Banakal
Encyclopedia
Banakal is a Malnad
village in Mudigere Taluk, Chickmagalur district of Karnataka
, India
. This village is situated atop the Charmadi
hills in the Western Ghats section. The Western Ghats
is one amongst twenty-five identified hot spots for biodiversity conservation in the world. Banakal is surrounded by coffee
estates and paddy fields and known for its pleasant weather throughout the year. Banakal town is the headquarters of Banakal Hobli.
Banakal lies on the banks of the Hemavati River
. The Hemavati, which flows through Banakal, originates in Western Ghats. This 245 km (152 mi) long river covers about 5410 square kilometres (2,089 sq mi) of drainage area and considered as a prime source of irrigation along with natural rainfall. The geographical location of Banakal is 13°0'59" North and 75°53'9" East.
One of the immensely beautiful natural waterfalls of Karnataka known as Alekan waterfalls is just six kilometers away from Banakal towards Charmadi.
community is dominant and owns most of the landed property like agricultural fields and coffee estates. Folk songs and folk dances are given much importance. During special occasions men play Kolata - a group dance using sticks, and women do perform folk dances and folk songs like Bhaagyada balegaara hogi baa nanna tawarige are noteworthy.
food style is followed. Rice and wheat are a part of the daily menu. Traditional dishes like Rotti, Ganji-oota, Kadubu-chatni and shevije are eaten. Generally people are non-vegetarian. Some traditional dishes like Edi-chatni, Iruve-chatni [chigaLi chuttney] and Maralu-meen-saru are now vanishing from the daily menu.
spoken by the Gowda
s of Sullia
in Dakshina Kannada
, the people in this region speak another dialect of Kannada which can be called Gowdra Bhashe. This dialect is sweet and has powerful expressions. People belong to Tuluva
community like, Shetty
s, Poojary
s speak Tulu
with Ghatta accent, little different than actual Tulu
used in South Canara
. Local Muslims speak a dialect of Urdu
known as Dakni. Beary
s, the immigrant Muslim
s hailing from a neighboring district, Dakshina Kannada
, and who are engaged in various small scale business activities do speak Beary bashe
.
s observe Eid ul-Fitr
and Eid ul-Adha
as it is universally observed. Christians celebrate all Christian events and the local church festival is called Saint-Mary. Banakal Jatre is the car-festival that occurs once a year and attracts a lot of people from adjacent villages. Bhuta Kola and Kori Katta are the other events celebrated by mainly Tulu
speaking communities.
which forms the chief food of people in southern India is the main crop and is being produced in large scale. Coffee
plantations are another prime source of economy which makes the region distinctive and contributes to the national economy. The coffee estates in this region became world famous when they began to compete with Brazil
in both producing and exporting coffee beans. Both the genetic subspecies of high quality coffee, namely Robusta and Arabica, are being produced, processed and exported. Black pepper and cardamom are the other economic crops. Oranges have also been produced in some areas. Honey and other forest products also contribute to the economy.
(both Robusta and Arabica) is the main plantation crop. Other crops include black pepper
, cardamom
and produce of the forest. Good quality honey
is abundantly available in this region. Tall straight Nilgiri plantation is found on the southern bank of river Hemavati
alongside coffee plantation. Natural forests surround the village. Wildlife and rich birdlife can also be seen. Teak
and sandalwood
are abundant.
Because of irregular prices lately people have lost interest in food crops. Economic crops have taken the place of food crops, and more land is used for that purpose.
s are economically dominant, Bunt
and Billava
are the immigrant Tuluva
communities from adjacent Dakshina Kannada
also are seen. The Muslim
community can be identified as local Deccani (a dialect of Urdu and Hindi) speaking farmers and immigrant Byari business community. A good number of Christians belonging to Roman Catholic speaking Konkani
and some Protestants also are inhabitants of Banakal.
, Charmadi
ghats, Dharmasthal, Kalasa, Kudremukh
.
Malnad
Malenadu is a region of Karnataka state in South India. Malenadu covers the western and eastern slopes of the Western Ghats, roughly 100 kilometers in width. Malenadu covers portions of the Shimoga, Chikmagalur, Uttara Kannada, Kodagu and Hassan districts....
village in Mudigere Taluk, Chickmagalur district of Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. This village is situated atop the Charmadi
Charmadi
Charmadi is a village in Beltangady taluk of Dakshina Kannada district. It is one of the points in Western ghats through which motorable road passes connecting Dakshina Kannada with Chikkamagaluru district. The section of ghat is known by the name of Charmadi ghat...
hills in the Western Ghats section. The Western Ghats
Western Ghats
The Western Ghats, Western Ghauts or the Sahyādri is a mountain range along the western side of India. It runs north to south along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain along the Arabian Sea. The Western Ghats block rainfall to the Deccan...
is one amongst twenty-five identified hot spots for biodiversity conservation in the world. Banakal is surrounded by coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
estates and paddy fields and known for its pleasant weather throughout the year. Banakal town is the headquarters of Banakal Hobli.
