Davanagere

Davangere (or Davanagere, Kannada: ದಾವಣಗೆರೆ [davanagere]) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the administrative headquarters of Davangere District. The city is located on NH4 (National Highway 4) at a distance of about 265 km from the state capital of Bangalore. Davangere became separate district in 1997; it was separated from the district of Chitradurga for Administration conveniences.

Previously known for its cotton mills, it was a fast-developing city of Karnataka. There was a time when the city was called Manchester of Karnataka due to its excellent quality of cotton produced in its cotton mills and hand looms.

Etymology

It is popularly believed that the Chalukyas halted at this place to overcome the fatigue (danivu kaleyuva) of a long horse-ride. A lake (kere) was excavated for them to quench their thirst. The place came to be known as Devan giri (a corruption of danivina kere) and eventually Davanagere. This popular belief is not attested by any concrete historical evidence. There is no lake to show to prove this note.

History

Davanagere was originally an obscure village, forming one of the suburbs of Bettur. Sultan Haider Ali gave it as jagir to a Maratha chief named Apoji Ram who encouraged merchants to settle there. He died without heirs, but the place continued to grow, being favored by Tippu Sultan. After the fall of Tipu Sultan's regime, a European firm exploited the situation and passed a hint to start a cotton mill which led to a boom of cotton mills in Davanagere. Cotton was grown in plenty as the soil of Davanagere and adjacent Harihar was favourable (black gypsum soil) and hence Davanagere Cotton Mills was started. Davanagere had a municipality as early as 1870. The Imperial Gazatteer of India(1911) says that the receipts and expenditure of the municipality during the ten years ending 1901 averaged Rs 14,200 and Rs 12,600 respectively.

Geography

Davangere is the "Heart of Karnataka". Davangere is surrounded from Chithradurga, Bellary, Shimoga, Chikmagalur and Haveri districts. Davangere is at the center of Karnataka, 14° 28’ latitude, 75° 59’ longitude and 602.5 metres (1,977 ft) above sea level, Davanagere district receives average annual rainfall of 644.0 mm.

Davanagere lies in the Bayalu Seeme or the Maidan region on the Deccan Plateau. The district is bounded by Shimoga District (Malenadu) Area of Hills, Haveri District, Chitradurga District, Chikmagalur and Bellary District

Davangere District includes following Taluks.

• Davangere - Headquarters of Davangere district.
• Harihar- famous for Harihareshwara Temple, Kirloskar Machine Tools, Sonalkar Machine Tools.
• Jagalur- famous for Jagalur Imam Saheb - 1960's Member of Parliament - Absolutely Dry Land Town.
• Honnali- A Town connecting Shimoga District lies on the bank of river Tungabhadra
• Channagiri- Forest area popularly known for timber activities in olden days.
• Harpanahalli- A Town very close to Bellary Iron Ore Minining, famous for sheep breeding.

Demographics

As of 2001 India census, Davangere had a population of 363,780. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Davangere has an average literacy rate of 69%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 74% and, female literacy is 64%. In Davangere, 12% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Davanagere is a mixed community centre. The majority are Lingayats with different sub-castes within the community. Second largest population is Muslims and then Christians. The mixed culture had previously developed very good tolerance for each other's religious practices.

Davangere is located on the Bangalore-Pune national highway NH4 which is part of the Golden Quadrilateral highway network. Geographically the city is divided into Old Davangere and New Davangere. Old Davangere comprises most of the Market Areas like Mandipet, Hasabavi Circle, Chowkipet, Kaipet, Chamrajpet, K.R Market, Kalikadevi road and residential areas like Gandhinagar, Shivajinagar, Devaraj Urs Layout A, B, C Blocks etc.

Davanagere has prominent Land Marks such as Duggamma Temple in the heart of the City. Old Schools such as Old Municipal High School, Municipal High School(Badami High School), Moti Veerappa High School, Lourd's Boys School, Clock Tower are prominent landmarks. Municipality building resembles British Designed Building. Court behind the Municipality Building. Travellers Bungalow (adjacent to Seethamma Girls High School). Vanitha Samaja Building.

