These public places are named after a fearless queen of Mysuru — Kempananjammani Vani Vilasa Sannidhana, who became queen regent after her husband, the 23rd Maharaja of Mysore, Chamarajendra’s untimely death. Married at 12, she was just 26 years old when the king passed away, leaving behind five children — their oldest son was only 10 years old.
Under her rule, the kingdom saw many advance changes, including initiating an irrigation project along with the Dewan of Mysore, Seshadri Iyer, in 1898, which benefited thousands of farmers. The 120-year-old Vanivilasa Sagar in the Chitradurga district, which was built under the Marikanive irrigation project, used to provide irrigation facilities to around 25,000 acres of land in the region.
However, one of her most notable contributions was the gigantic River Cauvery project. According to News18, she sold her jewellery to fund the construction of the Krishna Raja Sagara (KRS) dam across the river Cauvery in Mysore. She is also credited with giving 372 acres of land to set up the Indian Institute of Science (IISc).
Keen on women’s education, about 12,000 girls in her kingdom got to study in 235 public schools under her regime. She also established dispensaries and hospitals that provided prenatal and postnatal care for women.