A unique project to trace Bengaluru's history before Kempe Gowda

For most people, the history of Bengaluru essentially starts with Kempe Gowda, who founded the modern city in the sixteen century. Although scholars and epigraphists have traced the city’s history to 750 CE, few people would believe that India’s IT capital is older than a millennium.

. Hundreds of stone inscriptions and hero stones in the city dating back to 1,000 years contain the richness of its past, but in many cases, they are disappearing in the changing weather conditions and rapid urbanisation. But a project that began earlier this year is promising to digitise at least 1,500 inscriptions and create 3D models to preserve the city’s glory for posterity.

. Besides protecting the stone records, the citizen project by Inscription Stones of Bengaluru and Mythic Society also vows to create awareness on the ancient stones and the stories they tell about the city’s heritage. The three-year project that began in January is creating 3D models of the stones in Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural and Ramanagara.

. A team of five archaeologists, historians and epigraphists has scanned about 70 inscriptions. P L Udaya Kumar, the honorary director of the project, described the initiative as first of its kind in the country in which 1,500 inscriptions will be digitally preserved with every minute detail.

. For Kumar, a techie who had stints at MNCs across the world, the quest to find Bengaluru’s forgotten stone inscriptions provided the trigger for the project.

. “This is not just about digital scanning of the inscription, but understanding the city’s evolution, language, culture and its socio-economic background,” he explained. “You won’t find any metropolis (even ruined cities) across the globe with such rich heritage spanning a millennium.”

. The idea of digitisation and 3D-modelling is at least a decade old. “Initially, I, my friend Vinay Kumar and other volunteers scanned the inscriptions and preserved them,” Uday said. “Some companies and philanthropists funded the project in a small scale. But that wasn’t enough. That was when the Mythic Society provided Rs 2 crore for the project,” he added.

. Uday visits the inscriptions with his team of epigraphists and historians, and scans the stone records with an advanced hand-held scanner that captures even the tiniest detail on the stone. “We use software to process the scanned images into various formats and create 3D models for research and reference purpose,” said an epigraphist.

. Uday said several inscriptions had withered away, having been exposed to harsh weather conditions. “In some places, we’ve lost them completely,” he rued.

. And in some cases, despite their prominent position, people have failed to recognise their value and the inscriptions have been buried in garbage. “Luckily, we’ve managed to capture most inscriptions that were about to disintegrate,” Uday said.

. “While most of the available inscriptions around Bengaluru were documented by scholars like B L Rice, there are about 20-25 unpublished inscriptions that people have reported,” Uday explained.

. Preoccupied with the idea of communicating the value of the inscriptions to the locals, Uday and his team began telling the locals about the historic legacy of their locality. “By conserving the history for the future generation and sharing it with others, we’re giving it back to society,” he said.

. The digital conversion programme is assisted by volunteers who provide training on software and equipment handling techniques to the epigraphists and historians.

. The team is also discussing with ISRO and other premier bodies for the required support in terms of storage space and digital assistance.

A unique project to trace Bengaluru's history before Kempe Gowda

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