Aroma of Sandal
The mention of Karnataka evokes the image of oldest rocks jutting out in odd shapes, forests of Malnad soaked in rain, barren stretches of Maidan, towering temples, thousands of tanks, swift flowing rivers and streams skirting their way across the region, The sweet and everlasting fragrance of sandal wood without which poetry would have been much poorer is found in plenty in the forest of Karnataka. The god and the lovers are smeared with "Chandana" the paste of sandalwood, You have exquisite descriptions of this in all religious and erotic poetry. The aroma of white Jasmine and yellow sampige and ripe jack fruit fill the languid air of the region.
Caradamom and pepper grow in abundance all across the forest of Malnad.The glitter of gold from Kolar mines and the shimmering silks have been celebrated in song and verse. Elephants roam in unhindered isolation all across the thick grown forests of the west coast.

The Gudigaras of Sorab, Sagar and Kumta regions are some of the world`s greatest craftsmen with their matchless carvings in sandal and ivory. Karnataka is also famous for the coffee of Coorg and Chimagalur. Shimoga happens to be the world capital for the best arecanut which is an auspicious offering to any guest of visitor; it is also chewed along with betel leaves - an ubiquitours habit spread all over India.

A Veritable Grainery
There is almost nothing that does not grow in Karnataka. Rice is the king of crops in coastal soil & in irrigated eastern plateau. We behold mango & cocnut groves across the land. Jowar, ragi, groundnut & oil seeds are growen in parts of north Karnataka & Mysore. Wheat is grown in Dharwar & Bijapur. Cotton reigns supreme in black soil belt tobacco is the favorite cash crop in

Belgaum. With Coffee in Coorg & Tea in Niligiri & spices in Sirsi & Siddapur. We witness almost a riot of fruits in South Canara where each house is a veritable orchard with all varieties of mango, jackfruit, pineapple, cashew in abundance. The most common trees all over the land are banyan, peepul, tamrind & neem & another tree which occurs all over Karnataka is the Sandalwood.

Karnataka is as well a tourist paradise. The herds of elephants, bison, gaur and langur roaming across Bandipur and Nagarahole, the Yakshangana dancers bedecked with jewels and colorful costumes swinging vigorously, the turbulent leap of Sharavathi at Jog falls, the myriad colored fountains of Brindavan, the ethereal glow of Mysore Palace splendidly lit up and the beaches of Karwar which Tagore described as the best in the world are sights for Gods.

The Sun setting behind a hundred hillocks at Agumbe, the granite boulders and hill forts of Bellary and Chitradurga, the temples of

Badami and Aihole scooped out of caves, the monolithic Gomata colossus, tall and serene and the granite bull of Chamundi, the devastated ruins of Hampi, not to mention the world`s most exquisite Hoysala temples and the domes of Golgumbaz make this land a tourist paradise.

Under the British, Kannada speaking areas had been torn asunder. The old Mysore State which had nine districts was the unit to which was added in 1956, under the realignment of linguistic states, Kannada speaking areas of then Bombay province (Dharwar, Belgaum, Bijapur and Karwar) Madras (Bellary and South Canara), Hyderabad (Gulbarga, Raichur and Bidar), and Coorg. Thus we have now 27 districts in all with a population of 45 million.