Kanara

Kanara (also known as Canara, Karavali, and Coastal Karnataka or Karnataka Coast) is a stretch of land alongside the Arabian Sea in the Indian state of Karnataka. The region comprises three civil districts, namely: Uttara Kannada, Udupi, and Dakshina Kannada.

Etymology 
According to historian Severino da Silva, the ancient name for this region is Parashurama Srushti (creation of Parashurama). He and Stephen Fuchs say that the name Canara is the invention of Portuguese, Dutch, and English people who visited the area for trade from the early sixteenth century onwards. The Bednore Dynasty, under whose rule this tract was at that time, was known to them as the Kannada Dynasty, i.e., the dynasty speaking the Kannada language. "Karāvalli", the Kannada word for 'coast', is the term used by Kannada-speakers to refer to this region. The letter 'd' being always pronounced like 'r' by the Europeans, the district was named by them as 'Canara' (a corruption of the word "Kannada"). This name was retained by the British after their occupation of the district in 1799, and has remained ever since. However, they also say that this issue is controversial.

History 

Since antiquity, much of the Canara coast (now spelled as 'Kanara') occupied a culturally distinct area known as Tulu Nadu. Historically, Tulu Nadu lay between the Gangavalli River in the north and the Chandragiri River in the south. Currently, Tulu Nadu consists of the Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts of Karnataka, and the Kasaragod taluka of Kerala. The Uttara Kannada district in general is  considered to be the southernmost part of the Konkan coast. Specifically, the littoral region north of the Gangavalli River is traditionally included in the Konkan.

The Portuguese occupied Kanara from 1498–1763. During this period, the geographical extent of Canara stretched from the southern banks of the Kali River in Karwar in the north to the northern banks of the Chandragiri River in Kasaragod in the south.

In 1799, after the conclusion of the Fourth Mysore War, the British took over the region and established the Canara district of the Madras Presidency. The district was bifurcated into the North and South Canara districts in 1859. The North Canara (also sometimes cited as 'North Kanara') district was transferred to the Bombay Presidency whereas the South Canara (also sometimes referred as 'South Kanara') district remained under the jurisdiction of the Madras Presidency. South Canara encompassed the undivided territory of the contemporary Udupi, Dakshina Kannada, and Kasaragod districts.

After India's independence in 1947, the Bombay Presidency was reconstituted as the Bombay State. Following the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, the southern portion of Bombay State was added to Mysore State, which was renamed Karnataka in 1972. Kasaragod was included in Kerala. Subsequently, North and South Canara were renamed Uttara Kannada and Dakshina Kannada respectively. In 1997, Udupi district was carved out of the bigger Dakshina Kannada district.

Culture

Dance
Yakshagana is a classical dance drama popular in the districts of Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada and few Malnad regions in Karnataka. This theater art involves acting, dance, dialogue, music, songs, story and unique costumes. While dance and songs adhere to well established 'talas', very similar to classical Indian dance forms, acting and dialogues are created spontaneously on stage depending on the ability of the artists. This combination of classical and folk elements makes Yakshagana unique from any other Indian art. It would be considered a form of opera to the western eye. Traditionally, Yakshaganas start late in the night and run the entire night. Bagavatha, the background singer, who is also the director of the story controls the entire proceedings on stage. He/she along with the background musicians, who play 'chande' and 'maddale' form the 'himmela'. The actors who wear colorful costumes and enact various roles in the story form the 'mummela'. There are many professional troops in Karnataka. In spite of the competition from modern movie industry and television, these troops arrange ticketed shows and make a profit. Apart from the individually arranged shows in villages, inviting well known professional artists like Sri Chittani Ramachandra Hegde and Kondadakuli Ramachandra Hegde, provides an opportunity for local talents to act with the legends. Yakshagana is sometimes simply called aataā (meaning play) in both Tulu and Kannada. Yaksha-gana literally means the song (gana) of a yaksha. Yakshas were an exotic tribe mentioned in the Sanskrit literature of ancient India.

Bhuta Kola and Nagaradhane are other unique rituals and traditions to coastal districts of present Karnataka state.
There are many more folk art forms which are in edge of extinction due to rapid changes in social, economic, educational conditions of the Karavali ( Kanara or Canara ) region.

Bedara vesha In Sirsi Holi is celebrated with a unique Carnival. Folk dance called "Bedara Vesha", Which is performed during the nights beginning five days before the actual festival day. Different dancers are participate while dancing dancers are round whole Sirsi. The festival is celebrated every alternate year in the town which attracts a large crowd on all the five days from different parts of the India

Sports
The Tulu speaking part of Karavali region has buffalo racing sport called Kambala.

Geography 
The Kanara region forms the Karnatakan coast situated on the south-western portion of Peninsular India. Coastal Karnataka forms the northern segment of the Malabar coast. Kanara constitutes an area of about 10,000 square kilometres (4,000 square miles). It is bounded by Konkan to the north, the Western Ghats to the east, the Kerala Plains to the south, and the Arabian Sea  to the west. It stretches from north to south for about 225 kilometres (140 miles) and has a maximum width of about 64 kilometres (40 miles) in the south.

The region is characterized by swaying coconut palms and swift brooks flowing towards the sea. Many rivers which originate in the Western Ghats flow westwards to join the Arabian Sea like the Netravathi, Sharavathi, Aghashini, Gurupura, Pavanje, Panchagangavali, Swarna, etc. Over the years the water flow has decreased due to deforestation for agricultural purposes and building of dams across these rivers and their tributaries. The soil consists of alluvial, sandy loam, and laterite.

Civil Administration 

Contemporary Kanara extends from the village of Majali in the north to the village of Talapady in the south. The three districts in the region: Uttara Kannada, Udupi, and Dakshina Kannada have their capitals in Karwar, Udupi, and Mangalore respectively.

See also 

Konkan 
 Karwar, Uttara Kannada 
 South Canara (erstwhile district)
 Tulu Nadu
 Udupi, Udupi district
 Mangalore, Dakshina Kannada 
 Kasaragod, Kasaragod district

Notes 
 Konkan is now held to include all the land which lies between the Western Ghats and the Indian Ocean, from the latitude of Daman on the north to that of Terekhol, on the Goa frontier, on the south. Although most sources generally assign Kanara (Karavali) to the Malabar Coast, some other sources consider it to be a subterritory of the Konkan Coast. Consequently, this segment is thought to overlap the Konkan and Malabar Coast continuum; and usually corresponds to the southernmost and northernmost stretches of these locales respectively.

Citations

References

Further reading

External links

 Yakshagana
 Karavali festival

People from Uttara Kannada
People from Udupi
People from Dakshina Kannada
Category:Regions of Karnataka