Kempegowda: Founder of the Bangalore City
Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled a large 108 feet bronze statue of Kempegowda at Kempegowda international airport. On Friday, November 11 prime minister Narendra Modi arrived in Bengaluru and unveiled a 108 feet tall bronze statue of ‘Nadaprabhu’ Hiriya Kempegowda. The statue was credited to be the city’s founder.
On the same day, Narendra Modi inaugurated Terminal 2 of the Kempegowda International Airport which was built at a cost of around ₹5,000 crores and flagged off two trains. One is South India’s first Vande Bharat Express and the second one is the Gaurav Kashi Darshan train.
The 108 feet tall bronze statue of Kempegowda statue termed the ‘Statue of Prosperity.’ The World Book of Records termed this statue the “first and tallest bronze statue of a founder of a city.” So, who is Kempegowda of Bangalore? What is the history of Kempegowda?
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Nadaprabhu Hiriya Kempegowda famously known as Kempegowda. He came from the dominant agricultural Vokkaliga community in South Karnataka. He was the chieftain of the Vijayanagara empire in the 16th century. Kempegowda was credited as the founder of Bangalore city. Kempegowda fortified Bengaluru as the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka in 1537. He erected many Kannada inscriptions in the region. Kempegowda was of Telugu origin and also well-versed in the Telugu language. He authored the play called Ganga Gouri Sallapamu or Gangagourivilasam in Telugu.
Kempegowda conceived the idea of having a new city while hunting with his minister and later marked its territory by erecting towers in all corners of the proposed city. He was also known for his development of around 1,000 lakes in the city to cater to drinking and agricultural needs. For his great works, the people of Karnataka veiled many statues in the Karnataka state.
How did Kempegowda Die?
Kempegowda, the founder of Bangalore death was a mystery, no one has been able to find how he died. A research team has started searching into the death mystery of Bangalore’s founder. How he died? Where he died? A team led by Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Centre for Humanities and Social Sciences director in this search mission. They studied many sculptures and inscriptions found on the tomb.
After a vigorous study, the team found historical evidence that proved that Kempegowda died during a battle. But, they can’t able to predict the exact year of the death. They suspect that he might die between 1599 and 1608. Submitting the research, the director said that 48 sculptures were found, linking the presence of Kempegowda in Kunigal at the time of his death. He also said about the most prominent one-line inscription that led the team to believe the tomb was none other than Kempegowda’s.
Conclusion
To remember the great king and ruler, Karnataka people named every street, and place after the name of Kempegowda. Kempegowda’s name is everywhere in the city, say the Kempegowda International Airport, the Kempegowda Bus Stand, and even the main metro station of Bangalore is called Nadaprabhu Kempegowda metro station. An important road in the city is called the K G Road or the Kempegowda Road.
Originally published at https://historicalhuman.blogspot.com.
