There is a great Badaga writer whose articles and poems have appeared in many magazines and newspapers all over the world. Her dramas/plays have been aired on BBC. She has written a couple of novels. Unfortunately, in my opinion, her talents and true caliber have not been fully understood and appreciated. Indu K Mallah (Photo … Continue reading »
[When I started this weblog/website, one thing I promised myself was that I will NOT trash/delete suggestions and opinions that are different from my own. I do not know who this REAL BADAGA, whose comments are given below without any moderation or editing, is but I want to respect his/her views and hence his/her comments … Continue reading »
The following have been taken [cut and pasted from - Facebook - Badaga Group] and reproduced below as I consider the ‘conversion game’ played by the ‘newly converted Christian Clan’ needs to be analysed and nipped in the ‘bud’ as the situation after what happened in B.Manihatti is very serious. Bellie Jayaprakash … Continue reading »
Our hearts bleed for the ‘brave hearts’ of B.Manihatti . The first conversion of Badagas to Christianity took place in 1854 when some German missionaries mislead a couple of Badagas in Ketti (Santhoor) with the lure of monetary compensation and false promise of ‘education’ for the children. The seeds of disharmony among these peace loving … Continue reading »
– Badagas taking out a procession in Ooty on Saturday. Photo:M.Sathyamoorthy [The Hindu] “Rally Against Govt Employee’s ‘Conversion Bid’ [News report in outlookindia.com - Jan 08, 2012] About 2,000 people today took out a procession here today demanding action against a government polytechnic lecturer accusing him of attempting to convert the locals to Christianity. The people … Continue reading »
Sofia Joghee [Singapore] Few reasons discussed behind breaking marriages in the previous post, could be because of having no Children. There are lot of children without parents and parents without children. We would like to know how does our community support in adopting children who are needy. Do we have discrimination on adoption as well … Continue reading »
J.Rajagopalan from Halakarai writes regarding a Badaga seeking a non badaga : The boys and girls of the present generation think that they are highly educated and hence know more than their parents. But they must understand that it is simply an academic qulification they have attained but not true education. No educated boy or girl … Continue reading »
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog. Here’s an excerpt: The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 44,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 16 sold-out performances for that many … Continue reading »
The beauty about Badaga community is not only the unique customs specific to the community but the steadfast belief with which atleast some of them are followed by Badagas with fervour. one of them is the loud chanting of ‘Athikkodhu – saaying of EAY AH HOW – on certain but specific occasions. Three occasions come … Continue reading »
Badaga Origin Is Badaga one of the ancient Dravidian languages and predated ‘halaya’ Kannada? Is it a separate language all by itself? By inference, are Badagas one of the oldest ‘tribes’? Arunan from Cannada has given some very interesting links which suggest Badaga language existed with old Kannada and equates it with Sangam or purana … Continue reading »
Badaga Months 1) Koodalu, 2) Aalaani 3) Nallaani 4) Aani 5) Aadire 6) Aadi 7) Aavaani 8 ) Perattaadhi 9) Dhodda Devige 10) Kiru Devige 11) Thai 12) Hemmatti The more I listen to the song ‘Kappu Uttileyu‘, the more fascinated I become. All the 12 Badaga months starting with Koodalu [given in Capital … Continue reading »
Let us seek the blessings of Elders, ‘Doddavakka Harichili’ One of the wonderful and deeply meaning ful customs of Badagas, is the seeking of the blessings of elders. That is, whenever any person meets/visits an elder, he or she seeks the blessings of the elderly person [elderly does not mean aged/old but only elder by … Continue reading »
Dr. Sundaradevan Nanjiah IAS I am a regular visitor to your website for more than a year now. Please accept my congratulations for a splendid job. I can appreciate the enormous efforts put in by you single-handedly in gathering so much information and in creating such an interesting website. I have quite a few materials … Continue reading »
I know that a lot of posts need updating, or…. rather, more material and info need to be added. Here is more pictures of Badaga Jewellery from my wife’s collection who went hunting for original Badaga Bangara in Ooty and Kotagiri recently. The surprise is that you can get Badaga Jewellery with some exclusive designers … Continue reading »
I had mentioned about Jakkanare Sivaji Raman’s book on Badaga Community called ‘Badaga Samudhaayam’. No price is mentioned for this book but you may get it in Kotagiri. There are a lot of interesting nuggets of new information that many of us are not even aware of. Here is a sample of ‘rare’ pictorial pickings. … Continue reading »
