Geographical Indications of Karnataka

Karnataka a southern state in India, is a land of diversity renowned with rich tradition and cultural heritage. The state has great historical milestones and geographical zones to boast about. Further, the land is rich in natural resources, such as rivers, forests, hills, and ghats. Due to the availability of the resources, Karnataka has the privilege to manufacture or grow various products / articles, associated with unique qualities that are useful for daily living. These products are known as Geographical Indications of the state and are classified under Handicrafts, agricultural, and manufactured product categories.

Interested in knowing more about these products from Karnataka check the following list:

Geographical Indications

Handicrafts	Agricultural	Manufactured
Mysore Silk:  A traditional and rich fabric weaved from the silk that is grown in the Mysore city of Karnataka. You can find various clothes and accessories designed using this silk. Best suitable for ethnic wear.	Coorg Orange:  A man made hybrid orange grown in Kodagu district of Karnataka. It is also known as Coorg mandarin. These oranges have a longer shelf life as compared to other type of oranges and it is greenish-yellow in colour with sweet-sour taste.	Mysore Sandalwood Oil Products: A perfumed oil that is extracted from the sandalwood trees grown in the Mysore district of Karnataka. This oil is considered to be one of the best sandal wood oil, which is used in the manufacture of soaps, incense, scents, cosmetics, religious rites, skin and hair therapeutic treatments, and in pharmaceuticals.
Channapatna Toys & Dolls:  Handmade wooden dolls from Bangalore rural area in Karnataka. These wooden dolls are of designed in a unique form and painted with non-toxic vibrant colours.	Mysore Betel leaf: A type of betel leaf that has a smooth texture and hot taste, which is grown in the city of Mysore.  These leaves can be consumed as paan.	Mysore Sandal soap: A soap that is manufactured by Government of Karnataka and is completely made-up of sandal wood oil.
Bidriware An intricate form of metal handicraft that is done in Bidar district of Karnataka. You can find various articles that are done with meticulous and skillful craftsmanship. Some the commonly designed articles under this form are: goblets, vases, wine decanters, hookahs, candle holders, jewellery boxes.	Nanjanagud Banana: A type of banana with unique richness in taste and aroma that is grown in a small town called Nanjanagud in Karnataka. This type of banana yield is attributed to the type of soil,the climatic conditions, and the organic method of cultivation of the fruit.
Mysore Rosewood Inlay:  A hand-made wooden artifacts with metal inlay, such as Ivory, originated in the city of Mysore. These articles are designed with aesthetic look and can vary from wall hanging, jewelry box to small and huge idols.	Monsooned Malabar Arabica / Robusta Coffee: A special aromatic coffee beans that is grown along the south-western coastal region of Karnataka and Kerala. Quality of the coffee beans that is grown here is attributed to the climatic conditions and the method of processing used for retaining the taste, aroma and other characteristics of the coffee beans. The coffee beans grown here are exported to other countries from past 150 years.
Mysore Traditional Paintings:  A classical South-Indian painting originated in the city of Mysore. The elegant painting is done with muted colours from vegetable and mineral colour. This painting elegantly depicts Hindu God and Goddesses and Hindu Mythology.	Coorg Green Cardamom: Cardamom, with special quality characteristics that is grown in Coorg district of Karnataka.
Ganjifa cards:  An ancient Indian card game. The card set contains either a rectangular set of cards or a circular set of cards with traditional hand paintings. These cards depict Hindu puranas, shlokas, and stories.	Byadagi Chilli: A type of chilli that is grown in a town called Byadagi located in Haveri district of Karnataka. The low pungent, special aromatic chilli is the best quality chilli that is available in India.
Ilkal Sarees:  A traditional Indian saree with its name derived from a district named Bagalkot in Karnataka. The saree stands unique with three types of weaving materials used in body warp, pallu warp, and the border warp. Further, the technique used in joining these three parts is unique. The saree is made up of a combination of cotton, mix cotton, art silk, or pure silk. You can find these sarees to have unique border and pallu design.
Molakalmuru Sarees: A traditional silk saree with its name derived from a district named Chitradurga in Karnataka. This saree is weaved by taking inspiration from Nature’s beauty, such as trees, flowers, leaves, birds, animals, to decorate the border of the saree. The temple motif decorating the border of the saree highlights the beauty of the saree.
Bronze Ware:  Metal ware craft is well-known in Karnataka and extensive Bronze casting collection can be found in Mysore district.
Kinhal Toys:  Lightweight wood carved toys from a village called Raichur in Karnataka. The artisans assemble and emboss these toys using a mixture of tamarind seeds and pebbles paste.

Occupation of Karnataka

Karnataka, also known as Deccan plateau of South-India, has an ideal climatic conditions for agriculture. In addition to agriculture and Industrialization, silk and sandalwood rearing occupation has seen a very good growth in the recent years.

The staple diet of Karnataka is Rice, Jowar, and Raagi(a type of millet). Due to global warming and less monsoon rains seen in the recent past, Karnataka goverment is encouraging the farmers to grow Millets organically. Millets (such as foxtail millet, Pearl millet, Kodo millet, and other type of millets including Raggi)is one of the major agricultural crop of the state. Due to its high nutritional value and the idea of replacing the grains usage to prepare other fast-food lip smacking dishes, such as Pizzas, ice-creams,burgers makes millet the most preferred food grain.

Arts and Literature

Karnataka is rich in arts, crafts, and literature. There are many contemporary drama schools in the state to promote the theatre culture such as Ranga shankara, Rangayana, Prabath kalividaru to name a few. Also, there are many interesting books that are written by great poets and Jnanapith awardees from the state. some of the renowned poets' collection of books that are available online are:

Kuvempu's collection, Da Ra Bendre's collection,K.Shivaram Karanth's collection, Masti Venkatesh Iyengar's collection, Girish Karnad's collection.

Folk Songs

People of Karnataka are lovers of music and dance. There are many renowned artists from the state who have made a niche in this field and have contributed interesting folk songs called "Janapada Haadugalu" that caters to all the age groups. These folk songs were traditionally sung by the villagers / tribal groups from various regions of Karnataka. Further, enormous efforts has been made by the contemporary artists to keep this tradition alive. Do not miss to enjoy some of these songs!

Taste of Karnataka

Last but not the least, as Karnataka has diverse culture and ethnicity, it has an interesting food pallet that varies from region to region within the state. Ranging from sea food to vegetarian dishes there are many mouth-watering dishes available. Some of the typical karnataka dishes are: Upma, Bisibelebath, Avalakki (poha), Akki Roti, Idli and vada, Dosa, Rice and sambar to name a few. All these dishes can be prepared using spices / masala powder. In addition to these main dishes, there are some dishes such as pickles, papads, gravy,that complements the main dishes. As these dishes are really tasty and mouth-watering, the recipes to prepare the dishes may be cumbersome and time consuming. Do not worry about your culinary skills :-). To make your life easier and tastier there are some ready-to-eat food, ready-to-cook mixes, and ready-to-use spices. These ready-to-use items are packaged and sealed in hygienic containers and can retain the freshness for a considerably long time. Do not miss to try-out on these products.

Land of Spices

Karnataka, is an exporter of spices as some of the real good quality spices are grown in specific regions of the state, which have idealistic terrain conditions. Some of the spices that are grown in the state are:Pepper,cardomom,chilli,ginger,turmeric,tamarind, nutmeg, and cloves.
Using these spices, one can make tasty dishes!.