Established | 18 August 1865 [1] |
---|---|
Location | Kasturba Road, Bengaluru, India |
Coordinates | 12°58′29″N77°35′45″E / 12.9747°N 77.5958°E |
Key holdings | Halmidi inscription |
Collection size | Sculpture, old jewellery, coins and inscriptions. |
Visitors | 90,000 per annum [2] |
Government Museum, Bengaluru, established in 1865 by the Mysore State with the guidance of Surgeon Edward Balfour who founded the museum in Madras and supported by the Chief Commissioner of Mysore, L.B. Bowring, [1] is one of the oldest museums in India [3] and the second oldest museum in South India. [1] It is now an archaeological museum and has a rare collection of archaeological and geological artifacts including old jewellery, sculpture, coins and inscriptions. The museum is also home to the Halmidi inscription, [4] the earliest Kannada inscription (450 AD).
The government museum in Bengaluru was established on 18 August 1865, [1] during the period when L.B. Bowring was Chief Commissioner of Mysore State. A formal official notification was issued in the Mysore Government Gazette on 17 April 1866, [1] a copy of which is still preserved in the Karnataka State Archives in Bengaluru. The gazette notification officially invited citizens to contribute cultural and natural artifacts to the museum for display.
The museum was founded at the advice and counsel of Edward G. Balfour, a medical officer of the Madras Army, transferred to Bengaluru from Madras. [1] Balfour suggested setting up a museum similar to the museum he had previously established in Madras in 1851. Balfour had organized collections for the Great Exhibition of 1851. Balfour had a collection of zoological and natural specimens to exhibit in the Museum. [1] The Government museum in Bangalore was then known as the Mysore Government Museum and the building opened in 1877 [5] was located on what was then Sydney road (today Kasturba road). [6]
The museum was first established at the Cantonment's jail building. [1] It continued to function there for 13 years until 1878.
The jail building was considered not suitable for a museum and it was decided to construct a special museum building near the Cantonment. The current site of the museum was identified for the new museum. The new museum (the current structure) was planned and built in 1877 [7] by Col. Richard Hieram Sankey, the Chief Engineer of Mysore State at that time. [1]
The museum was popularly known as the tamasha house (entertainment house). [1]
The museum is flanked by the Visvesvaraya Industrial And Technological Museum and the Venkatappa Art gallery. The museum is located centrally on Kasturba road. The museum is built in 1877 in the neoclassical architectural style. It has two porticos on either side, Corinthian columns, circular arches, sloping eaves and prominent sloping parapet walls.
The museum has two exhibition floors which are divided into 18 galleries. The galleries cover sections that span sculpture, natural history, geology, art, music and numismatics.
The museum is an archaeological museum and has a rare collection of archaeological and geological artifacts including old jewellery, sculpture, coins and inscriptions. The museum has 70 paintings, 84 sculptures, and hundreds of other artifacts, some of which unique to the museum. [2] The museum has sculpture from the Hoysala, Gandhara and Nolamba periods.
Neolithic pottery from excavations carried out at Chandravalli, excavations artifacts from Mohenjodaro, Halebid and Vijayanagar, terracotta from Mathura and weapons from Kodagu. [2] Many relics housed at the museum are as much as 5000 years old. The museum also houses rare paintings of Deccan, Mysore and Tanjore kingdoms are found.
The museum has a model of Srirangapatna, the fort of Tipu Sultan. There is a slab in the museum from Tipu's times that has 12 persian couplets. The museum also showcases various old musical instruments. A Tanjore style framework of 64 Nayanamars is a unique piece there.
The prized collections of the Museum include the earliest Kannada inscription- the Halmidi inscription (450 C.E.), [4] Begur inscription (890 C.E.), [8] Atakur inscription (949 C.E.) slabs are found in this museum.
The museum saw many visitors in the early part of its history. The average annual footfall was 280,000 in the 1870s and over 400,000 [2] in the early part of the 20th century [2] as per museum records catalogued by the British. According to museum officials, the annual number of visitors is over 90,000 consisting of domestic and international tourists. [2]
The museum is temporarily closed to visitors for its renovation. It will stay closed for about a year according to some press reports. [9]
The Karnataka State Archaeology Department governs the museum. it comes under the purview of the Directorate of Archaeology and Museums. [10] The 13th Finance Commission of India has sanctioned ₹ 1 billion as a grant to Karnataka for the conservation of monuments and development of museums. [10]
Bengaluru is the capital city of the state of Karnataka. Bengaluru, as a city, was founded by Kempe Gowda I, who built a mud fort at the site in 1537. But the earliest evidence for the existence of a place called Bengaluru dates back to c. 890.
