HYDERABAD: Recently, the government of Karnataka identified the shared heritage of Hyderabad and Karnataka at the three-day-long “Kalyana Karnataka Utsav”. The festival was organised by Kalyana Karnataka Region Development Board (KKRDB) at Gulbarga university from February 24 to 26. The event was thronged by around 10,000 people and celebrities, including Bollywood singer Shaan and music composer duo Salim-Sulaiman, who participated in cultural shows.
Kalyana Karnataka has a rich historical and cultural heritage, with several ancient temples, forts, and monuments. Comprising Bidar, Yadgir, Raichur, Koppal and Kalaburagi of the erstwhile Hyderabad state and, Ballari and Vijayanagara of Madras province, the region was ruled by various dynasties, including the Chalukyas, the Rashtrakutas and the Bahmanis. It was a part of Nizam’s Hyderabad State before it merged with the Indian Union in 1948.
The region is known for its unique cuisine, which includes dishes like jolada rotti, enne gai, and badanekayi enne. It is also famous for its handicrafts, particularly Bidriware, which is a form of metal handicraft that originated in Bidar.
Being an important agricultural region, there is also greater emphasis on consumption of millets now, to increase dietary nutrition, finds its traces in history as well. Even though the region is now under the domains of the Karnataka government, it shares its history with the present-day Telangana. It is for the first time that the event celebrating the region was organised.
Anuradha Reddy, co-convener INTACH Telangana and Hyderabad, attended the event, “The event was a huge success as the number of people who visited the festival was in the thousands. It was interesting to see so many people coming up and saying, Oh we know this place! That is how we connect and share our history,” said Reddy, who was also felicitated by KKRDB secretary at the event.
Hailing from a family of administrators of Samasthans, Reddy has deep roots in the region and sheds some light on the interconnected history of the people and places, “The divide that happened in 1956 on linguistic lines never really existed in the past. The opposition, in history, has always been the British. My father’s first posting in Hyderabad civil service was in Shorapur, (which is now in present-day Yadgir district of Karnataka). It has an interesting history as the ruler of the place, Venkatappa Nayaka, was part of the anti-British movement in the 19th century. He lost his father and was raised by captain Meadows Taylor who documented much of megalithic monuments and history in the region.
He used to call him Appa, which means father. He was in opposition to the British even though he was brought up by Taylor. After taking up arms against the British, he was apprehended but Taylor, who had great affection for him, intervened in his judicial process. He was reinstated but he shot himself dead. The interesting thing is, his dead body was never found. It is said that he is buried at Amberpet,” said Reddy.
“This region was merged into Karnataka on linguistic basis but it remains culturally different from the rest of Karnataka. The name of this portion was recently changed to Kalyana Karnataka because of the Kalyani (basavakalyan) village of the 12th century philosopher Basaveshwar. The event showcased the history and culture of the region, starting from the Western Chalukya empire to Hyderabad state and the Indian union. With a spectacular display of coins ranging from Gandhara, which was a very rare collection of Bahamani coins, to the Marathas and the Asaf Jahis. The walls displayed the contribution of the various dynasties to the region, the Dargah of Hazrat Gesudaraz and the Swarnabashweshwara temple and their influence on the local culture,” said Wahaj from The Deccan Archives who also attended the event.