Raghunath Kattingeri Hebbar

Every place of human settlement has a past history, present life and progressive future. The name of a place indicates in one word the significance of that place. In order to know about Kattingeri, the neighbouring village of Moodubelle and reconstruct its history and understand the present, Anil Alva and I proceeded to Kattingeri. Halting at the ancient temple of Shri Brahmalingeshwara we contacted Mr. Devdas Hebbar who readily agreed to help us in giving the necessary input for this article. While I was engrossed in jotting down the information given by Mr. Hebbar, Anil was busy in taking the pictures of the beautiful lake and the temple.

According to Mr. Devdas Hebbar, the name ‘Kattingeri’ has been derived from the lake that is close to the Shri Brahmalingeshwara temple. As the lake was believed to have been constructed by the villagers, it came to be known as the ‘Kattidhina Kere’ in the Tulu language and the words gradually merged into one as ‘Kattingeri’ and the village acquired this name.

The original residents of Kattingeri were the aboriginals (adhivasis) originally known as ‘Goddu Bakder’, who came to be referred later as Muggerkalas in Tulu. Their chief occupation was hunting. During the medieval period, the village was ruled by the Jain feudal lords of Moodbidri. Even today Jain wells and an inscription are found in Kattingeri. The Kattingeri village was said to have been leased to one of the Jain couples from Moodbidri who came and settled down at the village. Many of the Muggerkalas became their tenants. Gradually, some of the Muggerkalas migrated and settled down in other destinations such as Kaup, Padubidri, Mattu and other places.

As the Jain couple had no issues, they adopted a boy from the Shivalli Brahmin caste. As the name of the Jain woman was Hebbarthi, the adopted Shivalli Brahmin and his descendants acquired the surname as ‘Hebbars’, who became the trustees of the Shri Brahmalingeshwara temple and continue to be the trustees even today.

Shri Brahmalingeshwara temple has an interesting history. According to legend, the temple was founded by a Sage (Muni) named Brughu nearly 800 years ago. Initially, the idol of Shri Brahmalingeshwara was installed under a Pipal tree at Brahmagudda. As the place was felt to be small to accommodate the growing number of devotees, it was decided to shift the idol to the present location where the temple was constructed. During the construction of the temple, the idol was placed at the house of the Patel of Kattingeri near the temple, which is still known as ‘Brahmara Chavdi’.

Shri Brahmalingeshwara is a composite temple where three deities are worshipped. These deities are: Brahmalingeshwara, Durga Parameshwari and Naga Subramanya. The annual festivities of the temple are held every year during the second week of March for five days on the occasion of the Meena Sankramana. During this period, the devotees visit the temple and offer prayers, flowers, fruits and coconuts to the deities. For five days free lunch is served to the devotees and other residents of the village irrespective of their religion or caste. In the evening various cultural programmes are arranged including religious plays and historical dramas.

According to Mr. Devdas Hebbar, in the past, during the annual festival of the temple there used to be a demonstration of sword fights also known as ‘Katthi Kalaga’ in a huge paddy field known as the Varasare Bakyaar. Varasare means long sickle or sword. Representatives from 12 villages (maganes) used to participate in this mock duel which was purely for the purpose of entertainment of the devotees and people who used to attend the annual festival.

In the same Varasare Bakyaar the Nyaya Panchayat used to be held. This judicial process was presided over by the Kuthyar Arasu (King) and the Patel of Kattingeri. People from nearly 60 villages would attend this Panchayat and get their grievances or litigations resolved.

The Shri Brahmalingeshwara temple observes other festivals as well known as Pancha Parvas: Shri Krishna Janmashtami, Feast of the New Corn (Koralu Parba), Navaratri, Dasara and Deepavali. In the month of December, Subramanya Shasti is celebrated. During the night Ranga Puja is performed. During the month of Shravan flower worship (Putha Puje) is conducted in the temple. In every month on the day of the Sankramana, bhajan programmes are arranged in the temple premises by the Brahmalingeshwara Bhajan Mandali, whose president is Mr. Devdas Hebbar.

Before the Land Reform Acts were enacted by the Karnataka Government in 1960s, the temple used to receive 60 muras of rice and 6 tins of oil as rent from it’s land. As the temple lost its land due to the land reform acts, the Trustees of the temple had to depend on the goodwill of the devotees for its maintenance and daily pujas. The devotees voluntarily donated Rs.1000 per day for 365 days and out of the interest of this total amount the expenses of the pujas are met.

