Weekend in Bangalore

Was in Bangalore on 20-21 June'08. Main purpose of the visit was to attend a wedding. But there was plenty of spare time & decided to drive to Devanahalli around 35 Kms from Bangalore city. Enroute, around mid-way to Devanahalli,we stopped over at a road side dhaba 'Ambience" for lunch. Excellent stuff - we had tandoori rotis, paneer butter masala, yellow dal & channa (we had carried fruit juice cartons and plenty of Kingfisher cans with us to prevent dehydration). A real treat, good ambience & modest rates. Weather was great - typical cool & pleasant Banguluru climate with light drizzle. We continued our journey towards Devanahalli - excellent multi lane road, comparable with the best highways in the world, which allowed us to cruise at a steady 100 Kmph. Significant landmarks that we crossed included the Larsen & Toubro factory, Air Force Station Yelahanka, Delhi Public School & ITC factory. We continued past the flyover leading to the newly opened Devanahalli Airport & travelled another seven Kms to reach Devanahalli Fort.
We first stopped at the small monument, a four pillared arched structure, erected on a square platform, at the spot where Tipu Sultan was born. Another 150 M ahead lay the Devanahalli Fort. Devanahalli is a prehistoric fort town from the past. It has under the rule of Rastra Kutas, Nolambas, Cholas, Hoysalas & the Vijayanagara rulers. During the Vijayanagara rule one Malla Baire Gowda, a feudatory, constructed the fort in 1501 AD with the consent of Devaraya of Devanadoddi - the erstwhile name of Devanahalli. Subsequently in 1747 AD the fort passed on to the hands of the Wodeyars of Mysore. Later it was captured by Hyder Ali & Tipu Sultan. It was the favorite hunting place of Tipu Sultan.The roughly oval east oriented fortification veneered with dressed masonry has as many as twelve semi circular bastions at regular intervals. The bastions are provided with gun points built in brick and lime.
This fort has been identified as a monument of National importance but from the looks of it little is being done to protect this monument of such a historical significance. Free movement of people and vehicles is allowed into the fort and there is no security of any sort. There are some nice Hindu Temples inside the fort. One of these which we visited is the Venugopla temple said to be over 500 years old but appears to have been recently renovated. The striking features of the temple are the magnificent dwaja sthambham and the nicely carved pillared entrance portico. The temple is very charming and the deity inspiring.
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