In 1898, Bombay was the top pick for India's first science institute; Bengaluru got it instead — and became India's silicon hub

Today, Bengaluru is widely associated with science, technology, research and startups. But in the late 1800s, when Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata began working on his plan for a world-class research institution in India, the city was hardly the obvious choice.