Statue of Prosperity

• 27 Dec 2022

Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled a 108 feet tall bronze statue of Sri Nadaprabhu Kempegowda in Bengaluru on November 11, 2022.

• Also Bharat Gaurav Kashi Darshan Train was flagged off at Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna (KSR) railway station in Bengaluru.
  • Chennai-Mysore Vande Bharat Express was also flagged off from KSR railway station by Prime Minister on the same day.

Nadaprabhu Kempegowda

• Nadaprabhu Hiriye Kempe Gowda is also known as Kempe Gowda.
• He was fourth in succession from Rana Bhairave Gowda, founder of the dynasty of the Avati Nadu and great grandson of Jaya Gowda, a separate Vijayanagara feudal vassal, Kempe Gowda is the most famous of the Yelahanka rulers.
  • Kempe Gowda assumed the chieftaincy of Yalahanka Nadu from his father in 1513 and would reign for 46 years and died in 1569.
  • He was a chieftain under the Vijayanagara Empire.
  • Kempe Gowda was one of the well-educated rulers of all time.
• He is famous for founding the present-day southern Indian city of Bangalore.
  
  • Bengaluru, was fortified by Kempe Gowda in 1537.
• He erected many Kannada inscriptions in the region.
• Kempe Gowda was a patron of arts and learning.
  • In spite belonging to a purely Kannada speaking community,he was a polyglot and authored Gangagaurivilasa, a yakshagana play, in Telugu, the court-language of the time.

About the Statue

• The ‘Statue of Prosperity’ is 108-feet tall bronze statue of Bengaluru founder Nadaprabhu Kempegowda. It is made with 98 tonnes of bronze and 120 tonnes of steel.
• It has been built to commemorate the contribution of Kempegowda towards development of the city.
• The statue was conceptualized and sculpted by Ram V Sutar, who also curated the Statue of Unity.
• This statue is registered as a record in the World Book of Records, as No other airport in the world has such a tall statue of its founder.