Trekkers, Scientific community and the villagers in ambience (The untold success story of ‘Kadagarni’ village)

Original Kannada Article & photos: Mahantesh .G. Oshimath 

English Translation: Shrinivas N Panchamukhi

Trekking is nothing less than a meditation for nature lovers. One can learn to live with nature & know more about nature by means of trekking. Of late the trekking activities in India have increased & this would certainly enhance the awareness & education about Mother Nature. Many organizations like Youth Hostels Association of India (YHAI) , General Thimmayya National Academy of Adventures(GHETNAA), Department of Atomic Energy’s Sports & Cultural Council, Mysore’s Nisarga trekkers club ,have been active in organising systematic treks & adventures. It is really amazing that the Department of Atomic Energy, an organisation leading the pursuit of excellence in the field of Science & Technology, has been conducting/organising national level trekking expedition for last 29 years, which shows the genuine concern towards the nature. The trekking expedition named “Girisanchar” began in 1990 with few enthusiastic scientists and has now become a regular calendar event covering length and breadth of the country, each time in a different route & different terrain. The trek route of DAE event has never been repeated, a feat not many in the field of trekking have accomplished ! In Karnataka the DAE trek has been conducted on three occasions, all of these have been immensely thrilling & naturally romantic in the tough terrains. These treks covered the biodiversity hot-spots of the world; Anashi, Caves of Ulavi , Mahamane, Satoddi Falls , Vibhuti Falls, Yana in the Western Ghats , Muttoddi in the Bhadra Forest and the icing on the cake was Mullayyanagiri the highest peak of Karnataka & the complicated route of Bababudanagiri. In Girisanchar a team consisting of 35 members travels for 5 days continuously covering a distance of around 100 km. 8 such teams are flagged off from the base camp successively. The trekkers enjoy this enthralling experience of being with nature by experiencing the beauty of lush green forests, the flowing sound of the rivers, the water falls, and the wild life. Trekkers are made to stay in camps at various pre-decided locations. The trek can’t be successful without the aid of the tribes & the farmers residing in these deep forests. The organisers have put in huge efforts to ensure the active participation of the locals to make this event a hassle free one. I would like to spill beans on the life story of the village ‘Kadagarni’ & its resident tribes the ‘Kunabis’ who have been instrumental in making this 29th version of DAE trek a grand success. 

Historical meeting place of Sharanas at Kadagarni

The story of ‘Kadagarni’ dates back to the 12th century. Who can forget the revolution of the ‘sharanas’ (the followers of Basavanna) who fought for the principle of equality, religion of humanity and in the process tried to enlighten the society by their literary works in Karnataka. The coup at Kalyana threatened the very existence of master piece of literature the ‘Vachanas’, it would not be wrong if one calls them the Upanishads of Kannada. In order to protect the sanctity of “Vachana Sahitya” from the conspiracy and rhetoric of the hostile fundamentalists, the mass exodus of the group followers of Basavanna called “Sharanas” under the leadership of ‘Chanabasavanna’ from various directions began. During the course of their exodus many ‘Sharanas’ were martyred while fighting with the soldiers of ‘Kalchuri Kalyana ’. They eventually settled down in ‘Ulavi Dandakaranya’ of today’s Uttara Kannada district in Karnataka. In 12th century ‘Ulavi’ was under the rule of ‘Kadambas’ of Goa. The ‘Sharanas’ after a marathon discussion decided to settle down at ‘Ulavi’ . This place where the ‘Sharans’ held brain storming session came to be known as ‘Kadeyagani’ which later became ‘Kadagarni’. with the blessings from ‘Kadambas’ of Goa & under the leadership of ‘Channabasavanna’; Ulavi one of the world’s most important biodiversity sites thus became the saviour of the ‘Vachanas’ (simplified truths over myths of life), a great literary work created in ’Anubhava Mantap of Kalyana’. 

A hamlet with about 50 houses, located deep into the forest 4km away from Ulavi is ‘Kadagarni’ the story of which is about to unveil ! The most heartening and adorable fact of this village is that, one would never find a piece of plastic or the so called non-biodegradable waste materials of this mechanised era. The ‘Kunubi’ tribes/community forms the bulk of the population of ‘Kadagarni’. These villagers have been cultivating the 130 acres land that was owned by the ‘Ulavi’ temple administration till 1970. To preach about village life & its beauty is easy but to bring it into actual practise that too in this modern era of colourful distractions & attractions isn’t easy. In this regard the ‘Kunabis’ have actually been the role models for a long time. ‘Kadagarni’ under the ‘Ulavi panchayat’ is a model village which has a cleanly maintained toilet in each house. There can’t be a better advertising for ‘Swachha Gram-Swachha Bharath’ than ‘Kadagarni’.

