Hi Poornima,

Very interesting places.
I have visited all of these places. U r right, many ppl doest even know some of the facts mentioned in ur article. I hope ppl will try to visit these places next time they go to Devanahalli ~ Anu

Around 1743, Maratha's had lost Trichinopoly and it was a great blow to Maratha power and pride. Maratha's had already sold/lost Bangalore in 1687. Now they tried to re-establish their authority around Bangalore so as to secure a base for their war in carnatic against Nizam. Their Sardar Babu Nayak set about meddling in the affairs of Morasanadu and conquered the forts of Begur and Yeliyur (Near Devanahalli). He also instigated the Morasu Chieftain Range Gowda of Doddaballapur - a feudatory of Mysore, to revolt and occupy Devanahalli fort. At this time Karachuri Nanjarajiah was the Dalvoy of Mysore and also father-in-law of the then King Immadi Krishna Raja Wodeyar. Bangalore fort was under the command of Katti Gopala raj Urs (Father of the Redoubtable Rani Lakshammanni, who later married the King. After the usurpation of the Kingdom by Hyder and his son Tipu, she fought relentlessly for their down fall. She survived to install her own great grand son Mummadi Krishna Raja as king of Mysore in 1799. Malleswaram has a college named after this brave Queen - Maharani Laksmi Ammanni college). Hyder and his elder brother Shabbas, were working at Bangalore under Katti Gopalaraja after being redeemed by paying 10000 varahas by the Dalvoy to the subedar of Sira. Range Gowda's revolt and capture of Devanahalli made Karachuri Nanajaraja and Katti Gopalraja Urs to retrieve the position.They besieged Devanhalli fort for nearly 9 months (august 1946 to april 1947)( not 1949 as the author says) and ultimately captured the fort and Range Gowda was deposed. Hyder excelled in the war and captured the attention of Karachuri and thus started his relentless march to fame and power without brooking any challenge even from his master Karachuri in later years or his fried Khande Rao.

Very Interesting Story. A small correction - at the risk of nitpicking.
I have not said '1949' anywhere in the article. The details are as per the references provided and not just a peep into Wiki.
Thanks for stopping by to read these articles.

Thanks Anu. I guess the fort might get more prominence from the tourism dept now since its near the BIAL airport.

whoops !Even i have typed it wrong ! Sorry PD for this belated response. i just go to this on random google search.

Your story says: This was under the rule of the ‘Gowda’ family until it was conquered by the Wodeyars under the command of one Nanja Raja in 1749. The fort gave in after a gallant defence of eight months.

I should have typed 1746 to 1747 ! Nanja Raja you have alluded to is Dalvoy Karachuri Nanjarajiah!

I have given the dates as per the references mentioned. The story is not mine but as per B.L.Rice, the official author of the Mysore State Gazeteer.