Bhargava and told him that she would dwell in his place as "Mangala Devi" to be worshipped by devotees, with "Pujas" and "Utsavas" in the ages to come. She also ordained that since she would well in all her spiritual glory, Bhargava would receive her choicest blessings, for his "aradhana" of her in a mind that is chaste and pure. The Goddess, pleased with the divine wish of her beloved son, ordained the king Bhangaraja to construct the marvelous city of Mangalapura in her name so that his name too might reverberate in the distant corners of Baratha Varsha with its echoes of resonance. Bhangaraja, awoke from his dream, offered his prayers to the Goddess, and immediately set upon himself the task of rebuilding the temple and along with it the beautiful city, in the hallowed name of the divine mother.
Language and Religion
Tulu, Kannada, Konkani and Beary bashe are the widely spoken languages that are understood among Mangaloreans along with English, Hindi, and Urdu. The official language is 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 Gowda Saraswat Brahmanas form a considerable portion of the hindu population. Besides the Hindu pantheon of gods, divine spirits are also worshipped here.
Beaches Areas
- Panambur Beach and Panambur Rocks
- Tannirubhavi beach
- KREC Surathkal Beach & Light House
- Ullal Beach (Summersands)
- Someshwara beach
- Mukka beach
- Sasihithlu beach
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:-
- Kasturba Medical College (founded by Dr. T M A Pai of Manipal),
- National Institute of Technology, Karnataka (NITK) (formerly Karnataka Regional Engineering College (KREC))
- Manipal Institute of Technology
- St. Aloysius College, Mangalore Founded 1880
- University College Founded 1868 (formerly Government College)
- Saptagiri College of Hotel Management
- St. Agnes College Founded 1921
- Sri Rama Krishna College
- Canara College
- Mahatma Gandhi Memorial College
- NMAM Institute Of Technology - Nitte
- Sharada College
- Father Muller Charitable Institutions Founded 1880
- SDM Law college
- College of Fisheries
- Govindadasa College, Suratkal Founded 1967
- Mangalore University
- Shree Devi College of Hotel Management
- St. Joseph Engineering College
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 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.
Transportation
Mangalore is connected to the rest of India and the World by 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.
- By Air : Mangalore city is accessible by almost all the transportation systems. The airport is 20 km from the city center. One can take the locally available road transport medium to reach the airport to catch a flight.
- By Rail : The Mangalore train station is on the southern fringe of the city center. However, some of the trains stop at the Kankanadi Station situated 5 km east of the Mangalore main city.
- By Road : The road network is well maintained in the state, which connects it with the nearby places of importance. touristplacesinindia can arrange for you all types of land transport for your comfortable journey in Mangalore and throughout the Indian state of Karnataka.
- Sea : 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 Mangalor Port, providing an important gateway to the state of Karnataka. It is also the station for the Coast Guard. The modern port 10 km north of the town, is now India’s ninth largest cargo handling port.
Distance from major cities
- Ahmedabad 1434
- Allahabad 1916
- Bangalore 347
- Bhubaneshwar 1576
- Calcatta 3114
- Chennai 2199
- Coimbatore 296
- Delhi 3086
- Hyderabad 791
- Mumbai 1050
- Ooty 550
