Category Archives: About Bangalore(Bengaluru) / Karnataka

In Bengaluru, it’s a buy one, get one restored citizens’ initiative

A metal replica of the Begur stone dating back to 890 AD. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
A metal replica of the Begur stone dating back to 890 AD. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The aim is to make metal replicas of stone inscriptions to fund restoration of the original

A 1,100-year-old ‘veeragallu’ (hero stone) dating back to 890 AD, which lay neglected inside the Naganatheshwara temple in Begur, was recently restored thanks to the INTACH. But, not all surviving stones that have Bengaluru’s history etched on them are this lucky. Now, a group of citizens interested in the city’s history are attempting to change this by creating miniature metal replicas of inscription stones as souvenirs and use the proceeds from their sales to preserve and restore inscription stones around the city

“The primary intent of the initiative is to raise funds for safeguarding the inscription stones. To begin with, we will use the funds to build a protective structure for the 750 AD Hebbal inscription stone, which is the oldest known written record of any language found in Bengaluru till date. Depending on the success of this initiative, we will replicate the same for other stones,” said Vinay Kumar, co-founder of Inscription Stones of Bangalore, a citizens group which has been trying to locate, preserve and create awareness about inscriptions stones around the city.

The team has roped in architect Yashaswini Sharma, who has designed a mantapa in keeping with the architecture during the Ganga dynasty.

Palm-sized replicas

Along with the Revival Heritage Hub, the team will be using 3D scanners to scan the inscription, which enhances the readability of the stone. The scan will then be converted into 3D prints, which will be used to create the palm-sized metal replicas.

As a pilot, the team has created a metal replica of the Begur stone.

Mr. Kumar also feels that the initiative will help create a connect between people and the city’s history. “When we started the group, we found that there was lack of awareness and participation among people, leading to neglect of these stones. Through the project, we wish to make heritage conservation inclusive and get a large number of people to take ownership in protecting our heritage,” he said.

We were initially reluctant to go commercial, but felt that these souvenirs can ensure that more people get involved in the preservation of the stones, he said.

“The proceeds from the sales will help make the whole initiative a self-sustainable one.”

However, no decision on pricing has been taken yet. “But, we will try to keep it as affordable as possible,” Mr. Kumar said. The group can be contacted on Facebook (Inscription Stones of Bangalore) or Twitter (@inscriptionblr).

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Sarumathi K / Bengaluru – September 29th, 2018

Hebbal stone inscription found on road could be Bengaluru’s oldest

Hebbal stone inscription
Hebbal stone inscription

Bengaluru :

A hero stone  with engraved inscription at the bottom, which was discovered at Hebbal recently, could be the oldest such inscription found in the city till date.
Experts who have analysed the writing on the stone say the inscription belongs to the 8th century and could be older than the KR Puram inscription  which dates to 750AD and is the oldest known inscription so far. As highlighted by TOI, a few stone installations were saved by a group of youngsters from getting bulldozed for road work at Hebbal a few weeks ago.

Epigraphist and historian PV Krishnamurthy, who analysed the inscription on the hero stone said it is in poorva Halegannada (pre-old Kannada) language. Krishnamurthy said it belongs to the times of Ganga dynasty ruler of Sripurusha, who ruled between 730AD and 770AD. “This is one of the oldest inscriptions of Bengaluru. However, officials from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) will be able to throw more light on the exact period ,” he added. Gangas are one of the oldest dynasties to have ruled Karnataka region.

Rajeeva Nrupathunga, founder of Heritage Revival Hub, whose team played a major role in saving the inscription, said they discovered four stone structures on the roadside near Maramma Temple, Hebbal, which were about to get buried under a heap of gravel. One of them was a stone with inscriptions belonging to the 17th century (1689) and the same has been recorded in Epigraphia Carnatica by Benjamin Lewis Rice.

Apart from this, another hero stone and two other stone installations called yantrada kallu were also found.

On Wednesday, while relocating the hero stone to a safer place, we discovered an inscription underneath. It came as a surprise even for epigraphists as inscriptions aren’t found below hero stones,” he added.

