Sira

Karnataka > Chikmagalur > Sira

Sira Tumkur district a taluk headquarters is 52 km. from Tumkur. The town called Siriya was founded by Rangappa Nayaka of Ratnagiri, a feudatory of Vijayanagara. It was conquered by the Mughuls in 1686 and they raised a beautiful garden called Khan Bag. The Jumma masjid here is a fine monument built in 1896 and the Malik Rihan's tomb is another impressive structure. The fort is still there in parts, was expanded by the Mughuls. The Gopalakrishna temple here has no image, and it is said to be housed in the Narayana temple. The place was the centre of a Mughul Fauzdari and Kasim Khan was the first fauzdar. Haider secured it as a gift later. Seebi, 24 km. to the south of Slra was known earlier as Sibburu and there is a Narasimhaswamy temple built during the 18th century by Nallappa an officer under Haider Ali. Nallappa has written 'Haider-naame' in Kannada. The temple is profusely decorated with mural paintings depicting the themes of Ramayana, Mahabharatha and Dashavatara. There are many secular themes including erotic figures in good number.