Hello, and welcome to The History Of Bangalore. I am your host Ramjee Chandran, and I invite you to join me in discovering the story of this fascinating city. Life in Bangalore like anywhere else begins in pre-history. Archaeological finds like tools, cave paintings, obelisks are all typical of the time of hunters and gatherers. In later years—when we found Roman coins that featured emperors like Augustus and Caligula—it told us that us we used to be on the famous trade route between south India and ancient Rome. But from the middle of the 8th century, history got closer. On stone inscriptions—that lie scattered all over Bangalore, even today—are the histories of people; tales of valour, of devotion, of life… of death. All of this came together with the foundation of modern Bangalore by Kempe Gowda in 1537—and then through the Marathas, Mughals, Hyder Ali, Tipu Sultan and the British, we now live in a city that has been coveted by dynasty after dynasty... no doubt because of our weather. Through conversations with historians and scholars—and sneezing through the dust of archived history—I rediscovered the Bangalore that I bring to you—without the myths and urban legends that have crept all over us like the overgrowth upon a lost city. I am Ramjee Chandran, and this is The History Of Bangalore. Let the journey begin. We gratefully acknowledge the support of the Prestige Group, that makes this podcast possible. Follow The History Of Bangalore on social, here: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/historyofbangalore/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HistoryOfBangalore Twitter: https://twitter.com/HistoryOfBLR YouTube: https://youtube.com/@HistoryOfBangalore?si=mnH3BsYfI4BUU234 You can follow Ramjee Chandran on Instagram and Twitter: @ramjeechandran The theme music for the show was composed by German-Indian Koln based percussionist, Ramesh Shotham.