The birthplace of Koti and Chennaya, the twin cultural folk heroes of Tulu Nadu, at Padumale in Puttur taluk, Dakshina Kannada, is set to get a facelift.
As the first step, the government at a consultative meeting here on Sunday took suggestions from people on how to preserve monuments belonging to the twin heroes and develop Padumale.
The State government in its 2013-14 Budget reserved Rs. 5 crore for “conservation and preservation of footprints depicting the birth and life of Koti and Chennaya at Padumale.”
Koti and Chennaya are believed to have lived about 500 years ago. They are said to be warriors and many now worship them as supernatural beings. They are now being worshipped in many garodis (memorial temples). They are being worshipped by organising “neemas” (similar to spirit worship). Cinemas and teleserials have been made on them and Tulu Yakshagana are being performed after them. There are Tulu “paddanas” (sung narratives) of Koti and Chennaya. A Ph.D. thesis has been written on them.
Minister for Urban Development Vinay Kumar Sorake, who is from Puttur taluk, asked the district administration to prepare an action plan to develop Padumale.
Participating in the meeting at Brahma Baidarkala Garodi at Kankanady, Gananatha Ekkar, a Kannada professor and a researcher said there about 230 garodis (memorial temples) built after them in different parts. He said that ‘garodis’ were cultural centres of Tulu Nadu. Padumale should be developed as a place of worship, tourism and a study centre.
He suggested that an educational institute could be opened at the birthplace which should focus on introducing culture of Tulu Nadu.
S.A. Krishnnaiah, chief researcher at the Regional Resources Centre for Folk Performing Arts, Udupi, said that the government could impose a cess of Re. 1 on each “puja” receipt it issued in Muzrai temples across the State. The cess collected could be used for developing infrastructure facilities at temples and for similar activities. Huge sculptures depicting Tulu culture could be installed at Padumale.
Muhammad Badagannur, a native of Padumale, said that 2.24 acres of government land was now available at Padumale for developing the birthplace. The land has been allotted to the Tourism Department. Sudhakara Suvarna, another participant, suggested that the government should have a deadline for developing the birthplace.
Minister in-charge of Dakshina Kannada B. Ramanath Rai, Minister for Health and Family Welfare U.T. Khader, and MLA of Puttur T. Shakuntala Shetty said that all steps would be taken to develop Padumale.
Deputy Commissioner of Dakshina Kannada N. Prakash and other officials were present.
