On a 1,100-year-old veeragallu , or hero stone, believed to have been installed by the Western Ganga dynasty, is found one of the first references to the city as Bengaluru. The inscription documents a battle fought in 890 AD and says Buttanapathi, a warrior, died in Bengaluru. The important relic stone today lies in obscurity inside the Naganatheshwara temple in Begur.
A similar veeragallu dating back to 890 A.D. has been found at a construction site in Kaikondrahalli. Written in Kannada, the stone tells the story of Kannali, the present-day Doddakannali (off Sarjapur Road), and of a warrior who died defending the town. The inscription is believed to have been commissioned by Nagatara, the Begur chieftain.
Bengaluru had close to 200 such inscription stones speaking of its historic past, but only a few have been able to survive the ravages of urban development. To preserve what is remaining of the city's history etched on stones, Uday Kumar P.L., an industrial automation professional, with support from the State Archaeology Department, historians, government school teachers, private firms and college students, is going to organise an exhibition of the 'Inscription Stones of Bangalore' on November 14 at the Venkatappa Art Gallery.
The inspiration
“These stones tell the story of the city we love, its people, culture, practices and language. It is sad that we have overlooked this important part of history for so long. We want to create awareness about these inscription stones so that people not just understand their value but also take steps to preserve them. The exhibition is a purely citizens-driven initiative,” said Mr. Kumar, who started the project after he came to know about the existence of an inscription stone from the 13th century at Rajajinagar a few months ago. “It was a big surprise for me. It is the place where I have grown up and yet I knew nothing about its real history. One would think the place came into existence only recently, but the truth is far from it,” he said.
Similar stones can be found across the city, next to lakes, temples, villages and densely populated localities, giving information about the origin and growth of the place and people, he said. With the help of the Archaeology Department, Mr. Kumar has identified 25 to 30 such inscription stones that will be part of the exhibition. “We cannot physically bring the stones to the venue. It will be a poster exhibition with photos of the original inscription and its translation in English and Kannada. We are also working with Reark, a firm that works on digitally preserving cultural history, and Vinay, an innovation coach, to create 3D digital models of the stone so as to preserve it for the future. These models will be displayed during the exhibition,” said Mr. Kumar.
Stories in stone
Not just history, the inscription stones are also important when it comes to the study of language, he said. “Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi and Persian are the five prominent languages found on these inscriptions. While Kannada inscriptions were present in all the reigns, during the Chola period, many inscriptions were in Tamil. Similarly, the Hoysala period too had inscriptions in Tamil. It was during the Vijayanagara empire that Telugu gained prominence and inscriptions from this period are in Telugu. With Shivaji came the influence of Marathi, and Tipu Sultan used Persian in many of the inscriptions he commissioned,” he said.
An interesting inscription installed at T. Dasarahalli on Tumakuru Road in 750 A.D. in honour of two warriors, who died while defending the village against a cattle raid, is the oldest known Kannada inscription in the city, Mr. Kumar said.
Involving schools and colleges
A contest is being organised for college students to create a design of shelter for these stones. “The design should connect to the time and period of the stone. The designs developed by the students will be showcased during the exhibition and will receive certificates from the Archaeology Department,” Uday Kumar P.L. said.
Adappa Pasodi, a government school English teacher, who has done extensive study on inscriptions, will take school children to the nearest site on a walk. The walks will start from October 26. “I have been taking people to the inscription sites near Agara lake and Kaikondrahalli in my free time. But, we need to make more people aware if we want to preserve the inscriptions for the future,” said Mr. Pasodi.
Also, a few software engineers are lending their support to the project by developing a font from the scripts from the inscriptions. “Kannada was written in certain way during the Ganga period and it developed consequently. On the day of the exhibition, people can type in a personalised message in the old scripts and print it on a postcard with a photo of the corresponding inscription stone. There will be special cancellation by the Postal Department on the day,” said Mr. Kumar, adding that the idea is to make people connect to the past and treasure it.
