If you find yourself in Bangalore (officially Bangaluru) I highly recommend a tour by a group called Bangalore Walks. The owner, Arun Pai, is a former engineer, who decided to change careers and explore the history of his home city...and he gives an absolutely fascinating look at the background of the place, including scientific and military history.

I was in Bangalore for a friend's wedding and the tour (on one of the days we weren't shopping for dresses, visiting the bride's relatives, or going to a party) was honestly one of the highlights of our trip--it was truly phenomenal.

Mr. Pai was incredibly informative about the history of the city, and how its history relates to other world events. One small historical footnote of particular interest to me: It was an Irishman with the name of Michael Lavelle (perhaps some distant relation of mine) who discovered gold near Bangalore. Due to the need to extract the gold from far below ground, Bangalore was one of the first places in India to have an electrical plant (hydro powered), which then led to it being a natural place for the Indian Institute of Science to be established; this set it on its path to be a science research center and tech hub, even today.

On our tour we visited an Anglican church and a Hindu temple, a local food market, saw dogs guarding family cows, some people living much as their families have done for centuries, and sparkling new office buildings and luxury shopping centers existing virtually side by side.

Website:

https://www.bangalorewalks.com/

Email: bangalorewalks@gmail.com

Images:

Laura LaVelle