04-24-2007, 09:43 PM
I had promised to post excrpts from an autobiographical ebook I have that describes the lives of Madhwa Brahmins of Karnataka from about 1850 to independence.
Here are some paragraphs about a "grandfather Krishtachar" who was born in 1847.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->GRAND FATHER KRISHTACHAR
Tambarahalli Krishtachar was married to Seetha Bai from a family group that I cannot remember. Our relatives rarely talked about her. Krishtachar and Seetha Bai had three children with a spacing of about 5 years between each child. The first born was a daughter, Kaveri Bai, the second our father, Narasimha Murthy and the third child was Padmavathi. Father was about five years old when his mother died at birth of Padmavathi. Two decades later, when our eldest sister was born, she was, in accordance to the family tradition, named after her grand mother, Seetha Bai. Our grand father did not live long. After the death of his wife, he ran the family house in Kolar for another 10 years with the help of his widowed sister, Venkatthe, in moderate comfort. He was neither affluent nor very poor, and he was a popular priest known for his quick silver performance, pleasing tongue and good public relations. In those days Bramhin boys became either priests or scholars. Those who were good at Sanskrit studies became disciples of known scholars of Madhwa scriptures. After some years of under study, they established themselves as spiritual gurus in their own right. Those boys, who could not pursue their studies of Sanskrit scriptures, took up apprenticeship with a practicing priest. After a few years spent mastering the rituals and the associated mantras for various Bramhanic ceremonies- family idol worship; Punyarjane, a common inaugural purification ritual; 16 samskara ceremonies, including birth, initiation, marriage & funeral rites. The higher order of the priests confined their practice to few selected Bramhin families while the poorer and less versatile priests served both Bramhin and non-Bramhin families. The Vaisya community in Kolar was a prosperous group and many of them were our grand fatherâs patrons. The income from the profession was not sufficient to give a secure income to the family and so following the practice of other Bramhin households of the time, he withdrew his only son from scripture studies and put him in the English school to prepare him for employment with the Government.
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->AUNTY KAVERI
Kaveri was married to a distant cousin, Krishna Rao from Jayamangala village, who having failed the SSLC examination, had joined the P.W.D. as a maestri. In course of time he was promoted as a sub-overseer and later on as an overseer. After retirement he settled in a village called Janakondu near Chitradurga with his mistress and a son by her. This man had a tragically romantic career and during the major part of his later years lived the life of an outcast. He was practically the first member of the kin group to give up the family profession of priesthood and take up service with the Government. He thus started in his family, the process of social change that was going on among most middle class and poor bramhin families of the time. The establishment of a stable government in the state under the regency administration of the British had opened a wide field of employment in Revenue, Police & the PWD. The bramhins were foremost to take advantage of this development. The young men of these families who joined service, either humble or respectable, generally changed the suffixes of their names from Achar to either Rao or Murthy. The break with the traditional occupation started slowly at first and gained momentum later. As a consequence, their original contact with the village community as a respected elder ceased and snapped. The villagers, who had respected them before, now saw the same people, in their government uniforms, as more of an exploiting class.
Kaveri and Krishna Rao had a son, Sripathy. When Kaveri was pregnant with their second child, Krishna rao had an attack of plague. Kaveri, known for her great devotion to her husband and her strong faith in God, nursed him to full recovery with prayers and courage. But, as fate would have it, she fell a victim to the same disease and died within a week. Krishna Rao was distraught for many years and went to work as sub-overseer while looking after his son. After a few years, he fell in love with the maid servant who was helping him run the household and chose her as his life-long companion. His relatives, including our father, prevailed upon him to give up the guardianship of his son, Sripathy. Our father, then on his first job, brought home the young Sripathy.
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Here are some paragraphs about a "grandfather Krishtachar" who was born in 1847.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->GRAND FATHER KRISHTACHAR
Tambarahalli Krishtachar was married to Seetha Bai from a family group that I cannot remember. Our relatives rarely talked about her. Krishtachar and Seetha Bai had three children with a spacing of about 5 years between each child. The first born was a daughter, Kaveri Bai, the second our father, Narasimha Murthy and the third child was Padmavathi. Father was about five years old when his mother died at birth of Padmavathi. Two decades later, when our eldest sister was born, she was, in accordance to the family tradition, named after her grand mother, Seetha Bai. Our grand father did not live long. After the death of his wife, he ran the family house in Kolar for another 10 years with the help of his widowed sister, Venkatthe, in moderate comfort. He was neither affluent nor very poor, and he was a popular priest known for his quick silver performance, pleasing tongue and good public relations. In those days Bramhin boys became either priests or scholars. Those who were good at Sanskrit studies became disciples of known scholars of Madhwa scriptures. After some years of under study, they established themselves as spiritual gurus in their own right. Those boys, who could not pursue their studies of Sanskrit scriptures, took up apprenticeship with a practicing priest. After a few years spent mastering the rituals and the associated mantras for various Bramhanic ceremonies- family idol worship; Punyarjane, a common inaugural purification ritual; 16 samskara ceremonies, including birth, initiation, marriage & funeral rites. The higher order of the priests confined their practice to few selected Bramhin families while the poorer and less versatile priests served both Bramhin and non-Bramhin families. The Vaisya community in Kolar was a prosperous group and many of them were our grand fatherâs patrons. The income from the profession was not sufficient to give a secure income to the family and so following the practice of other Bramhin households of the time, he withdrew his only son from scripture studies and put him in the English school to prepare him for employment with the Government.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->AUNTY KAVERI
Kaveri was married to a distant cousin, Krishna Rao from Jayamangala village, who having failed the SSLC examination, had joined the P.W.D. as a maestri. In course of time he was promoted as a sub-overseer and later on as an overseer. After retirement he settled in a village called Janakondu near Chitradurga with his mistress and a son by her. This man had a tragically romantic career and during the major part of his later years lived the life of an outcast. He was practically the first member of the kin group to give up the family profession of priesthood and take up service with the Government. He thus started in his family, the process of social change that was going on among most middle class and poor bramhin families of the time. The establishment of a stable government in the state under the regency administration of the British had opened a wide field of employment in Revenue, Police & the PWD. The bramhins were foremost to take advantage of this development. The young men of these families who joined service, either humble or respectable, generally changed the suffixes of their names from Achar to either Rao or Murthy. The break with the traditional occupation started slowly at first and gained momentum later. As a consequence, their original contact with the village community as a respected elder ceased and snapped. The villagers, who had respected them before, now saw the same people, in their government uniforms, as more of an exploiting class.
Kaveri and Krishna Rao had a son, Sripathy. When Kaveri was pregnant with their second child, Krishna rao had an attack of plague. Kaveri, known for her great devotion to her husband and her strong faith in God, nursed him to full recovery with prayers and courage. But, as fate would have it, she fell a victim to the same disease and died within a week. Krishna Rao was distraught for many years and went to work as sub-overseer while looking after his son. After a few years, he fell in love with the maid servant who was helping him run the household and chose her as his life-long companion. His relatives, including our father, prevailed upon him to give up the guardianship of his son, Sripathy. Our father, then on his first job, brought home the young Sripathy.
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