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It takes a very clear mind to communicate the essence of what constitutes a “community”. Pujas and rituals were perhaps created to bring people together as a community; every Kodava Okka pays obeisance to our ancestors and Guru Karona at the Kaimada at our AinMane. These are essential practices especially for the younger generation to be exposed to important rituals and practices – but it is our sacred land that make us Kodavas what we are. Mamatha Subbaiah is a wonderful exponent of this tradition.
Kodavas were renowned for the collective integrity of the community. We represented the highest standards of conduct and integrity in all our services. It is well documented that people looked surprised when offered money for services rendered especially when we were a separate Part C State. It is time to press the reset button and strengthen our support and leadership at critical community organizations like Akhila Kodava Samaja and the regional Kodava Samajas. A common set of priorities needs to be presented on a strong platform for the District Administration and local political leadership to align and deliver on the basis of public-private partnership.
I write for CoffeeLand News with great pride as this august institution has always been committed to protect what Kodagu means for the long term residents of Kodagu, especially Kodavas and Kodavaame. The paper consistently brings important issues into the public domain, is apolitical and represents the true strength of responsible journalism.
Heartfelt appreciation to every writer who fearlessly raise their voices, every reader who stands in solidarity, and everyone who takes the time to write thoughtful comments as feedback to fellow readers and the community at large. Public participation is what transforms collective thought into a movement.
When journalists report with integrity and responsibility, citizens respond with conviction, and communities unite for a common cause. The desired outcome is that our natural and cultural heritage stands a better chance of being protected. This collective effort should be galvanised to inspire continued vigilance against destruction (sale) of Kodagu’s priceless inherited properties (especially Jamma lands). Our landscapes will get desecrated by “outside” buyers whose only objective is commercial exploitation of the land. Look at what is happening year after year at Wayanad. We do not need Railway lines or unnecessary widening of roads. What we need is the current infrastructure to be managed well, with integrity and accountability. Tourism is needed, but with “monitored responsibility” by all stakeholders.
In this context, the collective action to protect sacred places like malma kund is an important landmark and motivator to stop real estate agents from selling our heritage and identity. The problem needs to be resolved and if Akhila Kodava Samaja needs support, the community should raise their hand and support unstintingly. Let us not forget that preserving Kodavaame is inextricably linked to our land. Our Ainmanes are not merely ancestral homes, they are living symbols of our history, values and identity. Our Devakaadus are not just patches of forest but groves that have protected Kodagu’s biodiversity for generations from time immemorial. If we lose our ancestral lands, neglect our Ainmanes and allow our Devakaadus to disappear, we risk losing the very soul of Kodagu. Conservation should not stop at one sacred site, it must extend to every tradition, every sacred grove, every ancestral home, and every acre that defines our Kodava heritage. When we protect all of these together, we truly protect Kodagu.
The articles on the sale of Jamma land and properties in general in Kodagu appearing in CLN are encouraging. These matters should be discussed openly to bring consensus on such matters.
I want to bring another important matter for consideration. I read an interesting article today in DH by Chandan Gowda on Rural Karnataka (https://www.deccanherald.com/opinion/the-sadness-of-rural-karnataka-4070738). In essence, life in villages presents problems for women because of urban centred growth. Reviving or focus on improving rural livelihoods is critical for restoring dignity and securing the future of village society. There has to be a policy priority to make it attractive for youngsters to embrace rural life.
In many ways Kodavas are blessed with plantations and with extra effort can augment their agricultural income with additional sources – tourism and also the recent trends of Work From Home (WFH). Life in the cities is cramped, unhealthy and expensive; in contrast a cleaner environment and substantially lower costs of living can be judiciously managed with proper guidance and initiative.
This is a sad, emotional situation indeed. It is a generational societal problem which is being faced by our generation, and many other small communities I am sure. It needs a political solution if sale and restrictions on sale of land are involved. Our political and law-making representatives should explore the possibility of forming a coalition with like-minded reps of other communities and tackle the issue jointly. We’re too small a community with no political power to bring about the changes required.
The issue of Jamma land sale largely impacts Kodavas, hence the debate and appeal not to disturb the equilibrium by opting for an easy way of selling one’s heritage. Also, many of the large Jamma properties sold are converted to resorts and thereafter quite ironically, Kodavas find employment (although even this is largely not happening) on the land sold by them.
This is not unique to Kodagu alone by the way. An earlier comment showed the Badagas in the Nilgiris encountering the same issues. In Uttarakhand too, resorts and hotels have sprung up dime a dozen around Nainital and Jim Corbett Park – despite clear rules that only “locals” can OWN lands. Benami transactions and ghost partners abound.
