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COMMUNITY BUNT

By Shloka Shetty

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Inde

x BUNTS: THE COMPLETE

PICTUREIntroduction And History

Culture, Lineage And Religion

Cuisine

Education And Philanthropy

The Enterprising Bunts

The Medical Prowess

Political Dominance

The Bollywood Connection

Law And Jurisdiction

The Creative Pursuit

Chapter One :

Chapter Two :

Chapter Three :

Chapter Four :

Chapter Five :

Chapter Six :

Chapter Seven :

Chapter Eight :

Chapter Nine :

Chapter Ten :

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Preamblever since I was a little girl, I was told numerous stories about our community, our culture, and our heritage. Being part of the Bunt Community, I have always been surrounded by immense talent and more importantly, a great sense of

virtue. I have always been intrigued by this commmunity, which I am proud to be a part of. Further, I have always hoped to increase my sense of belonging to my community, and broaden my knowledge on its origins and the role that it plays in today’s society. I have also had a long lasting desire to help raise awareness for the Bunts, who have made significant, yet slightly unrecognised contributions to our society.

What characterises the Bunt Community is its unique history, and the fact that its ancient cultures and traditions are alive even today. This is what keeps all its members closely linked to eachother - their common desire to continue the practices intiated by their ancestors, and carry their community forward in diverse ways. Even today, the members of the Bunt Community are known for their mutual sense of concern and affection for eachother. I have been witness to this all my life, observing that whenever anyone faced an adversity, the whole community would be ready to help them. I believe that it is this sense of support that has allowed the Bunt community to achieve accolades in almost all disciplines, be it entrepreneurhsip, medicine, film, politics or arts. The Bunt community has left an indellible imprint on our community, and has made immense contributions at a global scale as well.

Before undertaking this intiative, I, like most of the younger members of my community, was unaware of how special the Bunts are Writing this book has made me even more proud of my heritage, and I wish to cultivate this sense of pride and gratitude to all the members of my communtiy. I also hope to inspire people outside of my community, to stay in sync with their origins, be proud of where they come from, and give back to society in whatver way possible.

-Shloka Shetty

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Forewordn behalf of the entire Bunts community I would like to congratulate Shloka for her interest and initiative in documenting our history!

People from Mangalore have had a very interesting past. Post Independence, the Government by then strongly backed the implementation of land reforms, believing them to be necessary in terms of social equity but also for economic development. Land to the tiller would allow income distribution more evenly among the peasantry and thus give them the purchasing power. In this way the internal market would expand and productive forces of the country would grow. This affected many Bunts familes in Mangalore and deprived many owners of their farms and income forcing them to migrate to cities like Mumbai in search of work.

I was one such person who worked in paddy fields till the age of 17 and then had to pick up my life and move on to build a life elsewhere. I chose Mumbai like many others, and built a successful and fulfilling life.

Many Bunts have put India and our community on the global stage and it humbles me to see their growth and success. The next many generations will have opportunities we could only dream of and I wish they work hard with a sense of purpose and commitment.

It makes me very proud to see a young bunt girl put together this piece on our history and capture it so beautifully. To me it is a display of being firmly grounded, for which I must also congratulate her parents. I wish her all the very best in all her future endeavors.

-Manmohan Shetty, Founder, Imagica Adlabs

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The Bunts are Tulu and Kannada speaking people found in Udupi, Mangalore and Mumbai. They are originally from region of Tulu Nadu which includes the districts of Udupi and Mangalore in the Indian state of Karnataka but are also found in Kasaragod of Kerala.

HISTORY

MangaloreAndhra Pradesh

Mumbai

Kerala

There is no one anthropologically established theory of origin of Bunts’ community, rather dif-ferent scholars and historians have given their own

versions and theories regarding the genesis of people of Tulunadu.

There is a reference to people from Tulunad in ancient Greek texts and historical references to Alva clans in Tulunad way back in 150 AD.

According to Prof S. Shivaram Shetty of Basrur, the Kosars tribe from the North came south af-ter the Aryan invasion. This powerful and martial tribe wandered in the Decan for a few years as mercenaries of the local rulers. While some settled in and founded Shatava-hana kingdom, some settled in Tuluva region and founded the Aulpa kingdom.

Renowed Kannada poet, Govind Pai also concurs that ‘Alupa’ rulers became Tulu ‘Aluvas’ and Alupa dynasty is synonymous with Naga dynasty and Tulu people are the same as the those Chandra dynasty.

During the rule of Vijayanagara, Tulu nadu was administered in two parts ‘ Manaluru rajya and Barakuru rajya. The people of the community to the north of River Kalyanapur (closer to Bar-akuru) called themselves Nadavas and spoke Kannada and people south of the river (closer to Mangaluru) came to be known as Bunts.

As a warrior class, the Bunts attained their greatest glory during the rule of Vijayanagara Em-perors belonging to the Tuluva Dynasty which was founded by a chieftain Bunt called Tuluva Narasa Nayaka.

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Professor P. Gururaja Bhatt offers three hypotheses with regard to the profession and the origin of the Bunt community.

A distinctive feature of Tuluva local administration, according to Prof. Shetty was the division of the Nadu into guttus. The guttadara had definite functions linked with it and the guttadara (holder of a guttu) enjoyed power of hereditary right. The guttedar belonged to the Nadava community and was called as ‘Bantaru’. He had to help the ruler of the Nadu in times of crisis. So while Nadava denoted a community or caste, the Bunt denoted a position of power.

After the fall of the dynasty, the Bunts again concentrated themselves in Tulu Nadu where they took to large scale agriculture in the vast area of land they still possessed and also served as administrators and warriors in the various minor Hindu and Jain kingdoms that controlled vari-ous parts of the region from time to time. No wonder the community till date is known as tough and resilient.

Another theory from Dr. K.V.Ramesh, author of A History of South Kanara, suggests that Jaya Bhutala Pandya (345 BC) was the first Alupa ruler of Bunt extraction. It is almost certain that in around 2000 BC, there were kings in Tulu Nadu, some independent and some under the suze-rain of overlords like Alupas, Kadambas, Chalukyas and Hoysalas. There were constant skir-mishes and fighting, and the ‘Buntaru’ or warriors were important stabilizing segments of the population. In due course the Bunts succeeded in becoming owners of lands.

Professor P. Gururaja Bhatt offers three hypotheses with regard to the profession and the origin of the Bunt community.

The first hypothesis says that they were the builders of nadus (land), and as warriors their chief occupation and obligation was to protect the land.

They may have been mainly agricultural people, living in families known as okkalus, thus earn-ing the name okkelme in Tulu (an okkaliga, meaning farmer).

The term Nadava too means those who reside in the nadu as farmers. Nadu also means ‘to plant’, and Bunts could have been primarily farmers who later took up arms and thus got asso-ciated with the military class.

Another interesting facet of Bunts’ history is their close relationship with Jains in the Dakshina Kannada region. Bunts were here before the arrival of Brahmanism and Jainism into the region. It is said that many Bunt’s with high social standing were converted to Jainism into the region. It is said that many Bunt’s with high social standing were converted to Jainism and took to that religion many of the Bunt social customs like Aliyasanthana which is not found in Jainism else-where. Also Bunt surnames like Chowta, Banga, Ajila, found coinage in Jainism.

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INTRODUCTION AND HISTORY

I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many rip-ples.

Mother Teresa

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f we tell you that names like Aishwarya Rai, actor and model; Suneil Shetty, actor and business man; Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty, internationally renowned cardio-surgeon, Dr. R.N.Shetty, owner R.N.Shetty group of companies; A B Shetty, founder, Vijaya Bank; Late Kayyara Kinhanna

Rai, freedom fighter and poet; Shashi Kiran Shetty, founder All Cargo Logistics, have something in common. Will you be surprised?

Well, don’t be. All these performers par excellence in their respective domains who have made it big with sheer hard work and perseverance are connected to each other through their com-mon roots in the Bunt community.

Bunts are everywhere and have excelled in every facet of life- from Bollywood to underworld, banking to writing, philanthropy to medicine, religion to engineering, law to enterprise, they are ubiquitous and each one of them has cast many stones across different waters creating their own ripples and niche.

Add to this description their entrepreneurial skills and you have all the Shettys, `Rais, Choutas and Hegdes ruling the roost.

The word Bunt comes from the Sanskrit word ‘Bhata’ which means powerful man or a soldier; the Tulu equivalent is ‘Bunte’ meaning protector. Bunts are also referred to as ‘Nayaka’, ‘Shetray’ and ‘Nãdava’ which means leader, nobility, and landlord respectively in Tulu.

Shetty is the anglicised form of ‘Shetray’ and is the most common of all Bunt surnames followed by Rai. In areas, where the community has migrated like Mumbai, the community is simply referred to as the Shettys.

