Nidagatta

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While Gandhi Jayanthi is celebrated across India on October 2, for the villagers of Nidagatta in Kadur taluk of Chikkamagaluru district, worshipping the father of the nation is an everyday affair. They have constructed a temple for the Mahatma, one of three in the country.

Nidagatta, 10km from Kadur town, is a tiny village of 5,000 people of all communities. Villagers, especially young men, jumped into the freedom struggle, inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, who visited Kadur on August 18, 1927, while touring the country for the Swaraj movement.

It was Gandhi's assassination on January 30, 1948, that goaded the disturbed youths to construct a temple for him, in front of the Anjaneya temple. They built it in 48 hours, and installed a 2-ft sandstone idol of the Mahatma, and conducted a puja. On February 22, 1948, the temple was inaugurated by then Mysore law minister KT Bhashyam Iyengar.
The temple slowly fell into ruin, and was used as a storeroom by milkmen.NV Chandrashekarappa, a villager, said the statue and temple constructed by freedom fighters, are even now neglect freedom fighters, are ed by the young.