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Kodagu (Coorg)
The Kashmir of
South
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Kodagu (Coorg)
is the smallest district in Karnataka with wonderful and
lovely natural sceneries. It is the birthplace of river
Cauvery. Even though Kodagu (Coorg) is the smallest district
it has it’s own virtues. It is surrounded by Kerala State in
the west and south, to the north by South Canara district and
Hassan district and in the east by Mysore district.
It is from
the word “Kudu” (which means “Hilly place”) the word
Kodagu has come. But according to some other people it has
come from the word “Kodamalenadu”, which means “Steepy
hills and thick forests”.
An
Introduction to Kodagu |Physical
Features | Historical Background
| Life
style, Culture & Specialty | Festivals
of Kodagu | News
from Kodagu | Hotels,
Transportation, Telephone numbers
Tourist spots
of Kodagu (Coorg)
Abbi
falls: This
is a place situated at about 7 kms from Madikeri amidst
natural beauty. This was formally christened as “Jessie
falls” in honour of Chiplin’s first daughter, but later on
called as “Abbi falls”. This is situated in the border of
a cardamom garden surrounded by green hills and the waterfalls
from 20-feet height, which has made the place a beautiful spot
and attracts lot of tourists. During the days of Dharmaveera,
the Ex. Governor of Karnataka, the steps to go to this place
were built in cement.
Auto fare:
Rs. 40/- from Madikeri Town and private buses are
available.
Palace in the
fort: At
present the fort is situated at a top most point built with
stones. Tippu after building a stone fort called this as “Jafrabad”.
In the year 1790 Veerarajendra took back this fort to his
custody. From then onwards it was in the hands of Haleri kings
till 1834. Afterwards British captured it. There was a
Veerabhadra temple to the south of the fort, which was later
on occupied by the British, who converted it into a prayer
hall. Lingaraja, who ruled Kodagu (Coorg)
after Veerarajendra rebuilt a palace in between the year
1812-1814 with brick and mortar. During British rule, the
palace was renovated twice. In 1933, a portico to park the
commissioner’s car and a clock tower was also built. At
present different offices of the district administration are
lodged here.
Auto fare:
Rs. 10/-
Omkareshwara
temple: In 1820
a significant building built by Lingarajendra was Omkareshwara
temple. This has both Islamic and Gothic style of
architecture. There is a tank in front of the temple. There is
a footpath leading to a small “Mantap”. The surrounding
place is abode with peace. There is a story behind building of
this temple. It is said Lingarajendra killed an honest and
pious Brahmin to fulfill his political ambitions. That Brahmin
became a “Brahmarakshasa” and started teasing the king
with troubles. It left the king only when the king brought a
“Shivalinga” from Kashi and installed it after building a
temple. The shivalinga was named as “Omkareshwara” and
regular rituals were performed. The bars of the windows of the
temple were made of “Panchaloha” and an alphabet “lim”
has been placed in between the bars. Four minars have been
built on four corners of the temple and the central minar is
like a globe, which anybody can see.
The
Graveyard (Samadhi) of kings: To the north of
Mahadevpet in Madikeri city, there is a mount of mud having Samadhi of Kings. There we can see the samadhis of
Doddaveerarajendra, his wife and Lingarajendra. His brother
Lingarajendra completed the samadhi started by
Doddaveerarajendra. Sannaveeraraja built Lingarajendra’s
samadhi in the year 1820.
In the year
1834, in addition to king’s samadhis, “samadhis” were
built for diwans Teppadikeponnappa and “Rajguru” Rudrappa.
We can see samadhis built for army chief Biddanda Bopu, who
was the commander-in-chief for the army of Doddaveeraraja and
Chikkaveeraraja and his son Somaiaha’s samadhi too. On the
samadhi of Biddanda Bopu, there is a plate carved in Kannada
praising him for his bravery shown in the wars fought against
Tipu Sultan.
All the
samadhis of kings are in Islamic style and there is an
alphabet “lim” in between two bars of windows.
Auto fare:
Rs. 10/-
Raja
seat: This is a
place, where the kings used to spend their evening time
enjoying the natural beauty. This is a place, from where you
can see the far off green hills and the paddy fields, which
are there in valleys. The tar roads look like serpents, which
run between the thick forests. It is a very good place from
where we can see the snows and clouds moving on the top of
green hills. There is no other place from where we can see the
wonderful sunset and enjoy the beauty of nature. The
Government has many plans to make this place more
beautiful.
