Karnataka

Kadamba, Chalukya, Hoysala and Vijayanagara legacies sit beside Mysore’s court culture and modern linguistic statehood. Temple complexes at Badami, Pattadakal and Hoysala centres record changing dynasties and building traditions. The Bahmani and successor sultanates, Vijayanagara and Mysore added further layers. The state formed in 1956 was renamed Karnataka in 1973, bringing together regions with different administrative histories.

A Kannada-speaking state spanning Deccan empires, coastal trade, living craft traditions and a global technology centre. Yakshagana joins music, costume, dialogue and movement in a living coastal theatre tradition. Vachana literature associated with twelfth-century reformers continues to inform debates about devotion and society. Tulu, Kodava, Konkani and Kannada cultural worlds overlap without becoming interchangeable. Food differs between the coast, the northern plains and the southern interior. Artisan workshops producing toys, textiles, paintings and metalwork are part of present-day culture alongside Bengaluru’s contemporary creative life.