Rajeeva said the inscription is rare as it has not been recorded anywhere till now. “We checked Epigraphia Carnatica by Benjamin Lewis Rice, which has records of around 9,000 inscriptions in Old Mysore Region, including Bengaluru. But we did not find a mention of the Hebbal hero stone inscription . Rice has recorded 150 major inscription in Bengaluru region, but not this one,” he added.

By Thursday evening, Rajeev and team, in coordination with the local administration, shifted the hero stone and the other structures to a nearby BBMP land to keep them safe.

When Hebbal was PerboLala Nadu he discovery of the inscription shows that Hebbal as a place existed in the 7th to 8th centuries. The inscription has a name, PerboLala Nadu, meaning a big town or a province with a big lake. According to Rajeeva and team, this could be the earlier name of Hebbal.

Rajeeva said the inscription and the hero stone are in honour of a man who died while saving the province from attack. “It also has the name of a local ruler called Pelnagattara. A relative of the man who died installed the hero stone and engraved the related details below it. The inscription further says that PerboLala Nadu was the administrative province of around 30 villages,” he added.

Heritage enthusiast Swaminathan Natarajan described the development as a great discovery. “A simple looking hero stone has such history in it. I hope this discovery will reenergise the ASI’s interest in saving and conserving the heritage of our city,” he added.

KR Puram inscription
The inscription at KR Puram dates back to 750AD, as recorded in the Epigraphia Carnatica by BL Rice, and is one of the oldest-known Kannada inscriptions in Bengaluru. This one too mentions the name of Ganga dynasty ruler Sripurusha. The script in the inscription is similar to the Halmidi one found in Hassan in 1936.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> City News> Bangalore News > Civic Issues / by Rohith BR / TNN / June 23rd,2018

Listen to stories of old cantonment towns

The film documents the memories of about 25 families living in these areas.   | Photo Credit: K Gopinathan
The film documents the memories of about 25 families living in these areas. | Photo Credit: K Gopinathan

INTACH to screen ‘Towns of Our City – People, Stories and Life in the old cantonment towns of Bengaluru’ on Sunday

Gulnaz Khan was born in Fraser Town. Her grandfather served in the British Indian Army. Though she now lives in Richards Town, Ms. Khan has very fond memories of Fraser Town.

“Every morning, when we would head to school, the entire street would resemble a carpet of flowers. We would hop and jump over them,” she says, remembering the tree canopy, something she greatly misses now.

This and many such memories of long-time residents of the old cantonment towns will be part of a one-hour long film to be screened by the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) on May 20.

Speaking about the making of the film, Meera Iyer, co-convenor of INTACH, said, “The film is a result of the exhibition ‘Towns of City’ that was conducted last year to showcase the heritage and culture of Fraser Town, Cooke Town, Richards Town, Benson Town and Cox Town through walks, photographs and talks. We had spoken to numerous long timers, who gave anecdotes of the places. We recorded them and felt that sharing them with the public will make them know the neighbourhood better and also feel more connected to it.”

The film documents the memories of about 25 families living in these areas. “Most of them are descendants of original settlers,” she added.

Some narrators will also share their ideas for the future of these towns and how to preserve what remains of their heritage. “It is important for these stories to be told to preserve and promote the cultural and architectural heritage of these towns,” Ms. Iyer said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Staff Reporter / May 16th, 2018

Bengaluru gets first Geographical Indication-based products store

GIbf11may2018

Bengaluru :

The city has got a unique store which endorses some of the Geographical Indication (GI) products such as Channapatna toys and Devanahalli pomelo among others. This is also said to be the first GI-based products store in the country.
Located in HSR Layout, the store has been started by a group of GI product enthusiasts and will display unique items from artists and agriculturalists. The GI tag that is given to products that possess special features corresponding to a particular geographical location. This tag can be used for agricultural, natural and manufactured goods, emphasizing the heritage of each location.

Around the world, 10,000 products have GI tag, out of which 350 are from India with Karnataka  leading it with 36. The products include Mysore silk, Mysore agarbatti, Bidriware, Channapatna toys and dolls, Nanjangud bananas, Byadagi chilli, Devanahalli pomelo among others.

“It feels nice to set up a store for all GI products because this showcases the culture of the country,” said S J Tejas, owner of the store, which was started under the banner of Geographical Indications Tagged World Premium Products Limited (GITWPL).