Auto fare:
Rs. 10/-
Bhagamandala:
This is a pilgrimage
center situated 39 kms to the west of Madikeri. To reach this
place there are enough good roads from both Madikeri and
Veerarajpet. Both private and government buses ply to carry
the commuters.
This is a
place, where Kannika and Sujyothi, the two tributaries to
Cauvery join. This is known as “Triveni Sangama”. Near to
this sangama, there are four temples, where Eshwara,
Subramanya, Vishnu and Ganapathi are installed.
This is also
known as “Bhagundeshwara Kshetra”. The pilgrims before
going to Talakaveri take a dip in the sangama and perform “Karmas”
(rituals) to their ancestors. (Known as “pindapradhana”).
During the Cauvery festival and Tula Sankramana, tourists and
pilgrims will assemble here in large numbers. There is a stone
“Shasana” carved in Tamil language inside “Bhagundeshwara”
temple. In between the year 1785-1790 it seems that Tipu had
converted it into a fort and had a company of his army. He had
named Bhagamandala as “Afesalabad”. In 1790 King
Doddaveeraraja took Bhagamandala back after having a fierce
battle for five days. During the time of this battle there was
a damage caused breaking three copper plates by the “Firangis”
directly handled by Doddaveeraraja, which were later on
replaced by four silver plates. The style of the temples built
in Malayali style brings the memory of temples in the far off
Nepal.
Private and
government buses ply frequently.
Talakaveri:
After performing the
“Karmas” to the ancestors taking a bath at Bhagamandala,
one has to tread about 8 kms towards Brahmagiri hills, where
one can land up at the birthplace of river Cauvery known as
Talakaveri. This Brahmagiri is situated amidst green hills.
There is a parapet wall of 30 by 3 feet to a tank. There is
another tank adjacent to this, which is of a square 2 and ½
feet. It is in this tank that Cauvery takes her birth and
flows. As per the local puranas, every year on a particular
day and at a particular time the river Cauvery springs out and
gives “Darshan” to her devotees. This is on 17th October
every year. That day is known as “Tula Sankramana”.
There are
temples at Talakaveri of Agasthyeshwara and Lord Ganapathi.
The Brahmagiri hill at the birthplace of Cauvery is about
300-feet height. It is believed that “Saptha Rishis” had
gone for a penance here and got “Moksha”. In evidence of
this we can see seven “agni kundas” even today.
In earlier
times, only young people could have climbed the Brahmagiri
hills but now the Madikeri Lion’s Club have put about 435
stone steps and has made it easy for the pilgrims to go on top
and have a view of the natural beauty. We can see Kudremukh,
Chamundi Hills of Mysore and Vainad hills of Malbar and if
there is a good clear weather, we can have a clear view of
Nilagiri Hills and Arabian Sea from the peak of Brahmagiri.
Private and
government buses ply frequently.
Chettalli: This
is in the Madikeri-Siddapur road about 24 kms from Madikeri.
There is a research center and there is a modern research
center for agriculture also. They will grow fruits and
vegetables in a scientific way. It is spread in an area of
about 170 acres. There is a coffee research center also.
Iggutappa
devara betta: This
is situated near Ayyangeri forest in “padithara valley”.
There is a peak, which is a pilgrimage center and a holy place
for both Kodavas and Hindus. The deity Subramanya is called as
“Iggutappa” by the kodavas. The people of this district
will perform special poojas frequently.
Irpu: This
is a very important holy place and pilgrimage center situated
at 48 kms from Veerarajpet very near to the Kurchi village of
South Canara on the banks of Lakshmanthirtha, where a Shiva
temple had been constructed, the deity, it is believed was
installed by Sriramachandra himself. On Mahashivarathri day
people from all over the district will assemble here, after
taking a dip in the river Lakshmanthirtha they will offer
poojas to Lord Shiva. Around Irpu towards Vainad there is
another peak Brahmagiri Shikara, which is known for its
natural beauty. There is a guesthouse on the peak from where
we can see the panoramic view of nature.
Physical
Features:
The whole of Kodagu (Coorg) is a hilly area. Its physical
features vary from place to place. From west to east it is steep.
It’s about 1270 meters from sea level at Madikeri plateau
near fort and 907 meters near Kushalanagar in the east. The
average height can be taken as 1170 meters from Kodagu (Coorg)
and it runs up to Somavarpet, which is 42 kms to the north of Kodagu (Coorg).
