the awe-inspiring diversity of the land of Karnataka presented in a nutshell

1. Karnataka

2. One of the principal states of South India, Karnataka was
formed on 1 November 1956 with the passage of the States
Reorganisation Act in the Indian Parliament. Originally
known as the State of Mysore, it was renamed Karnataka
in 1973.
Bordered by the Arabian Sea and the Lakshadwip Sea
to the west, Goa to the north west, Maharashtra to the
north, Telangana to the North east, Andhra Pradesh to
the east, Tamil Nadu to the south east, and Kerala to the
southwest. It is the seventh largest Indian state covering
an area of 191,976 square kilometres(74,122 sq mi), or
5.83 per cent of the total geographical area of India.
With 61,130,704 inhabitants at the 2011 census,
Karnataka is the eighth largest state by population,
comprising 30 districts.
The State of Karnataka

3. The Geography
Karnataka is situated on a tableland where the Western and Eastern Ghat ranges
converge into the Nilgiri hills, in the western part of the Deccan Peninsular
region of India.
Three principal physical zones divide the land-
• The coastal strip, called Karavali, between the Western Ghats and the
Arabian Sea, which is lowland with moderate to high rainfall levels.
• The Western Ghats, called Malenadu, a mountain range inland from
the Arabian Sea, rising to about 900 m average height, and with
moderate to high rainfall levels and
• The Deccan Plateau, called Bayalu Seeme, comprising the main inland
region of the state, which is drier verging on the semi-arid.

4. The Rivers
The two main river systems of the state are
the Krishna and its tributaries, the Bhima,
Ghataprabha, Vedavathi, Malaprabha, and
Tungabhadra, in the north, and the Kaveri
and its tributaries, the Hemavati, Shimsha,
Arkavati, Lakshmana Thirtha and Kabini, in
the south. Both these rivers flow out of
Karnataka eastward into the Bay of Bengal.
All of these are rainfed rivers.

5. Climate and Rainfall
Karnataka has the following four seasons in the year:
• The winter season from January to February
• The summer season from March to May
• The monsoon season from May to September and
• The post-monsoon season from October to December.
The post-monsoon (period of retreating) and winter seasons are generally pleasant over the
entire state. The summer months are hot, very dry and generally uncomfortable.
The southwest monsoon accounts for almost 80% of the rainfall that the state
receives. The annual rainfall across the state ranges from low 50 cm to copious
350 cm. The districts of Bijapur, Raichur, Bellary and Southern half of Gulbarga
experience the lowest rainfall ranging from 50 to 60 cm while the west coastal
region and Malenadu enjoy the highest rainfall.

6. Karnataka has great diversity in flora and fauna. It has a forest area of
38,720 sq.km.
• Wild animals that are found in Karnataka include the elephant, the
tiger, the leopard, the gaur, the sambar deer, the chital or spotted
deer, the muntjac, the bonnet macaque, the slender loris, the
common palm civet, the small Indian civet, the sloth bear, the
dhole, the striped hyena and the golden jackal.
• Some of the birds found here are the great hornbill, the Malabar
pied hornbill, the Ceylon frogmouth, herons, ducks, kites, eagles,
falcons, quails, partridges, lapwings, sandpipers, pigeons, doves,
parakeets, cuckoos, owls, nightjars, swifts, kingfishers, bee-eaters and
munias among many others.
• Some species of trees found in Karnataka are Callophyllum
tomentosa, Callophyllum wightianum, Garcina cambogia, Garcina
morealla, Alstonia scholaris, Flacourtia montana, Artocarpus
hirsutus, Artocarpus lacoocha, Cinnamomum zeylanicum, Grewia
tilaefolia, Santalum album, Shorea talura etc.
Flora and Fauna

7. Antiquity and Heritage
The word Karnataka is believed to have been derived from the Kannada words ‘karu’ and
‘nadu’ literally translating to ‘elevated land’ which refers to the Deccan Plateau.
Prehistory of the region dates back to Palaeolithic times. Historical evidence indicates
ties with ancient Indus Valley civilisation ca.3300 BC.
The history of Karnataka goes back to epics “Ramayana” and “Mahabharatha”. The
capital of “Vaali” and “Sugriva” of the epic, Ramayana, is said to be Hampi. Karnataka
finds its mention in Mahabharatha in the form of “Karnata Desha”.
During the 4th and 3rd century BC. Karnataka was a part of the Nanda and Maurya
empires. Out of the numerous royal dynasties to have ruled the land through history ,
Banavasi Kadamba, the Chalukyas of Badami, the Rashtrkutas of Manyakhet and
Kalyan, the Hoysalas of Dwarsamudra, the empire of Vijaynagar, the Wodeyars of
Mysore and the Sulatanate of Srirangapatnam deserve special mention.

8. Agriculture
A total of 123,100 km² of land is cultivated in Karnataka
constituting 64.6% of the total geographical area of the state while
farmers and agricultural labourers form 56% of the current
workforce of Karnataka.
The state has three agricultural seasons – Kharif (April to
September), Rabi (October to December) and Summer (January to
March).
The main crops grown here are- rice, ragi, jowar, maize, and pulses
(Tur and gram) besides oilseeds and number of cash
crops. Cashews, coconut, arecanut, cardamom, chillies and
tobacco are among the other crops produced in the state. Karnataka
is the largest producer of coarse cereals, coffee and raw silk among
the states in India.
Horticulture and floriculture together constitute a sizeable portion of
the state’s revenue from agriculture.