The famous Villianur Terracotta works with huge statues of horses and elephants caught the eyes of many visitors at the shop on the first day. “We’ve been practising this artwork for many years now but after the GI tag was given to us, it gave more confidence and pride,” said artist V K Munuswamy. Because of the GI tag, he could take his art to Geneva, he added.

Ravi Kumar, an industrialist, said: “This is a unique store with products ranging from fruits to ornaments.”

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> City News> Bangalore News / TNN / May 11th, 2018

It’s Bangalore Club’s sesquicentenary!

This year, they turn 150 with much ceremony, as is their custom and continue to be bearers of the city’s history.

The 150-year anniversary will be marked by celebrations that continue through 2018.
The 150-year anniversary will be marked by celebrations that continue through 2018.

Winston Churchill’s questionable commitment to paying his bills was embedded in the history of Bengaluru after his noteworthy visit to the Bangalore United Services Club in the 1800s. This debt was amply repaid by Prince Charles when he visited the place, by which time the BUS club was known to Bengaluru society as the Bangalore Club.

This year, they turn 150 with much ceremony, as is their custom and continue to be bearers of the city’s history. Much has changed, of course and the club’s architecture is now a fusion of the historic and the contemporary with as elite a membership as ever.

Formerly known as the Bangalore United Services Club, it was formed exclusively for British officers in 1868. The building that became the club house had been constructed in the 1850s. Until then, the club was restricted to the British and it was only after Independence that Indian army men slowly began to use the premises.

“We’re always working to balance the old and the new,” says Mr Girish Punja, President of the Bangalore Club, who walked a battery of media personnel through the property on Tuesday afternoon. The club’s military history still has  prominent display, with awards and weapons on display at the Club House. Animal skins and horns pay tribute to the glorious hunting days.

The Burma Bell stands between the Club House and the annexe, another proud piece of history. The stone plaque beside it tells the story of Brigadier Hill, who sold his Polo court and donated the money to the club. The Bell itself is from Burma, where it was struck down by lightning in a temple. “The priests took it to be a bad omen  and left it on the streets. Fortunately, it made its way to the club thanks to Brigadier Hill, who brought it here from Madras.” The vineyards in the lawns alongside are 150 years old – this chunk was preserved and re-installed after the walkway was built.

Of course, modernity had to be acknowledged and Bangalore Club installed what is now one of the city’s oldest swimming pools. The Billiards Room, Gym, squash and tennis courts give members the amenities they need, the library contains 20,000 books and periodicals from around the world.

That’s not all. As Bengaluru struggles with water shortages, sewage problems and encroached lake beds, the Club is the model of sustainability. Their sewage treatment plants see to most of their landscaping needs, leaving so much water in excess that the Club administration has considered sharing it with neighbouring buildings. “It has a capacity of 60,000 litres,” says Mr Punja.

“Neighbours have asked us to share this water with them but our gardeners say it can be used to convert concrete surfaces in the club house into lawns. The gardens are a prized possession and are declared winners every year by the Lalbagh  Horticultural Society.

The 150-year anniversary will be marked by celebrations that continue through 2018.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle. com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation> In Other News / Deccan Chronicle / April 18th, 2018

Lessons in war

With World Heritage Day just gone by, here is a crowdfunded project to disseminate information amongst children of Bengaluru about their city’s contribution to World War I

German troops manning a machine gun post from a trench at the Vistula River in Russia during WWI
German troops manning a machine gun post from a trench at the Vistula River in Russia during WWI

If something has to be for the community, it has to be with the community or better still, from the community. This is the concept ReReeti, an outfit that works with museums. This is the centenary year of World War I, with events being mounted across the world. ReReeti, too, is prepping for an interesting project. With White Pepper – Black Pepper: India in WW1, ReReeti wants to raise awareness amongst children in the city about Bengaluru’s contribution to the global war fought over 30 nations between 1914 and 1918. To raise funds, ReReeti is looking for contributions from corporates through CSR but it also experimented with crowd funding.

It kept a target of IRs. 1 lakh and on the website www.smallchange.ngo, asked people to donate anywhere between IRs. 201 to IRs. 3001. The target was achieved in 10 days. “Of course, the entire budget is IRs. 30 lakh but we wanted to get the community involved. We wanted to see if the people felt a need for such a discourse and with their response, it seems they do,” says Tejshvi Jain, Founder-Director of ReReeti.