The ‘Maha’ census of 2011 that may bring in the ambitious Unique Identification Number to every citizen of our country has started from 1st April, 2010. Many readers may not know that Badagas were listed as a separate entity in the CENSUS till 1981 but after, that, courtesy some idiots, Badaga are grouped under Kannada … Continue reading »
Hello Uncle, I am a 15 years old guy . My father’s name is N.SHANMUGAM [ARMY] and my mother’s name is S.CHITRAMALA . We belong to Nanjanad village . Tell you what, I AM REALLY PROUD TO B E A BADAGA….. ….I am studying in 10th in ARMY SCHOOL AHMEDNAGAR, MAHARASHTRA. My father is posted here … Continue reading »
One of the real pleasures of having this website is the unexpected but highly interesting letters received from visitors. If that letter happens to be from a non Badaga [of 16 yrs of age studying in the 12th standard] appreciating our language and Hethay, joy knows no bounds. He feels that it is due to … Continue reading »
‘Wow, the Nilgiris’ Here are some pix taken by me Photos by Wg Cdr Bellie Jayaprakash click on the pictures for enlargement Today is a clear day with bright sunlight in the hills. The hills, I am referring to is the Nilgiris, my native place. Every time I drive ‘into’ the hills, either from Mysore … Continue reading »
As I sit down to ponder over the ‘burning issues’ that are bothering the Badaga Community, three issues pop up as very important. The FIRST one is the inequality with which we seem to be treating our women today. Though, this malaise is affecting all the communities in our country, I am concerned that the … Continue reading »
Recently I had the pleasure of visiting Thambatty to attend a wedding. After a long time, I saw a Badaga lady, Mitchi Hethay with all the Badaga Jewellery [Kivi Chinna [ear rings], mookkuthi [nose rings], Saradu[necklace-chokker] and Bay [Bangles]. She made a wonderful sight in her spotless white ‘thundu – mundu’ [Badaga traditional dress]. mlle … Continue reading »
Kethorai Rajamma, who made all those known her , especially the Badagas, very proud by winning an award from the President of India, recently has written to say, Dear Mr.JP…, My earnest greetings..Your efforts for the beautiful bagadas of the the most beautiful Nilgiriis make me elated beyond Doddabetta’s height…May the sway of tall dignified … Continue reading »
J. RAJENDRAN (KALLAKORAI), Indian Air Force writes : Sir, I wont say its a great job,its above all that. Yes, after reading our origin and history I started giving lecture to all my family members including elders and even aged. Sir, since my childhood I tried to know our history and origin but today (05 … Continue reading »
I am firmly of the view that our history viz Badaga Origin is much older- may be thousands of years – than what many scholars including Badagas consider and my initial ‘research’ confirms that. The general belief, over a period of time thrust down our throats, is that we migrated from Mysore area mainly due … Continue reading »
In the olden days, Badagas lived a very simple but highly cohesive life. Evey village -hatti, consisted of one or two ‘families or Kudumbas’. Each kudumba, as the name indicates, consisted of brothers and they usually lived in the same street – ‘thara’. The ancestral home was given to the youngest son and, due to … Continue reading »
It is very sad but true. Many marriages among Badagas are breaking and ending in divorce ‘buduchodhu’. A sacred institution that is meant to be for life is not even lasting for a few months. I heard the shocking story, recently, that the girl returned home the same evening of the wedding not for ‘marumanay’ … Continue reading »
Based on an article in the Times of India, I was wondering whether Badaga would form part of the collection of gramophone – audio recordings of languages in India in early 1900s undertaken by Linguistic Survey of India. Sure enough, our great language is there. Recorded in 1922. ” This presentation of Gramophone … Continue reading »
Do you know that Badagas have an unique set of jewellery ? I have added a lot more pictures here Mani Maalay
One of the unique traditions of Badagas is the naming of their Villages – called hatti (individual village) or Ooru (can be an individual village or a cluster of villages of a ‘commune’). Generally, the names are based on a topographical feature. Prof.Paul Hockings has elaborated this aspect in his book ‘Ancient Hindu Refugees – … Continue reading »
‘Bhuvaneshwari R‘ writes : “ I was very pleased to go through this article. I am myself a Badaga and very proud to be one with such unique and distinct features. I have been in northern and western India till my 10th and did my later education in Cordite Factory Higher Secondary School. I was very … Continue reading »
[Photo shows the 'Nakku Betta Koottu' - the grand meeting of Badagas from all over,held under the leadership of Rao Bahadur Bellie Gowder (Nakku Betta Raja -Bellie Gowda) in Hubbathalai Village about a 100 years ago] To see more such rare photos – a visual treat indeed – Go Here -> http://badaga-photos.info
