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Karnataka: unravel the mystery

Karnataka, less visited and waiting to be discovered… Hidden behind its colours, the state awaits you amidst green hills and valleys, beneath rocks, hilltops and seas, around long, winding roads, along coasts and plains, within dense forests and caves, through art, culture and heritage, below the every sunset and blue moon, different colours outlined in one bold border – Karnataka.

South of India, and originally named State of Mysore, it was renamed Karnataka in 1973.

Karnataka is derived from the Kannada words karu and nādu, meaning elevated land. Karunadu may also be read as Karu (black) and nadu (region), as a reference to the black cotton soil found in the Bayaluseeme region of Karnataka. During the British Raj, the word Carnatic or Karnatak was used to describe this part of the region in general.

It is India’s eighth largest by area, ninth largest by population and comprises of 29 districts. Kannada and dialects derived from it are widely spoken in Karnataka.

Karnataka has also been home to some of the most powerful empires of ancient India. Great philosophers and musical bards patronised by these empires launched socio-religious and literary movements whose ennobling effects have been felt far and wide. Karnataka has contributed significantly to both forms of Indian classical music, Carnatic and Hindustani traditions. Well known for its rich literature in Kannada, writers from Karnataka have bagged the most number of Jnanpith awards in India.

A popular anecdote recounts that the 11th-century Hoysala king Veera Ballala II, while on a hunting expedition, lost his way in the forest. Tired and hungry, he came across a poor old woman who served him boiled beans. The grateful king named the place "benda kaal-ooru" which means "town of boiled beans", which was eventually colloquialised to "Bengaluru and further anglicized Bangalore.

Karnataka is a lifetime of journeys. The Blue Yonder takes you to the undiscovered places in Karnataka giving you the experiences of lifetime. Just set foot in, you’ll just keep travelling on…