Bengaluru can certainly do with some more light on its connection with the First World War because there is very little known about it. Through the project, interesting facts such as around 1.5 million Indian soldiers fought in the First World War, Bangalore Torpedo, a path-clearing device invented by the Madras Sappers being in use even today and many more will be brought out.

WWIBF02apr192018

“The State of Mysore didn’t just send troops but also money and animals but so little is known about it. There are WWI monuments inside St. John’s complex like a cenotaph and statues of unknown soldiers inside the National Military Memorial in Vasanth Nagar. This project will be all about people, places, events, science and warfare and popular culture,” explains Jain.

CenotaphWW1bf19apr2018

The project has three components — travelling exhibition, online archival source and lesson plans on WWI. From August 2018 onwards, the exhibition co-curated with students, will travel to around 12 schools across the city. The exhibition will be experiential and at the same time have loads of information to share. The online archival source is being envisaged as a one-stop shop for all the content related to the World War.

_______________________________

The legend of Grey Mule
  • According to Jain: ‘The Grey Mule’ was enlisted in 1891 and saw 31 years of service. He served in Egypt and Palestine between 1915 – 1918. While returning in 1921, many mules were sold in Egypt but Colonel Bassett interceded and obtained special permission to bring him back. On returning he was pensioned and allowed to roam free in the lines as an honoured war veteran. During the 150th anniversary reunion, he headed the march past of pensioners accompanied by the same sapper who had worked with him 33 years back. He wore his colours and got a standing ovation. It was his last parade. He passed away in 1933. He was buried in the unit lines at the Regimental Centre (Bangalore). His hooves were used to make ink stands – 2 in Bangalore (Regimental mess and Monkey House) and 2 in UK.
  • ____________________________

Very little is out there about India’s contribution to WWI and whatever little is there is scattered. The aim is to bring all the links under one roof to make the information accessible. The lesson plans are about storage for anyone across the world to access the information.”

Jain was inspired during her Art Think South Asia Fellowship in the UK where she saw communities getting involved to engage with local histories.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Entertainment> Art / by Shailaja Tripathi / April 19th, 2018

The village of boiled beans: How Bengaluru came to be

An aerial view Greenline Metro from Sampige Road to Yelachenahalli on the first day of its operation for public in Bengaluru on Sunday  2017.  Anantha Subramanyam K.  Credits: Mirror, BCCL, Bengaluru
An aerial view Greenline Metro from Sampige Road to Yelachenahalli on the first day of its operation for public in Bengaluru on Sunday 2017.
Anantha Subramanyam K.
Credits: Mirror, BCCL, Bengaluru

It is strange that the city of Bengaluru which we all accept today as a single city was not a single city at all until recently. Before Bengaluru was welded into a single city under a common corporation in 1949, it existed as a twin city. There were two portions to the city. The civil and the military portions were separate entities with a separate municipality and a separate collector. The job of the collector was to look after the revenue and the law and order problems of the city. He was functioning under the Resident. The Collector was also the Municipal President. The Bangalore city agglomeration had a population of 29,21,751 and the corporation area had a population of 24,76,355 in 1981. The city’s population recorded a growth of over 70% between 1971 and 1981.

The site of the present city had many prehistoric settlements. Neolithic tools have been located at the race course and Jalahalli. Byrasandra was also a prehistoric site. Dr Shikaripura Ranganatha Rao, an eminent archaeologist feels that the attractive site of the bugle rock at Basavangudi could have been a prehistoric habitat. Roman coins have been unearthed at Yeshwantpur and Jalahalli.

The name Bangalore is as old as the ninth century and the name is found in a Kannada inscription found near the Begur temple. A long record of circa 890 AD and the name appears to have a floral origin, derived from the tree Benga (Venga or Pterocarpus marsupium or the Indian Kino).

