BANGALORE - THE GARDEN CITY The founding of present day Bangalore is attributed to the Magadi Chieftain, Kempe Gowda, who laid its foundations in 1537. According to local folklore the present name Bangalore, derives from 'Bendakalooru' or the town of boiled beans, a name given by Veera Ballala, a king of the Vijayanagar dynasty, who having lost his way in the forests was given a bowl of boiled beans by a kindly woman here. However that may be, the founding of the city is traced back to 1537 and it has seen the rule of the maharajas of Mysore mainly. One of the factors that has gone in to make Bangalore the fifth largest city in India today is its mild and healthy climate. A large number of people, many from outside the region have thus made the city their permanent home. Thus the city has a fairly large number of people who are retired from active life and others who are here for exclusive pleasure seeking.

Often termed as a garden city, Bangalore's climate has also drawn towards itself a large number of industries like the HAL and the Indian Telephone Industry and has become a premier manufacturing and commercial centre since the 1950s.

Amidst all this hectic activity, the city offers itself as an ideal base to explore the fascinating and culturally rich state of Karnataka. Visitors will find the ruins of the once powerful Vijayanagar empire, the sculpted wonders of Belur and Halebid, the awesome mausoleum of Bijapur and much more within easy reach. The city by itself offers extensive shopping opportunities, a rich fanfare of cuisine, hotels to suit all pockets and much cultural and other entertainment.A CITY OF LOVE - CALCUTTA
A city of love and warmth, sorrow and despair, dreams and hopes, poverty and squalor, grandeur and glory, Calcutta is compelling, effervescent, teeming with life and traditions a medley of moods, styles, cultures, politics, industry and commerce.

More than 300 years ago, Job Charnock, an English tradesman set up a trading post on the banks of the Ganga along the three-village nucleus. Gradually Europeans started setting up business and trade establishments, the moneyed class taking interest in banking and usury. The East India Company steadily encroached into matters of state.

The fate of the Nawabi rule was sealed in the Battle of Plassey and the English went ahead to seize power, a grip which loosened only 250 years later when power was transferred from the British Empire to the Indians.

Independent India has crossed 50 years and these five decades have seen many miracles. Calcutta has grown, remains a city of contrasts, a mix-up of light and shade, a strange medley of ancient and modern, skyscrapers and Victorian edifices, heaven of the rich and the poor as seldom found anywhere in the world.

There is so much to see in this incredible city. A million people from every corner of India stream across the massive Howrah Bridge, swarm around the Hooghly river, flock along the busy avenues, through its narrow lanes. Then you arrive at the great expanse of the Maidan, the heart of Calcutta.

Fort William, Victoria Memorial, Raj Bhavan, Palladian villas and the Botanical Gardens, the busy streets of Shyambazar, College Street and Kalighat, bookshops, art galleries, coffee houses all are part of Calcutta's varied and vibrant shades, the birthplace of Rabindranath Tagore and cradle of the Indian Renaissance.

Calcutta's fascination defies analysis. It is an addiction, an affair of the mind and heart. Anyone who has lived here can never be happy anywhere else in the world...CHENNAI - CITY OF HOLY SERPENT

Chennai, the largest city in southern India located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal, developed after 1639 when the British East India Company
established a fort and trading post at the small fishing village of Chennai.

Over the past three and a half centuries, the small fishing village has grown into a bustling metropolis which is especially known for its spaciousness which is lacking in other Indian cities, This characteristic is exemplified by the long esplanade called the Marina and which is lined by impressive buildings which remind the casual visitor of the long and inseparable association the city has had with the British.

Even elsewhere in the city, one cannot fail to notice the dominant British influences in the form of old cathedrals, buildings in the Indo-Saracenic style of architecture, wide tree lined avenues.

However, though the English legacy is undeniable, Chennai has continued to be a centre which has blended the foreign influence with the traditional Tamil-Hindu culture. As a city it continues to maintain the best of south Indian traditions. This is not surprising because the region was an important centre of Pallavan culture long before the British came here and the traces of which are to be found in the numerous old temple.

Thus, the unwary visitor will find Chennai more than just a gateway of South India. He shall find it a convenient base to peep into the varied aspects of traditional south Indian culture and life styles which inter- mingle with the modern city complete with its plush hotels and restaurants- offering a range of continental and typical, south Indian cuisine, long and uncrowded stretches of beaches, modern shopping centres which offer traditional handicrafts, textiles and much more peculiar to this part of India.

