Craword Hall is one of the most iconic buildings in the Heritage City of Mysuru. Now, with the founder of University of Mysore Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar’s statue that was installed during the Centenary Celebrations of the University, hardly anyone passes by without offering pranams to the great builder of institutions. However, very little was known about the Crawford brothers who donated a sum of Rs. one lakh those days for the construction of the Hall. Biddanda Samrat Chengapa, an advertising professional, who owns the Hirvate Estate in Sakleshpur, earlier owned by Crawford, managed to get in touch with the descendants of Crawfords in England on Ancestry.com. Samrat, who lives in Bengaluru with his wife Trupti Chengapa and son Biddanda Arman Chengapa divides his time between Bengaluru and Sakleshpur. Star of Mysore Features Editor N. Niranjan Nikam, in this fascinating tale, traces the people connected with the Crawfords.