The explanation that the name was derived from Benda kala ooru, or the village of boiled beans as described by the Hoysala King Ballala when he was hungry during his visit to the place (when he was hunting) becomes irrelevant as the above name was much older that King Ballala of the Hoysala dynasty. Benda kala ooru or the place full of granite rocks is another explanation to a place name but granite is neither Bangalore’s exclusive speciality nor the old form, thousand years, found in the record indicates the place name being anyway connected to Benachu kallu. The place mentioned as Bengaluru in the Ganga record is originally a hamlet, even now called as Hale Bengaluru near Kodigehalli, not far away from Hebbal. It is said that Kempe Gowda I when he built the new capital town in 1537 called it Bangalore as his mother and wife belonged to the hamlet Bangalore, now Hale Bengaluru. In literary works, Bangalore is also called Kalyana Nagare or the ‘City Auspicious’. Though the fort built by Kempe Gowda then has totally vanished, the spots like the Yelahanka Bagalu (Mysore Bank Square) and Halsur Bagalu still exist. Halsur Bagalu or gate, now a police station is named after it. The gate proper even now remains hidden. The old remains of the ramparts and the moats were completely demolished during the nineteenth century. The town was conquered by the Bijapur sultans in 1638 and Shaji Bhonsle secured the town and its surroundings as a Jagir in 1638. The testimony to 50 years of Maratha rule is in the form of an inscription of Ekoji, Shaji’s son near the Kadu Malleshwara temple. Bangalore was conquered by the Mughals in 1686. The mosque at Taramandalpet is a notable vestige of Mughal rule. The city was leased to the Mysore ruler, Chikkadeva Wodeyar by the Mughals in 1689 and Chikkadeva Wodeyar expanded the fort to the south and built the Venkatramana temple in this fort area. This new fort in granite was strengthened by Haider Ali who secured Bangalore as a Jagir in1759. The British conquered the city in 1799 after defeating Tipu Sultan.

The original Bangalore city was clustered around the fort and city market and covered the area until the present Mysore bank square. Today, there is a bus stop at the place where the Dharmabudi tank existed earlier. The old city had areas like Cottonpet, Sunkalpet, Kumbharpet and the Balepet areas. The medieval character of the city’s old settlements typical of any old village is indicated by the names of these areas.

Every community or professional caste had its own street or streets in every village or town of ancient times. Sigebeli is the settlements of Brahmins, reminiscent of old Agrahara or Brahmapuri. Kempapura Agrahara was another settlement of the Brahmins created by Kempe Gowda II towards the Magadi road area beyond the Brahmabudi tank. Parts of Gandhi Nagar area appear to have been reclaimed from the Dharmabudi tank during the early part of the nineteenth century.

The Cantonment area grew as a separate township after the British shifted their troops to the place in 1806 and the first camp was located at the present Air Force Hospital in 1808. The present cantonment also consists of many old villages like Halasur, Blackpally, Doddakunte and Akkithimmanahalli. It was no part of the old Bangalore pettahs. At Domlur on the periphery of the old cantonment, the Chokkanatha temple built by the Cholas still remains. At Blackpally or Shivaji Nagar, there existed a Catholic church which later took some shape of the 18th century and now its is the St Marys Basilica. The cantonment area also saw the construction of some of the beautiful buildings of the European Renaissance style. Both churches and secular buildings which were mostly government offices during the 19th century.

New extensions were added to the town in Chamrajpet and Seshadripuram. Chamrajpet was named after Chamraja Wodeyar in 1892, the latter named after Dewan Seshadri Iyer. The visit of a plague in 1898 caused the creation of two bigger extensions in 1898. These were Basavangudi named after Basaveshwara temple or the Bull Temple in Sukenahalli village and Malleshwaram named after the Kadu Malleshwara temple in old Mallapura village. The area in both the places was full of fields.

The next time you think of Bengaluru as the city of Bengaluru, you would do well to remember its origins. There are several people alive today who remember the two distinct facets to the city; the pettahs and the cantonment. These portions were welded and expanded to make the beautiful city we live in.

source: http://www.bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com / Bangalore Mirror / by Siddharth Moorchung & Nikhil Moorchung / Bangalore Mirror Bureau / April 02nd, 2018

Karnataka takes historic decision to have separate State flag

Karnataka government took a historic decision to have separate State flag on Thursday. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Karnataka government took a historic decision to have separate State flag on Thursday. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The flag will be yellow, red and white with the State emblem in the middle

Karnataka government, on Thursday, took a historic decision to have separate State flag.

