Aladangady or Aladangadi is a small town in the

Belthangady Belthangady is a town panchayat and the headquarters of Belthangady taluk of the Dakshina Kannada (South Canara) district of Karnataka state in India. Demographics In 2001 in the town of Belthangady, 11% of the population was under 6 years o ...

taluk of the Dakhina Kannada district in

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

located on the road connecting Guruvayanakere and Karkala.

Features

About from Guruvayanakere and 9 from Belthangady, the town is a junction of four roads with many shops, hotels, and a market. It is at the centre of Sulkere Mogru, Shirlal Aladangady, Sulabettu, Pilya, and Navara. It has greenery adorned on all four of its sides and is surrounded by many rivers. It was once part of forest land visited regularly by tigers, cheetahs, and other wild animals. Chieftains ruled the town and adjoining areas till independence. The area is famous for

Yakshagana Yakshagaana is a traditional theatre, developed in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada, Shimoga and western parts of Chikmagalur districts, in the state of Karnataka and in Kasaragod district in Kerala that combines dance, music, dialogue, ...

Mela, a kind of Tulu musical drama, with a

troupe Troupe may refer to: General *Comedy troupe, a group of comedians *Dance troupe, a group of dancers **Fire troupe, a group of fire dancers *Troupe system, a method of playing role-playing games *Theatrical troupe, a group of theatrical performers ...

based there. There is also a world-famous Kambala (Bafallow Race Course) which conducts yearly race competitions. The town has one church – St. Peter Claver Church for

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

s. There are many Hindu temples, mosques, and one Jain

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

. Other popular places include Aladangady Temple, Aladangady Aramane, Jnana Marga, the Society Building, and Para Pente (Old Street). It has both public and private education institutions. The mode of transport there are bicycles, cars, two-wheelers, and buses (public transport). The town is well connected to towns such as Naravi, Venur, Belthangady, Guruvayanakere, Mudabidri, Karkala, and the major cities of Tulu Nadu, Kudla and Udupi.

Baraya Palace

The Baraya Palace, is an abandoned (but well preserved) structure at Aladangady in the middle of a jungle, located about 60 km from

Mangalore Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka–Ker ...

, which belonged to the Jain Ajila Kings of Aladangady. It is about 900 years old, built with mud walls and had a thatched roof, which was replaced by Mangalore Tiles about a century ago, and is maintained by the present heirs of the Jain Ajila Kings. There is ornamental wood work both inside and outside the palace, with 8 carved pillars, facing each other in 2 rows and supporting 4 solid wood beams.

Aladangady Aramane (Ajila Palace)

The

Ajila Ajila is a common surname of the Bunt people, the landed gentry of Tulu Nadu region in the south west of India. It is also the name of the Jain Bunt Dynasty who ruled the principality of Venur for several centuries(1154 to 1786 C.E). The most nota ...

Jain Bunt The Jain Bunt are the Jainists of Bunt caste from Tulunaad area of India. It has been said that the Jain Bunts also have the highest per capita income in India. They have a feudal and martial race heritages, because of ties to the erstwhile ro ...

Dynasty ruled the principality of

Venur Venur or Venoor is a small village on the banks of the Phalguni river in Belthangady Taluk, Dakshina Kannada of Karnataka, India. It was once the seat of Jainism and the capital of the Ajila Dynasty. It is on the Dharmasthala-Moodabidri-Karkala r ...

for several centuries, 1154 to 1786 C.E. The most notable of the Ajila kings was Veera Timmannarasa Ajila IV who erected the monolith of

Bahubali Bahubali (), a much revered figure among Jains, was the son of Rishabadeva (the first ''tirthankara'' of Jainism) and the brother of Bharata Chakravartin. He is said to have meditated motionless for a year in a standing posture (''kayotsarg ...

in 1604 C.E. The succession to the Ajila throne was as per the Bunt custom of matrilineal inheritance (Aliya Santana). The descendants of the Ajila rulers still survive and inhabit the Aladangady Aramane (Ajila Palace). The present head of the Ajila dynasty is Padmaprasad Ajila, fourteenth in line through the matrilineal lineage of Veera Timmannarasa Ajila IV.

The population

Although the official name is Aladangady, the place is being addressed with many names such as Anemahal and Arva to name a few. Languages spoken are Tulu Konkani and Byari Bashe, and Literacy rate of this town with a population of 30,000 is 95 percent. Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, and Jainism are the religions practised by people and other religions are not commonly practiced here. The religious groups coexist peacefully. It has a Grama Panchayat with election every once in four years. Popular festivals are Ganesh Chaturthi, Krishnastami, Deepavali for Hindus, Ramzan for Muslims, Christmas, Easter and Mother Mary's Feast Day for Christians. The local diet consists of rice, vegetarian dishes, meat, and fish. Breakfast includes dose, Idli, Mutlim, Appam, mandas, soyo, pathrade, bakri, and panpale. Beverages include tea, coffee, and juices, and snacks include goli baje, bitten rice, sajjige, and onion baje.

Economy

Most of the youth from the area migrate to other cities of India in search of jobs and better opportunities. Livelihood is agriculture and agro products involve both commercial and non-commercial products such as rice, betal nut, coconut, coca, mango, fruits and rubber, and poultry.

References

External links

Aladangady
{{Jainism topics Villages in Dakshina Kannada district