Crossword in The Hindu about BADAGA In ‘The Hindu’ newspaper of June 17, 2008, crossword No.9252 carries the following clue for a six letter word for 5 Across:….. ” SHEEP’s CRY CAPTURES GADABOUT, A TRIBAL (6)”….. Yes. your guess is correct. Sheep’s cry is ‘BA’….. [Of course, as usual the answer to the crossword 9252 … Continue reading »
Bella Gowder and Wg cdr JP There are a few elderly Badagas spread among our Hattis and Cities who are so well informed about the community. May be due to their age and thus experience or the personal interest and individual atrributes, they know a lot about our origin, customs, culture or anything connected and … Continue reading »
Navitha Ramesh writes I just happened to see your BADAGA weddings blogspot. I am a Badaga too and I should tell you that you have done a great job!! There is a Badaga group on Facebook with 1770 members. One of the latest discussions was about letting the world know about us. It would be great … Continue reading »
Badaga Hattis(villages) – photo by Bellie jayaprakash WordPress.com has sent me this email on 2nd Jan 2011 Your 2010 year in blogging Happy New Year from WordPress.com! To kick off the year, we’d like to share with you data on how your blog has been doing. Here’s a high level summary of your overall blog … Continue reading »
The New Year has just begun. Hosa brashana ollithey barali! photo posted by Yogesh Ajjan in Facebook – Badaga Group The Good thing about the Badaga Community is that old traditions are highly valued and to a great extent followed faith fully. The recently celebrated Hethai Habba in traditional white is an example. Another aspect … Continue reading »
Anand.N.R [from Kinnakorai and doing his final year Mechanical Engineering in Bannari Amman Institute of Technology] writes : I have recently visited your website and interested in knowing about us Badagas and our origin. Your website gives us many useful information about Badagas . I have been to many hattis in Ooty and collected some information … Continue reading »
It has been in my mind for a long time, to visit KINNAKORAY and HIRIYASEEGAY villages. For the simple reason that they are quite far off from the main towns of Ooty and Coonoor and I was sure that the sheer distance from the maddening crowd would help these hattis to retain the old world … Continue reading »
Ms.Deepa Raju from USA writes in FACEBOOK Badaga Group “..And I am personally very grateful to Wg.Cdr.Bellie Jayaprakash’s website, as I have discovered a wealth of information there. If one individual can do such a massive compilation, just imagine the output when all like minded souls join for a noble cause”. Thank you ever so … Continue reading »
Sad but true: I am aware that a lot of our young Badaga friends copy from my websites and from them many posts and pictures and reproduce them in their blogs or social networking sites as well as submit them for their Ph.D doctorate thesis. Though I have reservation to this ‘unauthorised and illegal’ reproduction, … Continue reading »
I have mentioned many times that Ravi Chandran Balraj from Manjoor and now in Kuwait is a well wisher of this website and has always shared his thoughts and sent many rare Badaga pictures. I am greatly indebted to this true and great Badaga for sharing these excellent pictures with us. Thank you a million … Continue reading »
All photos sent by Ravi Balraj
A tiny Badaga hamlet where everyone is a non-smoker Shantha Thiagarajan, TNN, Feb 20, 2011( from THE TIMES OF INDIA) UDHAGAMANDALAM: A blue mist wraps Melur, a Badaga village near Ooty, but the villagers don’t light up beedis or cigarettes to warm themselves in the cool dawn. For Melur, about 20 km from Ooty in the Nilgiris, has … Continue reading »
1.Nadukattuna – A love song on a cheerful note.Your heart will beat faster listening to this love song..ah..ah 2.Moga Nodi – A sad but very melodious song of separated lovers 3.Neneppella – Another beautiful love song (unfortunately, I do not know the names of the singers who deserve to be quoted. will somebody help please?) … Continue reading »
Dear Mr. Jayaprakash, First of all I would like to thank you for gifting such a wonderful and informative BADAGA website on the Internet. I really appreciate your efforts and interest in the era when everybody busy with their own machinery life. The site provides many useful information which is need of the hour. The … Continue reading »
A sacred institution that is meant to be for life is not even lasting for a few months. I heard the shocking story, recently, that the girl returned home the same evening of the wedding not for ‘marumanay’ [part of a wedding rituals among Badagas where the bride or rather the newly married daughter returns … Continue reading »
[Excerpt from] A garden party – K. JESHI in the Hindu [March 10,2011] …….At Hotel GAD (Gateway All Day -THE GATEWAY HOTEL, UPPER COONOOR) you can choose between a buffet and a la carte from Indian, Chinese and Continental cuisines. There is the super-soft gass dhotti (rotis), made of maida, mashed potatoes and butter, a regional … Continue reading »
