Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be unveiling the statue of Nadaprabhu Kempegowda installed at the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru today. The bronze statue, which stands 108 ft tall, has been built to honour Nadaprabhu Kempegowda, the founder of Bengaluru city.
Nadaprabhu Kempegowda was a 16th-century ruler under the erstwhile Vijayanagara Empire. He is credited with laying the foundation of what is today known as Bengaluru city in 1537. The chieftain is revered in parts of southern Karnataka, especially by the Vokkaliga community which is dominant in the Old Mysuru.
It is believed that the ruler got the idea to build a new city while he was out hunting with his minister and advisor. Nadaprabhu Kempegowda planned to construct temples, a fort, water tanks, and a cantonment in the proposed city. After receiving permission from emperor Achyutharaya, the chieftain built the Bangalore Fort and town in AD 1537, according to The Times of India.
Besides laying the foundation of Bengaluru and contributing towards its development, Nadaprabhu Kempegowda abolished the practice of cutting the fingers of the left hand of an unmarried woman during a custom known as Bandi Devaru.
The ruler knew multiple languages, besides Kannada, and even authored a Yakshagana play in Telugu named Gangagaurivilasa. Nadaprabhu Kempegowda died in 1569, the report added.
The statue of Nadaprabhu Kempegowda, called the Statue of Prosperity, weighs 220 tonnes and has a sword with a weight of 4 tonnes. According to the World Book of Records, it is the “first and tallest bronze statue of a founder of a city”.
The massive structure has been built inside a 23-acre heritage park on the premises of the Kempegowda International Airport. Ram Vanji Sutar, renowned sculptor and Padma Bhushan awardee, designed the statue, which cost about Rs 84 crore. Mr Sutar had also built the Statue of Unity in Gujarat and the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Bengaluru's Vidhana Soudha.
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