Devanahalli

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Devanahalli, Bangalore, Karnataka State, India

- Located 30 km outside the city limits of Bangalore, India

- Birthplace of Tipu Sultan

- Site of the new Bangalore International Airport [1] scheduled to open in April 2008. At that time, the city's existing HAL airport will be closed to commercial traffic (defence, test and VIP flights will continue).

Devanahalli is known as the birthplace of Tipu Sultan and as the site for Bangalore's new International Airport. Situated 30 km from Bangalore, Devanahalli, was earlier called Devanadoddi or Devanapura. When Tipu came to power, he renamed it as Yusufabad, which however did not prove to be popular.

Tipu Sultan was born here in 1750. As one reaches the town from Bangalore, one finds a scant signboard, proclaiming the birthplace of Tipu. A few yards away is a stone tablet surrounded by fields, stating that Tipu was born here. A little distance away is the Devanahalli fort, built in 1501 by Mallabairegowda (before Tipu's time), which remained in the hands of his descendants until the mid seventeenth century. In 1749, the then Dalwai of Mysore - Nanjarajaiah, attacked the fort and occupied it. Later, the fort passed into the hands of Hyder Ali and subsequently Tipu Sultan. In 1791, Lord Cornwallis laid siege to the fort and took possession during the Mysore War.

The house where Tipu and Hyder Ali stayed can be seen to this day. Dewan Purnaiah, who was a high ranking official during the time of Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan, also used to have a house here, which stands till this day. However, there haven't been any efforts from the State or the Archeological Society of India or other organizations to maintain or repair these historical structures. It is only a matter of time before these structures get vandalized.

Although Devanahalli is just an hour's drive from Bangalore, there is very little tourist traffic as the authorities have failed to realise the potential of the area. This should hopefully change with the impetus on the Bangalore International Airport.

There have been several articles written about Devanahalli by enthusiastic travel writers. Here are two links to the articles.

http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/may312005/spectrum844492005530.asp

http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/mar012005/spt1.asp


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