“By nature, Bunts are extroverts. When the Karnataka Land Reforms Act 1961 came into force, the youth started migrating to Bangalore, Mumbai and the Gulf in search of jobs. Their hard-working and creative nature found them various lucrative offers. It’s not just the hotel industry or other corporate jobs. Their attractive physical appearance, coupled with their creativity, found Bollywood and Sandal-wood scouting for them as well,” says Dr Indira Hegde, a national laureate who has penned a book on Bunts titled “Bantaru: Ondu Samajo-Samskritika Adhayana (Bunts : A Socio - Cultural Study)”

Historian Edgar Thurston in his book “Caste and tribes of south India” says, “Men and women of the Bunt community belong to a beautiful race of Asia. Men have a broad forehead and a parrot nose. Mostly they are of fair complexion. Even today they are of independent nature, short tempered, self-respecting and have a muscular body, which tells about the history of belonging to warrior families.”

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Aliyasanthana tradition

This tradition is one of the defining customs of the Bunt community. Bunts believe that this tradition was inherited from king Bhutala Pandya who ruled Tulunadu and introduced this system in 77 A.D. It is said that when the maternal uncle, king Deva Pandya

of prince Bhutala Pandya wanted to launch his newly constructed ships with valuable cargo in them, the king of Demons Kundodara demanded a hu-man sacrifice. The king Deva Pandya desperately asked his wife’s permission to offer one of his sons for sacrifice, but his wife refused and went away with her seven children. At this juncture, King’s sister Satyavati offered her son Jaya Pandya for the sacrifice. The king of demons, Kundodara discovering the child’s sign of future greatness, waived the sacrifice and permitted ships to sail. He then took the child, restored to him his father’s kingdom of Jayantika and gave him the name Bhutala Pandya. When some of the ships brought immense wealth, the demon again appeared and demanded from Deva Pandya another sacrifice.

The king Deva Pandya spoke to his wife again but she refused and publicly renounced her title and that of her children to valuable property brought in the ships. Then Kundodara demanded that Deva Pandya disinherit all his sons of the kingdom and his wealth and to bestow all on his sister’s son Bhutala Pandya. Thus, Bhutala Pandya inherited his kingdom from his maternal uncle and not from his father and ruled for 75 years. After him, his nephew Vidyadyumna Pandya inherited the kingdom and ruled for nearly eighty years and like. The Aliyasantana or the Matriarchal system gives property rights to the lady and all rights and responsibilities are centralized in her. This may be because when men went to the battlefield, the wife took the whole responsibility of the family and became the decision-maker. So in the Aliyasantana system more importance is given to the mother’s side of the family. More respect is given to maternal uncles than to the paternal uncles.

Maasaadika Bunts: They are the Tulu speaking

common Bunts of Tulunadu who have mostly settled

in the Southern part of South Kanara from Udupi to

Kasaragod.

Bunt categories

There are different categories like Bantaru, Nadavaru, Jain

Bunts, Masaadika Bunts, Parivaara Bunts, Setru,

Halarusetru, Baraga, Ullaye, Dokkaludethi, Kartharu,

Palavaru, Okkelakalu.

Parivaara Bunts: They are normally from northern side.

Their matrimonial relationships are however restricted with other divisions. They follow

Brahmin culture.

Jain Bunts: They are bunts who converted to Jainism influenced by Jain Kings.

Some common surnames are like Alva, Hegde, Banga,

Konde, Ajila etc.

Naadavas or Nadabunts: They are

Kannada Speaking people from northern parts

of South Kanara from Brahmavar to Baindoor.

CULTURE, LINEAGE

AND RELIGION

Bunts have always lived under a joint family system governed by “Aliyasanthana” (Matriarchal) tradition. Their ancestors have

followed this system for generations together and according to their customs the entire

property vested with eldest member of the family, either male or female known as

“Yajaman” or “Yajamanthi”.

The law was recognized by the modern courts as far back as the British India in 1843.

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YAKSHAGANAYakshagana is a folk theater form that combines dance, music, dialogue, costume, make-up, and stage techniques with a unique style and form.

This folk theater style is mainly found in the coastal districts and the Malenadu region of Karnataka, India, specifically in the districts of Uttara

Kannada, Udupi, Dakshina Kannada, Shimoga and Kasaragod.Yakshagana is traditionally presented from dusk to dawn. However, Yakshagana defies

simple classification into categories such as folk, classical, or rural. It can be included in each or all of these, depending upon the rules used for classification. It is more varied and dynamic than most dance forms.

Yakshagana can, however, be classified as one of many traditional dance forms.Yakshagana is a separate genre of music, independent of Karnataka

Sangeetha and the Hindustani music of India. It is believed to have survived as an indigenous phenomenon only in Karnataka.

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Important ComponentsThe important components of this dance form include Raga (melodic framework), Tala (rhythmic framework), Prasanga and literature (collection of poems written to form a musical drama, some of which are still preserved), costumes and ornaments(rich in colour, elaborate, heavy make-up especially for devilish characters).

Variations of YakshaganaPuppetry variant The presentation of the puppetry in Yakshagana style is highly stylized and adheres strictly to the norms and standards of Yakshagana. The puppets (generally 18 inches high) wear costumes similar to those worn by live actors of Yakshagana, and have the same elaborate make-up, colorful headgear, and heavy jewelery.The puppeteer is known as the Suthradhara. The content in the Yakshagana puppetry, is also mainly drawn from the ancient epics.

Ballet VariantThe second half of the 20th century saw experiments and adoptions of this art into other venues. One notable effort was that of Shivarama Karantha, who produced and exhibited Yakshagana ballet, using and training local artists. Some of the changes brought about by Karanth, however, attracted criticism.One legal decision even banned any public performance of his experimental ballets being billed as “Yakshagana.”

History Experts have placed the origin of Yakshagana somewhere in the period of the 11th to 16th centuries CE.Yakshagana was an established performance art form by the time of the noted Yakshagana poet, Parthi Subba (c. 1600). His father, Venkata, is attributed by some to be the author of the great Hindu epic, Ramayana.The Yakshagana form of today is the result of a slow evolution, drawing its elements from ritual theater, temple arts, secular arts (such as Bahurupi), royal courts of the past, and the artists’ imaginations—all interwoven over a period of several hundred years.[8]It is also believed to have been strongly influenced by the Vaishnava Bhakti movement.

Mela or Troupes There are about 30 full-fledged professional troupes, and about 200 amateur troupes in Yakshagana. Professional troupes go on tour between November to May, giving about 180-200 shows. There are about one thousand professional artists and many more amateurs. Further there are off season shows during the wet season, the anniversary shows, school and college students Yakshagana and of course the Talamaddale performances. Yakshagana commercial shows witness 12,000 performances per year in Karnataka generating a turnover of Rs. Six crore.

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RELIGION & GODS

The main deity of worship, long before Vaishnavism spread in Tulu nadu in the 8th century, was Shiva (and Durga as well as members

of their family- Ganesha and Subramanya).

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The Legend of Agoli Manjanna

The portrait of Bunts will not be complete without mentioning the name of Bunt Manjanna. Agoli Manjanna was the Bhima of Tulu Nadu. His adventures and achievements were superhu-man. Manjanna is known as a noble and helpful person with no education, no special skills, but for his super strength. He used his unique strength for the benefit of the public and for noble causes. He acquired the name of Agoli Manjanna because of his eating habits; he had a huge appetite and needed an enormous amount of food daily. Manjanna was born at Katla in Su-rathkal village. A hill is named after him near Kavoor - Manjanna Gudde.

The legend of Siri

A few temples managed by Bunt households deify the legend of a Bunt woman called Siri who stood for the dignity and honour of Bunt women and fought against gender discrimination. Ka-vathar is the venue of a temple of Siri where the annual festival is held. The Epic of Siri is an epic poem in the Tulu language. Consisting of more than fifteen thousand lines, it holds the distinction of being the longest poem in Tulu.

The epic is essentially a biography of a legendary Bunt princess Siri Alvedi (Alva) and expands to describe the fate of her progeny - son Kumara, daughter Sonne, and grand daughters, Abbage and Darage. The epic declares Siri’s divinity and also that of her progeny and she is worshipped as a Daiva (demi goddess) across Tulu Nadu region, in temples known as Adi Alade. Siri is the patron deity of the Bunt people. The epic poem, though in Tulu, is also well known among Kan-nada speaking populations in and around Tulu Nadu. It is recited in parts with accompanying rituals during the annual festival of Siri Jatre. Complete recitation of the epic takes close to about 25 hours.

The Epic of Siri has been translated into English by Lauri Honko, a Finnish linguo-folklorist. Siri Epic has been compared to the Greek epics Iliad and Odyssey in the academic circles.