Copy cats don’t care for copyright ! You sweat, struggle, lose sleep and then settle on a post, add an image and put it out on your website or blog with prominent display that the content is copyright and all rights reserved. But some smart alec ‘COPYCAT‘ could not careless. You are mortified to see … Continue reading »
Ms.Anushya Padmanabhan writes ; I am from Ooty and I have been thru your portal on our culture you aer doing a great job. Now I need a favour from you, there is a road in Chennai West Mambalam named after great Ari gowder called arya gowda road… many people have mentioned that it’s named after … Continue reading »
The more one digs into the ‘history and origin’ of Badagas, there are quite a few interesting and informative episodes. One such incident is when Mahatma Gandhiji spoke to and about Badagas during his historic visit to the Nilgiris in 1934 when he had come to this hill station – our Nakku Betta must have … Continue reading »
A couple of days back I received the following email from David McCreedy :….. ……. Don’t touch me there! - Enna allie mutta beda! ……என்ன அல்லி முட்ட பேட! Read the complete story here…
Surprised at the question? They are an unique community belonging to one of the original and indigenous tribes – I repeat original and NOT migrated from Mysore area – living in the Nilgiris, a mountainous region in the Southern India with the famous hill station Ooty being its capital. The original tribes of the Nilgiris, … Continue reading »
As elaborated in the page on Badaga Hattis [villages], still there seems to be no conclusive evidence about how the ancestors made the divisions [geographical and social] about their villages.Simply put, in ancient times, a few houses (among brothers and cousins) formed a HATTI and then a cluster of villages, though based not only on … Continue reading »
I was pleasantly surprised when his ‘student’ Jenus [now at Kotagiri] called up to say that Prof.Frank would like to meet me. Meet, we did, a couple of days back at our residence [Rao Bahadur Ari Gowder bungalow -'Panorama'] in Mount Pleasant, Coonoor. It was indeed a pleasant and educative interaction. More about what we … Continue reading »
Thontai Gowder Samraj writes : The misconceptions about the origin of the Badugas is really hurting me. We are known as Baduguru by all the other indigenous communities who admire us for our progress and cultural tapestry that we share with them. Evidences are plenty to show that we are indigenous to the Nilgiris. Deve … Continue reading »
(Repeated from an earlier article) I have been ‘dreaming’ of a new but ideal BADAGA HATTI built exclusively BY US & FOR US with the thoughts of those Badagas, living away from their hatti homes but whose hearts are always longing to have some connection with their ROOTS. There are many big tea estates with vast … Continue reading »
Badaga in ENGLISH script till a separate and exclusive Badaga Script becomes acceptable and easy to use Though some friends may feel odd about my adopting an existing Language – English- and adapting it to write in Badaga, for the time being, I will stick to English to express in Badaga (Script). I have used … Continue reading »
Badaga Proverbs – Doddharu SHLOKA One of the fascinating and interesting aspects of Badaga [both people & language] is the free use of delightful but deep meaning proverbs called “ DODDARU SHLOKA”. When you engage an elderly Badaga into any conversation, you are sure to hear a lot of these proverbs thrown in to make … Continue reading »
One of the enchanting aspects of Badaga Language is its disarming simplicity. But though the sentences are swathed in sweetness of simple words, it can contain deep expressions of emotions conveyed in the proper usage of rhymes [holla – alla] or pair words [huttu – nattu] apart from other attributes. When the sweetness of this … Continue reading »
On this day, 40 years ago, the greatest leader in the history of Badagas, Rao Bahadur Ari Gowder, departed from this world, after dedicating his life to the upliftment of Badagas and other suppressed people. Even today, 40 years later, we remember him with gratitude. [Read all about Ari Gowder here]
I have strong religious feelings. Born as a HINDU as most Badagas are, I am very proud being a Hindu. But I respect other religions and some of my best friends are Muslims, Christians and Sikhs [courtesy Air Force]. But I am against any conversion from one religion to another by means of compulsion, force … Continue reading »
It was a train journey after forty years. On 27/06/2011. First time with my better half. And it was worth it. Nilgiri Mountain Railway [NMR] – running from Ooty to Mettupalayam – is an unique UN heritage railway system built during the British time and with which two greatest Badaga Leaders [Known as Nakku Betta ‘Rajas’ during … Continue reading »
It is with the saddest sense of grief and sorrow I record the passing away of my mother, Mrs.Idyammal Bellie Gowder, on 13-7-2011 at the age of 99. Mom, you gave me everything and what I am today is only due to you.
