One of the finest
old tank, situated between fort hill and forest, and feeds to irrigate more
than 10000 acres of land. The tank is quite an ancient one but has come under
rejuvenation during various periods. It is known as Madaga Lake is a beautiful
huge lake in a place called Madaga near Masur, Hirekerur Taluk.
The river Kumadvathi which originates in the Agastya Parvata
near Humcha in Sagar flows north near Shikaripura continues towards Masur and
forms this huge beautiful lake. A small
waterfall is formed at the out flow of this Lake.
The 20 feet height 30 feet wide waterfalls plunges
into a deep pool and further it continues and joins to River Tungabhadra near
Ranibennur. We can actually get down to the bottom of the waterfall and have a
beautiful view of the falls. We need to do a bit of rock climbing to reach base.
The roaring sound of the falls which created fumes all over were relaxes my
body and soul. To have a look at the full majesty of the falls you need to
visit the place in rainy season.
This place has a beautiful story behind its formation.
Few centuries back there lived 2 big Land Lords - Mallana Gouda from Masur and
Puttana Gouda from Rattihalli. Since there was no irrigation in this land, once
they both decided to help the people of this region by building a big lake and
irrigate the surrounding area. There were no equipments like JCBs, it was all
by the human labour, both the land lords, pulled hundreds of people to build
the lake and it took few years to form mountains and finally built a big lake.
But unfortunately, there was no source of water to this lake, they waited and
waited but there was no trace of water to this lake, everybody was very sad and
worried.
Finally they decided to enquire an Astrologer
(Bhavisha Kelsidru) then they came to know that, to get water to that lake they
have to sacrifice the life of the youngest daughter-in-law Kenchamma (not sure
daughter-in-law of Mallana Gouda or Puttana Gouda) It became a very tough
decision for them, but looking at the benifit to many people, they took the
painful decision to sacrifice the life of Kenchamma. To execute this they made
a plan to have a fair in that lake place and have a gold/silver idol of
Kenchamma at the centre of Lake.
The ruins of an old
fort can also seen, the western face fort-hill offers a commanding view of the
surrounding plains.
Kenchamma was not aware of the plan. After
the fair got over, everybody went back to their homes. Then Mallana Gouda /
Puttana Gouda asked Kenchamma to go & get the gold/silver idol of her from
the lake (plan was to sacrifice her life during this time) It was God's
blessings the moment Kenchamma reached the centre of the lake, water flooded in
to the lake & Kenchamma was washed away. Since then, Madagh Masur Lake is
always filled with water with no scarcity of water. Hence this lake is also
called as Kenchamma Lake, there is a Temple of Godess Kenchamma in the centre
of the Lake. This temple is only visible if there is a continuous draught in
this region for 7-8 years. Hence there is one more temple of Godess Kenchamma
on the bank of the lake.
The fine structure was built by Ibrahim II for his wife. In fact, he predeceased her and was also buried here. The complex consists of a tomb and a mosque in the middle of a huge garden. A huge tank nearby has been named after his wife, Taj Sultana. The walls of the tomb are decorated with superb calligraphic and geometric designs.