Its physical feature is full of diversity. Near Somavarpet the
small hills look like globe and it has valleys. Near Kodagu (Coorg)
the hills are very close and have deep valleys. Near
Kushalanagar the hills spread to a long distance and has
plains also. Near Virajpet, which is considered as south Kodagu (Coorg),
have long and wide paddy fields. In the east between Cauvery
and Lakshmana thirtha rivers there are lot of paddy fields and
has rich forest area too. To the west of this there is
evergreen forest. Bamboos are the specialty of this forest.
The Kodagu (Coorg)
is full of beautiful forests and valleys. The whole Kodagu (Coorg)
can be taken as a hill station. One can see the sky scraping
hills. Wherever one goes one can see greenery. On the slopes
coffee, oranges, pepper and cardamom are grown in abundance.
The hills are covered with green grass and the valleys with
evergreen forests. The whole Kodagu (Coorg) is full of natural
panoramic sceneries. It is a homeland of natural beauty. It is
rightly called as “Kashmir of South and Switzerland of India”.
Weather:
The district has a pleasant weather, neither it is too hot
nor too cold. As it is situated on Western Ghats the rainfall
is more. The average rainfall is about 2725.5-mm. The density
of rainfall will go on decreasing as one moves from west to
east. That is why the western part is cooler than the eastern
part. Bhagamandal situated in Western Ghats has an average
rainfall about 6032-mm and Kushalanagar situated in the
eastern border has about 1120-mm. Generally the rainfall will
be more in the months of June, July and August.
Forests:
The area of Kodagu (Coorg)
is 410775 hectares, out of which 134615 hectares are forests.
It means about 33% of the land is covered by forests. The
Government gets a lot of revenue out of the forests and also
has taken a lot of steps to protect the forests. An Office of
the Forest Department was started as early as in the year
1868.
It is a very
good place for tourists particularly those who are interested
in Botany, Zoology, Agriculture, Horticulture and wild life.
Many of the different types of trees of Kodagu (Coorg) are
world famous. The teak grows naturally in the eastern part.
Now a systematic plantation of the teak has been taken up,
which brings lot of revenue to the Government.
Historical
Background: The history of Kodagu (Coorg) is full of
diversities. Even though it was a very small in area it had
its own administrative system not only at the time of merger
but also for centuries.
There is a
mention of Kodagu (Coorg) as early as the second century
itself in the Tamil literature. It has been said that the
Pandyas Kingdom had been extended up to “Kudukam”. The
Pandyas were the rulers of parts of Tamil Nadu, their capital
being Madhurai. This Kudukam is nothing but Kodagu (Coorg).
The name “Kudumalai” mentioned in Tamil “Shilappadikaram”
is about this place only. The western border of Kodagu (Coorg)
is just like the bend of a sword, the name Kudumalai is a more
appropriate word to mention this place.
Many kingdoms
have ruled Kodagu (Coorg). It is known from the history that
from 2nd century to 6th century the Kadambas ruled the
northern part. While the Kadambas were ruling the northern
part the “Kiggattunadu” and other southern parts were in
the hands of Gangas from 4th century to 11th century. But they
did not rule themselves directly but through their
representatives “Changalva Arasus”. Changalvas had made
“palsare” as their capital. In 11th century there was a
war between Cholas and Gangas in which the Gangas were totally
defeated and driven out. The Cholas became the sole rulers of
the whole of Kodagu (Coorg). Even the Changalvas who fought along with Gangas against the Cholas
also lost the war. From then onwards Changalvas became the
subordinates of Cholas and ruled the southern parts under the
Cholas.
Kongalva’s
Nayak Manija, who helped Cholas to defeat the Chengalvas, was
given the northern part of Somavarpet and some parts of
Arakalgud in Hassan district to rule and he was made a “Mandalika”
of Cholas. During the times of Raja Raja Chola, there
were lot of developments in Kodagu (Coorg).
During 12th
century the Hoysalas, who were in Belur of Hassan district
drove away the Cholas from Kannada area i.e. Kodagu (Coorg) and they took full control of
Kodagu (Coorg) But the Chengalvas didn’t accept the rule of Hoyasalas
easily. But in the year 1174 AD Hoysala’s commander
Bettarasa defeated Chengalvas’ Pemma Veerappa in the “Palser”
war and made them their subordinates. During this Pemma
Veerappa’s time, for the first time we can see the word “Kodagaru”
carved on the stone shasanas. At the same time Kongalvars also
accepted the rule of Hoysalas.
During the
14th century the Muslims, who came from the north defeated the
Hoysalas completely and ruined their kingdom.
