Historical Background of Bagalkot
Historically It is the home land of great chalukya dynasty. Aihole is place described as the laboratory for architecture rather a university of Indian architecture. Badami is famous internationally for caves carved in monolithic single stone in the period of Immadi Pulakeshi-I along with historical famous temples of Pattadakal, Mahakuteshwar temple in Mahakuta, Shivayogmandir and Banashankari temple in Badami. Mudhol is the birth place of great poet "Ranna". Bilagi taluka Galagali village is famous for Galava Maharshi. Jamakhandi was the capital city during the period of "Patawardhana" Kingdom.
Kudalsangam the place where the great social revolutionist of 12 th century lord "Basavanna" was educated. The galaxy of sharana's lived in this Holy Land is itself a matter of pride.
The district has 605 Revenue villages and 244 habitations and 270 wards as per the recent house to house survey Jan 2001. Some of the tandas are declared as revenue villages. The district for the administrative purpose has been divided in to 2 divisions Bagalkot and Jamakhandi. Bagalkot division comprises of 3 taluks. Bagalkot, Badami, Hungund and Jamakhandi divisions comprise of 3 taluks namely Jamakhandi, Mudhol and Bilagi.
Rivers : Rivers Malaprabha, Ghatprabha and Krishna flows in the district
Language : The prominent language spoken is Kannada. Other languages like Marathi, Urdu,Telugu and Gujarati are also spoken by small portion of population.
Religion ,Castes & tribes : The major community follows the religious ethics of Hindusm. Islam, Jainism and Christianity are the minor religions.
Culture in Bagalkot
The culture of Bagalkot has been influenced traditionally by Kannada culture with prominent traces of Marathi culture as well, partly because of the district's proximity to Maharashtra and partly because of its past history of being a taluk under the Bombay Presidency. The North Karnataka dialect of Kannada is primarily spoken in the district. Kannada itself is classified as a Dravidian language. The ethnologue identifies Bijapur Kannada as the closest dialect to the particular dialect of Bagalkot. The traditional cuisine of the district is typical of the North Karnataka cuisine of the region. Jowar based food such as Bhakri are popular. Other forms of Indian bread made out of jowar are also common and are referred to as jolada rotti. As with most North Karnataka districts, Jhunka, a garbanzo beans based dish is very popular and is usually eaten with Bhakri; the combination of these two dishes is referred to as Jhunka bhakar. Though not grown extensively in the district, rice, as in all of South India, is part of the staple diet and is imported from other parts of the state and region. Lentil and pulse based broths are common. Ilkal town in Bagalkot district is famous for the Ilkal sarees manufactured there.
The Chalukyan kingdoms of old have left an omnipotent presence in the district of Bagalkot. Several Hindu temples built by the Chalukyas exist in the town of Badami. Three cave-temple complexes constructed by the Chalukyan king Mangalesa (597 -- 609 CE) exist within the district of Badami at the Badami Cave Temples. Of the cave-temples at this site, three are Brahmanical while one is Jain. The Badami fort, previously used by the Chalukyas as well as by Tipu Sultan also contains a prominent but now dilapitated Dravidian tower. Aihole, the former capital of the Chalukyan empire is a popular destination for Chalukyan and pre-Chalukyan art and architecture. Pattadakal contains a group of 10 major temples surrounded by minor shrines and plinths each depicting the architecture of the Chalukyas of Kalyani. The Government of India sanctioned a pilgrim centre in the town of Koodalasangama in honour of the social reformist Basavanna. Prasanna Venkata Dasa, widely regarded as the founder of Carnatic music and prominent member of the Bhakti Movement lived in Bagalkot and composed his music in Kannada.
Geography of Bagalkot
The district of Bagalkot is situated entirely on the Northern Karnataka Plateau, which is part of the larger Deccan Plateau. Located in north-central Karnataka, Bagalkot is surrounded by Belgaum District to the west, Bijapur District and Gulbarga District to the north and north-east, Raichur District to the east and Koppal District, Gadag District and Dharwad District to the south-east, south and south-west respectively. It is positioned at 16°12'N, 75°45'E and covers an area of 6593 km2. Bagalkot district has six taluks - Bagalkot, Badami, Hungund, Mudhol, Jamkhandi and Bilgi. The average elevation in this area reaches approximately 610 m. The climate is warm and dry through out the year and rainfall is scarce. Bagalkot district receives the lowest rainfall annually in Karnataka. The months of September and December account for about 52% of the total annual rainfall.
Bagalkot is devoid of large canopy tree vegetation; the region is semi-arid. The Krishna River, Ghataprabha River and Malaprabha River flow through the region but are non perennial. Soil in the area can be categorised as either the majority black or minority red. Black soil retains moisture and is often used for the cultivation of cotton. Rabi and jowar are primarily cultivated in Bagalkot, as are groundnut, cotton, maize, bajra, wheat, sugarcane and tobacco. The district is also rich in mineral wealth. The village of Kaladgi, located 24 km from the town of Bagalkot, harbours copper. Iron ore also exists in the southern part of the district. Like much of Karnataka, the gneiss is the most common rock family. Common rock types in the region include greenstone, quartzite, sandstone and limestone. The dry climate makes the region susceptible to drought and crop failure. The average rainfall in the region is approximately 318 mm annually. Bagalkot has not been affected by major seismic activity due to it being located in the stable Zone II. |
