Study in Bangalore, India

Study in Bangalore, India

Noisy, crowded, lively, warm, and thronging with more than 8 million inhabitants–this is the city of Bengaluru. Once known as Bangalore (it changed its official name in 2006 to reflect the local pronunciation), this massive metropolis is still referred to in many international circles by its former name. This is a place of constant activity, densely packed with busy people and thriving businesses. It also has a tranquil side embodied in the public gardens that were once its most famous attribute. These, in the eyes of some visitors, rival even the exquisitely-landscaped gardens of Japan in terms of beauty and comfort. Curiously, Bengaluru in the local dialect means “the city of boiled beans.”
 
For most of its history, there has been little to distinguish Bangalore from its neighbors. Founded in the 16th century on the site of an already ancient temple, it remained a small town for hundreds of years. All of that changed in 1831 when the British came. Drawn by the region's comfortable climate, they declared Bangalore the capital of the region of Karnataka and accordingly made it a hub of communications and rail transportation. It retains this status to the present day.
 
When thinking of modern-day India, many people immediately think of the booming IT industry and the many jobs it has brought into the country. On both fronts, these impressions are largely the result of economic trends in Bangalore. Over the past several years, the city of boiled beans has become a magnet for high tech business, so much so that it has developed a reputation as Asia's answer to Silicon Valley. Countless US and European companies have opened offices in Bangalore, and several have relocated entirely.
 
The IT industry in Bangalore is fueled by the elite graduates of the local education system. The Indian Institute of Science, the flagship institution of scientific research in Bangalore, shares the city with dozens of other renowned colleges and universities. These are far too numerous to list individually, but include colleges that specialize in law, biotechnology, art and design, business management, neuroscience, and of course computer engineering and IT. With this high concentration of top-tier institutions of higher learning, Bangalore has become the dream destination for ambitious young students from all over India.
 
For foreign students, Bangalore offers an entirely different set of options. While the technical and scientific institutes are often closed to foreigners (or, at least, their admission standards for foreign applicants are so high as to make them unrealistic), the city has a number of programs specifically designed to cater to foreign students. For example, people from abroad often come to Bangalore in an effort to master Hindi through language classes–despite the fact that the local language in the area around Bangalore is Kannada, not Hindi. Bangalore is also home to a large number of Buddhist temples that offer meditation workshops and courses on the religion and philosophy of Buddhism. These are extremely popular with foreign students and modern pilgrims alike.