The decision was taken at a meeting convened by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to discuss the recommendations of the nine-member flag committee. The committee had recommended yellow, red and white with the State emblem in the middle. The meeting was attended by representatives of Kannada organisations, littérateurs and official representatives.

After arriving at a consensus with regard to accepting the flag recommended by the expert committee, an elated Chief Minister said: “The long pending demand of having separate State flag has finally been realised with the support extended by all the concerned.”

Exhibiting the State flag, he said the “government, which felt the need of having separate flag, lent voice to the demand by setting up expert committee to decide on colour and emblem of the State flag.”

An expert committee was constituted following representation from renowned journalist and writer Patil Puttappa.

After examining the legal and Constitutional provisions, the committee submitted its report on February 6. “When the report was tabled in the State Cabinet, it was unanimously accepted. This further empowered me to take a final call on the issue after consulting leaders of Kannada organisations. Leaders of Kannada outfits agreed to the recommendations on the design of State flag,” he added.

In the tri-colour Stage flag, white symbolises peace with State emblem. While yellow symbolises the auspiciousness and well-being of Kannadigas, the red colour symbolises courage.

“The state government had no power to announce its State flag. A proposal in this regard will be sent to the union government. We will urge the centre to approve the proposal and make an official announcement at the earliest,” Mr. Siddaramaiah said.

If centre agrees to the proposal, Karnataka will be second state in the country to have a separate State flag, after Jammu and Kashmir. This is due to J&K’s special status under the Constitution. “There is no opposition for States to have separate flag in the Constitution. But, the State flag will always fly below the National flag, as prescribed,” said Mr. Siddaramaiah.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Bengaluru – March 08th, 2018

Chickballapur district formation decennial events from Friday

A three-day-long decennial event to mark formation of Chickballapur district will be held from Friday at Sir M. Visveswaraya Stadium. The district was carved out from undivided Kolar district in 2007.

MP representing Chickballapur Lok Sabha constituency M. Veerappa Moily will flag off a procession. Home Minister and district in-charge Minister Ramalinga Reddy will inaugurate the programme. Deputy Speaker of Legislative Assembly N.H. Shivashankar Reddy will inaugurate a flower show organised as part of the celebrations.

Watersports have been organised at Srinivasasagar tank and Kandavara tank. A seminar on education and culture is also being conducted at Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Bhavan. Retired professor B. Gangadharmurthy will preside over the seminar.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Karnataka / by Staff Reporter / Kolar – February 01st, 2018

What do the inscription stones of Bengaluru say?

An inscription stone at Dasarahhali | Photo Credit: Uday Kumar
An inscription stone at Dasarahhali | Photo Credit: Uday Kumar

An early eco-friendly king, women warriors, a battle for Bengaluru: inscription stones that tell such tales and more

Last month, I was at the iconic red-brick building of the Government Museum on Kasturba Road in Bengaluru behind which an exhibition called Inscription Stones of Bangalore was under way. On display were 28 large posters of inscription stones found in various parts of the city.

I had a task to do — ‘estampage’, a process of ‘lifting’ the inscriptions from the stone on to a piece of paper for a clearer read.

Royal writ

‘Estampage’ is a purely Indian term used by epigraphists, explained T.S. Ravishankar, former director of the Epigraphy branch of the Archaeological Survey of India. He had come to attend the show. The tablet I was working on was found just two months ago in a farm near Whitefield. The inscriptions were in Tamil. Another stone tablet in front of me was from Kattigenahalli, close to Yelahanka. It had inscriptions in old Kannada or Halegannada.

Stones02BF17dec2017

Aerospace engineer and history enthusiast Vinay Kumar is part of the citizen-led project, Bangalore Nagarada Shila Shasanagalu, which had organised the exhibition. According to Kumar, inscriptions like these are records of the city’s history, its culture, economic activity, regimes and language.

The inscriptions give a very good idea of the evolution of language. “From the second half of the 5th century, the inscriptions were in Halmidi, the oldest known form of the Kannada language,” said Ravishankar. The oldest existing Kannada inscription on a Veerakallu or ‘hero stone’ from Bengaluru dates back to about 750 CE.

