Bengaluru conjures different things for several people, be it silicon city, start-up capital, pub city, silk hub and, of course, nightmarish traffic. But not many will talk of it being a historic city.
“I never thought of the city (being) linked deeply to its past,” said Udaya Kumar P.L., an IT professional-turned-history enthusiast-turned-history conservator. “But now I am deeply aware of its 2,000-plus (year) history.”
Born and brought up in the city, Kumar said he had no idea until he stumbled upon a stone tablet in his neighbourhood in 2017. That happened to be a 14th century artefact, and is one among the 175 inscription stones that existed in all corners of the old Bengaluru region.
Extremely detailed, localized, and yet, offering a panoramic picture of the city, these stones have been documented in the Epigraphia Carnatica, a set of books on the epigraphy of the Mysore region compiled by Benjamin Lewis Rice, director of the Mysore Archeological Department between 1894 and 1905.
But the city had changed since Rice compiled the book. So, where were the other stones?
With his interest piqued, Kumar and a growing number of aficionados raced to find the rest of the inscription stones. Kumar and his cycling buddy Vimal Kumar retraced, as far as possible, the route taken by Rice and tried to locate the stones. They started putting their findings on Facebook, and as their numbers grew, the group Stone Inscriptions of Bangalore began. And alongside, began a concerted effort to document the stones once again.
The journey of documentation has now evolved from the book format of Epigraphia Carnatica to a one-of-its-kind digital documentation.
Saga of the stones
What are the top five historical nuggets of the city which the stones reveal?
Kumar laughingly refused to give a listicle. Instead, he spoke of what the stones, dating from 750 CE to 18th century CE, conjure of an ancient city that then included three districts: Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural and Ramanagara.
There were a total of 1,500 stone inscriptions then. The stones talk of grants, lakes, tax waivers, governance practices, altruistic missions, battles, local kings, trade and commerce. Of these, the stone inscriptions honouring warriors are called Veerakallu or ‘hero stone’. The oldest, found in Krishnarajapuram, honoured a fallen warrior Mareya who fought for the Western Ganga dynasty ruler Sripurusha.
Fascinating stories come from reading the inscriptions written in Kannada; the stones circa 750 CE were in Halmidi, the oldest form of Kannada.
Wherever Kumar and the other volunteers have found an inscription stone, they've first tried to read the inscriptions - which are often destroyed or worn out - using methods like estampage (‘lifting’ the inscriptions from the stone on to a piece of paper for a clearer read), flour tracing, or Reflectance Transformation Imaging.
“From the inscription stones it is evident that every nook and corner of the city has an incredible past, some going back to 2,000 years ago,” said Kumar.
Unfortunately, almost hundred stones have been known to be destroyed in the past two decades. Some of the restored stones are moved to safer locations or else, moved to the sites where they were presumed to have been before being shifted elsewhere.
Why not move the stones to the museum?
“Think of any memorabilia belonging to your family,” Kumar said. “Would it not be of deeper connect to you than...to the visitors at the museum?”
So, the locals are told of the historical significance, creating a meaningful relationship.
Kumar and a team of volunteers have done events and exhibitions, some along with the state’s archeology department. “We began raising awareness of the ancient shila shaasanas through such events and mobilized a group that would recognize the value of these inscription stones and secure them from further destruction,” Kumar said.
For instance, locals from Jakkur and Allalsandra shifted the stones to safer places on their own. Some individuals, like the BMTC bus driver Dhanpal, have played a big role in locating inscription stones from neighbourhoods. This is actually a painstaking job that requires a lot of cajoling, requests and legwork. Currently, the Facebook group, Stone Inscriptions of Bangalore, has over 20,000 members.
Unique digital documentation
How does one document something that’s evidently not going to last, thanks to public apathy and weathering?
In 2017, the team of volunteers started by making 25 posters with photos, translations and transliteration of the inscriptions. There were QR codes pointing the viewers to the locations of the stones on Google maps as well as unique 3D model of the stones.
Jeweller Harish Pawaskar, who did the first 3D models, had set the 3D images pop-up with details about the inscription. All the information and details in the digital snapshot can be used to recreate physical copies of the stone inscriptions in case anything gets destroyed in the future.
The earlier 3D models were done either for free or through donations. It costs about Rs 30,000 to use the special 3D camera for one day while the camera itself costs Rs 30-35 lakh.
Right now, Kumar has taken a break from his regular job for three years and has devoted himself to the project which is now supported by Mythic Society, a 113-year-old institution having a similar purpose of conserving history.
Covid-19 has slowed the project offline but there is energy and enthusiasm. “Our city has fascinating stories,” Kumar said. “History is not just the story of kings.”
But wait, here is the listicle:
An inscription stone with Tamil inscriptions in one of the city’s oldest temples, Madivala’s Sri Someshwara temple, can be dated to 1247, the Chola period. The stone refers to ‘Vengalur’, the Tamil name for Bengaluru. Historians believe that when Kempe Gowda established the city, he borrowed the name from a place that already existed in the 9th century.
The first historical reference to Singapura was on November 26, 1524 CE. This is not Singapore the country but a buzzing place in Bengaluru that was a hub for Sri Vaishnavites. The region was home to people for thousands of years, an observation borne out by the discoveries of pre-historic tools, dolmens and Roman coins.
Bengaluru had several ‘agraharas’ or residential universities. The teachers (usually Brahmins) taught math, astronomy, music, dance, grammar, the Vedas, and languages. Modern day astrophysicists have spoken about records of celestial events like eclipses in inscription stones. One inscription stone talks of funds being donated for oil baths for the students of a particular agrahara. Some talk of donations to a music teacher, a librarian and so on.
According to the use of Kannada, Tamil and Telugu, the inscription stones tell us about the rise and fall of empires. For instance, Tamil flourished in the Chola and Hoysala periods and Telugu during the reign of the Vijayanagara empire. King Vira Ballala of Unnamale (now Tiruvannamalai) of the Hoysala dynasty commissioned inscription stones in all three languages, and these are located not too far from one another.
Studying the Kannada used over the centuries in the stones, there is a clear picture of how the language’s script evolved. The inscriptions at Dasarahalli and KR Puram are possibly the oldest-known Kannada inscriptions in Bengaluru.
Sometimes, large tracts of land were donated to people for services rendered. One 800-year-old inscription talks of land donated to Brahmins for the ceremonies conducted for a loved one. This land is now a bustling neighbourhood in north Bengaluru.
Often, the king or a local ruler would transfer villages to a temple. There is an inscription recording the grant of a village to the god of Allalanatha of Jakkur. Another talks of the granting of Virupakshapura to the Someshwara Temple on the occasion of a solar eclipse on August 8, 1431 in today’s Hesaraghatta.
One of the earliest mentions of women is of the daughter of King Nagatara, Thondabbe, who took a vow to fast until death after the battle of Bangalore. A stone tablet found in Hoskote shows a woman warrior fighting and dying on the battlefield.
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