Afterwards
Chengalvars made Srirangapattana, which is on the banks of
Cauvery as capital and ruled. A little later on they made
Periyapattana as their capital. Nanjaraja, who was one of the
Chengalvars built a new town and named it as Nanjarajapattana
from where he ruled. All these people were ruling under the
Vijayanagara Kings. After the fall of Vijayanagara all the
chief tans became independent and started ruling from wherever
they stayed. The local Nayaks, the Palegars were ruling
different parts of Kodagu (Coorg),
as there was no co-operation between these different Palegars.
Kodagu (Coorg) was never under any
ruler. Later on the Haleri Kings defeated everybody and ruled Kodagu (Coorg)
from 1600-1834.
A Veerashaiva
prince Veeraraja belonging to the Bidanoor kings clan came to Kodagu (Coorg)
disguising himself as a “Saint” (Jangama) and started
living in a place Haleri, 10 kms from Madikeri. All the
Kodavas had no contact of the outside world. They were living
in superstition and blind beliefs and with lack of wisdoms.
The Jangama Veeraraja took control of that situation turning
their weaknesses to his advantage and had a great influence on
these people. His followers grown in numbers and he built an
army of his own. He started defeating other Palegars and one
day he announced that he is the “King of Kodagu (Coorg)”.
As the small chief tans could not oppose him, they had no
other alternative except accepting his rule. Thus for the
first time the whole of Kodagu (Coorg) came under one man’s rule. A lady was also one among the
Bidanoor kings, who ruled Kodagu (Coorg) (belong to this Haleri Veerashaiva clan) from 17th century AD.
After Veeraraja, Appajiraja became powerful and ruled Kodagu (Coorg).
Haleri clan
kings made Haleri, which is near Madikeri as their capital.
The third king of this clan Mudduraja was the first to build a
fort, who ruled from 1633-1687. In the year 1681 he started
leveling of hills to build a town and made that the capital.
He built a fort around the town. The town was named as
Muddurajakeri. As the time passed on the same Muddurajakeri
became Madikeri.
After
Mudduraja Siribai Doddaveerappa ruled Kodagu (Coorg)
for 49 years. He was a famous ruler, a courageous and honest
one. He ruled Kodagu (Coorg) from 1687
to 1736.
At the time
of Chikkaveera, a weak ruler, Hyder Ali then the ruler of
Mysore started encroaching Kodagu (Coorg).
In the year 1763 Mysore grabbed some parts of Kodagu (Coorg).
Even though Hyder Ali had a fierce fight against Kodagu (Coorg)
he was defeated in the year 1766. Mudduraja and Muddaiaharaja
came to power at Haleri and Horemale respectively after the
death of Chikkaveerappa. Both of them died in the year 1770.
During this time there was a difference among Haleri and
Horemale rulers and one of them went to Hyder Ali for help. In
the year 1773 Hyder Ali defeated the army of Kodagu (Coorg) and made Appaji, the son of Mudduraja as the King of
Kodagu (Coorg).
In 1776 Lingaraja became the king after the death of Appaji.
Amarasulya and Bellora areas came under Hyder’s rule. At the
time the death of Lingaraja his children were very young. So
Hyder took possession of Kodagu (Coorg) and made Subbanarasaiaha as his representative. But there was
uproar against him in 1782 and the prince of Kodagu (Coorg) was transferred to Hassan. At that time Hyder had died and his
son Tippu had come to throne.
During 1785 he put an end to this
mutiny and deputed his army to different parts of Kodagu (Coorg).
When there was uproar in the year 1789 Lingaraju son of
Veeraraja escaped from the jail of Periyapattana and joined
the corgis and became their leader. As there was insurgence in
Malbar, Tipu could not take any action against corgis. At the
same time Tipu had to fight with British also. Thus Kodagu (Coorg)
could keep its independence. In the year 1809 after the death
of Veeraraja, his daughter Devammaji became the ruler. But in
the year 1811 Veeraraja’s brother Lingaraja took the reins.
He built the palace and Omkareshwara temple at Madikeri. In
1820 Lingaraja passed away. Chikkaveeraraja, who ruled Kodagu (Coorg)
between 1820-1834, was the last king of Haleri clan. When he
came to throne he was only 22-years of age. He was the son of
Lingaraja. As he had inherited lot of power, wealth through
his ancestors and as he was very young he had a lack of
knowledge and wisdom. So he was too much brutal and he
terrorized the people. He even supported and encouraged the
atrocities committed by the officials on the people and this
paid a way for his destruction. A man by name Kuntabasava, who
was taking care of his dogs, became his diwan. By this itself
we can judge how he ruled his kingdom.
