What makes a city? Its rulers, its markets, its people, or the thousands of years of history that came before it?
In Bengaluru, journalist and author Ramjee Chandran sets out to answer a deceptively simple question: how did a city come to exist in a place that, at first, seemed to offer little reason for one?
To be published under the Viking imprint of Penguin Random House India in December 2026, the book takes readers beyond Bengaluru’s contemporary identity to uncover the remarkable history of a city shaped by centuries of ambition, commerce, conflict and migration.
From prehistoric settlements and ancient trade routes to the powerful kingdoms of South India, Chandran follows the forces that gradually transformed the region. He explores the legacies of the Western Gangas, Cholas, Hoysalas and Vijayanagara rulers; the rise of Kempe Gowda’s market town; and the successive contests involving the Marathas, Mughals, Wadiyars, Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan. The arrival of the British created another city alongside the original settlement, setting Bengaluru on the path to its modern identity.
Moving beyond the familiar accounts of rulers and battles, Chandran brings alive the roads, forts, markets, tanks and temples, as well as the merchants, soldiers, farmers and migrants who made the city possible. This is the story of a Bengaluru that existed long before its emergence as a modern metropolis, a city that had already lived several lives by the time India gained Independence.
About The Author:
Ramjee Chandran is an author with decades of experience in publishing. His novel, For No Reason at All, was published in January 2025. The History of Bangalore is his second book and brings together years of research into the story of the city he calls home, crafted as an accessible work of history. He is also the host of The History of Bangalore, the popular and acclaimed podcast, and of The Literary City, which features conversations with internationally acclaimed authors.