In essence – the local people with a sense of pride and determination to preserve their identity need to act. Political support is indeed required (forget the disaster of the 1956 merger with then Mysore State) – but then we do have representation from the community for Kodagu – a good and committed leader – make use of his legal background!!
Good discourse. Truth be told, the other communities who have been Long term residents of Kodagu seldom sell their land – minuscule number of transactions compared with Kodavas. All the more reason why Kodavas should not take the easy way out and find every means to retain their inherited ancestral lands. And in doing so, their identity, culture and pride.
Well written Mamatha..
Before going further…
Let us introspect ourselves why Jamma Lands are being sold among ourselves.. be it in the vicinity of sacred groves or be it in the thick of a lane in small towns, inhabited by our own people’ or villages who were peaceful untill now..
1. It’s a word called ‘Empathy’ which is lacking amongst us.
2. Materialism and competition: Success is often measured by wealth status and achievements. Sometimes at the expense of relationships.
3. Stress and burnouts: People often dealing with financial pressures, work demands or personal struggles often have less emotional energy to empathize with others.
4. Indvidualsim: Our societies and gatherings increasingly emphasize personal success and self interest over community and collective well being.
That said empathy has not disappeared, It often emerges during crises…
The day when family pattedhaar starts to intervene the land disputes amongst us, instead of court cases, with a fair judgement, the land sales could be substantially controlled..
The remote villages which still have a strong bonds within the okkas pertaining to the rituals of temples and funerals, havent been penetrated yet from the unwarranted menaces of sale of Jamma lands.
The day when our marriages gets simpler, could create more belonging to the land rather than going for distress selling.
We are striving hard to make Malma episode to come to a logical end, retain the surroundings to the next generation in the pristine form, which can set a good example, and can contain selling of our heartlands to outsiders for profit..
Very encouraged to see your response – the purpose of highlighting issues through my articles on important matters affecting the future of Kodagu is precisely for this reason. If there is constructive debate on an open platform that helps drive consensus and a community driven approach, we have made progress. And hopefully it would also enable organisations such as the Akhila Kodava Samaja to mobilise action on a “collective” platform. This is what CLN stands for – Responsible Journalism.
You would see from other responses and feedback to my articles that the Kodava community has to learn to speak with one voice. And one of the important voices is that of the AKS – if not the most important voice.
Empathy is good, but determination to retain our heritage for future generations cannot be discarded just because of (excessive) material needs. Unnecessary flaunting of spending on weddings, personal utilities (cars especially) with unaffordable borrowings was never a part of our heritage and Kodavaame. We were a simple people who enjoyed our lives with non-ostentatious festivals rooted to the principles of affordability, equality and a spirit of sharing.
Debt has become rampant and commonplace place with many loosing their properties leading to forced sale. That’s where “change in the collective mindset” has to be inculcated in trying to live within one’s means. This is where our educated and wisdom of elders needs to be followed. This is where our community leaders should raise their hands and volunteer to lead by example.
To reiterate – In the pursuit of “materialism” we cannot see the sale of our heritage, our land, our identity. I am forced to recall the simplicity and yet extremely fulfilling life we led us children of the Armed Forces. Affordable lifestyles where oneupmanship was frowned upon, secular existence, discipline and hard work was our way of life and I dare I say that of our ancestors too. I keep repeating myself – would be such a wonderful guidance if our distinguished Armed Forces personnel involved themselves more in the future of the community.
A beautifully written article. To me, the title says far more than the words themselves. “Our land is our identity” is not just about ownership. It is about our roots, our culture, our memories, our relationship with nature, and the responsibility of leaving something meaningful for those who come after us. Once that bond is broken, it cannot simply be bought back.
Development and progress have their place, but they should never come at the cost of what makes Kodagu, Kodagu. “If we preserve only the land records and not the spirit of the land, we will have lost far more than property”. These are just my thoughts, perhaps more from the heart than from expertise.
This article and the “always interesting comments” nails this very sensitive topic extremely well – why are we getting rid of our inherited properties and heritage? It is a sign of disrespect to our ancestors because of whom we exist. Harish’s words express a powerful sentiment – “If we preserve only the land records and not the spirit of the land, we will have lost far more than property”.
I am reminded of an empty “theravad” which remained unoccupied for a superstitious reason. Instead of getting it “cleansed” and retained, it was transferred to Dakshinachitra, a heritage museum near Chennai. I then recalled that a similar incident took place where an _AineMane_ was shifted from Kodagu which made me wonder if that’s the right thing to do.
These are sacred structures built on carefully chosen land for generations – as the identity of the family, the culture of the village and community at large. They should not be “shifted”!! I have a number of friends from Kodagu who go back to their family homes for important festivals – if their lands and AineMane gets relocated – it is the destruction of their culture.