The Bunts of Tulu nadu were originally Shiva worshippers like the rest of the population. Only after the visit of Shankaracharya in the 8th century and the impetus of Vaishnavism after Madh-vacharya’s influence in the region in the

14th century did the Bunts, like the others in the region, embrace all forms of Hindu gods.

One of the unique aspect about the Bunt community of Tulu nadu is their reverence of various spirits in addition to the established gods of Hinduism. Daivas or bhutas as they are referred to do not have a set form of physical representation. Symbolically a piece of rock is sanctified and considered as bhuta. Figurines made of wood or metal, often crudely carved, are also used as symbols of bhutas. Planks of wood or stone pillars with a niche and a conical or a flat stone on its top also are symbols of the spirit. Some of the stronger spirits have more elaborate stone pillars and may even have temple-like permanent abodes called bhuta stanas. These shrines are not elaborate, but are simple structures usually single cells with projecting thatched roofs. A number of weapons, made of wood or metal, are kept in the bhuta ‘ stanas.

The Bunts and other communities see these good natured bhutas as protective spirits who are either classified as belonging to the whole village, or to a particular community or caste, or a family. Some bhutas have a special revered position with certain communities, e.g. Bobbariya has a special place in the heart of the Billava community of Tulu nadu. While some of them are off-shoots of the more famous gods of Hinduism, e.g. vishnumurti and berme, who are identified with Vishnu and Brahma, others are spirits of dead people who were prominent figures in the community and had done good deeds while they were alive. Yet some are derived from animals, like the panjurli (pig) and Pili-chamundi (tiger).

Worship of the bhuta or daiva gives Tulu nadu a distinct flavor. It is thought that be-fore bhakti Hinduism was introduced to the region, the spirits were the main deities worshipped by the local people. Shaivism was the main religion and spirits are naturally associated with Shiva, as he is the overlord of all the spirits. With the advent of Vaishnavism, the spirits attained a secondary role to the numerous other gods of Hindu pantheon. However, the spirits’ worship did not become obsolete and continues even today. Other castes, especially Brahmins, also accepted the spirits as lesser divinities and facilitated their worship by the non-Brahmins of Tulu nadu. It is not uncommon to see the yearly ceremonies for the bhutas conducted in the households of Brahmin landlords, attended by the local village people.

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Bunts community is not limited to arts and culture or the old traditions started by their forefathers. We can say that almost every person knows how to create a path for themselves

with hard work and determination, but for bunts, it runs in their blood. Considering how important the bunts community is to our history and future, many people don’t know about them.

Here we bring you a list of names of those people who have been successful in their profession and caused a change in the community.

One name comes to our mind immediately, Dr.M.Shantaram Shetty, Chairman of “World Bunts Foundation”. His achievements are backed by a selfless service to the society, not just in medicine but also in education, social service based on the bedrock of profound Knowledge. Born on April 14, 1942, Dr M Shantharam Shetty MS (Ortho) FICS FIAMS, orthopaedic surgeon, who was formerly professor and head of the department of orthopaedics and director of PG studies at the Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore from 1980 to 1997, is now the dean of the K S Hegde Medical Academy (KSHEMA) at Deralakatte in the outskirts of the city.

He has presented more than 110 academic papers in international, national and state-level orthopedic and surgeons’ conferences and published most of them. He has delivered more than 35 lectures, including state and national continuing medical education programs and delivered 5 orations of different surgical and medical associations. In the case of awards, he has been awarded the best paper award at a national conference in 1978 at Udaipur.

Along with above-mentioned achievements, he has also conducted more than 54 medical camps - to various parts of Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Kasaragod districts, which clearly shows his love for his people.

Another gem is Chintamani Nagesa Ramachandra Rao FRS, also known as C.N.R. Rao, one of the world’s leading solid state and materials chemists. Born on 30th June 1934, he currently serves as the Head of the Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India. Rao has honorary doctorates from 60 universities from around the world and has authored over 1,500 research papers and 45 scientific books.

EDUCATION & PHILANTHROPYCurrently, we have 1.26 million government schools, 80,000 private schools, 31,000 colleges and 611 universities in India. Perhaps, now is the period than ever before in the history of the Indian subconti-nent, public interest in education and its life-sustaining social and private benefits is at its peak. But there has to be a deep past if such a bright future has been created for the coming generations.

Without any exaggeration, we can state that there are many educationist and philanthropist that bunt community has contributed to the world.

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On 16 November 2013, the Government of India announced his selection for Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award in India, making him the third scientist after C.V. Raman and A. P. J. Abdul Kalam to re-ceive the award. He was conferred the award on 4 February 2014 by President Pranab Mukherjee in a special ceremony in the Durbar Hall of the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Then comes, Shakuntala Shetty, who is a social worker and MLA from Puttur, Karnataka. She is also considered as the lone woman legislator to be accommodated as the parliamentary secretary.

Shakuntala who had won from Puttur in the 2004 Assembly elections, had later lost the 2008 elections. However, with thousands of her fans, she ultimately decided to join the Congress.

Shri Rajashekharananda Swamiji of Shri Vajradehi Mutt has dedicated himself to the social service in a religious way. His Purvashrama(real) name was Nonayya Shetty. With his continued dedication towards social service and outlook, extension travel and experience he earned great reputation all over the world.

In the 1990s, students had to travel 40-50 km to college and institutions, at a place called Moodbidri. However, a chain of institutions started in 1995 has transformed Moodbidri into an international educational township. The man behind this is, Dr.M.Mohan Alva.

The chairman of Alva’s Education Foundation, Dr.M.Mohan Alva was born in an agrarian family on 31st May 1952 in Mijar, a small village near Moodbidri.

Dr. Alva has established several institutions providing basic education starting from Pre-University, De-gree courses in faculties like Arts, Commerce, and Science. He also established institutions in Medical sciences in particular Ayurveda, Homoeopathy, Naturopathy and Yoga at Graduate level and Post Graduate courses in Ayurveda and Para Medical Courses like Nursing, Physiotherapy and Medical Laboratory Technology, latest being a full-fledged Engineering college called Alva’s Institute of Engineering & Technology.

Kanthadi guttu Harish Pergade is the founder of Sri Matha Lakshani -Old Age Home, which takes care of elderly with love and care.

Dr.K.Sanjeeva Shetty, a veteran Kannadiga activist titled as Bheeshmacharya of Kannada, teacher, and mentor. He was a renowned poet, critic and Kannada columnist, story writer and founder editor of Bantaravani bulletin published by metro-based Bunts Sangh. He has bagged more than 150 awards from social, welfare, voluntary organizations and literacy unions from all over the country.

Dr.B.A.Vivek Rai is a veteran scholar, researcher, and writer and has been the former vice chancellor of Hampi Kannada University and Mysore Open University. He has been elected as the President of Alva’s Vishwa Nudisiri Virasat-2013.

Born on December 8, 1946, in Punacha of Puttur taluk, Dr. B A Vivek Rai completed his school, PU, and BSc in Puttur, his MA in Kannada and Ph.D. in Mysore University. He has done research in the field of language and culture, written books, poems, novels, etc and has bagged a number of awards and recognitions for his works. He has also been a member of various associations like Folklore Fellows, Finland, and International Society for Folk Narrative Research, Sahitya Academy, New Delhi and so on.

He was awarded the Karnataka Rajyotsava Award in 1999, Karnataka Janapada and Yakshagana Acade-my Award in 1996, Sandesha Award in 2000, Tulu Sahitya Academy Award in 2002 and much more.

Vishu Shetty is a social worker. He has rescued many helpless orphans and sick persons. Bunts are very well aware of the importance of giving back to the society.

H. S. Ballal, an Indian radiologist and Academic Administrator is another significant contributor in the field of education and philanthropy. He is the Pro-Chancellor of Manipal University and has been the Chairman of FICCI - Higher Education Committee.

Ballal hails from an ethnic Bunt Hebri Beedu family. Ballal graduated with an MBBS from Mysore Medi-cal College and post graduated with DMRD and MD in Radio-diagnosis from Government Medical Col-lege, Bangalore.

Dr Ballal has been an active member of Indian Medical Association (IMA). In 1987 he was elected as President of IMA, South Canara Branch and the Vice-President of Karnataka State Indian Radiological and Imaging Association. He is a member of Central Council of Indian Radiological and Imaging Assoc. and member of National Advisory Board of Indian Journal of Radiology.

It’s because of these pioneers of education and service to the society that the Bunts could lay a solid foundation for the entire community. The initiative of these dynamic people who were determined to bring the transformation to their community and the nation .

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You have achieved so much in your life being a Philanthropist, industrialist of fame & educationist. What lead to your success?