Devanahalli, also called "Devandahalli", "Dyaavandalli", Devanadoddi, and Devanapura, is a town and Town Municipal Council in Bengaluru Rural district in the state of Karnataka in India. The town is located 40 kilometres (25 mi) to the north-east of Bengaluru. Devanahalli is the site of Kempegowda International Airport. A multibillion-dollar Devanahalli Business Park with two IT Parks are coming up on nearly 400 acres (1.6 km2) adjoining the airport. An Aerospace Park, Science Park and a ₹10 billion (US$120 million) Financial City are also coming up. A new satellite ring road will connect the city with Doddaballapur. Devanahalli is situated near the upcoming ₹1,500 billion (US$18 billion), 12,000-acre (49 km2) BIAL IT Investment Region, to be the largest IT region in India.
Cubbon Park, officially Sri Chamarajendra Park, is a landmark park in Bengaluru, located in the heart of the city in the Central Administrative Area. Originally created in 1870 under Major General Richard Sankey, then British Chief Engineer of Mysore State, it covered an area of 100 acres (0.40 km2). Subsequent expansion has since taken place and the park's area is now reported to be 300 acres (1.2 km2). It has a rich recorded history of abundant flora and fauna plantations coupled with numerous impressive and aesthetically located buildings and statues of famous personages, in its precincts.
The History of Karnataka goes back several millennia. Several great empires and dynasties have ruled over Karnataka and have contributed greatly to the history, culture and development of Karnataka as well as the entire Indian subcontinent. The Chindaka Nagas of central India Gangas, Rashtrakutas of Manyakheta, Chalukyas of Vengi, Yadava Dynasty of Devagiri were all of Kannada origin who later took to encouraging local languages.
Old Kannada or Halegannada is the Kannada language which transformed from Purvada halegannada or Pre-old Kannada during the reign of the Kadambas of Banavasi.
Bangalore Fort began in 1537 as a mud fort. The builder was Kempe Gowda I, a vassal of the Vijaynagar Empire and the founder of Bangalore. King Hyder Ali in 1761 replaced the mud fort with a stone fort and it was further improved by his son King Tipu Sultan in the late 18th century. It was damaged during an Anglo-Mysore war in 1791. It still remains a good example of 18th-century military fortification. The army of the British East India Company, led by Lord Cornwallis on 21 March 1791 captured the fort in the siege of Bangalore during the Third Mysore War (1790–1792). At the time the fort was a stronghold for King Tipu Sultan. Today, the fort's Delhi gate, on Krishnarajendra Road, and two bastions are the primary remains of the fort. A marble plaque commemorates the spot where the British breached fort's wall, leading to its capture. The old fort area also includes King Tipu Sultan's Summer Palace, and his armoury. The fort has provided the setting for the treasure hunt in the book Riddle of the Seventh Stone.
Halasuru Someshwara Temple is located in the neighborhood of Halasuru in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. It is one of the old temples in the city dating back to the Chola period, it is dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. Major additions or modifications were made during the late Vijayanagara Empire period under the rule of Hiriya Kempe Gowda II.
Bangalore (Bengaluru), the capital of Karnataka state, India, reflects its multireligious and cosmopolitan character by its more than 1000 temples, 400 mosques, 100 churches, 40 Jain derasars, three Sikh gurdwaras, two Buddhist viharas and one Parsi fire temple located in an area of 741 km2 of the metropolis. The religious places are further represented to include the few members of the Jewish community who are making their presence known through the Chabad that they propose to establish in Bangalore and the fairly large number of the Baháʼí Faith whose presence is registered with a society called the Baháʼí Centre. In the demographically diverse, major economic hub and India's fastest-growing major metropolis of Bangalore, the number of religious places of each religion reported reflects growth in proportion to the population growth. According to the 2001 census of India, 79.37% of Bangalore's population is Hindu, roughly the same as the national average. Muslims comprise 13.37% of the population, which again is roughly the same as the national average, while Christians and Jains account for 5.79% and 1.05% of the population, respectively, double that of their national averages. Anglo-Indians also form a substantial group within the city.
The central business district of Bengaluru is the area within a 6 km radius around Vidhan Soudha. This is the center of Bangalore and was founded by Kempegowda of the Vijayanagara Empire. Most of the land is used by commercial establishments and the Indian Army with plans of skyscrapers under works. It has multiple high-rises including World Trade Center Bangalore and UB Tower. It also includes heritage properties like the Bangalore Fort and the Bangalore Pete.