The British,
who were swallowing one state after another of Hindustan did
not spared, leave Kodagu (Coorg) also. Veeraraja surrendered himself to Col. Fraser of the
English army. Just pretending that they have taken the
permission of the people of Kodagu (Coorg),
the British captured Kodagu (Coorg) usurping power and brought it under their control in the year
1834, April 10. From that day Kodagu (Coorg) came under the direct rule of the English. Veeraraja was given
a pension and was sent to Varanasi. In 1852 he went to England
along with his daughter Gouramma and died there. Gouramma
converted herself to Christianity and married an English army
officer.
When India
became independent in 1947, Kodagu (Coorg) also got rid off the rule of English. In 1950 as per the
new Constitution Kodagu (Coorg) became a
state. In 1956 when there was a state reorganization Kodagu (Coorg)
was merged with Karnataka and became a district in Karnataka.
It has 3 taluks, Madikeri, Somavarapete and Veerajapete.
Life
style, Culture & Specialty: As per 1981 census
Kodagu (Coorg) is small not only in area but also by its population. There
are people of different castes like eravaru, kudiyaru, kurubas
and tribals along with corgis (kodavas). It has large
population of Harijans also. Kodavas are the people living in Kodagu (Coorg)
having some special features of their own. It is said that
Chandravarma of Kadambis was their ancestor. According to
Father Heras, they are the people belonging to the Mohenjodaro
civilization and one of their branches came south- world and
stayed in this land of beauty. According to some others they
are “Sythiyans” who came to India along with Alexander.
They had a link with the Arabs who were regular visitors to
India at that time and they started wearing dresses like
Arabs. But there is no definite theory about the original
place of Kodavas. Even though there is no historical proof
there is no doubt that Kodavas belong to a very old
civilization. They are having a life style and culture of
their own, which is very special and attractive. Even their
customs are also very special and attractive. Not only their
dresses but also even the physical features of both male and
female are very attractive. The “Janapada” (folk) songs
rendered during marriages, birthday parties and at the time of
deaths, during fairs are very philosophical and have a lot of
meaning. Corgis are very much interested in martial arts. They
are born soldiers. This community has given to great Generals
to our nation, much more officers and many more jawans to the
army.
Huttariya
kunitha, bolukata, ummathata, kolata, olagathata and kathiyata
are some of the folk dances of the corgis.
Festivals: Cauvery
sankramana, shivaratri, huttari,
kailapoladu, shashti and vishusankramana are some of the
important festivals of Kodagu (Coorg).
Kodavas have
their own special way of dressing during festivals and
marriages. The male members will have a jaripeta, black shirt
and will have a silver sword in their waist. The female
members will wear beautiful and attractive sarees and dress in
their own special attractive way.
Language:
They have their own
language known as “Kodava language”. It has no script of
its own. It is a combination of Kannada, Tamil and Malayalam.
But the words of Kannada are more. Appaneravanda Appachakavi
and Nadikeriyanda Chinnappa are the two important poets and
writers of Kodava language.
Important
Kodagu Festivals: Kodavas follow Hindu
customs in this also. Indian festivals such as shivaratri,
ugadi, sankramana and shashti will be performed. In addition, they
have their own festivals like Kailapoladu,
Cauvery sankramana and Huttari. All these three festivals will
be performed in the whole of Kodagu (Coorg).
The two Gods, which they pray more, are the Mother Cauvery and
Iggutappadeva.
Cauvery
Sankramana: This will
be performed on 17th of October of every year as on that day
Cauvery river will take its birth at the appropriate and
predetermined time and springs up three times.
There is a
belief that taking bath on that day at “Talakaveri” is as
auspicious as of taking a bath in the river Ganges. This
festival is the most important festival all over the Kodagu (Coorg).
Many people even from different parts of our country will come
on a pilgrimage to this place on that day.
Kailapoladu: This
means performing a pooja to the weapons, as the corgis are a
martial race, they perform this on Mahanavami day during “Dasara”.
Huttari: This
is another important festival of Kodagu (Coorg).
This will be performed on full moon day every year in the
month of September or December generally. This is a festival
of harvest. On that day the whole of Kodagu (Coorg) will be in a festive mood and people will enjoy, eating,
drinking and dancing.
An
Introduction to Kodagu |Physical
Features | Historical Background
| Life
style, Culture & Specialty | Festivals
of Kodagu | News
from Kodagu | Hotels,
Transportation, Telephone numbers
Click
here if you would like to Contribute.
Click
here if you would like to send
Feedback.
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