Drive 13 km up NH 66 from Udupi and you reach Brahmavara (ಬ್ರಹ್ಮಾವರ). Until 2018 it was part of Udupi taluk; that February the state split Udupi taluk and made Brahmavara a taluk centre in its own right. Its taluk has two hoblis, Brahmavara and Kota, 27 gram panchayats and 52 villages. So the town works as a service centre, with people coming in from villages such as Handadi, Haradi, Matapadi and Kumragod to shop, sell produce, see a doctor or visit a government office.
Farming sets the calendar. The Suvarna and Sita rivers form backwaters around Brahmavara before meeting the sea near Hangarkatte, and paddy and coconut fill the land between. The Zonal Agricultural and Horticultural Research Station here, run by the University of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Shivamogga, released Sahyadri Panchamukhi in 2019, a red rice that can stand 8 to 12 days of flooding. The town also has a Krishi Vigyan Kendra and a diploma institute for agriculture, and has hosted Krishi Mela farm fairs.
History sits close by. Barkur, 3 km away, was the ancient capital of the Alupa kings and a busy port in the 15th and 16th centuries; its Kathale Basadi, with a monolithic stone pillar, and the remains of a fort built by Harihara I still stand. Brahmavara's own St Mary's Orthodox Cathedral is a major parish of the Brahmavar Orthodox Diocese, created in 2010 and known for its Konkani-speaking Orthodox community.
Language shifts around here. Kannada is the official language, and Kundagannada, the Kannada spoken on the Kundapura side, is heard alongside Tulu. A farmer from the north of the taluk and a teacher from Udupi may use different words for the same thing. For a business, the words on your board, your map listing and your website should match how your customers really talk, not only the textbook form.
Brahmavara and the villages around it
Brahmavara is about 13 km north of our studio in Udupi. We are happy to visit your shop, mill or yard in any of these places.
- Brahmavara town
- Barkur
- Handadi
- Baikady
- Pethri
- Kunjal
- Kumragod
- Salikeri
- Haradi
- Matapadi
- Hangarkatte
- Kota
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · udupi.nic.in · icar.org.in · daijiworld.com