Bengaluru owes Kempe Gowda big time, say historians, who feel its only right to name the Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) after him in acknowledgement. He not only founded the city, but also sowed the seeds of its future development with uncanny vision as far back as the 16th century, they note.
“Kempe Gowda was a visionary. He knew the city would expand and so to meet its water needs he constructed the Halasuru Kere (Ulsoor lake) and the Sampangi and Kempambhudi tanks. He allowed traders and artisans from across the country to settle here and gave them dedicated roads and so were born Akkipet, Balepet, Aralipet, Upparpet and Chikpet," says Arun Prasad, Project Head, Discover Bengaluru.
Kempe Gowda, also called ‘Yelahanka Naada Prabhu,’ ruled Yelahanka for the Vijaynagar empire cradled in Hampi. “It was Vijaynagar King Krishnadevaraya who gave him the 50,000 gold coins he asked for to build a bigger city. Tax collection from the Shivanasamudra province was also diverted to the project,” says Ha. Ka. Rajegowda, a historian who has done extensive research on him.
Legend has it that when Kempe Gowda was looking for a suitable location for his new city, he saw a hare chasing away a dog at the spot where Bengaluru stands today and calling it Gandu Bhoomi’ (Heroic Land), took an instant decision to build it here. “He wanted to style Bengaluru after the Vijayanagar kingdom built on the banks of the Tungabhadra river. But as there was no river here he decided to build the fort near the Dharmambudhi lake and completed it in 1537. While there is no trace of the fort now, the temples and streets that he built still exist,” says Mr Arun Prasad.