Success, as they say, is a relative term. I am a believer in destiny because I feel destiny has taken me closer to the goal I aspired for both as a businessman and as an educationist. My father was a strong man with clear views and a vision. He had a burning desire to achieve something in life. Unlike my father initially I was not at all driven by any aspirations to be an ‘achiever’. Life has always been kind to me and I feel whatever little I have achieved has been beyond what I was expected of vis-a-vis my intellectual ability and expectations of others. There is no denying the fact that hard work is the key to success and the same logic applies to me. Hard work is the tonic which keeps me energised and channelized to continue what I have begun.

At the same I believe the success of an institution cannot be attributed to the hard work of a single person. It is the result of collective work and responsibility of all those who are involved in the task. I have to be honest and give the credit where it is due. I attribute my accomplishments to the team work wherein the efforts, diligence and dedication of hundreds of my colleagues have contributed appreciably in making Nitte Education Trust a successful institution. In the process I am enjoying the laurels of success and fame the institution has achieved.

Your father was a driving force? You derive great influence from him? My father was a philanthropist and naturally I must have inherited some of his qualities. At the same time I don’t call myself a philanthropist in the strict sense. After his retirement my father started the Nitte Education Trust to help the native people of Nitte and empower them. I just continued what he had begun by giving wings to his vision and make it more practicable. I had the good fortune of living in a big family amidst a group of three to six children who were our relatives. Living in such an

values in me. Our people are known for our hard work and the community history shows that our leaders have always led from the front sacrificing their own lives and personal interests in the process. Our people have made a name globally in every field and many of us owe our success for our devotion to carry out the task on hand with sincerity and utmost responsibility. There is always a give and take characteristic in the bunt community and I am proud to say I have derived my strength from my community.

I have been the fortunate son of this vibrant bunt community which has played a stellar role in the progress we have achieved in socio, economic, political and cultural fields. Our community has a rich tradition and proud heritage and it is the bounden duty of every member to carry forward this rich legacy.

Being a philanthropist of such magnitude, what are some of your own plans for the further uplift-meant of your community & suggestions/guidance to the young bunt generation going to come to the main stream of our society.Education is the social institution that can bring about drastic changes in the lives of the population. I strongly believe that education is the best tool to bring about the required change and it applies to the entire society irrespective of the community they belong to. Through the Foundation of Nitte Education Trust we have been trying to provide quality education to our children and we have succeeded to a great extent on that front. The Foundation is also involved in charitable work like village adoption, housing, education and healthcare, vocational training and resettlement of displaced children. This work of the Foundation will continue in the years to come and would benefit all including the weaker sections of the society. These benefits would also be available to the worthy people of the Bunt community also. Though I cannot repay the debt of the society entirely which has given me everything I want to repay my gratitude through my contributions to the field of education and healthcare.

There is a pressing need for the community to pay attention to educational and healthcare sectors as both these sectors are interlinked

Dr. Vinay Hegde,

Founder and Chancellor, Nitte Education Trust

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atmosphere instilled in me the quality of give and take at a young age and this give and take policy has become a part and parcel of my life all these years. I feel it was my duty to give back to the society from which I have benefitted a great deal and it was spontaneous. I followed it long back even before the term corporate social responsibility became a buzzword in our country.

Many students seek their education from Nitte Education Trust. Tell us more about its foundation? Under Nitte Education Trust we have established a foundation to undertake philanthropic work. There is definitely no shortcut to hard work and whatever I have achieved as a businessman and through Nitte Education Trust is not accidental. It is the fruit of my long term vision, commitment, desire, ability to work hard, also an ardent urge to render a helping hand to the deserved apart from the the collective efforts of . Of course, in achieving this success I had to make a few compromises here and there and that is a small price I had to pay to do something good to the society as a whole and I have no regrets on that count.

You must be extremely proud of your lineage. If you can say a few words about the fact that you are a member of the bunt community. I am thankful to god that I am born in the bunt community and I think that is usually true about all of us. My father Justice K S Hegde was an eminent lawyer and politician and was a public figure. In his absence from home due to his preoccupation it was my mother who moulded my personality. My mother constantly kept reminding me about my responsibility to live up to the expectations of my father and that of the community. I derived my motivation from by father and moral and emotional strength from my mother and I must acknowledge that the families of our parents have contributed in their own way in making me what I am.

Being the son of a famous father who was judge of the Supreme Court and Speaker of Lok Sabha was not at all a deterrent for me to establish my own identity. I must admit my lineage might have come in handy in my endeavours knowingly or unknowingly. But I must admit that I never misused that lineage and the need to do so also did not arise.

To what extent you believe that the Community’s proud heritage helped you?The Bunt community to which I belong to is always known for its leadership quality wherein community leaders have worked as an inclusive community. From my community I have learnt not to differentiate between people and communities and I am happy to say I have been able to put into practice these aspects. I firmly believe in human relationships and I am thankful to my community for imbibing such constructive and humane

and play a pivotal role in reducing poverty and creating wealth. Quality education will pave the way for improved healthcare and an educated and healthy population is a treasure to any community. It would a dream come true for me to provide free education and healthcare to our community.

We have some great women achievers in the community. Would you also like to share some of your wisdom with them?The Bunt community has always given respect, status and position to women. The betterment of any community would depend to a great extent on the empowerment of their women. Our community should work diligently to empower our women and also strengthen the family bond. The evil of dowry is a major social malpractice widely practised in our community and it has caused havoc and despair among many Bunt families. The evil of dowry is a bane to our community and though there is a considerable decline in this trend recently and I would like to work to completely wiping out this evil. Wiping out this practice would go a long way in empowering our women and thereby strengthening the institution of family. Our community should come out of its archaic thinking and practices which are detrimental to our progress.

The future of our community lies in the hands of the upcoming generation who are spread all around the world. What is it that you will advice them about our culture?I consider it my duty to contribute in my own way to safeguard our rich traditions, customs, culture, heritage, art, literature, art and language. Long back our community took to agriculture out of love for the soil and we need to continue this tradition. I am willing to render whatever help I can towards this cause. We have to guide our youth not to abandon agriculture totally and to concentrate on activities that might help preserve the distinctive culture of this land.

There is a pressing need for the community to pay attention to educational and healthcare sectors as both these sectors are interlinked and play a pivotal role in reducing poverty and creating wealth. Quality education will pave the way for improved healthcare and an educated and healthy population is a treasure to any community.

Our people should realise the importance of preserving our vibrant culture, art, tradition and language. The youngsters of the community should realise the importance of continuing this bequest and our community leaders should guide our youth in this direction. The youth should join the mainstream of the society and become harbingers of change that can improve the society as a whole.

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Founder, Vijaya BankAB Shetty

MD & CEO, UAE ExchangeBR Shetty

Philanthropist & EducationistDr. RN Shetty

Founder & Chairman, Allcargo Logistics

SK Shetty

Founder, Imagica AdlabsManmohan Shetty,

THE ENTERPRISING BUNTS

The entrepreneurial story of Bunts goes back at the turn of the 19th century, when, although Bunt landlords and entrepreneurs

had plenty of money no one had the strategic vision, or the drive, or the skills, or the contacts to think big. This is one of the biggest reason why South Kanara remained an industrially

backward region for the early part of the 20th century despite the rise of major business houses across India.

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In the 1920’s and 1930’s Bunt entrepreneurs became legendary captains of hotel industry in Mumbai. To an extent that the name “Shetty” was synonymous to the “hotel industry”. Hence, they became the backbone and the financial strength for their coastal district.

A businessman is a spokesman of the society and they have important obligations toward the society. Bunts are very well aware of their responsibility and duty towards the larger good of their culture and community. They provide equal opportunities to talented people to get ahead on the basis of their skills or character. That is the reason why you find so many Bunts filling the shoes of the other successful entrepreneurs only because of their skill set.

The entrepreneur Bunts like Shashi Kiran Shetty, Founder & Chairman, Allcargo Logistics Ltd have not only excelled in their business but have also set new standards of excellence for other service industries.

Allcargo Logistics is India’s first truly integrated global logistics company with operations in over 160 countries . It has been Shashi Kiran’s professional acumen and perseverance that today Allcargo Logistics is India’s largest integrated logistics service provider in private sector, listed on BSE & NSE.

Acknowledging his contribution in taking India’s logistics industry to the global arena, he was conferred with the ‘Distinction of Commander of the Order of Leopold II’ by H.M. King Philippe of Belgium. Shetty’s strong entrepreneurial skills are rooted in firm beliefs in Corporate Social Responsibility. His acts of philanthropy are reflected through the ‘Avashya Foundation’ a non profit NGO of the Avvashya Group. The foundation focuses on social programs for Natural Disaster Relief, Education, Health Care, Women Empowerment, Sports and Environmental Sustainability.