New Davangere comprises Residential Extensions like Nittuvalli, KTJ Nagar, KB Extn, PJ Extn, MCC A Block, MCC B Block, Anjaneya Extension, Swamy Vivekananda Extension, Shamanur, Nijalingappa layout, SS layout, Vinobha Nagar, Vidyanagara, Taralabalu Badavane, Vinayaka Nagara, Sarswathi Nagara, Shivakumara Badavane, Jaya Nagara, DCM Layout,Ragavendra Nagara, Shakthi Nagara, LIC colony... and Etc... The National highway 4 and the Railway track exactly cuts the City into two halves. Davangere is also well connected by train, the nearest important airport is in Bangalore (5 hours by road). In the late 18th century, Haidar Ali, ruler of Mysore, gave Davangere to the Maratha leader Apoji Ram, who encouraged merchants to settle there. The city eventually developed into an area with large-scale textile industry and as a trading center for cotton and grain. Several colleges where affiliated with the Davangere University are situated at Davangere.

Attractions

Kunduvada kere (Mallikarjuna sagara Parivartita Kunduwada Kere) in Davangere, is a picturesque lake. It is one of the sources of drinking water for the city. Other one is a lake at T.V. Station that has a good view of sunset and is a popular picnic spot.

Bathi Gudda is situated 4 km from Davangere city towards Harihara, from the top of this hill city looks beautiful. On this Hill there is a Temple and Dargah where believers go for prayers and mercies. Chaman Sha Wali Dargah of Baathi is a famous place of visit for all communities. Every year there will be a festivities conducted jointly by all the community leaders. Beside this hill Bhadra sugar factory & Bathi lake are situated. you can even visit the Davangere Dairy located in Bathi, which supplies milk to Davanagere and Chitradurga district.

Kondajji is situated around 12 km from Davangere city. Its a major scout and guides camp for south India which is named in the commemoration of Kondajji Basappa. In Kondajji there are 3 hills, a lake and boating is available.

Shamanur is famous for Sri Anjaneya Swamy temple.

Sri Anjaneya Swamy,Shamanur

Soole kere (Shanthi Sagara) near Davangere, is a major water supply source and also second largest pond in Asia. It was built by namesake Princess Shanthi during 12th century. Now it is a water source for both drinking and agriculture. There is a temple dedicated to Lord Siddeshwara near the lake. An Aqueduct designed by Sir M Vishweshwariah is also a major tourist attraction. The government is taking steps to spruce up tourist attractions in the area.

The Eshwara temple at Anekonda is a neat little one in the Hoysala style. It was restored about 1912 with mud walls and plastered. Originally it had three cells, though there are only 2 at present, the south cell being no longer in existence and a navaranga. The garbhgriha door-way is well executed and has figure of Gajalakshmi in the middle of the lintel. The sukhanasi door-way, which is also good, has ornamental screens at the sides and figure of Siva on the lintel flanked on the left by Vishnu and Subramanya and on the right by Brahma and Ganapati with makaras beyond these on both the sides.

City life: Davanagere City is bustling from day break to late evenings. The city has old cinema Theatres such as Shanthi Talkies, Mothi Talkies, Vasanta Talkies, Ashoka Talkies, and new generation theatres such as Pushpanjali, Geetanjali, Padmanjali, Aruna and others.

Languages Spoken

Kannada is the major language spoken in Davangere. The Kannada spoken in Davangere is pure and had very less influence of other languages. English, Hindi are spoken commonly, owing to the presence of a large number of student population from across India and overseas. The Kannada that is spoken in and around Davangere is very characteristic. It is perhaps an intermediary dialect between the southern and the northern dialects of Kannada.

Transportation

Davangere is well connected by road to Mumbai, Pune, Goa, Bangalore, Mangalore and Chennai through NH - 4 (Previously Pune-Bangalore Highway and now Mumbai-Pune-Bengaluru-Chennai Highway). Railways also play a major role in connectivity. There are daily trains to Mumbai, Mysore, Bijapur and Bangalore, and tri weekly trains to New Delhi, Bhopal including Karnataka Sampark Kranti. Two trains per week to Jodhpur, Ajmer, Chennai, Kochuveli, Goa and many daily passenger trains mainly connecting the small places along the Bangalore - Hubli line.

There are proposals to start trains to Mangalore, Shimoga, Indore, Jabalpur, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Kochi, Coimbatore via Davangere as it lacks direct rail connectivity with these cities.

Railway Station under use is constructed at British Time and small maintenance is keeping it to serve the purpose.Now parking place has been reconstructed in front of railway station. They kept huge place for parking with clean.Railway station is located in front of Davanagere Municipality and it is very near to old bus stand.

City public transportation is provided by private bus services. Auto-rickshaws (Three wheel) are also available for transportation. A new proposal to lay a rail track between Davangere to Tumkur would further reduce the timings from Bangalore to Davangere. This would further connect to Shimoga, Kotturu, etc. along with the Harihara-Kotturu Rail Line which is already under construction.

