In normal times Buntwal is referred to as the rice bowl of the Karnataka coast, repository of coastal culture, folk theatre and performing arts and a vibrant agrarian society. It is now a bustling modern highway town with high-end cars and multi-axle HTVS, posh restaurants, pubs and shopping malls, but in the corner of the town the glorious past has been tucked into the safety of a museum in a highly organised and scientifically preserved remnants of the era that has been left behind. The townspeople could proudly announce “yes we have our heritage with us, that can be seen by our posterity.”
The Rani Abbakka Tuluva Baduku and Adhyayana Kendra (The Rani Abbakka Tuluva life and Research Centre) at Sanchayagiri in Buntwal is a museum of things taken from the life of common people. “The exhibits at this unique museum are taken from an era ranging from the late agrarian to the early industrial period, some of them are very rare — like the one that the villagers used to chase away tigers. “This instrument makes a horrible sound when cranked. Our elders, Jains in particular, who were basically non-violent, did not want to kill any wildlife, and so they had this instrument to chase away the tigers. Before they devised this instrument in wood they researched the behaviour of a tiger and concluded that the power of a tiger equalled seven human beings, but it was very timid and edgy in nature and could be chased away easily. Many objects in this museum are taken from the life around us that is fast changing,” said Prof. Thukaram Poojary.
Thukaram, a history teacher in the Buntwal SVS college, has spent a fortune to build the Tuluva Baduku and Adhayayana Kendra. His wife, who is an English professor, helps him with the upkeep of the museum.
Fast disappearing
These are not just objects from the history but are representatives of the ingenuity, skills and native knowledge that we are losing very fast. How and where to store ingredients used for preparing food? How to preserve seeds, salt, tamarind, grains and vegetables for long shelf life? During my days of search for a historical trail right from 1993, I was pained to find rare coins, copper utensils, pottery that has stood the test of time, wooden daily use articles, and even weapons being destroyed without regard to its historical value. I must consider myself lucky that I could gather as many as 3,500 articles that belonged to the history of Tulunadu,” says Prof. Poojary. His wife Prof. Ashalata added by saying, “The Tuluva history is rich with life, innovation and cultural traits. If these are not preserved then the generations after us can see them only at the British Museum.”
On days when he is not teaching, Thukaram travels to remote places looking for objects that connect the history of Tulu language and culture. This region was ruled by Jain chieftains who believed in Ahimsa. Those instruments vanished sometime in the 19th century after the British rule, along with them came the fashion of hunting tigers and so the instruments used for chasing away tigers also became extinct.
One of the unusual exhibits is a cradle which is fabricated with different types of wood.
The oldest exhibit on the show at this centre is the remnants of pottery from the megalithic site found in Badara Kadekaru just 15 km from Buntwal.
British linguistic historical researcher Elizabeth, during her visit to the museum found a cultural-linguistic link between Tulu-Arabic and Hebrew in three exhibits in the museum which had the same name as in Arabic and Hebrew.
“The objects were Petari — a chest which stores valuables, Pataya — a storage for grains and spices and Tali — a large platter, which Muslim fraternity use for eating food. The same names are used in Tulu as well. This goes to show that Tuluva history had instances of great socio-cultural exchanges with Arabic and Hebrew speaking countries,” she observed in a document.
The centre has been named after the first woman freedom fighter and Tuluva queen, Rani Abbakka, who lived in the 16th-17th century. She defeated the flotilla of Portuguese Cannon Galleons by using flaming arrows for the first time in modern recorded history. “I have no doubt that Rani Abbakka was the first woman general of the Indian independence struggle against imperialist forces; her history was nothing less than that of Chand Bibi of Adil Shah lineage of Bijapur Sultans and Razia Sultan of Delhi’s lineage of Slave rulers which is why I have named the centre after her,” says Prof. Poojary.
