Karunbithil Shibira: Encountering Carnatic music at her inner chambers

Karunbithil Shibira: Encountering Carnatic music at her inner chambers 

Mangaluru: Fourteen year old Varun is thrilled about meeting Bombay Jayashree as she is going to perform at Karunbithil Shibira, being held at Nidle village near Dharmasthala 80 kms away from Mangaluru, and Jayashree will perform when the curtains are drawn for the annual concert on May 19.

“Do you know, she has sung a beautiful song in Bahubali movie”, he strikes a casual interaction. “At this concert, one can meet any vidwans even if they are internationally renowned and I am glad”, says the boy who has been attending the event for last 13 years, because his grand parents brought him as a child even when he was one-year-old.

Karunbithil house, situated in the Western Ghats, is a typical ancestral home of Dakshina Kannada and Vittal Ramamurthy who settled down in Chennai and became a famed musician, has started the Shibira at his ancestral house twenty years back with handful of people which now attracts more than 200 people starting from children to elderly. And, renowned musicians shed all their usual selves come and mingle with everyone from veterans to novices in this event.

On Thursday afternoon, Lathangi sisters, Archana & Samanvi are performing a vocal and as the music flows, the participants give attentive response. One thing that strikes at the concert is it is not usual one confined to a musical setup one usually sees in Carnatic concerts. It is a house with its own beauty and everyone is so informal and casual in their surroundings. Even as Archana and Samanvi continue singing, there are other participants who have come far find a place in the house to sleep and refresh.

“I would say, it is a flabbergasting experience and such concerts don't take place anywhere at all. It is totally different experience. I came after seeing this in facebook last year and returned this year too”, says Mohan Putty, a musician from Bengaluru.

Vittal Ramamurthy says that it was an effort to do something at his ancestral village after attaining lot of fame elsewhere. “It is like homecoming and we keep it informal while the stage events are only kept for the scheduled performances. There are competitions, medleys at the lawn later in the evening, some trekking around the hills in the evenings and more music by night”, he explained.

People come from different places mostly from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and some from United States too. Kasinath Anupindi, a financial expert from New Jersey has come exclusively for the event. “I am coming for the second time and got to know it after my daughter Pavani started learning violin from Vittal Ramamurthy. He is a Guru who teaches with positive reinforcement and the same emotion is in the air at this concert”, he explained.

Language or cultural barriers disappear in this ancestral home and everyone feels like returning to their relative house, is the common opinion of participants. “I come from Chennai and was initially thinking there will be language barriers. But music is the common language here”, says H Vishwas, a young mandolin player from Chennai.

A fishing fiesta beyond community lines at Mangaluru Outskirts

A fishing fiesta beyond community lines at Mangaluru Outskirts

Mangaluru: Mangaluru would have earned a notoriety of polarization in recent times but the age-old practices of communal harmony fail to die down. The fishing festival in view of Dharmarasu Shree Ullaya temple festival at Chelyaru Khandige held on May 15 is one such event where people without any difference of caste, creed and religion take a plunge into River Nandini and fish their luck.

Starting from children to elderly, all enter into the muddy river, looking for their catch of fish. Within two hours, most of them had their share of riverine fish namely Pearl Spot, Paiya, Irpe, Sarkar fish and larger ones like Mudava.

Lawrence Cutinha from Pavanje has caught handful of fish and looking for more. “There is no difference of community and everyone is allowed to fish in the festival. It is an age old custom of this village”, he quipped before rushing to the river to catch more fish.

Prajna from Mukka was seen carrying bags full of fish with a gleaming smile. “It is day of fishing in the locality”, she commented.

The fishing festival commenced at 7 am, after Prasadam was offered to the River and at the sound of the cracker, everyone is allowed to take out the fishing. Ahead of the festival, fishing used to be suspended in the river for a full lunar cycle – one full moon to next – so that all participants get their share of fish.

Anticipating the catch, people come carrying nets of different sizes. “Some buy new nets while others preserve the nets in their homes for this festival. It is the joy of fishing together with friends and family and feasting on the fish we caught for the day”, said Santhosh, a youngster.

Temple authority, Adithya Mukaldhi says the fishing festival is open for all. “It is our tradition. In those days when there were no vehicles, people including Muslim brethren used to come on foot, walking for two days, carrying their food and participate in the ritual”, he said.

After Papanad car festival, Arasu Kambala, Kandige fishing is the most prominent festival of Tulu Nadu, he explained. Apart from here, the fishing festival takes place only at Yermal in Udupi district.

But the crowd participating in the festival is thinning out day-by-day, say the elders. Lawrence Cutinha recalled that entire river will be full of people twenty years back. “Now people don't want to dirty their feet to catch fish. I am worried, how long this festival of togetherness will last”, he wondered. Adithya Mukaldhi also voiced that the number of people participating in the festival is declining. “Times are changing but I believe this ritual will continue in coming years too”, he added.

The history and legends

When the deity came looking for abode

According to legend, the presiding deity Dharmarasu Ullaya taking a form of a Brahmin came on a boat and Mogaveera community involved fishing came across the deity. When the deity asked for a land of Dharma nearby, they showed the Kandige village which was a Jain place of worship then. The deity took its abode at the village and the temple has come up as Jainism weaned out. As deity came in the boat, the ritual of fishing became part and parcel of temple festival and the ritual is more than 1000 years old, according to temple authorities.

A haunting in the river

Two-hundred years back, a Christian was murdered in the river during fishing festival. There was a dispute between this man with a Hindu family. Story is that, the family is still haunted by the soul of the man who was drowned to death during the festival. The family members went to the Church at Karkala pleading for forgiveness and offered prayers at Dharamarasu Ullaya temple as well. But the haunting has not stopped in spite of years, the villagers say.

Snake in the net, sign of angering deity

There is also a legend in the village that anyone who has earned the wrath of deity will get a snake when they cast their net first time during the fishing festival. It usually happens after weak people, unable to face their enemies, offer their case to the deity, pleading for the intervention. The ones who has oppressed such weak and poor people would get snakes in their nets. Usually the snakes caught in the nets have not harmed anyone but has nailed the message strong the deity is not happy with them.

Unique practices of the temple

No fish inside temple

Though a fishing festival is part and parcel of the temple festival, the fish would stop beyond the temple. Neither the fish nor any non-vegetarian items are offered to the deity as the worship is taken out by Brahmin and the deity itself came in the form of a Brahmin.

The right to take deity on Palanquin

The right to take deity on a palanquin is entrusted to Mogaveera community, though the temple is managed by Bunts. Mogaveeras are fishing community and as per the legend, the deity first approached fishing community seeking the abode. So, the community gets the prestige of taking the deity on a palanquin on the second day of festival.

 Click here for published story