Antique water tank of Bailhongal

Bailhongal town was an important place in the XIX Century, particularly during the existence of Kittur kingdom. Apparently Bailhongal was under British control when during Kittur-British war of 1824. Rani Chennamma faced defeat and capture, she was imprisoned at the jail inside Bailhongal fort where she is said to have died in Feb 1829. Her mortal remains were buried at Bailhongal and a memorial was built in her honor. Very close to the memorial park is this tower with a water tank at the top. It is situated in one of the residential plots next to the avenue linking the memorial park to the main street of Bailhongal. The tower has a certain quality to it, the kind which makes one to look up for a long second look.

The architecture of the tower is unmistakably British. On inquiring I learned that the tower was built in 1950s by the town municipality. The tower supplied water to the locality around it. Back then, the town population was probably a few thousands. The capacity of the water tank could be 3000 to 4000 liters. The structure consists of a base, four multi-tiered concrete columns, a concrete slab,  water tank and a dome. The inlet & outlet water pipes and a metal ladder run through the space between the four columns. The engineers who built obviously designed it as a compact structure, with a small foot print.

 

The tower seems slightly neglected. Probably it was painted a decade ago. Also a thorny plant has grown next to its base which could be two or three years old. Despite the neglected state, the water supply could be functional. I wish the town municipality takes care of this 70YO tower and maintains it it, Surely it has the potential to be another historical monument of the town.

Also, close to the tower is the X Century temple- Sri Ramalingeshwara Devastana. The temple has been altered heavily with modern material but the columns & beams have been preserved. Also to big stone slabs with Kannada inscription can be seen at the temple.

Whenever you are passing through Bailhingal, remember to check out these three monuments.
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Sri Guru Madiwaleshwara Matha, Wakkunda

Sri Guru Madiwaleshwara is a 19th Century Lingayath saint who setup his first monastery on the bank of a stream near Garag village. Madiwaleshwar's disciples built temples and setup more monasteries in his honor at other places like Nichanki near Kittur and Vakkund village on river Malaprabha bank near Bailhongal.

Feb 16, 2022

The discovery of monastery of Madiwaleshwara was a surprise. I had come to Vakkund to see the XII Century temples situated on a mound on the left bank of river Malaprabha. Madiwaleshwara Matha was on the way to the ancient temple from the village. I parked my car at the monastery and walked rest of the way to the river. The mound was an island hence I couldn't make it to the temple. I took a few pictures of the island and returned. The poojari had completed the morning rituals and left, probably the temple would be open again in the evening for a few hours.

The Matha is surrounded by sugarcane fields, the ambiance is nice. The monastery seems to have the basic facilities like a kitchen, store room, courtyard and rooms for guests. However, there's no Swami as such. The monastery is well maintained, very neat and tidy.

This is the temple within the monastery. The framed picture at the top is Guru Madiwaleshwara's. As per his biography, Madiwaleshwara's roots are connected to Mallasarja Desai of Kittur. Madiwaleshwara is said to have traveled well including a trip to Nepal where he was a guest at the royal palace. Also he was a contemporary of Shishunala Sharif and Nagalinga Swamy of Navalgund.

The water level around the mound will recede in a few weeks. I've planned to visit Vakkund again, probably last week March or first week April.
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