Notable people

Notable people of Davangere District are

• Nijalingappa - Freedom Fighter Politician, Former Chief Minister of Karnataka* Mahadevappa - famous Freedom fighter Politician of 1960.
• Doctor Modi - Renowned Eye specialist.
• Kondajji Basappa - Politician of 1960s
• Hasabavi Kottrappa - Businessman, Politician, Social Worker
• Badami family- Constructed Badami High School - Now popularly called as Government High School with very big play ground. This was donated by this Family.
• J.H.Patel - Former Chief Minister of Karnataka.
• Rajanahalli Hanumanthappa Founder of Davangere Cotton Mills.
• S.Kotrabasappa - who heralded the co-operative movement in Davanagere.
• Panduranga Sirur who co-founded Bapuji Educational Association.
• Dr.Krishnaswamy popularly known as Bangalore Doctor co-founder of Bapuji Educational Association.
• Dr.S.M.Yeli General Physician Famous Low cost Treatment and The Honorable President of Mrthunjaya Vidya Peeta(R),this trust runs several Colleges and Schools for poor and village back ground pupils at a village called Hunsabavi (Haveri Dist.)
• Shamanuru Shivashankarappa President, Bapuji educational association. An Industrialist too.
• G.M.SideshBusiness man, Politician, Educationist, Member of the Parliament.
• K. Mallappa politician and sports person.
• Jagdguru Sri Basava Jayamruthunjaya Swamiji Sarva Dharma gurugalu, Social worker.
• Kasal srinivas setty Founder of bapuji
• maddurayappa
• channageri rangappa
• S.S. Malikarjun Ex Minister of Sport and Youth (Karnataka State)
• R. Vinay Kumar Fast bowler Indian cricket team , India A team , Karnataka Ranaji Trophy and Bangalore Royal Challengers Team.
• Rajanahalli lakshman setty

Charity

Davangere is known to be a donor's city (Danigala nagara). Since it was a merchants city, wealthy citizens sometimes gave donations for social works.rjanahalli lakshmanasetty has donated to law college, channageri virpakshappa donated lot of funds , AVK College & Arg college donated by ajjampura rangappa family, DRM college was donated by rajanahlli maddurayappa and rajnahalli family has build temple to buriel ground, "Dharmaprakasha" Shri Murigappa Chigateri, a well known philanthropist, donated the land and money to the government to build the General Hospital and cater to the needs of poor people. In recognition of his services and donation, the Government of Karnataka named the hospital "Chigateri General Hospital". Rajanahalli Hanumanthappa Choultry, located at heart of the city near the old bus stand, is completely free for wedding ceremonies, naming ceremonies and other functions. UBDT government engineering college was also given a major donation by Brahmappa Tavanappa and Devendrappa Tavanappa (their names were kept for the college). Jayadeva Murugharajendra donated funds for a Medical college in Davangere. It was named Jagadguru Jayadeva Murugharajendra (JJM) Medical college for the same reason.

Cuisine

A view of making Benne Dose at Davangere

Davangere has mixed style of North and South Karnataka foods. Jowar Roti which is common in North Karnataka and Ragi mudde which is common in South Karnataka are seen in Davangere.

Davangere is also famous for its special cuisine, particularly Dose, Benne dose, Benne kali dose, Benne Open Dose, Benne Masala Dose, Set dose and Open Dosa. Kara-mandakki (spiced puffed rice), Menasinakaayi, Nargis Mandakki, Attikai Bonda and Gulladaki Undi, and Manjula.

Davangere Benne dose is a famous dish across the state and it has found its own well-deserved place in the menu cards of all well-known restaurants in Karnataka. There are a few restaurants in Singapore and USA that serve this specialty of Davangere.

Also famous is the variety of juices available here, and some of the noted juice stalls are the Archana juice stall and Rasavanthi Juice Stall (Ram & Co Circle). One of the old shops for "Kara Mandakki " is "Hotte Nanjappa" shop at Vijayalakshmi road near B S Channabasappa Shop.

Education

Davangere is an educational centre. It is known for its higher educational institutes. In Davangere there are three major engineering colleges, two dental colleges, two medical colleges, a number of management schools and colleges, an art college and a fashion design college.