Banakal lies on the banks of the Hemavati River
Hemavati River
The Hemavati is an important tributary of the Kaveri. It starts in the Western Ghats at an elevation of about 1,219 metres near Ballala rayana durga in the Chikmagalur District of the state of Karnataka, in southern India, and flows through Chikkamagaluru, Hassan District and Mysore district...
. The Hemavati, which flows through Banakal, originates in Western Ghats. This 245 km (152 mi) long river covers about 5410 square kilometres (2,089 sq mi) of drainage area and considered as a prime source of irrigation along with natural rainfall. The geographical location of Banakal is 13°0'59" North and 75°53'9" East.
One of the immensely beautiful natural waterfalls of Karnataka known as Alekan waterfalls is just six kilometers away from Banakal towards Charmadi.
Culture
The people lead a monotonous way of life irrespective of the religious diversities. Generally life is slow paced as it is seen in most of the agriculture dominant villages of Chickmagalur district. The GowdaGowda
Gowda is usually the title given to the head of the family or family group in the state of Karnataka & Andhra Pradesh in India. It is similar to Gounder or Kaoundar of Tamilnadu. It not the name of a caste, but title given to the leader or elder from any caste...
community is dominant and owns most of the landed property like agricultural fields and coffee estates. Folk songs and folk dances are given much importance. During special occasions men play Kolata - a group dance using sticks, and women do perform folk dances and folk songs like Bhaagyada balegaara hogi baa nanna tawarige are noteworthy.
Cuisine
The MalnadMalnad
Malenadu is a region of Karnataka state in South India. Malenadu covers the western and eastern slopes of the Western Ghats, roughly 100 kilometers in width. Malenadu covers portions of the Shimoga, Chikmagalur, Uttara Kannada, Kodagu and Hassan districts....
food style is followed. Rice and wheat are a part of the daily menu. Traditional dishes like Rotti, Ganji-oota, Kadubu-chatni and shevije are eaten. Generally people are non-vegetarian. Some traditional dishes like Edi-chatni, Iruve-chatni [chigaLi chuttney] and Maralu-meen-saru are now vanishing from the daily menu.
Language
Like Are BhasheAre Bhashe
Arebhashe or Gowda Kannada is a dialect of the Kannada language, particularly, spoken by the people belonging to ‘Gowda’ community who are the natives of Madikeri, Somwarpet, Bhagamandala and Kushalanagara of Kodagu district and Sullia of Dakshina Kannada. It is also spoken by eastern parts of...
spoken by the Gowda
Gowda
Gowda is usually the title given to the head of the family or family group in the state of Karnataka & Andhra Pradesh in India. It is similar to Gounder or Kaoundar of Tamilnadu. It not the name of a caste, but title given to the leader or elder from any caste...
s of Sullia
Sullia
Sullia is a taluk in the Dakshina Kannada district of the state of Karnataka, India. It is a small town, surrounded with evergreen wooded mountains in the Western Ghats range in South India. Sullia has plantations of rubber, areca nut, coconut, cashew nut, black pepper and banana...
in Dakshina Kannada
Dakshina Kannada
- Geography :The district geography consists of sea shore in the west and Western Ghats in the east. The major rivers are Netravathi, Kumaradhara, Phalguni, Shambhavi, Nandini or Pavanje and Payaswini which all join Arabian sea. Vast areas of evergreen forests which once covered this district, have...
, the people in this region speak another dialect of Kannada which can be called Gowdra Bhashe. This dialect is sweet and has powerful expressions. People belong to Tuluva
Tuluva
The Tuluva -Geographic Distribution :Though most of the Tuluva population is found in the Tulu Nadu region, migrant poplulations are found the world over. In recent times, the first period of migration started at the beginning of the 20th century to places such as Mumbai and Chennai and other...
community like, Shetty
Shetty
This is an article about a Bunt surname and should not be confused with similar sounding surnames like sethi, shetti, setty etc used by other Indian castes and alternatively spelled the same way...
s, Poojary
Poojary
Poojary also known as Poojari or Pujary or Pujari, is a sub-sect of the Billava community of Tulu Nadu region of southern Indian state. The mother tongue of Poojary community is mainly Tulu but in Kundapura taluk these people speak Kannada...
s speak Tulu
Tulu language
The Tulu language |?]]]) is a Dravidian language spoken by 1.95 million native speakers mainly in the southwest part of Indian state Karnataka known as Tulu Nadu. In India, 1.72 million people speak it as their mother tongue , increased by 10 percent over the 1991 census...
with Ghatta accent, little different than actual Tulu
Tulu language
The Tulu language |?]]]) is a Dravidian language spoken by 1.95 million native speakers mainly in the southwest part of Indian state Karnataka known as Tulu Nadu. In India, 1.72 million people speak it as their mother tongue , increased by 10 percent over the 1991 census...
used in South Canara
South Canara
South Canara was a district under the British empire, located at . It was bifurcated in 1859 from Canara district. It was the undivided Dakshina Kannada district...
