Kumbathi Mahal in Hosanagar taluk of Shivamogga district, the royal farmhouse of the Keladi rulers, is a shambles now.
Shivappa Nayaka, who ruled the Keladi kingdom, had evolved a system for determining agricultural land tax after scientifically assessing the yield, called ‘Shistu’. Different crops were cultivated at the royal farms for 10 to 12 years. After assessing the input cost, the yield and its prevailing market price, the ‘Shistu’ was fixed. It was considered a landmark experiment in tax fixation as farmers used to be charged in an arbitrary manner earlier.
One such royal farm of the Keladi administration was in Kumbathi Mahal near Nagara, the capital of the Keladi kingdom, which was called Bidanur back then.
Francis Buchanan-Hamilton, a Scottish geographer and physician who served with the British East India Company and surveyed south India after the death of Tipu Sultan, had mentioned in his travel accounts his visit to Kumbathi Mahal in March 1801.
Kumbathi Mahal then had a black-tiled palace, a granary, a spacious horse stable and a cattle shed. He had recorded that paddy, arecanut and coconut were cultivated at this farm and the place had a canal that drew water from the nearby Paada-Gopi stream, a tributary of Sharavathi river, for irrigation.
Kumbathi Mahal figured in the maps prepared under the guidance of Colonel Colin Mackenzie, a Scottish army officer, who surveyed the then Mysore region and later became the Surveyor General of India.
Forgotten relics
Over the years, owing to lack of maintenance, Kumbathi Mahal was pushed into oblivion, and the structures have become dilapidated now. Based on the travel accounts of Buchanan and the maps of Mackenzie, history enthusiasts Ajay Kumar Sharma, Prabandha Ambuteertha, Pradeep H.G. and Kalyan Kumar Bhandya have identified the place where Kumbathi Mahal stood — on the outskirts of the present Kumbathi village in Hosanagar taluk. Mr. Sharma told The Hindu that at present, only the foundation of the palace, granary, horse stable and cattle shed remain. Stone slabs have been placed on the two open wells there.
“Shivappa Nayaka, the Keladi king who had a passion for agriculture, had issued directions to farmers on the paddy varieties that suited the different agro-climatic zones and the distance to be maintained while planting arecanut saplings. The Kumbathi Mahal farm was also a centre for agricultural experiments. The figures related to input and yield here might have been used to calculate the ‘Shistu’ for the tax,” Mr. Sharma said.
He also said that as a tribute to the contributions of the Keladi kings to agriculture, Kumbathi Mahal should be developed into tourist attraction and an agriculture research centre should be established there.
