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Sunday, January 13, 2013

Lore from Banga-lore

Lore from Banga-lore 


(Note: The leaves seen in the image is of benga tree)


Whats in a name you might wonder! or do you wonder whats behind the name. Like me!

Specially since all the noise about Bangalore getting a name change.But the name Bengaluru, though, appears to be catching up fast, with several major corporate houses and television channels adopting the new name.
Few are worried about the city’s brand value diminishing , while some say it goes with local culture.
Unlike the debates over the name change of most other cities in India (Bombay to Mumbai, Calcutta to Kolkata, Madras to Chennai, Trivandrum to Thiruvanantapuram) and elsewhere in the world (Peking to Beijing, Edo to Tokyo, Constantinople to Istanbul, etc.), the debate over the name ‘change’ of Bangalore is happening at the local, national and global levels.Being a city with high immigrant population, some media polls show that the majority of its people are not in favour of the name 'Bengaluru'. But, one feels that the change will be quickly adapted and ‘brand’ Bangalore will remain intact the world over, as with Mumbai and Chennai. It will be business as usual
This got me all curious & i did some research on Bangalore city name. i foundsome real interesting lores on Bangalore .
This post is on one of the lores.. very interesting one ...read on :-)

Heard of the Indian kino tree? No?

What about Malabar teak ? No?

Atleast have you heard of benga tree? No? What about benga-luru? Come on tell me you heard of bengaluru! Yes u have :-) .
In kannada ‘uru’ means place .So a place where benga tree is found is called bengaluru the anglicised Version is “BANGALORE .Amazing how places get their names right?

Some historians believe that the name Bangalore was derived from the ‘benga’ or ‘ven kai’ tree.

Pterocarpus marsupium, or the Indian Kino Tree is a medium to large, deciduous tree that can grow up to 30 metres tall. It is native to India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, where it occurs in parts of the Western Ghats in the Karnataka-Kerala region. It is also known by the names Malabar Kino, Benga, Bijiayasal (in western Nepal), Piasal (Oriya[2]), Venkai, and many others.[3]

One can find benga tree lining vast stretches in bengaluruJ


Some Uses of Benga

Parts of the Indian Kino (heart wood, leaves, flowers) have long been used for their medicinal properties in Ayurveda. The heart wood is used as an astringent and in the treatment of inflammation and diabetes.

Similipal Kol tribes in Orissa, India pound a paste mixture of the bark of P. marsupium with the barks of Mangifera indica, Shorea robustaand Spondias pinnata to treat some dysentery illnesses.[2] In Karnataka the plant is known as Honne or Kempu Honne. the heartwood of this herb and its aqueous solution is used to cure diabetes.[4]

The gum resin is the only herbal product ever found to regenerate beta cells that produce insulin in the pancreas.

Cool na? One Lore down lot more lores on banga-lore

Till then let Bangalore beat in your heart & wait for another post on lores by bangalorexpress

Much Love
bangalorexpress
Reach us on:bangalorexpressblog@gmail.com

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