The founding myth of the Bappanadu Durgaparameshwari temple is one that is familiar to almost everyone in Bappanadu, a seaside village near Mulki in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka. The story goes that a Muslim merchant Bappa Beary’s boat ran aground in the Shambhavi river sometime in the 12th century, when he had a vision in which goddess Durga instructed him to build a shrine for her. The Jain rulers of the time provided the land and the place where this temple was built was renamed Bappanadu in honour of Bappa Beary. For eight centuries, people of all faiths have thronged the Bappanadu temple offering jasmine to the goddess and symbolising the communal harmony in coastal Karnataka or what the residents call Tulunadu. This region encompassing Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts of coastal Karnataka is where Tulu is predominantly spoken. The annual fair in Bappanadu is one of Tulunadu’s most popular fairs attended by lakhs of devotees.
Except this year, Muslims, who were historically part of the fair, stayed away following threats from Hindutva groups who put up banners in Mulki warning against Muslim traders setting up stalls. Muslim traders who turned up at the fair were evicted by members of Hindutva groups. The discrimination against Muslims in Bappanadu forms a pattern not only linked to contemporary events of communal tensions in this region but also to the changing signifcance of the lore of Bappa Beary.
Residents of Tulunadu say the founding myth of the Bappanadu temple became a household legend due to a Tulu Yakshagana act 'Bappanadu Kshetra Mahatme'. Yakshagana, a traditional theatre form that combines dance, music and dialogue, is popular across Tulunadu. Yakshagana prasangas or acts typically run from dusk to dawn and draw their themes from Hindu epics. “When you mention Bappa Beary, what comes to my mind is the Yakshagana act I watched decades ago,” says Natesh Ullal,a filmmaker from Mangaluru who has watched the ‘Bappanadu Kshethra Mahatme’ since he was a child. The act has two main characters - Bappa and his apprentice Usman - and it tells the story of how the Bappanadu temple was built.
“I know the story of Bappa today because of the portrayal of the character by Sheni Gopalkrishna Bhat,” says Natesh Ullal. The late Sheni Gopalkrishna Bhat, a doyen of the Yakshagana art form, was acclaimed for his portrayal of Bappa Beary in the 1970s and 1980s. “The character portrayed by Sheni was very popular. It was humane and dignified in the way he spoke and conducted himself on stage,” recalls Natesh. However, Natesh and others who keenly follow Yakshagana, have noticed a marked change in the presentation of the Bappa Beary character in recent years. “Today, except in a few acts, this character is portrayed as a caricature with clownish behaviour and jokes about their own culture,” says Natesh. This was first documented in the 18-part story on the saffronisation of coastal Karnataka by the journalist Greeshma Kuthar.
Bappanadu Kshetra Mahatme by Sheni Gopalkrishna Bhat
The filmmaker’s words are echoed by the Kannada writer and literary critic Purushottama Bilimale, who has also watched the act as a child and has noticed how the presentation has changed to exclude conversations in Beary and Malayalam languages. “In the past, this Yakshagana act included conversations in Beary and Malayalam along with Tulu and Kannada. But now, the use of Beary and Malayalam is limited and the Bappa Beary character speaks Tulu and Kannada incorrectly to provide comic relief. This is a way to show he doesn’t know how to speak the languages spoken by the masses in this region,” says Bilimale.
“But it was not the case before. (Sheni’s) character would quote from Kannada poets and at the same time, have dialogues in Beary that he learnt to deliver by conversing with his Muslim neighbours,” says Purushottama Bilimale. “His character would say both ‘Ya Allah’ and ‘Amma’ (goddess Durga) in the same tone giving the same respect. He would say our problems should be solved and for that any God will do,” he says.
Bappanadu Temple Fair on March 24 2022
The Yakshagana act reaffirms the centuries-old cultural link the Bappanadu temple shares with the Muslim community. “Muslims are part of temple events like the Brahmakalasha. They come as a group and give offerings of rice and jasmine flowers to the goddess,” says Dugganna Sawant, the head of the Bappanadu temple committee and the descendant of the Jain rulers who provided the land for the temple. “Muslims are also part of the jeernodhara or renovation committee. Here, harmony has lived on,” says Dugganna Sawant. A bombe ratha or doll chariot at the temple that is taken on processions on festive nights has a Muslim figure, an ode to Bappa Beary.
Doll chariot at the Bappanadu temple
“The custom of offering the prasada to the descendants of the Bappa Beary family was followed during the annual fair this year too,” says Sawant. But the recipient of the offering - Ahmed Bashir Beary - did not attend the annual fair unlike previous years. Many Muslim residents in and around Mulki said that they missed the event on March 24 because they were hurt not only by the actions of Hindutva groups but also by the absence of support from the temple committee and the local civic authorities to call out and stop the illegal acts of Hindutva groups.
Members of Hindutva groups have also made dubious claims to retell the story of Bappa Beary amid the communal tensions in the past month. A WhatsApp forward shared widely by members of the Bajrang Dal claims “Bappa Beary is Boppanna who was converted to Islam before he built the temple”. A temple committee member, requesting anonymity, says that these developments are a cause for concern. “We are saddened by it. Muslims not only had a role in constructing this temple but there was a link that continued for centuries. But the banners were put up outside the temple premises and we could not do anything about it,” says the committee member. “We want to make it clear that it was not our intention to disallow Muslim traders. We hope that this situation is resolved by the (state) government in the future,” says the committee member.