THE BASICS
Location: In the state of Karnataka on the south west coast of India. Officially known as Mangaluru.
Population: Around 700,000 according to the 2011 India census.
Languages: Kannada, Tulu, Konkani, Beary, English and others.
Religion: Hinduism (~70%), Islam (~18%), Christianity (14%) and Sikhism, Jainism and others.
ECONOMY
Exports: Major port city in India that accounts for 75% of India’s cashew & coffee exports.
Industries: Chemicals, oil, information technology, fishing and others.
GEOGRAPHY & NATURE
Topography: Arabian sea on one side and Western Ghat mountains on the other.
Rivers: Netravati and Gurupura rivers encircle the city and form an estuary that flow into the Arabian sea.
Climate: Hot, tropical monsoon weather with annual rainfall from May to October.
EDUCATION
Education: Major education hub in India with several English language schools and universities.
Literacy rate: 94%
Media: All major Indian English newspapers publish local Mangalore editions. Mangaluru Samachara, the first ever newspaper in Kannada, was published in 1843 by Hermann Mögling of the Basel Mission.
HISTORY
Early medieval: Part of the Buddhist Maurya empire in 3rd century CE. Several Hindu dynasties ruled from 7th to 15th centuries.
Early modern: The Portuguese ruled in Mangalore in 16th century. This was followed by Mughal rule in 17th century and then British rule until independence in 1947.
CULTURE
Music & dance: Yakshagana is a night-long dance and drama performance while Pilivesha (tiger dance), a folk dance is performed during Janmashtami. Karadi Vesha (bear dance) is another well-known dance that is performed during Dasara. Evkaristik Purshanv is an annual Catholic religious procession held on the first Sunday of each year.
Festivals: Most of the popular Indian festivals are celebrated, the most important being Diwali, Christmas, Easter, Eid and Ganesh Chaturthi.
Cuisines: Seafood is a staple of the diet since it is a coastal city. Shendi (toddy), a country liquor prepared from coconut flower sap is popular.
Source: Wikipedia Mangalore