Well one more very hard hitting excellent article by Mamatha. Congrats Mamatha for the concern you have for our motherland.
In conclusion I would simply like to say – A KODAVA WITHOUT HIS LAND AND GUN IS NEVER A KODAVA. Hope we understand this faster before it’s too late.
Very well written and correctly represented. Hope the people ACT.
This article reinforces the much needed concern for the Environment that humans have forsaken – the series of articles in CLN include – ENVIRONMENT NOT FOR SALE IN KODAGU – SAVE MALMA, THE SCALE OF OUR FOOTPRINT: WE HAVE OUTGROWN THE LIVING WORLD, Responsible Tourism, THE SACRED PRESENCE WE ARE LOSING, Garbage Imbroglio and many more; but the voices of the media alone is not sufficient.
It is time the residents of Kodagu realise that the onslaught on the environment will have to be reversed in every which manner possible. Unplanned migration, mindless commercialisation of Jamma land, loss of green cover, irresponsible tourism and such activities which simply cannot be sustained.
Our footprint already overshoots what the planet can regenerate by roughly 78%. The arithmetic that follows is a contraction of the human enterprise somewhere near 45%.
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/kasper-benjamin-reimer-bj%C3%B8rkskov-660a4899_the-mass-of-everything-humans-have-ever-built-share-7476649665518776321-RW0N/
And finally there has to be a limit to greed, else we will be consumed by it. To quote Shannon L Alder-Life is as simple as these three questions:
What do I want?
Why do I want it?
And, how will I achieve it?
Very interesting and pertinent article. In the Nilgiris, the Badagas regularly conduct poojas and observe their ancient rituals to bring the community together. The educated youth too join in enthusiastically. The youth have a strong connection with their community and village instilling extreme pride of their heritage. But the sad truth is that sale of ancestral land continues at astronomical prices to buyers and developers from Mumbai and Delhi – without a concern for the ecological consequences nor the future of their identity and heritage.
Kodavas should do much better with their influential, educated, accomplished and well travelled members of the community. What one reads is that the common platforms for making their voices heard in a consensual manner is lacking. The tribal communities should appeal to the political powers and administrators to preserve the few ecological havens that need to be protected and nurtured through appropriate land ownership/use legislation. It appears that the Kasturirangan report was not acceptable, especially to the Karnataka government. Also use the North Eastern States, Himachal , Ladakh land ownership (especially Nagaland, Sikkim, Manipur…) model as a case study.
There was a good and earnest voice message from Col Muthanna on the rampant misuse of land conversion – he is absolutely right.
HOWEVER, UNLESS A COMMON VOICE AND CONSENSUS EMERGES, RANDOM INDIVIDUAL INITIATIVES WILL SELDOM BE HEARD.
This is where Organisations like The Akhila Kodava Samaja should be playing the leadership role, backed by the extensive regional Kodava Samaja network. Until a unified apolitical voice with all Kodava Thakk speaking people who have always had a long term commitment to the land and our identity get on to a common platform – the ability of enforcing land sale and use restrictions is unlikely to succeed.
Everyone knows that PREVENTION A BETTER THAN CURE? – all the voices we hear are invariably after the deal is done and in many instances the project is completed.
We stand at a crossroads.
We proudly speak of our warrior heritage, our ancestral worship, our tribal roots, and our deep reverence for nature. Yet many of our practices are changing. Elaborate rituals, grand temple ceremonies, and commercialization are becoming more common, while our Ballyamanes, paddy fields, sacred groves, and the purity of River Cauvery are slowly being neglected.
Our ancestors found divinity in nature, open shrines, sacred trees, flowing rivers, and ancestral homes, not in grand structures alone.
If we truly wish to preserve our identity, we must protect what they left us: our land, our rivers, our traditions, and our way of life.
Let’s not just preserve our rituals. Let’s preserve our roots.
Mamatha Subbaiah’s consistent reminders featured in CLN on certain critical aspects that affect the future direction of where Kodavas and Kodagu is headed is to be much appreciated. It is not uncommon that most media houses raises such matters with no subsequent follow up.
Unless people realise that the Kodava identity is inextricably linked with the sacred land, the source of “easy money” by selling one’s inheritance will not stop. There are many earnest appeals made on social media posts – the most recent being the reference to senseless layouts in towns, coffee estates and wetlands being converted to commercial enterprises – is there no limit to greed? Coincidentally they are undertaken mostly by “outsiders and organisations” with no cultural affinity nor longer stake in the environment – just a quick source of making money. This will only stop if the source is “nipped in the bud” and the obvious ease with which conversion is taking place with the complicit involvement by all agencies. Stop this corruption – else our future is at stake.