Belle (also known as Bollay) is a village in the southern state of

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 ...

.Village code=01308800 It is located in the Udupi taluk of

Udupi district Udupi district (also Udipi or Odipu in Tulu language) is an administrative subdivision in the Karnataka state of India, with the district headquarters in the city of Udupi. It is situated in the Canara coastal region, there are seven taluks, ...

. The village is known for its historic Moodu-Belle Mahalingeshwara Temple dedicated to

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

Demographics

As of the 2001 India

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

, Belle had a population of 5324 with 2441 males and 2883 females.

Economy

The village economy is predominantly based on agriculture, with plenty of

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

cultivation. Some modern changes are apparent. Cultivation of

Jasmine Jasmine ( taxonomic name: ''Jasminum''; , ) is a genus of shrubs and vines in the olive family (Oleaceae). It contains around 200 species native to tropical and warm temperate regions of Eurasia, Africa, and Oceania. Jasmines are widely cultiva ...

flowers,

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...

, arecanut,

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with ...

and

poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for their eggs, their meat or their feathers. These birds are most typically members of the superorder Galloanserae (fowl), especially the order Galliformes (which includes chickens, quails, a ...

farming is on the rise. The weekly market of Belle is on Tuesdays. Belle is connected to Udupi, the district and Taluka headquarters, Karkala, Shirva, and Katapadi by a bus service. The economic prosperity of the village may be due to the employment of a significant a number of people from the village in the Gulf countries.

History and culture

Moodubelle Mahalingeshwara Temple

The village has a thousand year old temple dedicated to the Hindu deity Mahalingeshwara, which is situated in the Devaragudde area.

Ganesha Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is found throughout India. Hindu d ...

and Surya Narayana are the other two deities worshiped in the temple. The circular shrine of the

Solar deity A solar deity or sun deity is a deity who represents the Sun, or an aspect of it. Such deities are usually associated with power and strength. Solar deities and Sun worship can be found throughout most of recorded history in various forms. The ...

Surya within the temple complex is of historical importance. The idol of the solar deity is a neat image and holds lotuses in both his hands The temple festival called "Utsava" takes place in the second week of February. The temple was established by an aristocratic

Bunt Bunt may refer to: * Bunt (community), an elite social group from Karnataka, India * Bunt (baseball), a batting technique in baseball * Bunt (sail), a part of a ship's sail * Bunt Island, island in Antarctica * The Bunt, nickname of the Bunting ...

woman named Ballalthi of the Belle

Ballal Ballal (also spelt as Ballala) is a surname from coastal Karnataka in India. It is found among Hindu Samantha Arasu, Bunt and Jain Royal communities. History The origin of the title 'Ballal' is reflects a claim of descent from the Hoysala dynas ...

clan, the chief land owning feudals of Belle. The Belle Ballala Bunt clan is a cadet branch of the Arasa Ballala rulers of Yerdanadu Aramane, a small medieval feudatory state. The Ballalas claimed descent from the Jaina

Santara dynasty Santara or BhairarasaAlternate forms of the dynasty's name include Santha, Santa, Santhara. They kings of the dynasty also attached titles like Pandya and Odeya to their names. is a medieval ruling dynasty of Karnataka, India. The area covere ...

who married into the local

Alupa dynasty The Alupa dynasty (ಅಳುಪೆರ್, ಆಳ್ವೆರ್) (circa 2nd century C.E to 15th century C.E) was an ancient ruling dynasty of India. The kingdom they ruled was known as ''Alvakheda Arusasira'' and its territory spanned the coa ...

of Tulu Nadu. The Belle Ballala clan were originally followers of

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current ...

but converted to

Shaivism Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangi ...

later. They follow the law of matrilineal inheritance ( Aliyasantana) and have five manor houses in Belle which are Belle Melmane, Belle Kelamane, Belle Badagumane, Belle Padumane and Belle Moodumane. These five manors owned close to 2000 acres of land in feudal and colonial times before land reforms were implemented in the 1960s A medieval wooden image of one of the chiefs (Ballal) of Belle lies in a shrine near the Kelamane House. Two branches of the clan exist outside Belle: Mallar Guthu (erstwhile feudal lords of Mallar village) and Sanoor Guthu (erstwhile ''Potail'' (administrators) of Sanoor Village). Moodubelle Kambala is held at Belle Kelamane House in November every year. Mallarguthu Sankappa Shetty, a member of this clan built the Kalya Marigudi Temple in Kaup.

Padubelle Mahalingeshwara Temple

The western part of the village also has an old temple dedicated to the Hindu deity Mahalingeshwara Shiva. The temple was recently renovated.

St. Lawrence Church

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

which is also one of the biggest churches in the Udupi Diocese. It is place of worship for a large Konkani speaking Catholic population. An annual festival or the parish feast of St. Lawrence Church, also known as 'Santhmary' takes place every year on the first Tuesday, Wednesday of January. People from many communities go to the church and celebrate the feast.

Education

The village has a primary school, a high school, and a junior college. There is an English language school that also offers primary and high school Education. Educational Institutes in the area include: St. Lawrence College, St. Lawrence High School (Kannada), Bharathi Higher Primary School (KunthalaNagara), Belle Church Aided Higher Primary School (Kannada), Jnanaganga College (Nellikatte).

Geography

Belle village has been geographically separated into two parts: Moodubelle (Belle - East), Padubelle (Belle-West). A river, Badra Amma (also known as Papanashini), flows between Moodu Belle and Padu Belle. Moodu Belle village is around 12 km from District Headquarters Udupi by road.

People

Tulu Tulu may refer to: People *Derartu Tulu (born 1972), Ethiopian long-distance runner *Walid Yacoubou (born 1997), Togolese footballer nicknamed "Tulu" India *Tulu calendar, traditional solar calendar generally used in the regions of southwest Kar ...

, Konkani and

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

are widely spoken. Tulu is the lingua franca in the area as it is in most of Tulu Nadu.

Transport

The nearest airport is

Mangalore International Airport Mangalore International Airport , is an international airport serving the coastal city of Mangalore, India. It is one of the only two international airports in Karnataka, the other being Kempegowda International Airport, Bangalore. Mangalore ...

. The nearest railway station is at Udupi. By road, Moodubelle lies in State Highway SH-37 and it is well connected by road network.

References

External links

{{commons category, Belle, Udupi
UdupitodayBelle News Website
Villages in Udupi district