Tulunadu, comprising Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts, is home to umpteen number of festivals, traditional events and performing arts. The native wisdom of Tulu people is reflected in the huge variety of equipments, utensils, instruments and agricultural paraphernalia designed, developed and used in the region. However, with the agricultural activities and traditional events taking a backseat, the present generation is not familiar with the artefacts that were used in day-to-day activities just two decades ago.
History professor Tukaram Poojary, presently the vice principal of Sri Venkataramana Swamy (SVS) College in Bantwal, felt the need to showcase the rich cultural past of the region and pass on the knowledge to the next generation. This led to the establishment of a museum, Tulu Baduku Vastu Sangrahalaya, at Sanchayagiri, near B C Road in Dakshina Kannada district.
A look at the exhibits in the Museum unravels the glorious past of Tulunadu. From ancient utensils, agricultural tools, hunting weapons and animal-chasing equipments to clay refrigerator, antique musical instruments and measurement items, the Museum displays a wide variety of artefacts that reflect the life and culture of Tulu people. Be it different types of shavige-making equipments, idli-making utensils, a wide range of clay pots, oil-storage facilities (animal horns), hunting weapons, time-measuring equipment, weights, different types of weapons, equipment used to tie mudi (a structure to store rice), kerosene fan (using steam), old telephones, Bhootaradhane idols, different types of lamps, baskets, cradle meant for twins, ploughs, buffalo sticks, toddy-tapping equipment or pouch to keep the license for toddy tappers, the list is long.
Reflecting the past
Unlike many museums wherein materials or equipments associated with the royal family or well-known personalities are kept on display, this Museum contains materials used by common people. Every piece on display tells a story and reflects the traditional knowledge of the land, points out Tukaram as he takes visitors on the Museum trail. For instance, a simple cradle exhibited in the Museum leads us to the world of cradle making and techniques linked to it. Explains Tukaram, “Earlier, five to nine types of wood — like mango, jackfruit, konde, kasaraka, hale — were used to make cradles. Use of multiple types of wood helped the healthy growth of a baby.”
Different types of locks, which only the manufacturer and the owner would know how to open, exhibited here, indicate the technical superiority of ancient times. In fact, a skill-testing instrument, which was used to assess a candidate while recruiting, has been displayed in the Museum. “The quicker the candidate solved the test (untying a knot), the possibilities of that person getting a job were more,” says Tukaram.
The Museum has over 2,000 artefacts in its collection. Tukaram remembers the struggle he had to undergo while collecting these artefacts. He narrated an incident in which a person, who earlier offered to give old materials lying idle at his house, changed his mind after Tukaram procured them and wanted them to be returned. One of the prized possessions of the Museum is the collection of stones from a Megalithic site in Kajekaru in Bantwal taluk. These stones are said to be 2,500 years old. “I contacted the authorities several times to communicate the significance of the site and the necessity to preserve it. My efforts went futile and now the site is levelled and a concrete structure has come up,” he rues. Seventeen relics were found at the site initially, and now there are none, he said.
Art reigns here
While the basement of the Museum houses artefacts used by Tuluvas, the first floor showcases the life of Rani Abbakka, who ruled Ullal region in 16th century, through 24 attractive paintings drawn by acclaimed painters of the country. Various stages of the queen’s life — her early life, marriage, crowning, her meeting with Italian traveller Pietro Della Valle in Ullal, offering prayer to the deity at Polali, exporting rice and oil to gulf countries, war with the Portuguese, her struggle for independence and her last moments — are brought alive in these paintings. The magnificent collection is the result of a five-day interactive workshop organised by Tukaram, a couple of years ago. Painters from across the country participated in the workshop, in which Rani Abbakka’s life was narrated to them in detail. They made these life-like paintings based on that information.
Old-world charm
Tukaram (56), who was enthused by the charm of ‘old’ items since his childhood, started collecting artefacts about 25 years ago. Subsequently, he studied history and was closely observing the changes in the lifestyle of Tulu people over a period of time. He feels that a culture faded away with vanishing paddy fields in this region.
He organised an exhibition of his collection at SVS College in 1993 to introduce the rich heritage to students. Consequently, an exhibition was set up in the College and was inaugurated in 1995. Persistent efforts of Tukaram and his wife Ashalatha Suvarna (a professor) led to the construction of a full-fledged building and the exhibits were shifted to the building in 2008. The well-maintained Museum indicates the efforts put in by the couple to showcase the life and culture of Tulu people. It is a one-family initiative and the cost incurred so far would have crossed a crore. They have done it without any outside support, except for receiving a sum of Rs 10 lakh sanctioned by the Union Government in 2006 and released in 2011.
Many academic and cultural programmes have also been conducted in the premises of the Museum under the aegis of Rani Abbakka Tulu Adhyayana Kendra, a brainchild of Tukaram. The couple opine that considering material objects as part of history is not widely accepted in the country and add that there is a need for change in the attitudes of historians and common people.
Extension of the premises of the Museum is underway and when completed, it will have some extra space for the Museum, a library, a numismatic centre and a store room. The couple say that it is an attempt to present the life and culture of people of yore to the future generation.
The couple’s work is monumental, which the government should have initiated. They feel that the government spends lakhs of rupees on Abbakka Festival every year, but there is nothing in the region to showcase the life of the queen or preserve the items that unravel the life of those who lived in the region hundreds of years ago.
Getting there
B C Road is 22 km from Mangaluru, and Sanchayagiri, where the Tulu Baduku Vastu Sangrahalaya is located, is 500 metres from B C Road. It is open from 9 am to 5 pm on all days except on Tuesdays. The Museum can be contacted on ratakendra@gmail.com.