Dr.R.N.Shetty is an Indian entrepreneur, philanthropist and an educationist. He is the owner of R.N.Shetty group of companies which includes R.N.S.Maruthi Suzuki, Murdeshwar ceramics and Navin Hotel Limited and he is also the Chairman of the educational institutions under the R.N.Shetty trust. He is credited with modernisation

of the temple town of Murdeshwar. The Murdeshwara Shiva temple and temple complex including the 249 feet tall Raja Gopura which is credited the tallest Gopuram in the Asia

So, only the Bunts who migrated to Mumbai or other parts of the country could excel and learn busi-ness. Thimmappa Bhandary, an engineer in metallurgy, was one of the first

Bunts to be a successful entrepreneur. He was followed by many young Bunts who made big names in manufacturing and earned accolades.

While, in South Kanara many Bunts started to venture into modern industry and managed highly suc-cessful companies. Badila Dooma Rai seem to have been the first Bunt to start a tile factory in Manga-lore.

Business and money making qualities of Bunts is not unheard of. They have the leadership instinct the, team building qualities and grit that makes them successful in their ventures. Startups might be the buzz word in today’s day and age, but bunts have been using their enterprising skills for quite a while now.

It is the later half of the 20th century that Bunts in Karnataka made big names in the construction sector, including some major hydro electric projects and tunnel drilling, road building and dam construction. They went on to become household names in Bunt families. While men with excellent managerial skills joined the bandwagon of public works contractors.

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as well as a huge towering statue of Shiva considered to be the tallest statue of Shiva in the world, were built by the finance provided by R.N.Shetty.

Attavar Balakrishna Shetty (A.B.Shetty) is a name to reckon with. He is the founder of Vijaya Bank, which is today one of the foremost nationalized bank in India. He is counted amongst the most inspiring Indian political leaders. The weekly Kannada language publication, called “Navayuga” is also his enterprise. He started it as he was aware of the need for circulation of news and information about world affairs among people in the erstwhile South Canara district. In addition, Canara Printing Press in Mangalore was also pioneered by Mr. Shetty realising the necessity of good financial backing for the progress of any community Deeply secular and progressive in outlook, Shetty was interested in the activities of the Theosophical Society, the Brahmo Samaj, the Arya Samaj, the Depressed Classes Mission, etc., all of which were engaged in the uplift of neglected sections of society. He also served as Minister in the erstwhile Madras Presidency and later in Madras State, holding various portfolios such as agriculture and veterinary, medical and public health, cooperation, housing and ex-servicemen .

Bunt women are also known for their multi tasking and dynamic attitude. Mrs. Subi Mally the Chairper-son and Managing Director of Strategic Sourcing Group, has a persona which is said to have revolution-ized the concept of Marketing as an overall industry.

S M Shetty is a familiar name in the education sector, his chain of schools are more than popular. He is a businessman and educationist par excellence.

In the late 90s UAE became a rising spot for Bunts, thanks to the active role of people like Dr. B.R.Shetty and Varadaraj M. Shetty. V. M Shetty came to the Middle East at the age of 18 and initially worked in various roles in hospitality sector. He started the Ramee Group, which owns 37 properties including hotels, apartments and resorts in India,U.A.E.,Bahrain and Oman.

Dr. B.R.Shetty is the M.D.and C.E.O. of U.A.E.Exchange. Today, the company is headquartered in Abu Dhabi and operates more than 700 offices across 30 nations globally. The company when established in 1975 was initially interested in hospitals and hospitality, but since then has diversified into sectors in-cluding pharmaceuticals, global financial services, retail, advertising and information

technology. Health care sector has been highly benefitted by Mr. Shetty’s enterprises, his London-listed NMC Health, is UAE’s largest private health care provider. He has been on a buying spree recently, snatching Americare Group, which provides in-home health care services, Sharjah-based Dr. Sunny Healthcare Group and Provita International Medical Center.

Manmohan Shetty, the brain behind India’s first of its kind theme park Adlabs Imagica, based in the outskirts of Mumbai, is a testimony that he is a man with many feathers on his cap.

He ruled the Mumbai’s Bollywood industry through movies made under the banner Adlabs Films till 2007. The listed entity on the Bombay Stock Exchange is now owned by Reliance ADAG Group. Ardh Satya, made under Adlabs Films even made it to the prestigious National Award.

Manmohan Shetty brought IMAX and the first ever multiplex screen to India, marking a huge milestone for the Indian film industry.

He also chaired the National Film Development Corporation a Government of India entity set up to promote Indian cinema, till 2003. He was the president of the Films and Television Producers Guild of India in 2008 and initiated digital projection system in Indian cinemas in 2005.

While he held some notable positions, he made key contributions to the community.

President of Bunts Sangha

1996 – 2000

ResponsibleforsettingupBunts Sangha S M Shetty High School in Powai which has 7000 students today

FormerChairmanofHigherEducation Committee at Bunts Sangha for setting up Bunts college

Since 2013, his latest venture, Adlabs Imagica has been enjoying a huge footfall from people of all age group and has become the favourite entertainment spot for the people from all over India.

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They have contributed extensively for the upliftment of rural health care right from early 20th century which can definitely be termed as a golden chapter in the history of Bunts. They were highly qualified during those times

being equipped with diplomas such as LCP, LIM, LMP etc. Hence, they made sure that with their skills they served to far off villages in the old Hyderabad, Mysore, Madras and Bombay provinces and provided much needed medical care to the rural population. It was at a time when there was a huge shortage of doctors in rural areas. The re-spect they earned for their valuable services to the rural community is priceless.

But, what became even better was the second half of the 20th century. Bunt doctors achieved great name, fame and respect during this time. Today we are counted amongst the world’s most proficient heart surgeons, cardiologists, radiologists, neurologists, general surgeons, ENT sur-geons, orthopaedic surgeons and outstanding physicians and ophthalmologists.

Bunts rule the fields of health care and medicine with numerous hospitals in UAE, Bangalore, Mangalore and other cities in Karnataka that are owned and managed by enterprising Bunts and contributing to the welfare of the society.

Back in the 1930’s Dr. Venkat Shetty co-founded the Nair Hospital in Bombay, along with Dr. A.C. Nair, which later developed into a well known Medical and Dental college complex way. He remained the Chairman of the Institution for 20 years.

There are people whom we read about in textbooks and then there are those unsung heroes who are silent contributors to the various sections of society. These men have influenced the world through their research in science, technology and medicine. But not all of them survive the collective consciousness of the people. Though there are many we are listing a few exceptional ones.

THE MEDICAL

PROWESSThere is no easy way to excel in the fields of science and medicine. And despite the difficulties faced, Bunts have made phenomenal contributions there. They occupy significant roles as doc-tors, scientists and researchers at top-notch universities and institutions.

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Another such name that stands out is Dr B M Hegde, also known to most as the ‘people’s doc-tor.’ Padma Bhusan Awardee Hegde is an Indian medical scientist, educationist and author. He started teaching at a very young age and continues to do the same even today. Dr. Hegde is a visiting professor in almost all countries except the South American continent. He is a retired vice chancellor of the Manipal University and the head of the Mangalore chapter of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. He is known for his unconventional methods and was awarded the Dr. B. C. Roy Award in 1999. He has authored several books on medical practice and ethics.

Late Dr. Kullal Chickappu Naik, popularly known as K. C. Naik was the first Vice Chancellor of University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore. He is known for his contribution as an Indian ag-ricultural scientist mainly dealing with horticulture. He was an academic administrator and au-thor. A man who is responsible for laying the foundation for a disciplined work culture and started many colleges.

In today’s day and age the words angiography and angioplasty are not alien, but meet Dr. Sadanand R. Shetty who holds the unique distinction of performing the 1st angiography and first angioplasty at two leading private institutes in Mumbai. An excellent orator and outstanding leader he definitely has all what it takes to be a Bunt.

But one name that has changed the way people look at “doctors” is of Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty, bet-ter known as the “Henry Ford of health care” is a Bunt that that the entire country is proud of. The car-diac surgeon has several firsts to his credit: He performed India’s first neonatal cardiac surgery on a nine-day-old baby, nation’s first video assisted PDA ligation, India’s first video assisted open heart sur-gery to name a few.

He also performed Asia’s first dynamic cardiomyoplastyoperation. He is also responsible for in-troducing the concept of an assembly line heart surgery,

which aims at reducing the cost of sur-gery and achieving zero mortality.

Dr. Shetty also introduced the concept of free heart camp for villages of Northeastern hill states as a simple screening mechanism to detect early stage heart

diseases and proved the concept of largescale heart surgery by performing twelve heart surgeries a day.

