Mangalore is one of the most important cities in Karnataka and it handles nearly three-fourths of the cashew and coffee exports from India. The city has a rich cultural identity and an eventful history. Bestowed with plenty of natural and man-made wonders, tourism is important here and the multiple hotels in Mangalore are a testament to this fact. Here are a few interesting facts about the city of Mangalore:
1. The city has nine different names and the most widely used one is Mangalore, which is its name in English. It is known as Mangaluru in Kannada and as Mangalapuram in Malayalam. In parts of Maharashtra where Konkani is spoken, the city is referred to as Kodial while other names include Kudla in Tulu and Maikala in Beary.
2. Rev. Kammer and Rev. Manner, who were German Missionaries arrived in Mangalore in the 19th century and did a lot of research on the language and culture of the people here. In fact, the first dictionaries wrote in Indian languages are both in Mangalorean languages.
3. Like most other cities in India, Mangalore has inhabitants that speak many different languages. Thanks to the presence of many budget hotels in Mangalore, there is a considerable number of tourists in the city throughout the year. English and Hindi are widely spoken, with languages like Kannada and Malayalam also being quite popular.
4. The longest train journey in India started from Mangalore and used to reach Peshawar. The city was the starting point of the Grand Trunk Express, which was operational in the days of the British Raj. Peshawar, now in Pakistan was an important city and the train journey took more than a hundred hours to complete.
5. The first magazine in the Kannada language was Mangaluru Samachara which was started by a German missionary named Hermann Mogling. This was back in the year 1843 and the pages were printed using stone slabs and ink. The four-page magazine was published fortnightly and had a variety of local and national news.
6. There are several references made about Mangalore in ancient Greek texts. In the 1st century AD, Pliny the Elder writes about Nitrias, a region infamous for pirates in the vicinity. Ptolemy and a few other Greek historians have made references about the Netravati River in Mangalore. It is believed that the city was an important trade hub even centuries ago and spices, especially pepper was traded in large quantities.
The city of Mangalore is well-known for being one of the most cosmopolitan regions of India besides the major metros. The lush green rolling hills dotted with palm trees and freshwater streams dominate the landscape of the city. The entire region is well-developed with easy access to quality healthcare and education.
Martin Wynn