. Local Muslims speak a dialect of Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
known as Dakni. Beary
Beary
The Beary is a small Muslim community concentrated mostly in coastal South Kanara , in the district of Karnataka, a south Indian state. It is an ethnic society, having its own unique traditions and distinct cultural identity...
s, the immigrant Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s hailing from a neighboring district, Dakshina Kannada
Dakshina Kannada
- Geography :The district geography consists of sea shore in the west and Western Ghats in the east. The major rivers are Netravathi, Kumaradhara, Phalguni, Shambhavi, Nandini or Pavanje and Payaswini which all join Arabian sea. Vast areas of evergreen forests which once covered this district, have...
, and who are engaged in various small scale business activities do speak Beary bashe
Beary bashe
Beary bashe is a dialect mainly spoken by the Muslim communities of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts of Karnataka known as Bearys and a small number of Hindus in the District of Kasargod in Kerala state....
.
Festivals
Suggi Habba is the main festival celebrated at the time of harvesting. All Hindu festivals are celebrated by Gowdas and local communities. Tulu speaking people also celebrate Hindu festivals. MuslimMuslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s observe Eid ul-Fitr
Eid ul-Fitr
Eid ul-Fitr, Eid al-Fitr, Id-ul-Fitr, or Id al-Fitr , often abbreviated to Eid, is a Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting . Eid is an Arabic word meaning "festivity," while Fiṭr means "breaking the fast"...
and Eid ul-Adha
Eid ul-Adha
Eid al-Adha or "Festival of Sacrifice" or "Greater Eid" is an important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide to commemorate the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son Ishmael as an act of obedience to God, before God intervened to provide him with a sheep— to sacrifice...
as it is universally observed. Christians celebrate all Christian events and the local church festival is called Saint-Mary. Banakal Jatre is the car-festival that occurs once a year and attracts a lot of people from adjacent villages. Bhuta Kola and Kori Katta are the other events celebrated by mainly Tulu
Tulu language
The Tulu language |?]]]) is a Dravidian language spoken by 1.95 million native speakers mainly in the southwest part of Indian state Karnataka known as Tulu Nadu. In India, 1.72 million people speak it as their mother tongue , increased by 10 percent over the 1991 census...
speaking communities.
Economy
Agriculture is the main source of economy. RiceRice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
which forms the chief food of people in southern India is the main crop and is being produced in large scale. Coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
plantations are another prime source of economy which makes the region distinctive and contributes to the national economy. The coffee estates in this region became world famous when they began to compete with Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
in both producing and exporting coffee beans. Both the genetic subspecies of high quality coffee, namely Robusta and Arabica, are being produced, processed and exported. Black pepper and cardamom are the other economic crops. Oranges have also been produced in some areas. Honey and other forest products also contribute to the economy.
Flora and fauna
Most of the land is brought under cultivation. Paddy or rice fields provide multiple crops in a year based on monsoon. CoffeeCoffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
(both Robusta and Arabica) is the main plantation crop. Other crops include black pepper
Black pepper
Black pepper is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit, known as a peppercorn when dried, is approximately in diameter, dark red when fully mature, and, like all drupes, contains a single seed...
, cardamom
Cardamom
Cardamom refers to several plants of the genera Elettaria and Amomum in the ginger family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to India and Bhutan; they are recognised by their small seed pod, triangular in cross-section and spindle-shaped, with a thin papery outer shell and small black seeds...
and produce of the forest. Good quality honey
Honey
Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
is abundantly available in this region. Tall straight Nilgiri plantation is found on the southern bank of river Hemavati
Hemavati
Hemavati may refer to* Hemavati River, in Karnataka, India* Hemavati , a ragam in Carnatic music...
alongside coffee plantation. Natural forests surround the village. Wildlife and rich birdlife can also be seen. Teak
Teak
Teak is the common name for the tropical hardwood tree species Tectona grandis and its wood products. Tectona grandis is native to south and southeast Asia, mainly India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Burma, but is naturalized and cultivated in many countries, including those in Africa and the...
and sandalwood
Sandalwood
Sandalwood is the name of a class of fragrant woods from trees in the genus Santalum. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and unlike many other aromatic woods they retain their fragrance for decades. As well as using the harvested and cut wood in-situ, essential oils are also extracted...
are abundant.
