Context
A bronze statue of Nadaprabhu Kempegowda, credited to be the founder of Bengaluru, is going to be unveiled soon at the premises of the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA), situated on the outskirts of the city.
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The statue is said to be around 108 feet tall, weighing around 220 tons, i.e. 2,20,000 kilograms.
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Who was Nadaprabhu Kempegowda?
- Nadaprabhu Kempegowda, a 16th century chieftain of the Vijayanagara empire, is credited as the founder of Bengaluru.
- He was a close aide of the King Krishnadevaraya under the Vijayanagara empire.
- It is said that he conceived the idea of a new city while hunting with his minister, and later marked its territory by erecting towers in four corners of the proposed city.
- Kempegowda is also known to have developed around 1,000 lakes in the city to cater to drinking and agricultural needs.
- He was from the dominant agricultural Vokkaliga community in south Karnataka.
- His name is everywhere in the city – the Kempegowda International Airport, the Kempegowda Bus Stand, and even the main metro station in the city is called Nadaprabhu Kempegowda metro station.
- An arterial road in the old city is called the K G Road or the Kempegowda Road.
Vijaynagar empire
- The kingdom of Vijayanagar was founded by Harihara and Bukka, two of five brothers (surnamed Sangama).
- Founded in 1336 in the wake of the rebellions against Tughluq rule in the Deccan, the Hindu Vijayanagar empire lasted for more than two centuries as the dominant power in south India.
- Important ruler: Krishnadevaraya (Sri Krishnadevaraya) was a member of the Tuluva Dynasty, the third dynasty that ruled the Vijayanagara Empire, a southern Indian empire based in the region of the Deccan Plateau.
- He became the third ruler of this dynasty in 1509, succeeding his older half-brother, Viranarasimharaya.
- The empire, named after its capital city of Vijayanagara, has impressive ruins surrounding modern Hampi, declared a World Heritage Site in modern Karnataka, India.
- End: The success and manipulation of Vijayanagara so threatened its neighbors that the sultanates of the Deccan allied against it, meeting it battle at Talikota near the capital city of Vijayanagara (named that as well) on January 26, 1565.
- To the shock of many, the Deccan sultanates prevailed against the forces of Vijayanagara because their main general died in battle and due to the use of tactics and superior cannon.
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