9. Industry
Karnataka has developed into the manufacturing hub some of the largest public
sector industries in India. Some of the major industries of Karnataka include:
 Electrical equipments and machinery manufacture (Kirloskar, Larsen and
Toubro etc.)
 Automobile manufacture (TVS Motors, Tata Motors and Toyota)
 Steel production (Jindal, Kirloskar and Kalyani groups)
 Petroleum refining (Mangalore Refining and Petrochemicals Ltd.)
 Pharmaceutical and Textile processing
 Mining and extraction of minerals from ore is a major industry in Karnataka.
Iron ore, quartz, limestone, manganese and bauxite are some of the minerals
found here. Gold is mined and extracted from the mines of Hutti in Chitradurga.
 Karnataka is the Indian leader in Information technology sector. A total of 1973
companies are involved in IT business in Karnataka majority of which are based
in Bangalore. IT giants like Wipro and Infosys have their headquarters in thestate.

10. Art and Culture
The southern state of Karnataka, in India, has a distinct art and
culture. The diverse linguistic and religious ethnicity that are native
to state of Karnataka combined with their long histories have
contributed immensely to the varied cultural heritage of the state.
Music: Karnataka is the only Indian state where both Hindusthani
and Carnatic singers flourish. North Karnataka is predominantly
famous for Hindusthani music while the south is well known for
Carnatic music.
Painting: The Bengal renaissance, along with the general influence
of Ravi Varma school of painting, influenced the Mysore school of
painting. King Krishnaraja Wodeyar III patronised famous painters
including Sundarayya, Thanjavur Kondayya and Alasinrayya.
Folk art: The traditional folk arts cover the entire gamut of music,
dance, drama, storytelling by itinerant troupes, etc. Yakshagana, a
classical folk play, is one of the major theatrical forms of coastal
Karnataka.

11. The cuisine of Karnataka includes many vegetarian and non-vegetarian cuisines. The Kannada
Cuisine is one of the oldest surviving cuisines and traces its origin to 1500 AD.
Some typical dishes include Jolada rotti, Akki rotti, Saaru, Idli-vada-sambar, Khara
Bath, Kesari Bath, Davanagere Benne Dosa, Paddu/ Gundponglu, koli saaru (chicken
curry- Kannada Style), Maamsa Saaru (Mutton Curry - Kannada style), and Uppittu.
The famous Masala Dosa traces its origin to Udupi cuisine. Plain and Rave Idli, Mysore
Masala Dosa and Maddur Vade are popular in South Karnataka.
Kodagu (Coorg) district is famous for spicy varieties of pork curries while coastal
Karnataka boasts of many tasty seafood specialities.
Among sweets, Mysore Pak, Holige, or Obbattu, Dharwad pedha, Chiroti, Sajjige,
Kadabu/Karjikaayi are well known.
While the northern-style dishes use jola and rice as the primary cereals , ragi and
rice are the popular choices in the south. Through years of evolution some distinct
subtypes have developed within these two basic types like Malenadu, Udupi,
Kodagu and Mangalorean cuisines.
The Cuisine

12. Festivals of Karnataka
Due to the presence of a vibrant multi-ethnic culture
festivals of all religions are celebrated with equal
enthusiasm and fervour across the state. Apart from
festivals like Christmas and Id-ul Fitr which are
observed like anywhere else, a few deserve special
mention. They include: Dussera in Mysore,
Ugadi(Kannada new year), Vairamudi festival and
Kambala in north Karnataka, Yellavva(celebrated by
women) and the most important- Kannada
Rajyotsav.

13. Tourism
Karnataka has been ranked as the fifth most popular state in the country for tourism. By virtue of its
varied geography and long history, Karnataka hosts numerous exciting tourist destinations. It is
home to 507 centrally protected monuments in India. Out of the many hotspots some of the
notable ones are :
 Eco-tourism locations in the Western Ghats and southern districts of the state. Karnataka
has 25 wildlife sanctuaries and five national parks. Popular among them are Bandipur
Wildlife Sanctuary, Bannerghatta National Park and Nagarhole Reserve Forest.
 The ruins of the Vijayanagara Empire at Hampi and the monuments of Pattadakal
which feature on the list of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites.
 The cave temples at Badami and the rock-cut temples at Aihole representing the Badami
Chalukyan style of architecture.
 The Gol Gumbaz and Ibrahim Rauza are famous examples of the Deccan Sultanate style
of architecture.
 popular beaches dotting the coastline, including Murudeshwara, Gokarna, Malpe and
Karwar.

14. Bengaluru, the capital of Karnataka is known as the "Garden City of India" because of its
gentle climate, broad streets, greenery and the presence of many public parks, such asLal
Bagh and Cubbon Park. Bengaluru is the second-fastest growing major metropolis in India.
Population of about 8.42 million and a metropolitan population of about 8.49 million
makes Bengaluru the third most populous city in India.
Bengaluru is known as the "Silicon Valley of India" because of its role as the nation's
leading information technology (IT) exporter. Indian technological
organizations ISRO, Infosys and Wipro are headquartered in the city.
Home to many educational and research institutions in India, such as Indian Institute of
Science (IISc), Indian Institute of Management (Bangalore) (IIMB), National Institute of
Design, Bangalore (NID R&D Campus), National Law School of India University (NLSIU)
and National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS).
The city houses the Kannada film industry which produces about 80 films per year.
The Garden City

15. Colours of Karnataka

16. Thank You !