The Nageshvara temple complex is located in Begur, a small town within the Bangalore urban district of Karnataka state, India. Two shrines within the temple complex, the Nageshvara swamy main deity was consecrated by Rishi’s and temple were commissioned during the rule of Western Ganga dynasty kings Nitimarga I and Ereyappa Nitimarga II. The remaining shrines are considered a later day legacy of the rule of the Chola dynasty, Hoysala dynasty, Vijayanagara Empire over the region. Ravana villain in Ramayana lost his atma linga in Gokarna and while returning to Sri Lanka he worshiped Nageshwara. An Old Kannada inscription, dated c. 890, that describes a "Bengaluru war" was discovered in this temple complex by the epigraphist R. Narasimhachar. The inscription is recorded in "Epigraphia Carnatica". This is the earliest evidence of the existence of a place called Bengaluru.
Old Madiwala Sri Someshwara Temple located in Bangalore city, Karnataka, India is dedicated to the deity Someshwara. It is one among the oldest temples in the city and dates back to the Chola Empire period. The temple belongs to the early 12th century.(1247 AD).
About 25,000 inscriptions found in Karnataka and nearby states belong to historic Kannada rulers, including the Kadambas, the Western Ganga Dynasty, the Rashtrakuta, the Chalukya, the Hoysala and the Vijayanagara Empire. Many inscriptions related to Jainism have been unearthed. The inscriptions found are generally on stone (Shilashasana) or copper plates (Tamarashasana). These Kannada inscriptions are found on historical hero stones, coins, temple walls, pillars, tablets and rock edicts. They have contributed towards Kannada literature and helped to classify the eras of Proto Kannada, Pre Old Kannada, Old Kannada, Middle Kannada and New Kannada. Inscriptions depict the culture, tradition and prosperity of their era. The literature of Ramayana and Mahabharata are transferred through the generations by these inscriptions. The Hazara Rama Temple and Aranmula Parthasarathy Temple are the best examples of temples associated with Kannada inscriptions.
Bengaluru, formerly called Bangalore in English, is the capital and largest city of the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than 8 million and a metropolitan population of around 15 million, making it India's third most populous city and fourth most populous urban agglomeration. It is the most populous city and largest urban agglomeration in South India, and is the 27th largest city in the world. Located on the Deccan Plateau, at a height of over 900 m (3,000 ft) above sea level, Bengaluru has a pleasant climate throughout the year, with its parks and green spaces earning it the reputation of India's "Garden City". Its elevation is the highest of India's major cities.
There are nearly a thousand inscriptions in Tamil in the Southern Karnataka districts of Bangalore, Mysore, Kolar and Mandya in India. Nearly one third of these inscriptions are found in the Kolar District. Of all the inscriptions collected and published in the Epigraphia Carnatica Vol X for Kolar district, a fourth are in Tamil. The Tamil inscriptions start to appear around 1000 AD, after the conquest of the region by the Chola dynasty king Rajaraja I. Even after the Cholas left the area, the Hoysala and later the Vijaynagar kingdoms continued to use Tamil in the inscriptions.
Mysore Hatti Krishna Iyengar was an Indian historian, archaeologist, epigraphist and authority in Indian numismatics. He pioneered the new field of Indology involving the study of Indian culture, history, music and traditions from a historical perspective. He is credited with the discovery of one of the oldest Kannada inscriptions, the Halmidi inscription, dating back to 350 A. D. He also discovered the remains of the city of Isila near Brahmagiri during his excavations at Chandravalli, Chitradurga. The forgotten tomb of Shahaji was traced by M. H. Krishna during his years at the Mysore Archaeological Department. His years at the Archaeology Department saw him churn out many of excavation reports and these were later published in successive volumes of Epigraphia Carnatica. During Krishna's tenure at Bangalore, he was instrumental in cataloguing close to 6000 coins in the archives of the archaeology department there. He was trained at the University College, London under Ernest Arthur Gardner. and would later accompany Sir Flinders Petrie in his excavations in Egypt.
Attara Kacheri in Bangalore, India, is the seat of the principal bench of the Karnataka High Court, the highest judicial authority in the state of Karnataka. It is a neoclassical red-painted stone and brick building in Cubbon Park, located on Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Road opposite the Vidhana Soudha. It previously housed the secretariat of the princely state of Mysore and then that of independent India's Mysore State.
The region of Bangalore in Karnataka contains over 1,500 historical stone inscriptions. Spanning more than 1,500 years, these inscriptions detail the political, social, religious, and economic aspects of the region's past, making them key sources for tracing Bengaluru's transformation from a modest settlement to a bustling metropolis. Within the limits of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, approximately 175 stone inscriptions have been documented in various publications.
Begur is a locality in Bengaluru South which stands as a testament to ancient Bengaluru, with historical evidence dating back to c. 6th century CE. It was formerly known as Bempur, Veppur, and Behur, and served as a significant administrative center, playing a vital role in the evolution of Bengaluru to a modern global metropolis.