Bengaluru is all set to celebrate the memory of its founder Nadaprabhu Kempe Gowda; statue to be unveiled at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA)

Bengaluru is all set to celebrate the memory of its founder Nadaprabhu Kempe Gowda in a unique but befitting way.

In a few days from now, under the stewardship of the senior Minister from the City Dr C N Ashwathnarayan, an imposing statue of the Nadaprabhu will be unveiled at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA).

There cannot be a better location to introduce the city to the outside world than have a landmark physical structure at the airport which is appropriately named after him. After all, KIA has become the city's gateway to people coming from far and wide.

Prosperity is the new identity of Bengaluru. For a long time since Kempe Gowda laid the foundations for what the city is today, Bengaluru had a very different identity in the minds of not just its people but also of people outside. From a small settlement for bodyguards in its initial days to a cantonment town and summer getaway for British rulers, then a "garden city" a "pensioner's paradise", a science city, a city of Public Sector companies, and then its 1980s identity as the country's pub city, Bengaluru has had many names and identities.

However, the city Kempe Gowda established almost 500 years ago was yet to reveal its true identity and destiny to the outside world. The first big signs of Bengaluru's arrival on the global stage came as the city began to acquire a reputation of being the country's "Silicon Valley". In early 1996, a reputed American journal "Foreign Policy" published a detailed article - "Dateline Bangalore: Third World Technopolis" - that gave a dramatic introduction of the emerging Bangalore to the world.

In the 26 years since John Stremlau gave this late 20th-century introduction to the city, Kempe Gowda's Bangalore has truly arrived as a preeminent city in many ways. Ranked second from the bottom amongst 15 top British Indian cities in 1901 - well below Agra, Allahabad (Prayagraj), Varanasi, and Patna of the time - today, 120 years later, Bengaluru is the third largest metropolitan agglomeration in the country, next only to Delhi-NCR and Mumbai, according to some estimates. But perhaps more important than that is its unquestioned position as India's new economic capital - as it has become the country's largest Information Technology, Start-up, and innovation hub.

But what do all these mean for people and the country? People from across Karnataka now come to Bengaluru seeking opportunities - for better education and employment not just in the city but globally. For them, the city is the gateway to the world. From across the country, Bengaluru is the foremost destination for youth, seeking better education and attractive employment opportunities. According to many estimates, the city today has the highest number of young working people. There is an unprecedented rush of semi-skilled and unskilled people from all over the country into Bengaluru in search of new opportunities.

Bengaluru is not just today's city of opportunities. The opportunities are far more attractive in every sense - in terms of working conditions, remuneration, and the quality of life provided by the city's hospitable weather.

The city has become the top destination for opportunities for people from all over the country in terms of education and livelihood, technology innovation, and profitable business for multinational companies. It has also become a key revenue-generating centre to support the economic growth and development of the state and the country in general. Today the city that Kempe Gowda founded generates at least 65% of the Karnataka government's tax revenue.

Once a peripheral town, today its contribution to the central exchequer too is very large. It is the third highest source of direct tax revenue for the Centre - behind Mumbai and Delhi.

26 years back Stremlau called the city "the Indian boomtown". The foundation pillars that Kempe Gowda laid almost 500 years ago a city of prosperity has emerged. ITBT Minister for Karnataka, Dr Ashwathnarayan who also took up the role as vice-chairman of NKHADA has stewarded the installation of the statue and ensured speedy completion within 18 months. Kempegowda is rightly the force behind Bengaluru, Dr Ashwathnarayan, his ardent admirer, can be aptly termed the face behind that force in bronze form.

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( With inputs from ANI )