It was found in Krishnarajapuram, a busy neighbourhood, as part of a temple compound’s wall. The inscription lay hidden under layers of paint. Constant exposure to heat from bonfires had caused the tablet to break into pieces. Fortunately, the part of the stone with the inscription survived and was shifted to the museum.

It read: “When Sripurusha Maharaja was ruling … Mareya … pierced and fell.” This refers to the Western Ganga dynasty ruler, Sripurusha, and the veera here is Mareya. The script is notable for the long, rectangle-shaped characters from the Ganga dynasty period. In some 600 years, these characters would evolve into the artistic, rounded characters of the Hoysala period.

Going, gone

For Kannada language fanatics, Kumar has a revelation. “The existing stone inscriptions on Kempe Gowda I (feudatory ruler under the Vijaynagara empire), who established the city of Bengaluru, are all in Telugu.” And inscription stones found within an area of 20-30 kilometres in the city are in Kannada, Tamil and Telugu.

The most celebrated inscription from Bengaluru is the one dating back to 890 CE and recording the death of Buttana Setti, son of Nagatara, in a battle in Bengaluru. It is one of the earliest instances of the mention of the city. The battle it talks of — the one between the Gangas, who were Jains, and the Nolambas, who were Shaivites — is significant, as it led to the decline of the Jain kings and the founding of a new line.

Recently, there has been another discovery of tablets with Tamil inscriptions in one of the city’s oldest temple, Madivala’s Sri Someshwara temple. Dated to 1247, the Chola period, they refer to ‘Vengalur’, the Tamil name for Bengaluru. Now historians believe that when Kempe Gowda established the city, he borrowed the name from a place that already existed in the 9th century.

Stones03BF17dec2017

Then there are records of the economic activity of the times. Imagine getting tax exemption for maintaining a neighbourhood lake. That is what an inscription found at Vibhutipura says about the king who waived taxes for residents who had constructed a tank in the area and maintained it.

One of the earliest mentions of women is of the daughter of King Nagatara, Thondabbe, who took a vow to fast until death after the battle of Bangalore. A stone tablet found in Hoskote shows a woman warrior fighting and dying on the battlefield.

About 150 such stone inscriptions of Bengaluru find a mention in Epigraphia Carnatica, a set of books on the epigraphy of the old Mysore region compiled by Benjamin Lewis Rice, the director of the Mysore Archaeological Department, between 1894 and 1905.

Of the stone inscriptions he documented, barely 30 remain.

Backup plan

Whenever Kumar and other enthusiasts like Dhanpal M. reach a site after consulting Epigraphia Carnatica, the local people usually talk of having seen the (now missing) stone as recently as a decade ago.

“Development!” Dhanpal laughed, “Everywhere they have ‘developed’ sites on which people build their homes without caring about these stones.”

Dhanpal is a BMTC bus driver who is passionate about the city’s history. He decided to scour Yelahanka, a Bengaluru suburb, for inscription stones. “Superstition is the main reason why in some places the stones remain untouched and in some other places are destroyed,” he said. For many, the myth that something untoward will happen to the person who reads the inscriptions is powerful enough to get the stones destroyed. There is also the belief that the inscriptions talk of hidden treasures. In the process of unearthing the ‘treasure’, the stones are often dug up and thrown away. Hero stones have a better chance of survival since they are worshipped.

Preserving the inscriptions is a challenge. The stones abandoned on roadsides and in dump yards can be cleaned and installed in safe locations close to where they were found.

This ensures that local people don’t lose their connect with the past as recorded in these stones. Shifting the inscriptions to museums is an option only when there is a real threat to their survival.

At the museum, I met Harish Pawaskar, a jeweller who started making 3D models of inscriptions using Reflectance Transformation Imaging technology. He showed me how to scan the QR codes on the printed posters with a smartphone.

This makes the 3D models pop up with details about the inscription. “By creating 3D models, we have all the information and details required to recreate any of the inscriptions physically in case anything gets destroyed in the future,” said Kumar, also a part of the project.

In a country notoriously indifferent to preservation, such projects are reassuring. More so for a city that seems quite intent on forgetting its past.

The freelance writer believes that everything has a story waiting to be told.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Society> Field Notes / by Jayanthi Madhukar / December 16, 2017