HAVERI: One of many historic structures that would, if they were in a better condition, illustrate the rich historic legacy of the Savanur Nawabs, feudatory kings of the Mughal dynasty in Delhi, has been brought back to life by the Karnataka department of archaeology, museums and heritage.
The 400-year-old structure, ‘Attara’ in Savanur in Haveri district, which served as the capital of the nawabs is slated to re-open its doors soon, as a museum. Work on the Indo-Islamic structure, which has been refurbished and transformed at an estimated cost of Rs 2.5 crore, is almost complete.
The ‘Attara’ served as a building where administrative businesses were conducted. Later, the building came to house the office of the local English East India Company commissioner. After Independence, the historic structure, until recently, served as a court of law.
In-charge of deputy director of the department of archaeology, museums and heritage for North Zone, Dharwad, R Shejashwar said, “This is the fifth time that the monument is being subjected to restoration. The first time the structure was restored was during the time of the Nawabs, while the British restored the building twice. It was refurbished and renovated after India attained Independence, and this is the fifth iteration of the same exercise. When we started working on turning it into a museum, we found that most of the wooden structures, roof trusses and the walls were in a poor condition. We have used materials that were originally used at the time of the building’s construction to conserve its historic legacy.”
He said that, since the restoration exercise was near completion, it would re-open to the public as a museum at the earliest. “We are taking no shortcuts, since this is a question of restoring the legacy of the Savanur Nawabs, and conserving our history. Haveri district in-charge minister Basavaraj Bommai has been supporting us in this endeavour, through which we will be able to educate posterity about our history,” Shejashwar added.
Conservationist Basavaraj Gumatimath expressed his appreciation for the efforts of the archaeology department in restoring the historic structure.