Since around four hundred years, the temple has been administered by the Hebbar family. Presently, the Managing Trustee is Subraya Hebbar, father of Mr. Devdas Hebbar. Mr. Mohan Hebbar, who works on the District Collector’s office, is also one of the five Trustees of the temple.

The other important attraction of Kattingeri is the huge lake near the temple because of which the village has got its present name. Originally this lake was known as ‘Devara Kere’ (God’s Lake). The lake occupies an area of 5.78 acres and is a boon to the village as it never dries up and its water is used for agriculture and washing of animals. The Kattingeri Lake has its own natural beauty with flora and fauna. Verities of seasonal birds flock to this lake for food and shelter especially during the months of October, November and December. The lake is also home for different kinds of fish. Mr. Devdas Hebbar mentioned that he himself had introduced 8000 Tilapia, 1000 Katla and 1000 Common Corp in the lake at different times. The lotus plants and flowers at different locations add to the beauty of the lake. There is a small island like growth with rocks and bushes a little away from the bank of the lake. People from Kattingeri and Moodubelle can catch fish from the lake. Angling is permitted throughout the year. However, catching the fish by using net is restricted after the annual feast in the month of March.

During the Subramanya Shasti and annual festival, the devotees would take a dip in the lake and undertake rolling worship (madasthana) in front of the temple and have bath in the same lake after this ritual.

There are a number of legends and folk stories associated with the Kattingeri Lake. On the other side of the lake there is a rock which the villagers believe had miraculous powers. It is said that, many years ago poor people who had to get their daughters married and had no gold would go to the rock on the previous evening with a plate of fruits, coconut and flowers and keep the plate on the rock and pray for the boon of gold ornaments. Next morning they would find the necessary gold ornaments which they would use for the marriage. However, after the marriage they had to return the gold ornaments at the same place so that the next family in need would have it in similar manner. This boon seems to have come to an end when one selfish woman exchanged the nose-ring with artificial one.

Another interesting folk story about the lake is that at Podi Kambla where buffalo race used to take place on dry field, the pair of buffaloes belonging to the Patel family had to lead the other buffalo pairs. In one year the Patel did not have the pair of buffaloes and was very sad. He lamented for not having been able to provide the lead for the buffalo race and prayed so that he could have a pair. Surprisingly, on the day of the race a pair of buffaloes was found in his stable and the buffalo race could take place. However, when the buffaloes were taken to the lake for a wash, the handler of the Patel’s miraculous buffaloes exchanged one of them. According to the story, as a punishment for this act of cheating all the buffaloes that were taken to the lake mysteriously vanished. It is also believed that a small bronze chariot belonging to the temple which was taken for a wash in the lake had mysteriously sunk and is still believed to be entrenched in the bed of the lake.

Mr. Devdas Hebbar also mentioned that the world famous artist and painter, Kattingeri Krishna Hebbar (KK Hebbar) who had his house close to the lake used to play in this lake and collect clay for preparing various types of clay models.

It is said that so far there is no record of any one losing his or her life due to drowning in the lake though there had been incidents of drowning. The villagers say that not only human beings but even animals including dogs or cats have not lost their lives in the lake.

The Kattingeri Lake was de-silted and made deep in the year 1999 at the cost of around Rs. 4.5 lacs given as grant by the Udupi Zilla Panchayat. This year around Rs.10 lacs have been sanctioned for the improvement of the lake. The Moodubelle-Kattingeri road is being under construction which passes through the western bank of the Kattingeri Lake. The road, once constructed will proceed to Manibettu and onwards to Attinja and Shirva. According to Mr. Devdas Hebbar, once the road is completed the people of Kattingeri and Manibettu will have easy access to both Moodubelle and Shirva as transport buses will be introduced on this route.

In order to conserve water, the outlet of the lake is closed by a bund during the Kaveri Sankramana in the month of October. After erecting the bund the conserved water occupies an area of nearly 8 acres. Mr. Devdas Hebbar said that there are plans to develop the Kattingeri Lake as a place of leisure and recreation by having a narrow road around the lake and providing with concrete benches for the people to relax. By providing peddle and rowing boats an opportunity will be provided to people to have recreation and fun.

Thus, the Kattingeri village has a colourful past and a progressive future with the completion of the road connecting Moodubelle and Shirva and the development of the lake as mentioned by Mr. Devdas Hebbar. This would help in promoting local tourism, excursions by schools, colleges and associations as well as family picnics.

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Info Courtesy from Bellevision Moodubelle