Dakshina Kannada

Karnataka > Dakshina Kannada

Yakshagana Stage

Sheltered by the soaring Western Ghats on the east and bordered by the blue waters of the Arabian Sea, Dakshina Kannada is blessed with abundant rainfall, fertile soil and lush vegetation. Pristine beaches, picturesque mountain ranges, temple towns and a rich culture make it a sought after tourist destination. Dakshina Kannada is well known for Yakshagana- a fabulous costumed dance drama form, Kambala- the sport of buffalo racing by farmers, Kori-katta(Cock Fight) and Bootha Kola.

Located 347 Kms. from Bangalore on the coast, Mangalore, the district head quarters of Dakshina Kannada, has been a trading centre for several centuries. It was, since the early period of the Christian era till the end of the 14th century, the capital of the Alup Rulers. From the 14th to the 16th centuries the area came under the governance of the Vijayanagar dynasty. But the strongest influence was that of the Portuguese, who arrived on the coast in the 15th century. They opened a factory for trade and brought with them the Roman Catholic religion too. Conquered by Haider Ali in 1763, Mangalore became the chief port of Mysore. When Tipu Sultan's Fort fell in 1799 to the British, they made it the district head quarters of Kanara. With an important port, this once coastal town, has become a bustling commercial centre. Yet it preserves its old world charm, with its narrow winding streets, fringed with coconut palms, quaint houses with terracotta tiled roofs, temples and churches.

Dakshina Kannada, also called as South Canara is a coastal district of Karnataka state. It is bordered by Udupi to the north, Chikmagalur to the northeast, Hassan District to the east, Coorg to the southeast, and Kasaragod in Kerala to the south. The Arabian Sea bounds it on the west. Mangalore is the capital and chief city of the district.

The district can be divided into two agro-climatic regions as coastal region and Malnad region. The coastal region consists of Mangalore and the Malnad region consists of Belthangady, Puttur, Sullia and Buntwal taluks. It used to include three northern taluks, Udupi, Kundapur and Karkala, but these were separated in August 1997 to form Udupi district. Mangalore is the district head quarters of Dakshina Kannada, has been a trading centre for several centuries.

The important rivers of Dakshina Kannada District are Suvarnanadi, Shambavi (Mulki), Gurpur River, Nethravathi, Pavanje, Nandini besides there there are many other rivers with perennial flow of water and a number of streams, all running from east to west.

Cultures,Traditions and rituals of Dakshina Kanada

Dakshina Kannada can be said as land of culture, tradition and rituals. Today in the 21st century most people of the district follow traditions, customs and rituals, even after receiving a British-implemented modern education. The district has many temples of Hindu gods and goddess, which are ancient and have deep spiritualism attached to them. The people of Dakshina Kannada worship the serpent god ( Subramanya ). According to legend, the district was reclaimed by Parashurama from the sea. Hence worship of serpent is done to original inhabitats. Nagaradhane or Snake worship is practised according to the popular belief of the Naga Devatha to go underground and guard the species on the top.Worship of spirits is prevalent in these areas. Rituals like Bhuta Kola are done to satisfy the spirits. Kambla, a form of buffalo race on muddy track in the paddy field, is organised. Cock fight ( Kori Katta in Tulu) is another pastime of rural agarian people, but unfortunately has turned in to gambling.

Yakshagana is the popular folk art of this district. The Yakshagana is a night-long dance and drama performance practiced in Tulu Nadu with great fanfare. Hulivesha (Tiger dance) is a unique form of folk dance in the region fascinating the young and the old alike, which is performed during Dasara and Krishna Janmashtami. Karadi Vesha (Bear Dance) is one more popular dance performed during Dasara. Kambala or buffalo race is conducted in water filled paddy fields.

Background of Dakshina Kannada

Before 1860, Dakshina Kannada was part of a greater district called Canara, which was under a single administration in the Madras Presidency.

In 1860, the British split the area into South Canara and North Canara, the former being retained in the Madras Presidency, while the later was made a part of Bombay Province in 1862. Kundapura taluk was earlier included in North Canara, but was re-included in South Canara later.

After independence, South Canara was divided to Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts. The then undivided Dakshina Kannada district consists of the present day borders of Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Kasaragod.

During the Reorganisation of States in 1956, Kasaragod was split and transferred to the newly created Kerala state and Dakshina Kannada was transferred to Mysore state (present day Karnataka).

Later, the Karnataka Government, for the purpose of administration, split the greater Dakshina Kannada district into Udupi and present day Dakshina Kannada districts in the year 1997 A.D.

The district is famous for red clay roof tiles (Mangalore tiles), cashew nut & its products, banking, education ( professional and non professional ) and of course for its exotic cuisine.

Other details of Dakshina kannada

Total Geographical Area: 477149 Hectares

Laguages spoken: Tulu, Kannada, Malayalam, Konkani, English, Hindi

Temples: Mangala Devi, Kadri Manjunatha, Kudroli Gokarnatheswara, Kateel Durgaparameshwari, Sree Kshetra Dharmasthala, Kukke Sri Subrahmanya, Kodiadka, Sowthadka, Bappanadu

• The availability of ground water is 22,793 hectares i.e. 54,954 acres.
• By the end of mid 1999 total number of motor vehicles (cars, buses, jeeps, lorries, autorickshaws etc.) were 1,38,363.
• The male population is 8,19,847 and female population is 8,36,318 totaling to 16,56,165.
• Normal rainfall in the area is 4030 m.m and actual rainfall in the year 1998 was 4289 m.m
• Among the total population, 11,22,723 belong to the rural area and 5,33,442 reside in the urban area, 6,78,981 are workers and 8,57,976 are non-workers.
• The denstity of population per sq. km is 340 with a growth rate of 22.72% during the period of 1971-1981.
• The sex ratio i.e. number of females per 1000 males is 1020!