Question

write a short note on kempegoda

Answer 1

Kempegowda was the chieftain who ruled most of the karnataka for the better part of the 15th century. He was a ruler under the vijayanagara empire. He visualized building a city that would house a military cantonment, water reservoirs, temples and provide employment to tradesmen. He approached the vijayanagara kings for the requisite permissions and laid the foundation for what would become the IT hub of the country.  

Interesting story behind founding this city

While Kempegowda was on a hunting expedition, he was amused to see a rabbit chasing a dog. He called that place as "Gandubhoomi" (The land of heros) and desired to build a city in that place. He took a survey of the place and found it to be suitable considering into account the fertile land and the water reservoirs. On a bright sunny morning in 1537 AD, 4 pairs of bullocks with decorated ploughs were assembled in the middle of the forest. At an auspicious time, as Kempe Gowda flagged off the event, these 4 pairs driven by young men started furrowing the ground in 4 cardinal directions. It was decided the distance covered by the bulls would become the area of the fort. Further to guard this new city, he built a strong mud fort with 4 main gates for entry/exit. The entire fort was surrounded by moat (ditch filled with water). The 4 main gates were built at the same place where the bulls stopped.