Nuggets from Coorg History- a short review

The author C.P. Belliappa captures four centuries of storytelling in twenty wonderfully composed snippets. It is an effort inspired from a personal connection to his roots. His sense of belongingness, realism and change is appreciable. The author’s father was a leading freedom activist from Coorg before independence and was later the CM of Coorg State in 1950s. Hence he hails from a lineage that has been a close witness to transformation of Kodavas and Coorg.

In the preface he quotes Aristotle “The dramatized representation of history is a more scientific and serious pursuit than the exact writing of history.”

Interconnected and changing colors of this famous land of Coffee, spices, forests, lives and legends of a simple, tribal, nature and ancestor worshipping people transform as one goes through the window of opportunity that we get through Belliappa’s work.

A well researched and referenced guide to the culture and beliefs of the people of this densely forested area on the gentle and life giving slopes of the mighty western ghats, the book is an eye opener for someone totally new and unfamiliar with the mystery that shrouds the Kodava people and their origins.

The stories revolve around rulers, dynasties and their power play through generations of conflict, hardships, internal angst and external strife of the daily life in their midst.

Belliappa begins with his first story describing the backdrop and the rise of the Haleri Rajas, their dynasty in Kodava founded by Veeraraja, a minor farmer prince in Hassan. A childhood quest for kingdom led him around the year 1600 to kodagu, dense forest on the hill, and he ruthlessly took advantage of the infighting amongst kodava warlords and steadily gained influence and power. He subdued and eliminated many strong Nayakas, as the warlords and tribal chieftains were known. His son- Appajiraja, grandson- Mudduraja, and great grandson Siribai Veerappa further consolidated their rule. And for a time, there was peace in Kodagu.

The second story is a legend of Acchu Nayaka, the son of Chittappa Nayaka, a strong Kodava leader. After his ‘nari mangala’ celebration(a ritual where a hunter married a tiger he had killed), Chittappa Nayaka was slain by his adversaries and an infant acchhu was taken by a young maid away from anchigeri and was being raised in anonymity when noticed and taken in by by Nanjunda Urs, then ruler of Periapatna.

Acchu grew up to regain his fathers’s seat of power, ousted the old and weak rivals, and went on to rule wisely during the late 1600s, the same time when Mudduraja was expanding Haleri hold on kodavas.

Then there’s the story of kaverammaji, born to a powerful clan leader who was without a male heir. Her birth and stature was predicted by a humble soothsayer. An unusually bright child, she grew up to become an enterprising trader and continued the rule of father. This was possible for her through a special practice of ‘makka parije’ at the time of her marriage, when the groom took on the family name of his bride to be. Her clout became stronger over the years and even Mudduraja sought her wisdom over the years. Doddava, as she was popularly known, had four daughters but no son, and so she adapted the sons of her youngest and favourite daughter, who grew up to inherit her vast estate.

Belliappa also tells the story of Utha Nayaka, an average village lad, who caught the eye of Mudduraja’s priest and astrologer, because of a lotus pattern behind his right toe. Utha was taken in by Mudduraja, convinced by the astrologer of Utha’s future power. As Utha grew with the princes and trained as a royal aide, he became an indispensable asset to the raja, and was given the hand of princess Neelammaji in marriage. However, with his stature, Utha also grew arrogant. He returned to his native place in southern Kodagu as a Nnayaka and violently asserted his superiority over other clans. He conspired ‘s against Siribai Veerappa, his brother in law and the ruler of Kodagu after Mudduraja, along with then ruler of Wynad. Utha also influenced Achhu Nayaka and led a strong opposition against the family of his benefactor.

Siribai Veerappa, Mudduraja’s first born, had to prove his mettle while facing threats both internal, and external. He thwarted the attack from Mysore’s formidable army and also annihilated Veeravarma, the Wynad ruler who had intruded in Kodagu with Utha’s help to take advantage of Veerappa’s preoccupation. Utha, after abandoning veerappa for his own life, fled Kodagu and eventually died a desolate man in poverty.

Veerappa subsequently overpowered his dissidents and brought the whole of kodagu and some small adjoining areas under the absolute rule of his forefathers’ dynasty. He was succeeded by his grandson Chikka Veerappa.

