How villagers next to industrial township in Karnataka got together to restore 10th-century hero stones
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The district administration has now sought state govt's permission to prepare an action plan to preserve these ancient monuments in close to 1,000 schools across Tumakuru district.
While this heritage revival is gaining momentum, the cleanliness drive at Hiregundagal village by a panchayat development officer (PDO) has resulted in the setting up of the fourth heritage monument park around Bengaluru. This park features 13 unique hero stones (Veeragallu) dating back to various periods between the 10th and 12th centuries, offering a sneak peek into the contributions of Ganga and Rashtrakoota rulers.
Located just a few kilometres from Vasanthanarasapura industrial township, where multinational companies are setting up base, the villagers had almost forgotten that their settlement once witnessed a fierce battle between the Gangas and Rashtrakootas, resulting in the latter's supremacy over the region. "All hero stones that had key details of the battle and other events of that era were lost. When we saw a few of the remaining pieces, we took up a drive under Swachata hi Seva (SHS) in Sept 2022.
Subsequently, out of 18 recorded hero stones, about 13 were retrieved in full length, and the rest have either been damaged to make roads or other works," explained Jyothi, PDO of Chikkathotlukere gram panchayat.
But the real challenge is in safeguarding these monuments for future. "Finding land and sourcing funds to develop a heritage park was an uphill task then. But our taluk officers and CEOs of Tumakuru zilla panchayat took this up and granted funds for the project.
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The tahsildar also helped in securing two guntas of Kharab land required for the park. Due to the administrative support, the monument park is now ready at a cost of Rs 13 lakh," she added.
In the meantime, the villagers, assisted by heritage and history activists, also contributed to the setting up of the park and adding additional monuments that they spotted in the nearby vicinity. "We came across similar monuments around temples in the nearby hamlets.
Some heritage enthusiasts assisted us in tracing them. A stone idol of Nandi and Shivalinga—both belonging to the Ganga period—was also retrieved," said Praveen, a resident of Gundagal.
Efforts are on to decipher the script on these hero stones and display the content by putting up QR codes.
The move has won appreciation from history enthusiasts. "The ancient veeragallus of Hiregundakal now stand with pride one again.
We are grateful to officials and villagers of Hiregunadakal who made this revival possible," history blogger Swaminathan Natarajan tweeted to @TOIBengaluru.
Inset -1
Monument parks in schools
Prabhu G, IAS, chief executive officer, zilla panchayat, Tumakuru, said the community-collaborated work at Hiregundagal was the beginning of a mega campaign across the district. "Over the last three years, we rejuvenated 18 kalyani (temple ponds) that were forgotten or filled with debris constructed during the ancient and medieval periods. Under MNREGA, we have chalked out plans to set up similar monument parks in schools, benefiting kids across Tumakuru districts.
We have already identified 900 schools and sought permission from the govt to prepare an action plan for setting up monument parks there," he said.
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How villagers next to industrial township in Karnataka got together to restore 10th-century hero stones
Bengaluru: A community cleanliness drive to retrieve the buried, defaced, and mutilated hero stones and stone inscriptions at a small village near Tumakuru in Sept 2022 has now paved the way for a mega campaign across the district to retrieve hundreds of such neglected monuments belonging to ancient and medieval eras. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The district administration has now sought state govt's permission to prepare an action plan to preserve these ancient monuments in close to 1,000 schools across Tumakuru district. While this heritage revival is gaining momentum, the cleanliness drive at Hiregundagal village by a panchayat development officer (PDO) has resulted in the setting up of the fourth heritage monument park around Bengaluru. This park features 13 unique hero stones (Veeragallu) dating back to various periods between the 10th and 12th centuries, offering a sneak peek into the contributions of Ganga and Rashtrakoota rulers. Located just a few kilometres from Vasanthanarasapura industrial township, where multinational companies are setting up base, the villagers had almost forgotten that their settlement once witnessed a fierce battle between the Gangas and Rashtrakootas, resulting in the latter's supremacy over the region. "All hero stones that had key details of the battle and other events of that era were lost. When we saw a few of the remaining pieces, we took up a drive under Swachata hi Seva (SHS) in Sept 2022. Subsequently, out of 18 recorded hero stones, about 13 were retrieved in full length, and the rest have either been damaged to make roads or other works," explained Jyothi, PDO of Chikkathotlukere gram panchayat. But the real challenge is in safeguarding these monuments for future. "Finding land and sourcing funds to develop a heritage park was an uphill task then. But our taluk officers and CEOs of Tumakuru zilla panchayat took this up and granted funds for the project. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The tahsildar also helped in securing two guntas of Kharab land required for the park. Due to the administrative support, the monument park is now ready at a cost of Rs 13 lakh," she added. In the meantime, the villagers, assisted by heritage and history activists, also contributed to the setting up of the park and adding additional monuments that they spotted in the nearby vicinity. "We came across similar monuments around temples in the nearby hamlets. Some heritage enthusiasts assisted us in tracing them. A stone idol of Nandi and Shivalinga—both belonging to the Ganga period—was also retrieved," said Praveen, a resident of Gundagal. Efforts are on to decipher the script on these hero stones and display the content by putting up QR codes. The move has won appreciation from history enthusiasts. "The ancient veeragallus of Hiregundakal now stand with pride one again. We are grateful to officials and villagers of Hiregunadakal who made this revival possible," history blogger Swaminathan Natarajan tweeted to @TOIBengaluru. Inset -1 Monument parks in schools Prabhu G, IAS, chief executive officer, zilla panchayat, Tumakuru, said the community-collaborated work at Hiregundagal was the beginning of a mega campaign across the district. "Over the last three years, we rejuvenated 18 kalyani (temple ponds) that were forgotten or filled with debris constructed during the ancient and medieval periods. Under MNREGA, we have chalked out plans to set up similar monument parks in schools, benefiting kids across Tumakuru districts. We have already identified 900 schools and sought permission from the govt to prepare an action plan for setting up monument parks there," he said.