He is the founder and also leads the world’s largest and also the cheapest heart care institute called Narayana Hrudayalaya(NH). Shetty believes that the cost of healthcare can be reduced by 50 percent in the next 5–10 years if hospitals adopt the idea of economies of scale. Apart from cardiac surgery, NH also has cardiology, neurosurgery, paediatric surgery, haematology and transplant services, and nephrology among various others. The heart hospital is the largest in the world with 1000 beds performing over 30 major heart surgeries a day.

Another very prominent name is Dr. K Bhujang Shetty who started his ophthalmology practice in a small clinic in the eighties. It was because of his great vision to grow and the foresight to antic-ipate future needs that an eye clinic became a multi specialty eye hospital. To meet the growing demand for quality eye care, modern sophisticated equipments were acquired. Dr. Bhujang Shetty encouraged devolopment of various sub-specialities in Narayana Nethralaya and has been responsible for transformation of Narayana Nethralaya as the largest superspeciality eye hospital in Karnataka.

It is this level of influence that has set them apart from other innovators of their time. The com-munity stresses upon the importance of scientific literacy for everyone. It is very important to make educated choices in life.

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Being a highly renowned doctor & educationist, you must be extremely proud of your accomplishments. Your life must be fulfilling? Life would have been fulfilling to me even otherwise and I have been able to do what I did because I was destined to do that. Man is not to be proud of any achievement as he is only nimitha maatram. Contentment at any level is the essence of stress free life. We came here with nothing and do go back with nothing. If we do well here we will do well there as well. When we become proud of our achievements we will be like what Shakespeare wrote: “But man, proud man,Dress’d in a little brief authority,Most ignorant of what he’s most assur’d—His glassy essence—like an angry apePlays such fantastic tricks before high heavenAs makes the angels weep

How much are you proud about your lineage and if you can say a few words about the fact that you are a member of the Bunt community, to what extent you believe that the Community’s proud heritage helped you? I am aware of the great Bunt tradition and respect it but let me assure you that the community did precious little for me and I did not climb up the ladder, if I may use that phrase, with the community’s help. Words like community, state, country mean very little for me as I believe that this world is but one large family (vasudai eva kutumbakam) which has now been authenticated by quantum physics where the same energy pervades in all of us. I have been teaching my students in the last half a century that the letter “I” is the beginning of Illness and the word “we” the beginning of wellness.

You have been making a lot of effort by communicating with the masses about healthy living. What has inspired you to take up such a noble cause? What are some of your own plans for the further uplift-ment of your community? Any suggestions that you would like to give? I simply followed the essence of being a doctor is to keep society healthy. Health is not absence of disease as the western medicine proclaims to the world. In truth there can be NO ONE who has NO DISEASE at any given time although most of those diseases die a natural death, thanks to our inner healer, the immune system. Today medical education, doctors, and the

corporate hospitals do not do anything for health of the public. In fact, in medical education nothing is taught about health and all about diseases and treatment.

When I got convinced about it I worked with a handful of like minded people from all over the globe, a few Nobel Laureates included to start the World Academy of Authentic Healing Sciences and have our own Journal, The Journal of the Science of Healing Outcomes. (www.thejsho.com) I have been the founder editor in chief with two Nobel Laureates as co-editors in chief. We have been working hard at it and have the satisfaction that we have been able to at least change the perception of society about health, disease and treatment thereof.

We succeeded to change the definition of health of Alma Ata to a more humane definition which was accepted by the Institute of Medicine, the highest body in the USA. Our definition of Health is “”Enthusiasm to work and enthusiasm to be compassionate.”

My book WHAT DOCTORS DON’T GET TO STUDY IN MEDICAL SCHOOL has become a great hit.

If you could kindly write a brief ideology you pursued in your life which could be a guiding light to many of us to be better citizens & human beings to make a difference to the world.

My ideology has been to follow the great Indian culture.

“Do not do anything that you do not want the world to know.”

“ Walk your talk. Do not give up and do not give in.”

Dr B M Hegde was honoured with the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award in India, in 2010. He is renowned for his medical prowess, practices and ethics. His books have become a guiding light to many students. He is also the Editor in Chief of the Journal of the Science of Healing Outcomes.

Only few doctors offer a perspective that can change the course of medical science. Dr Hegde is one of them. His philosophy that one should focus more on health and not on disease has also garnered him the name of a spiritual leader.

Interview with Dr. BM Hegde, medical scientist, educationist and author.

Dr B.M Hegde

Interview

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Bellipady Ramanath Rai is an Indian politician. His political journey began from the Indian National Congress. He has been given the portfolio for the minister for forest, environment and ecology in Karnataka state

government. He also won 2013 Assembly election from Bantwal.

Dr. K. Amarnath Shetty entered the Political arena in 1965. In 1983, he was elected through Janatha Party as a Member of State Legislative Assembly from Moodbidri-Mulky Constituency. On August 1984 he was sworn in as a State Minister for Tourism and Religious Endowment in the Ministry of Mr. Rama-krishna Hegde. In 1985, he was re-elected through Janatha Party as a member of State Legislative As-sembly from Moodbidri-Mulky Constituency. He once again came to Karnataka Legislative Assembly in 1994.

Jayaprakash Hegde is an Indian political leader born in Korgi, Kundapura taluk, Udupi district. He is man of legal prowess and charisma. A practicing advocate, Jayaprakash entered politics very early in his life. He has been elected thrice to the Karnataka Legislative Assembly from the Brahmavara constituency. He has handled various portfolios as a minister with great efficiency and character. Hegde has been elected to Lok Sabha from the same constituency following by a election in 2012.

Yedthare Manjayya Shetty served the people with selflessness by providing basic facilities and starting the public favour projects. He is an example for us to serve the society. He was elected 3 times as M.L.A. and once as M.L.C. unopposed. He is the man behind the Yedthare Manjayya Shetty law college, in Kundapur (which is affiliated to Mangalore University) and also the Yedthere Nursing Home also is in Kundapur.

Before entering politics, K. Nagappa Alva, had been a medical practitioner, who also holds a M.B.B.S. degree. His political career begun with his election to the Karnataka legislative assembly in 1957. He served as Minister of Health in the State Government of Mysore (now known as Karnataka).

KK Shetty joined the Indian freedom struggle and played a pivotal role in the independence of India. After the independence of India, Shetty turned to politics and served as the Vice-President of Mysore Legislative Council. He was also the former Deputy Chairman and former Chairman of Mysore Legislative Council. He had also served as Member of Parliament from the Mangalore Constituency. Apart from being a politician, he was a great journalist who edited and published Kannada weeklies such as ‘Navayuga’, ‘Sarvodaya’ and ‘Rashtra Jyothi”

POLITICAL DOMINANCE

Political leaders are necessary for initiating as well as hastening the

process of change in any society. It may be social or economic change,

constitutional or political change. In all these processes of change, the bunts

also play an important role. The political leaders of the Bunt community carry

out the process of change by applying their leadership attributes like politically relevant beliefs, socially adored values, wide knowledge and wisdom acquired

through learning and experience.

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You have achieved so much in your life being a Good Samaritan, leading political figure in India and educationist. What factors have been instrumental in your success? Society has given me the name and fame, I felt it is my duty to return back to the society, hence chose to involve myself in the politics with a focus on imparting educationto the youth and lower strata of society. I decided to dedicate my resources and expertise to the cause of upliftment of society and took a firm foot in that direction by establishing ‘Bhandary Foundation’ which has come a long way in a short span of a decade, to become an enterprising entity in the global education. Contributing my best to the society motivated me to take various initiatives which in turn led to my success.

How much are you proud about your lineage and if you can say a few words about the fact that you are a member of the bunt community, to what extent you believe that the Community’s proud heritage helped you? I am definitely very much proud of my lineage. I was born and brought up at Shimoga. My lineage played a vital role in building my foundation and leadership qualities which gained me the confidence to contest in the Parliament election against the former Chief Minister, Mr. B. S. Yedyurappa and Mrs. Geetha Shivrajkumar, daughter of the former Chief Minister. The election was a very tough contest, I could still manage to stand in the second position. Major voters were from the rest of the communities. My community has given me the identity. My community has given me the recognition in the society.

