From: naik@nynexst.com (Jay Naik)
Subject: Re: Bangalore - Our Own Beantown ?? 
Organization: Nynex Science and Technology
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 93 01:47:41 GMT




From: srini@ireq-num.hydro.qc.ca (Srinivasan K.)

|> Though I am no expert in archeologie, the following simple derivation
|> is a possibility. Can go with the 'veera gallu (kallu)' inscription
|> also.
|> beN (white) kallu/gallu (stone) ooru (city).
|> The area being stoney. It is not difficukt to to find 'white' or
|> shiny stones, unlike black stones which are more common.

	Yes, that is a plausible explanation. Indeed, it is one of several
 hypotheses for the origin of the word "bengaLooru", listed below. Some are 
 less off-the-wall than others! 
 
 1. bengaLooru <---  benda+kaalu+ooru "boiled-beans town", associated
    with the story of King VeeraballaaLa who got lost in the woods, chanced
    upon a hut, dined on a meal of boiled beans served  by the old woman 
    living in it and named the new town that he later built, after her 
    act of kindness.
      As I wrote previously, this hypothesis is very unlikely. The bEgooru
    inscription contradicts it and the whole story sounds suspiciously
    similar to the story of Alfred the Great and the burnt cake. 
   
    aside: the real VeeraballaaLa has a *very likely* connection with the
    fort in Bangalore (no, he did not build it), but that's for another
    post.

 2. bengaLooru <-- benda+kaadu+ooru "burnt forest town"
                   benda+kaadu+ooru --> bengaadooru --> benga(a)Looru

	Kempegowda, the founder of Bangalore in 1537, chose the site for its
    strategic location. He cleared the woods by torching it and then
    built a town and a mud fort around it.

    This seems more likely than 1. but again the bEgooru epigraph shoots
    this one out to the Bay of Bengal.

 3. bengaLooru <-- venkata+ooru "after venkatesha of tirupati" !!
				    --> venkatooru --> vengadooru --> bengadooru --> bengaLooru

    The story goes that Kempegowda, a vassal of the Vijayanagara empire
    was devoted to VenkataramaNa of tirupati and named the new town after
    the Deity. 
      
     None of the records of Kempegowda's time shows this association. 
    Presumably, if this theory is correct, the drift in pronunciation
    would not have occured in KG's own lifetime. But records of that
    time (or close to that time) use "bengaLooru", with no trace of Venkata.
    One the other hand, if one were to take this root back to the bEgooru
    period, it still wouldn't hold much water, since VenkataramaNa was not
    a popular name during that time.
      
 4. bengaLooru <-- bengala+ooru,  bengaLa from bengugaLa (bengu's)
                   bengu is another name for the honne tree (Indian birch)
     
     This theory, proposed by S.U. Kamath of Mysore Gazetteers, seems 
     plausible also.
     Honne trees (well known for their cool and fragrant shade) abound
     in and around Bangalore. 
     He claims that the bEgooru inscription actually says "bengulooru" and
     NOT "bengaLooru" (it IS rather murky :-( )
     He also claims that dravidian words vengu, vengi, etc. which mean the
     same (honne tree) lent their names to vengaLa naadu, and to 
     vengaLa naatha (vengaDanaatha of tirupati)!

     Hmmm...

 5. bengaLooru <-- bengal+ooru  "quartz town"
                    <-- beNgallu <-- beNachgallu <-- beNachu kallu == "quartz"

	The area in and around bangalore has quartz deposits. Quartz tools
    made by ancient humans have been found in the area. Perhaps, there were
    quartz quarries in times past in that area, which gave this name to the
    village/town. This hypothesis is quite likely and the bEgooru shaasana 
    would allow it too.

    And so it goes.....

   Cheers,
 -----------------------
   Jayant Naik