Besides the modern city itself, there are several interesting towns like Mamallapuram and Kanchipuram, each with a rich collection of ancient temples and an array of traditional handicrafts which are very much their own.IMMORTAL CITY - DELHI
Sprawling on the banks of the river Yamuna, Delhi, the capital of India, typifies the soul of the country. In time the city conceals within its bosom annals of civilisations that flourished for more than three thousand years. Indraprastha, according to legends, the city founded by the Pandavas in the times of the epic Mahabharata (circa 1500 B.C.), was located near the Old Fort that stands on a large mound overlooking the river.

Since those early days many dynasties and rulers flourished on its regal soil. The legacy of that past survives in the many monuments left behind by the regents, each a chronicle of the glory of its time and an imprint of the character of the ruler. Today, the city is a curious blend of the modern and traditional, skyscrapers, beautiful gardens and wide tree-lined avenues perpetuate the Mughal passion of landscaping and architectural excellence. More important, however, Delhi blends within its folds the great cultural variety of India; an unceasing range of activity, a million ways of saying 'You are Welcome'.
Mumbai - The business hub of India

Mumbai a cluster of seven islands, derives its name from Mumbadevi, the patron goddess of the Koli fisher folk, its oldest inhabitants.

Once a Portuguese princess' dowry and later an adornment of neo-gothic British architecture, Mumbai today, is more than just a metropolis. It is infact an enigma of mud huts & sky- scrapers, age old traditions & high fashions, the industrialists' heaven & movie makers' hollywood.

A lovely natural harbour and winding creek set off the city of Mumbai from the long, narrow coast of Western India.

Mumbai pulsates with activity. It is a city that is disciplined by no time frame-neither by day nor night. Mumbai is also the country's financial powerhouse, the nation's industrial heartland, and its economic nerve centre. Dazzling shopping arcades, exciting sport activity, night clubs and discotheques, theatre and music, gourmet restaurants and interesting sightseeing - Mumbai offers the visitor a heady mix of all this and more.THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - CITY OF HOLY SERPENT

The city of the thousand-headed Anantha, the holy serpent on which Lord Vishnu reclines, Thiruvananthapuram is one of the most beautiful cities of India. Perched on undulating terrain of low coastal hills near the southern edge of the Indian mainland, clean and green, Thiruvananthapuram, which was previously called Trivandrum, is an ancient city with trading tradition dating back to 1000 BC

The city is also a welcome departure from other large cities of India in its spacious layout and regulated life. Now the Capital of one of the most fascinating states of India, Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram is an important entry point into India with communication links to Maldives, Sri Lanka and many countries to the West of Arabian Sea. It is also an excellent base to explore the interiors of Kerala, the southernmost region of India, and from Kochi, the Lakshadweep Islands. The city offers all modern facilities needed by a visitor and is a centre for cultural activities. Andhra Pradesh, once a part of the Mauryan Empire during the reign of Ashoka, became an important Buddhist centre. One can still see evidences of the early Buddhist influence in Amravati and at Nagarjunakonda, one of the greatest archaeological sites in the country.
Later it came under the hegemony of the Chalukyas and in the 10th century was engulfed by the Chola kingdom. Subsequently, it witnessed the sway of the Muslim rulers and in 1713 A.D. it passed into the hands of a commander of the Mughal army under Aurangzeb.

Finally, it succumbed to the rule of the hereditary monarchs known as the Nizams of Hyderabad and remained with them till India attained independence.
The fifth largest state of India, Andhra Pradesh is irrigated by the mighty Krishna and the Godavari rivers and is aptly termed as the 'Rice Granary of India'. Telugu is the main language of communication though the Muslim rule has paved the way of Urdu also.

Andhra Pradesh is the home of rich cultural heritage and handicrafts. Kuchipudi, the classical dance originating from the state has vigorous choreography and is somewhat akin to Bharatanatyam. The craftsmen of Andhra have given to India their unique creations - Kalamkari vegetable dyed textiles, lacquer paintings from Nirmal, wood craft, Pochampalli silks, Hyderabad pearls and an extremely attractive and glittering array of glass bangles. Andhra Pradesh is also the home of the colorful Lambanis and Banjaras - Nomadic tribes and some of them turn up as pavement sellers offering their highly ornate long skirts and silver jewellery.

Climate:	Summer(March to June) - Warm Monsoon(July to August) - Warm Winter(November to February) - Cool and Pleasant
Clothing:	Summer - Cottons Winter - Cottons or light woollens.
Capital:	Hyderabad