Because of irregular prices lately people have lost interest in food crops. Economic crops have taken the place of food crops, and more land is used for that purpose.
People
Generally lifestyle is slow paced and people do live cordially irrespective of caste and religious differences. Although GowdaGowda
Gowda is usually the title given to the head of the family or family group in the state of Karnataka & Andhra Pradesh in India. It is similar to Gounder or Kaoundar of Tamilnadu. It not the name of a caste, but title given to the leader or elder from any caste...
s are economically dominant, Bunt
Bunt (community)
Bunt , previously spelled Bant, are a community of erstwhile nobility, feudatory and gentry from the region of Tulu Nadu in the south west of India which comprises the districts of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada in the Indian state of Karnataka and Kasaragod taluk of Kerala...
and Billava
Billava
The Billava, or Ilava people make up one of the largest Hindu communities of the Tulu ethnic group in India. They are also found in the Kannada-speaking Kundapura region of Karnataka and some parts of Kerala, including Kasaragod district...
are the immigrant Tuluva
Tuluva
The Tuluva -Geographic Distribution :Though most of the Tuluva population is found in the Tulu Nadu region, migrant poplulations are found the world over. In recent times, the first period of migration started at the beginning of the 20th century to places such as Mumbai and Chennai and other...
communities from adjacent Dakshina Kannada
Dakshina Kannada
- Geography :The district geography consists of sea shore in the west and Western Ghats in the east. The major rivers are Netravathi, Kumaradhara, Phalguni, Shambhavi, Nandini or Pavanje and Payaswini which all join Arabian sea. Vast areas of evergreen forests which once covered this district, have...
also are seen. The Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
community can be identified as local Deccani (a dialect of Urdu and Hindi) speaking farmers and immigrant Byari business community. A good number of Christians belonging to Roman Catholic speaking Konkani
Konkani language
KonkaniKonkani is a name given to a group of several cognate dialects spoken along the narrow strip of land called Konkan, on the west coast of India. This is, however, somewhat an over-generalisation. Geographically, Konkan is defined roughly as the area between the river Damanganga to the north...
and some Protestants also are inhabitants of Banakal.
Schools and educational institute
- Government Junior College
- Government High School
- Vidyabharati – Nursery, middle school and high school
- Government Model Higher Primary School
- Government Urdu Higher Primary School
- Nazareth Convent
- River View School - Nursery and middle school
- Banakal Village School
- Sabli Village School
Getting there
- By road: any bus that commutes between MangaloreMangaloreMangalore is the chief port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located about west of the state capital, Bangalore. Mangalore lies between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghat mountain ranges, and is the administrative headquarters of the Dakshina Kannada district in south western...
and Chickmagalur goes via Banakal from KottigeharaKottigeharaKottigehara is a village located in the foothills of Charmadi ghat in Chikkamagaluru district of Karnataka state, India. Its coordinates are 13°3'27"N and 75°31'58"E....
on K.M. Road, towards Chickmagalur - The nearest railway station: MangaloreMangaloreMangalore is the chief port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located about west of the state capital, Bangalore. Mangalore lies between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghat mountain ranges, and is the administrative headquarters of the Dakshina Kannada district in south western...
, Kadur and Hassan - The nearest airport is BajpeBajpeBajpe is a census town in located close to Mangalore city in Dakshina Kannada district in the state of Karnataka, India. It is around 18 km from the heart of the city of Mangalore. The Mangalore International Airport is located at Bajpe and is popularly known as the Bajpe...
Mangalore International Airport
Nearby places
The nearby places are Mudigere, Chickmagalur, KottigeharaKottigehara
Kottigehara is a village located in the foothills of Charmadi ghat in Chikkamagaluru district of Karnataka state, India. Its coordinates are 13°3'27"N and 75°31'58"E....
, Charmadi
Charmadi
Charmadi is a village in Beltangady taluk of Dakshina Kannada district. It is one of the points in Western ghats through which motorable road passes connecting Dakshina Kannada with Chikkamagaluru district. The section of ghat is known by the name of Charmadi ghat...
ghats, Dharmasthal, Kalasa, Kudremukh
Kudremukh
Kudremukh also spelled Kuduremukha is a mountain range in Chikkamagaluru district, in Karnataka, India. It is also the name of a small hill station town situated near the mountain, about 48 kilometers from Karkala and about 20 kilometers from Kalasa...
.