The engineering colleges of the city are:

• Bapuji Institute of Engineering & Technology
• G M Institute of Technology
• University B.D.T College of Engineering

Polytechnics:

• DRR Govt Polytechnic
• Bapuji Polytechnic

There are two medical colleges in Davangere city; they are:

• J.J.M.Medical College
• S.S. Institute of Medical Sciences & Research Centre

Dental colleges

• College of Dental Sciences
• Bapuji Dental College and Hospital

Law college

• RL Law College

Fine art college:

• University College of Fine arts

Fashion designing college

• Kalanikethan College of Fashion Designing

System administration college

• C.V. Raman College of System Administration
• Fire and safety institutes

(MIFSE - Mangalore Institute of Fire and Safety Engineering)- mifse.com

• MBA in HSE Management in MIFSE - mifse.com (ksou,mysore)

Degree colleges

• DRM Science (B.Sc.)
• AVK Woman’s College (BA, B.Com, B.Sc., BBM)
• ARG Arts and Commerce College (BA, B.Com, BBM)
• MSB Arts and Commerce College (BA, B.Com, BBM)
• Mothi Veerappa College
• Seethamma College
• Govt. Degree College (BA, B.Com, B.Sc., BBM)
• AGB College (B.Com, BBM)
• SBC Woman’s College (BA, B.Com, BBM, BCA)
• Bapuji High Tech College (BCA)
• Kalanikethan College (B.Com, BBM, BCA, BFD (Bachelor of Fashion Designing))
• BSC College (B.Com, BBM, BCA)
• Chetana College (B.Com, BBM, BCA)
• Manjunatha College (BA, B.Com, BBM)
• DIAMS College (B.Com, BBM, BCA)
• JH Patel College (B.Com, BBM, BCA)
• C.V. Raman College (BBM, BCA, BSA (Bachelor of System Administration))
• Takshashila College (B.Com, BBM, BCA)
• Millath College (BA, B.Com, BBM)
• Shilpa College (BBM, BCA)
• Chanukya College (BBM)
• Swamy Vivekananda correspondence college (B.com, BBM ,BA)

Famous schools

• pssem residential school and pu college
• DRR High School
• Akkamahadevi School
• Mudde gowdara Mallamma School
• X Municipal College
• St Paul's School
• Lourd's Boys School
• Tharala Balu School
• vesvachetana school
• sapthagiri school
• Anmol residential school

University

A new University has been established in 2008 at Davangere named as 'Davangere University'. Name of the Davangere university campus is called Shivagangothri.

The Shivagangothri Campus located at Tolahunase, 8 km from Davangere houses the post graduate departments of Commerce, Biochemistry, Microbiology, Economics, Food Technology, Accounting & Finance, M.Ed., and MSW. The Institute of Management studies is also located at P.G. Centre. The campus of 73 acres (300,000 m²) as attractive buildings as well as hostels.

Business

Davangere town is a major trading center of Karnataka state. It was called the "Manchester of Karnataka" for housing many cotton mills and supported trade and business. Being at the center of the State makes it suitable for trading. The surrounding hinterland provide support to business at Davangere. Crops like Rice, Arecanut and Cotton are traded here. There are many rice mills making puffed rice and beaten rice in and around this town. Davangere is famous for textiles mills. Shankar Textile Mills, Chigateri Mills, Chandrodaya Mills Ltd, Yallamma Cotton Woollen and silk mills Ltd all contributed the economic development of the city. The Cotton mills which are existing till date are Anjaneya Cotton mill, Ganesh Mill, Siddeshwara Cotton Mill. Davangere was a major cotton textile exporter during the 1960s till the 80s. But most of the mills were shut down during the 90s and currently the major agro-industrial activity around Davangere revolves around Rice and Sugarcane, with a number of sugar mills in and around this area. The Shamanur Sugar Mills situated in the Dugavathi village near Davangere is a Major Industry in Davangere. Many of the rice Mills are established in the Industrial area near the Bye Pass Road. Davangere has a big Garment and clothing Shop i.e. B.S. Channabasappa and Sons. This is a big garment shop of the city with its branches spread all over the city.

Sports

Davangere houses major cricket and football clubs which provide opportunities to youngsters of this locality. R Vinay Kumar is a famous cricketer from Davangere who plays for team India and Karnataka Ranji Trophy cricket team as a leading pace-bowler. He plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL. Davangere is also famous for the weightlifting athletes K. Gangappa and Akram Basha who represented India on the international stage.

The high school ground, in the heart of city, is home to most of the sports events. The district stadium near Bapuji Hospital is a key place for cricket coaching camps.

Nethaji Subash Chandra Bose is an Indoor stadium on the Kundwada Kere Road.

See also

• Shamanur
• Halivana