Kempegowda: Once hailed as sage ruler, now depicted as sword-wielding warrior

S Shyam Prasad | NT

Bengaluru: History is dramatic licence, covertly financed with a sprinkling of gold dust from the newly-enthroned. – Stewart Stafford. The iconic Stone Chariot in Hampi, built by the Vijayanagara Emperor Sri Krishna Devaraya to commemorate his victory over the Gajapati rulers of Odisha, was designed with stone images of horses pulling it.

Fragments of the original horses' legs can still be found on the monument. A few decades ago, some over-enthusiastic officers of the Archeological Survey of India placed two statues of elephants lying elsewhere in front of the Stone Chariot. Today, every depiction of the Stone Chariot has those two elephants.

Similarly, the oldest-known depiction of the founder of Bengaluru, Hiriya Kempegowda (Kempegowda I) is to be found in the temple on Shivagange Hill, near Dobaspet. It is said to have been installed by his grandson sometime in the early 17th century, sometime after the death of Hiriya Kempegowda.

The three-feet statue is typical of the Vijayanagara style. Like similar statues of rulers that are placed in temples, it shows Kempegowda with folded hands, benign and surrendered to God. He does carry a sword, the characteristic Deccan curved sword with the hilt that is distinctive of the south India medieval style.

The sword, to show his ruling class, is however sheathed. It is as much a reverence to the house of god where the statue is placed and the public image of Kempegowda that was sought to be portrayed. His dress too, including the peaked cap is distinctively Vijayanagara.

The huge statue of Hiriya Kempegowda that was unveiled at the Bengaluru International Airport on Friday is a study in contrast. Research scholar, Nidhin George Olikara says, “The clothing style that the recent statue is adorned in weren’t even around in the mid 16th century. In any other country, the sculptors/ commissioning party would look at the source – only this one not a movie script.”

The digression from the dress and the weapons of the 16th century apart, the unleashed sword of Kempegowda also speaks of the public image that is sought to be portrayed today. A cenotaph for British soldiers who died fighting against the Mysore Army of Tipu Sultan in the late 18th century stood opposite what is now the BBMP headquarters.

In the 1960s Kannada activists brought it down and in its place was erected the first modern statue of Kempegowda, the founder of the city. Kempegowda was sought to be portrayed as not only a revered old chieftain but also as a Kannadiga icon who would defend the locals.

The statue, therefore, had Kempegowda holding a upright sword and a shield in the other hand. Since then, hundreds of such statues have been erected across Bengaluru. As Kempegowda became a Vokkaliga icon, his statues have sprouted up in places where the caste has a significant presence.

So today, Hassan, Mysuru, Tumakuru and other places where the Kempegowda dynasty never ruled have statues of the Vokkaliga icon. And copying from the 1964 statue, all of them show him with a sword unleashed. Janaki Nair, in her study, “Battles for Bangalore: Reterritorialisng the City” records that an attempt began in 1959 to erect the statue of Kempegowda.

But, “The absence of a reliable visual record of the legendary hero delayed work on the statue for five years.” Suresh Moona, a historian and expert on the history of Bengaluru says that new statue at the Kempegowda International Airport will become the template for future statues.

“All the older statues of Kempegowda including the one at Shivagange will become irrelevant now. I watched on the news that said they researched on the look for two years and bigwigs of the community have approved it. If that is the case, all future statues will be modelled on it,” Moona said.

Another historian, Dr DV Parashivamurthy, said that even if research can bring out the authentic details of dress and weapons, the physical features of an ancient person will be impossible to recreate. He said, “The new statue will be accurate and beautiful from the architectural point of view.

But without referring to paintings or sculptures of the original Kempegowda, you cannot be accurate about the facial features. We imagine our heroes as we want them to be.” The answer to the question of why Kempegowda started showing his sword from 1964 onwards can be found in a speech made by G Narayana, a popular Kannada activist of the time as mentioned in Nair’s study.

“Gone is the time when the citizens of Bangalore hung their heads in shame before a cenotaph honoring British victory in the city centre; in its place is the statue of Kempegowda, an achievement which has brought pride and joy,” she quotes him saying in a speech w