Kan: ಬೆಳಗಾವಿ beḷagāvi
‘Bamboo Village’ City/District, Karnataka (Kar)
Belgaum, Venugrama. From Skt/Kan: veṇu, ‘bamboo’; and grāma/gāv(i/e/a), ‘village’.
The city’s original name was Venugrama (Belgaum and Belagavi are variations on this).
It was founded in the 12thC.
The city, being close to Portuguese Goa, was a military base under the British Raj, and the modern city still hosts military sites and defence training centres.
The oval-shaped fort with its stone walls, ramparts and most is situated in the city precincts.
Belagavi is known as the ‘Second Capital of Karnataka’ and the state government have actually had plans to make this official.