Being a successful member of the bunt community of such magnitude, what are some of your own plans for the further uplift-meant of your community & suggestions/guidance to the young bunt generation going to come to the main stream of our society. Though I hail from Shimoga, I have established an Engineering college at Mangalore, (Tulunadu) providing the education and job offers to people of various different communities. However, we at our institution have employees in key positions, which are from the bunt community and also have been providing scholarships to students of our community. We were the host for Vishwa Tulu Parba, which glorified the Tulunad (Mangalore) culture and also looking forward to hosting such events even in the future, which upholds our integrity and community. Also, it feels proud to recall the role models of our community who made huge contributions to the society, to list a few, Mr. Sundaram Shetty is the man who created and offered employment opportunities for educated class in the banks, Mr. R. N. Shetty & Mr. Narayana Shetty, Civil contractors provided Job opportunities to the unemployed class of our society. Mr. B. R. Shetty has created employment opportunities through the UAE exchange and has won several accolades for his achievement Mr. Vinay Hegde, an entrepreneur and a technocrat has made remarkable contribution to the society. Mr. Mohan Alva, a prominent educationist and never the less, Mr. Shashi Kiran Shetty having set up his business across the globe, and is one of the well known philanthropists, has created huge employment opportunities, thus upholding the dignity of the bunt community. These are the people who inspired us to work for the Community towards its betterment.

Interview with Manjunath Bhandary, Politician, Entrepreneur and Founder of Bhandary Foundation

He is the Founder Chairman of ‘Bhandary Foundation’ which encompasses many educational institutions, under the name ‘Sahyadri’. His novel thoughts added a new dimension to the world of education. His dynamic leadership brings about much needed social reforms through education to empower individuals to become the backbone of an enterprising and productive society.Manjunath Bhandary

Interview

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Mr. Hegde graduated in law in 1965 and after completing apprenticeship training was enrolled as an advocate in January 1966 and designated as senior advocate

in May 1984. He was ap-pointed as the Advocate General for the state of

Karnataka in February 1984 and held that posi-tion till august, 1988. He also

worked as additional solicitor General of the union of India from December 1989

to November 1990. He was re-appointed as the solicitor General of India in 1998

and was appointed as a Judge of Supreme Court of India in January 1999.

LAW & JURISDICTION Bunts are not just a beautiful race but bold too, having proved their mettle in every walk of life. Legal domain is no exception to this rule with prominent names like Justice K. Jagannath Shetty and Justice K.S. Hegde having carved a niche for themselves in the Indian legal system.

Justice Perody Vishwanath Shetty practiced in the Karnataka High Court, Karnataka Administra-tive Tribunal and Central

Administrative Tribunal.

He also worked as counsel for University of Agriculture Science Bangalore, Mangalore Universi-ty, Mysore University, Vijaya Bank Bangalore, Indian Bank Bangalore, Corporation Bank Banga-lore, Indian Oil Corporation and Bangalore Development Authority.

He was designated as a sen-ior counsel by the full court of the High Court in the year 1993. He was the chairman of Karna-taka

State Bar Council and also a Member of Bar Council of India. He was part of delegation of six judges and five lawyers led by the Honourable Chief Justice of India, Honourable Shri Justice A.M.

Ahmadi during April 1995 to the United States. He was appointed as a permanent Judge of the Karnataka High Court on 18th

December 1995.

Justice P. Vishwanath Shetty

Was practicing advocate in the High Court of Karnataka. He

worked as govt. pleader in High Court and thereafter he was elevated to the post of High

Court Judge and posted to High Court of Tamil Nadu.

Mr. Tadyal Jayaram Chowta

Justice N.Santhosh Hegde

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Justice K.S. HegdeKowdoor Sadananda Hegde had his early education at Karkala and Mangalore . He

pursued his collegiate education at Presidency College, Madras and obtained his B.A. degree in Economics and later a degree in Law from

the Government Law College, Madras. He began his legal prac-tice at Karkala in 1936 and later proceeded to Mangalore to be appointed as the Public Prose-cutor of the South Kanara

District in 1948.

K.S.Hegde was elected to the Rajya Sabha as a Congress Party nominee in the year

1952 and served the upper house till 1957. He was a member of the Panel of Chairman and also a mem-ber of the Public Accounts

Committee and of Rules committee. In 1954, he represented India at the General

Assembly of United Nations. Later he was appointed as the Judge of the Mysore High

Court .

In 1966, he was appointed as the first Chief Justice of the Delhi and Himachal Pradesh High Court, many of his judgments during

this period were path-breaking.

In 1967 he was appointed by the President of India as a Judge of the Supreme Court. K.S. Hegde was known for his uprightness and

authority and as a learned Judge who always gave precedence to the rule of law. A man of matchless honesty and utmost integrity,

Hegde ten-dered his resignation on 30th April 1973, when one of his junior colleagues was

appointed as the Chief Justice of India. In 1977, Mr.K.S. Hegde was elected to the Lok

Sabha and was later elected as the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, the office he held till 1980.

After a distinguished career Justice K.S.Hegde retired from public life and

settled at Nitte. Jus-tice K.S. Hegde’s belief that education is pivotal in acquiring skills

and knowledge prompted him to found the Nitte Education Trust. Justice K.S. Hegde

passed away on 25th May 1990.

Justice N.R. Kudoorstarted his career as district judge and later he was elevated to the position of high court judge of Karnataka. After retirement he settled down in Siddakatte near Bantwal.

Justice Kalmanje Jagannath ShettyStudied law at the Hyderabad Osmania University and grad-uated in 1954. He was appointed as the Judge of the Karnataka High Court in 1970 and became the acting Chief Justice of the High Court of Karnataka in 1985. Later in 1986, he was appointed as the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court. And on May 1, 1987, he was appointed as the judge of the Supreme Court of India.

Having acquired extensive practice in all branches of Law and in particular Civil, services and constitutional matters, he served as a part time Professor of Law at the Government Law col-lege, Bangalore for about 10 years.

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THE BOLLYWOOD

CONNECTIONOne space where Bunts have

stood out and performed exceptionally well is the

Indian film Industry especially Bollywood. Other than having famous actors in the regional

cinema, Bunts are some of the very successful names in

Bollywood.

That is why we want to call it the “Bollywood Connection”, stories of the people who are

part of this list is also no less than a Bollywood song-dance-drama.

They have lived those stories both on screen and off screen.

Prakash Rai’s story is full of action drama emotion. He once acted in back-to-back stage shows for Rs 300 a month in the initial stages of his career. Today, he is a multilingual Indian film actor, film director, producer, and television presenter who is known for his works in the South Indian film industry, and Bollywood films.

Yes, the man has seen it all, born in Bengaluru, Prakash is fluent in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi, Hindi and English. His handwork has won him a National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor in

1998 for Mani Ratnam’s Iruvar, a National Film Award – Special Jury Award and a National Film Award for Best Actor in 2009 for his role in Kanchivaram, a Tamil film directed by Priyadarshan. He has also won a National Film Award for Best Feature Film as a producer in Kannada for Puttakkana Highway directed by his long-time theatre friend B. Suresh in 2011.

No introduction is needed for Aishwarya Rai, as an actor or model. She was born in the city of Mangalore but did her schooling in Mumbai and always aspired to be an architect. She started modelling at the age of twenty and got her first big break with Aamir Khan in the famous Pepsi commercial.

Aishwarya Rai was then crowned Miss World in 1994, aft~ a Tamil film called Iruvar, directed by Mani Ratnam. Her journey from Iruvar to Sarbjit has been full of classics like Devdas, Hum dil de chuke sanam, Dhoom 2, Guru, Jodha-Akbar etc. What began as a dull start with Aa ab last chalein soon became the mot talked about actress in the film industry. After marrying Abhishek backhand she has brought two cultures together on the global platform.

Aishwarya is also considered as the first global Indian actress who opened the doors of Hollywood for the Indian actors. Bride and Prejudice, The Last Legion and Pink Panther 2 are some of her successful films in the West. She was the first Indian jury member at the Cannes Film Festival in 2003 and since then have graced the event every year.

Aishwarya Rai

Prakash Raj

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If you are a dance fan you already know about him. He is not a new name in the industry. Ganesh Hegde is one of the many gems that Bunts Community has contributed to Bollywood. He is best known for his work, in the Oscar-nominated film Lagaan and for his musical numbers in Company, Ganesh Hegde is an Indian singer, performer, video director, and Bollywood choreographer.

Having choreographed many stage shows, including Temptations 2004, the Bollywood rock concert which toured America with huge stars such as Shah Rukh Khan, Rani Mukherjee, Preity Zinta, Saif Ali Khan and Arjun Rampal, he is highly acclaimed in his field. Infact, Hegde is the person behind the con-cept of “item number or item gal” in Bollywood. He started this trend for the music video type of execution of dance numbers in movies with Kambakht Ishq (Pyar Tune Kya Kiya) and Khallas (Company). Dances at Filmfare Awards have been choreographed by hi, for the past decade and he has also been associated with the Zee Cine Awards since its very conception.

If you have seen Baahubali: The Beginning (2015) you already know Anushka Shetty, originally named, Sweety Shetty, but known by the stage name, Anushka Shetty. Yet to make a bollywood debut, the actress is making waves right from the beggninning.