Dear JP, I knew that Badaga women were unique in their own ways. They were courageous, well displined and hardworking to the core. They were the incornation of goodness, tolerance and kindness.,embodiment of virtues. Your mother was undoubtedly one such soul. I earnestly pray for her purest soul to rest in peace. Kethorai.R.Rajma Thank you … Continue reading »
Have you visited www.badaga.co? In this website, www.badaga.co , you can ‘see and hear’ a lot more ‘media’ as javascript is enabled. WELCOME TO THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF BADAGAS Baarivi, Nodivi, Oridivi & Odhivi! [Come, See, Listen and Read!] பாரிவி, நோடிவி, ஓதிவி & ஓரிடிவி copyright©Bellie Jayaprakash
One of the complaints I hear from our friends visiting badaga.in is that it takes ages to fully display all the contents. This is because, there are many multimedia posts like songs, pictures, animations etc.To overcome this drawback I have developed another set of websites that can load faster. Like for example, what you see … Continue reading »
Narmu writes : “I am new to this site. I am very proud to be a Badaga girl. Our people are very loving, caring and are with humanity to a great extent except when it comes to inter caste marriage. They even accept when our boy marries a non-Badaga girl, but they really don’t accept … Continue reading »
He is very soft spoken and humble. Highly intelligent but never shows off. Should have been the First Badaga IITian but for a quirk of fate*. Associated with some of the top notch industrialists and now runs his own software (development) company in Chennai. Multi talented and is always a motivation to others. He is … Continue reading »
Badaga Songs On the web The website that is created for listening to streaming music. This site contains songs/musical numbers by great Badaga Singers like Kerban Bella Gowder and Thangaadu L Krishna Gowder. Here is my favourite “Ganjikkay Kukkaiya’ song by Krishana Gowder
It is about five years since the websites on BADAGA, both people and language, is started and maintained by me with the sole [rather soul] purpose of gathering and giving out the correct information about our …unique history, origin, culture, customs, rituals, language and lifestyle! I am really very happy that the slogan I coined “Proud … Continue reading »
Once in way, in the history of a community, there comes a leader, who becomes a visionary and leads his people by example. Such, was a leader who would have been 118 yrs today. That is Rao Bahadur Hubbathalai Bellie Gowder ARI GOWDER. Much has been written about this great leader who lead the INDIAN … Continue reading »
Ravi Belliraj is one of the ‘rare’ persons whose heart is always with his roots in the Nilgiris and Badagas, though he is now in the Middle East. He has gone out of the way to do a lot for the betterment of Badagas. Like earlier, he has sent some ‘rare’ photos with a small … Continue reading »
There are some highly disturbing reports in ‘The Hindu’ and ‘Dinamalar’ (14 Dec11, issue) titled ” Villagers oppose construction of church ” and mentioning about lorry loads of B.Manihatti villagers staging a demonstration at the Collectorate[Ooty] and submitting a memorandum that the activities of some persons – to construct a church in the village – … Continue reading »
Once in a way, we get to hear a song which instantly registers both in mind and heart. The golden voice you hear in this saavu [funeral] song is, beyond any doubt, excellent and haunting. Indhu Dhodda Maneya by Thangadu L Krishna Gowder ” This song is by -Thangadu L.Krishna Gowder.Produced by Thuneri- Rajkumar and … Continue reading »
A couple of decades ago, there was hardly any info available about BADAGA – both people and language. Now, On ‘Google’ when ‘badaga’ is typed, what comes out as information is mind boggling. Everything – 323,000 Images – 35,100 blogs – 4500 Videos – 3960 Discussion – 3550 Books – 452 Of course, on a … Continue reading »