Another nugget from Coorg’s history brilliantly describes the attempts made by Hyder Ali and his son, the famous Tipu Sultan, to control the power center in Kodagu. After a period of deliberate hostilities and political peacemaking in the 1760s, Hyder Ali used the internal disputes over Kodagu’s succession to gain a foothold in the region. Later, Mysore’s forces having crushed uprisings by Kodavas against foreign occupiers, Tipu lured thousands of kodavas with their families by a hoax of reconciliation and forcibly converted them to Islam.

The Mysore rulers had also kidnapped Kodagu’s royal family members including the young king Veerarajendra, from 1780 to 1788, during which period Tipu Sultan had consolidated his power and massacred thousands of retaliating Kodava warriors. After Veerarajendra and his family were rescued from Periapatna fort, where they had been held captive, Kodavas gathered their remaining strength and united behind their young and energetic raja, who eventually recaptured Madikeri fort after 3 years of battling Tipu’s forces.

Always concerned for his safety and that of his family, Veerarajendra took all cautions and made alliance with the British against Tipu Sultan and Mysore’s French allies. After a few meetings with General Abercrombie, the raja initiated the settlement of Veerarajendrapette, now known to us as Virajpet. The settlement brought together people from a great variety of ethnicities. The Raja diligently supported the British in every possible way against Tipu’s army, who was defeated and killed in 1799

The strategic importance of Coorg was recognized by Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan, and also by the British, who began a slow and steady campaign to influence and leverage the Kodava support, and to spread the message of gospel through education.

As Veerarajendra grew older without a male heir, and lost his principle wife, he grew xenophobic, paranoid and swung between fits of anger and depression. This was aided by plots to kill him by some of his own guards and kodava leaders. The conspiracy failed and the perpetratos were mercilessly slain, many whole Kodava clans and family bloodlines ended. Veerarajendra also ordered the assassination of his own brothers Appajiraja and Lingarajendra. But had a change of heart which spared Lingarajendra’s life at the last moment. His mental health kept deteriorating inspite of many efforts by the Englishman Dr Ingledew, whom the Raja trusted. During his decline, the Raja saw the completion of ‘Rajendraname’: the first literal account of the Haleri kings, and added his last will and testament in which he named his 10 year old daughter Devammaji as his successor queen. He also deposited large sums of money with the treasury of the East India Company. The British assured him of honoring his will. By the time of his death in 1809, he was suicidal and felt haunted by his guilt of atrocities he committed on his own people.

Thereafter, his youngest brother Lingarajendra made multiple attempts to gain sympathy of Kodava leaders and after initial disappointments, managed to gain support of Kodavas and the young queen Devammaji to become the regent and custodian of Coorg’s administrtation. Within a year, he convinced the innocent girl queen to concede the throne in his favor, and he promptly named his son as heir apparent. Maintaining a diplomatic face to the British, he turned autocratic, vindictive and harsh with his subjects and killed thousands of Kodavas. He was a shrewd and sadistic aristocrat, and his son and successor Chikka Veerarajendra, was the last king of Kodagu, before he was sent into exile by the British.

While Lingarajendra went to great lengths to please and entertain British officers with hunting expeditions, his son did not have the foresight to rule prudently, and was raised under the influence of Kunta Basava, Lingarajendra’s childhood aide

and dog keeper who was promoted to the position of Dewan. Under his evil scheming, he alienated the elder court advisors and got many of his relatives, including his cousin and former Queen Devammaji killed. The bad governance and lack of diplomacy led Chikka Veerarajendra on a collision course against the British, who invaded Kodagu in 1834 and placed the raja under house arrest in Madikeri fort. He was subsequently sent into exile first to Bangalore, then vellore and finally to Benaras, taking with him an entourage of many wives and servants, and hidden treasures which were hidden at campsites to lessen the load of complaining palanquin carriers.

The British established a strong hold over Kodagu, and gained enough support of several Kodava leaders to crush uprisings. It was a long period when the British, charmed by Kodagu’s climate and topography, spread the plantation of coffee and spices in the hills, gradually and slowly helping to raise the living standards of Kodavas, however, failing at their larger, hidden objective of spreading Christianity.

Thereafter, the provincial state of Coorg was ruled by the British and remained a separate administrative entity till as recently as the 1950s, when it was merged with the state of Karnataka.

Belliappa paints his picture of Coorg with a lot of details interspersed with images of the lives and emotions of people that is a true art, rather than just the listing of dates and facts.

Nuggets from Coorg’s history is a great book for anyone seeking to know more about this small region in the western ghats, It’s unique identity, culture and history.

-Reviewed by: Jeet Sachdeva.