The village of ‘Kadagarni’ has all the basic amenities such as clean drinking water, electricity, a big playground and an ‘anganawadi’ but the strength of ‘Kadagarni’ lies in the pride & self esteem of its people. The ‘Kunubis’ are very forthcoming & ambitious to be part of the system in various fields including education, politics, sports, agriculture etc. The entire village takes pride & draws inspiration from Narayan Rama Dadodkar a veteran of 68 years. His unique & unmatched physical fitness, eagerness & dedication towards his work can hardly be found in the youth of cities. Compelled by the economic condition of the family Narayan had to drop out from the school just after finishing 4th standard. He realised his dream by educating his children & grandchildren. The entire village has joined him in his endeavour of relentless pursuit of education. The students of ‘Kadagarni’ do their initial schooling at nearby village Henkola & then higher secondary in ‘Channabasaveshwar high school Ulavi’. Their journey of education continues as they embark to Karwar, Joida and Dandeli to complete their degrees & diplomas by staying in hostels. 

Kunabi’s of Kadagrani

Paddy has been the major crop of ‘Kadagarni’ & the ‘Kunubis’ are traditionally known to cultivate various varieties of paddy namely Intan, Poonam and Jira. Since last decade or so the ‘Kunubis’ have been successfully cultivating commercial crops such as black pepper, betel nut and ilachi (cardamom). One can find gardens with variety of vegetables and pulses in the courtyard of each home in ‘Kadagarni’. The real co-operative principle of life is at display in ‘Kadagarni’. Everyone lends helping hand to each of the resident of ‘Kadagarni’ in cleaning fields, sowing, cultivating and harvesting. The bricks used to build houses are manufactured locally & in order to be self reliant the youth of ‘Kadagarni’ have also learnt the art of carpentry & masonry. The people of ‘Kadagarni’ are idols to the modern society & one can learn a lot from them. Their socioeconomic prosperity is attributed to the fact of them being the residents of this holy land of ‘Sharnas’ and being true followers of the spirit of ‘Vachanas’ which emphasise the philosophy of ‘Work is Worship’. Many residents of ‘Kadagarni’ travel to Goa for fishing which earns them livelihood and they also work in the agricultural lands of nearby villages during their free time. Ananth who works in state office of ‘Kumbrawada’, Nilesh who works in post office of ‘Ulavi’, Bala who travels to nearby villages for selling vegetables and Sheela who works as guest teacher at ‘Henkola’ school, try their hand out in agriculture as well. These are the few examples for the dedication & workaholic attitude of people of ‘Kadagarni’. 

Paddy harvesting activity

Lalitha Ganapati Datodkar the vice-president of the ‘Ulavi’ Panchayat has been working tirelessly and striving hard for all-round development of ‘Kadagarni’. She is being guided by the panchayat president Manjunath Mokashi who is very proud of ‘Kadagarni’ being hovel-free village with population of about 450. Lalitha has chalked out a plan to develop bio-tourism in ‘Kadagarni’ in association with forest department. Lalitha is working towards realising her dream of making ‘Kadagarni’ an ‘Adarshgram’, by equipping it with a primary school, good roads, mobile hospital, community centre, library, stadium, and rainwater harvesting and drip irrigation facilities. She is also planning the daunting task of piping water supply to her village from ‘Kaneri’ river, by taking up the issue with the concerned authorities. 

Iron lady Lalitha Ganapati Datodkar of Kadagarni

It would not be an exaggeration if one says that ‘Kadagarni’ & the ‘Kunubis’ would leave behind a legacy as they proudly march ahead in contributing towards developed & harmonious India. ‘Kunubis’ also speak fluent ‘Kannada’ along with their mother tongue Konkani. They believe in & worship the God ‘Mallikarjuna’ of Canakon-Goa and they are also devotees of ‘Pandharapur Vitthala’ & the great scholar ’Channabasavanna’ of Ulavi. During this year’s DAE trekking they have proven that villagers & the scientific community can get along and move on hand in hand when it comes to preserving & protecting the environment. Hats off to the spirit of people of ‘Kadagarni’ .