She was voted as “Hyderabad’s Most Desirable Woman of 2015”, and made her acting debut through the 2005 Telugu film “Super”. She went on to star in a number of Telugu films such as Vikramarkudu (2006), Arundhati (2009), Vedam (2010), Rudramadevi (2015).

Ganesh Hegde

Anushka Shetty

Shilpa Shetty’s path to success has been full of ups and downs, but it never shows on her million dollar smile and that awe-inspiring body. She began her career as a model in 1991, then entered the industry as an Indian film actress, producer and also worked in a few Telugu, Tamil and Kannada language films. Today, she is also the co-owner of the Indian Premier League cricket team Rajasthan Royals. Shetty is also a social activist and is unreserved about the issues such as feminism and animal abuse.

She one on to win the international reality television series Celebrity Big Brother 5 and became one of the most popular and high-profile celebrities in India. She is the recipient of numerous awards and nominations, including four Filmfare nominations.

Shilpa Shetty Kundra

Mohenjodaro is making moves in the social media world. Pooja Hegde is an Indian model turned ac-tress, who is soon going to appear on big screens with Hrithik Roshan in Ashutosh Gowariker’s forthcoming period film Mohenjo Daro.

Born and brought up in Mumbai, Pooja is a former beauty pageant contestant, who was crowned as the second runner-up at the Miss Universe India 2010 competition. She has been shown as a pure greek goddess in the movie. Yet to make a mark in Bollywood, but definitely launching with a big bang.

Pooja Hegde

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something that went along with the job. I used all that in the business of cinemas and it worked very well for me. My belief in sincerity, hardwork, will power, urge to learn and, the quality of taking criticism in my stride gave me an edge over others.

Do you owe your success and achievements to your background? 2) Yes I do attribute my success to my background and my community from when I come from. Our forefathers came to Mumbai with nothing and struggled to make ends meet. My father was a 9 yr old boy when he first came to Mumbai, studied at night school and started to work in restaurant. He then became the manager, owning the same restaurant that he once worked in. He will always be my hero. I never shied away from any kind of work. We come from a background where men and women both are physically strong and that helped me, my physical strength and my confidence. I found myself adapting to any situation easily.

Some word of advice for the younger generation? To the younger generation, I would say, believe in your dreams. Nothing can stop you from achieving it. Master the art you want to follow and educate yourself in that field. Don’t take success for granted. Handle failure with a lot of grace, for failure also teaches you. Try harder next time and be positive. I never negotiate my way when it comes to faking it or even lying.

Some fitness goals that you would want us to know as you as widely known for rigorous fitness regime.

Fitness is in my genes, we Mangaloreans (people from Mangalore) both men and women are very strongly built as we come

from a race of warriors, farmers and landlords. We know how to work out and we really work hard towards it. Functional training is something that each member of my family is up for.

Fitness has been my obsession, I took to martial arts at a very young age; more so because I wanted to play cricket for the country which unfortunately did not happen. So I got into martial arts and weight training to be able to hit harder which eventually helped me to become the actor I am today.

Fitness to me is breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper. Fitness to me means more of a strict diet and understanding food. Training every single day of my life whether its yoga, running any sport weight training. As you age you should hit the gym more often to look younger. That’s how I manage to have a lean figure.

Suniel Shetty is one of the leading names as the action hero of Bollywood. He holds a Black Belt in Kickboxing. He was born to an ethnic bunt family in Mulki. Today, Suniel Shetty is an Indian film

actor, producer, and a very successful entrepreneur. If we talk numbers than

he has acted in more than 110 films. He was highly

appreciated for his role in “Dhadkan” and “Main Hoon Naa” which also also won

him many awards.

As a producer he owns the banner of “Popcorn Motion

Pictures.” He produced films such as Khel – No Ordinary Game, Rakht

and Bhagam Bhag. As an entrepreneur, he owns clothing boutiques and

restau-rants some of which specialize in Udupi cuisine.

Suniel ShettyTête-à-tête

When did the learning curve for you as an actor happen?In the first place I did not have to struggle. My background of martial arts helped me get my first movie. I consider I was lucky that someone saw me perform and offered a movie.

But my struggle as an actor started as I came from a non-acting background. Although my first movie was successful but critics wrote me off as an actor. This is when my journey as an actor began. I knew that I needed more opportunities to unleash the actor within me and learn further. To carve a niche, I did death defying stunts to prove that I was the best action hero of the time.

Would you talk about your humble beginning?Success for me was purely from a very humble background. The Food and Beverage business was the first that I got into. There I learnt that the customer was always right and hardwork was

30

THE CREATIVE

PURSUITAsk a roomful of art historians and critics “who is the best artist ever?”, and you’ll get only different answers. Why? Because there is no single standard by which to measure who is the greatest painter, writer or sculptor, “fine art is too subjective”.

However, with a great sense of pride for their language and culture, bunts community has completely engrossed their lives into various art forms like music, dance, and acting.

Bunts zestfulness to negotiate with the perpetually changing modernity without losing their cultural and traditional links to their village roots defines their success in the developing world. Their versatility is what defines them as a community. It is like they have make their mark felt in all spheres of life and hence their creative pursuit is not a secret. Be it any form of Art like music, literature or fine arts their works are still revered and looked up to.

Bunts have devoted earnestly to the art of Yakshagana, a folk theater form that combines dance, music, dialogue, costume, make-up, and stage techniques with a unique style and form.

Few households of Bunts like Ichlampady House in Kasargod district encouraged Yakshagana and other folk arts. The Ichlampady Yakshagana troupe promoted by Kotianna Alva (1827-1927) made waves in the field of Yakshagana for several decades. Many Bunts excelled in folk arts. There were many talented artists in Yakshagana and Thalemaddale. Kavi Bhushana Venkappa Shetty was a household name along the coast.

Early Yakshagana poets included Ajapura Vishnu, Purandaradasa, Parthi Subba, and Nagire Subba. King Kanteerava Narasaraja Wodeyar II (1704–1714) authored 14 Yakshaganas in various languages in the Kannada script. Mummadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar (1794–1868) also wrote several Yakshagana prasanga, including Sougandhika Parinaya. Noted poet, Muddana, composed several Yakshagana prasangasa, including the very popular Rathnavathi Kalyana

Adve Vasu Shetty was another popular artist, specifically a performer in Yakshagana. His son went on to became a highly successful sculptor for India. Born in 1961, Sudarshan Shetty, says “a lot of music and singing in the house” where he grew up. He is today a modern Indian artist who has excelled in painting, sculpture, installation, video, sound and performance. The artist has been a resident at the Mattress Factory, Pittsburgh, USA, and was a Ford Foundation Fellow at the New School for General Studies, New York.

Shetty has become an important voice on the International stage of contemporary art. His work has been exhibited at the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, Fukuoka, Japan, and the Tate Modern, London, England.

Shetty’s work is part of many important public collections including the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, Devi Art Foundation (Anupam Poddar), India, Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, Japan and the FC MoCA (Frank Cohen Museum of Modern Art), Manchester, UK.

31

V. MANOHAR

V. Manohar, who started his career as a cartoonist

working for some leading newspapers and maga-zines,

is a music director, lyricist, film director, and actor in

Kannada and Tulu movies. He has scored music for several

Kannada and Tulu films. He is the recipient of several awards

including the Karnataka State Award. He has written lyrics to more than 1000 songs in

Kannada cinema.

Besides composing and lyric writing, Manohar has tried his hand on the film

direction as well. His debut film as a director was the hugely popular O Mallige starring Ramesh Aravind

and Charulatha. This film ran for more than 100 days across Karnataka cinemas.

Indradhanush starring Shivrajkumar is V. Mano-har’s

2nd film. He has thus far directed three films.

SHUBA PUNJA:

Shubha Poonja is an Indian actress and former model, who mostly appeared in Tamil and Kannada films. Shubha Poonja in personal life is a graduate in BA from Bishop Cotton Girls College in Bangalore.

Shubha Poonja, a Mangalorean by birth, brought up in Bangalore, studied in Carmel Convent School, Jayanagar in Bangalore before she started modeling, appearing in various television ads.

She entered the Tamil film industry, after K. S. Vasanthakumar, director of the Tamil film Machi ap-proached her to enact the lead female role in the film. Afterward, she appeared in several Kannada films, including Chanda, Moggina Manasu, and Slum Bala.

GURUKIRAN:

Gurukiran Shetty is a music director of the Kannada film industry in India. He started his career as a mu-sic director of the Kannada movie “A”, directed and

acted by Upendra. Along with acting and singing, he is popular for his foot tapping musical scores.

He was a singer even in his School days at St Aloysius pry school in the early 70s. After completion of

graduation in commerce from Mangalore University, Gurukiran started performing in orchestras in and

around Mangalore as a singer and a keyboard performer.

He has been awarded with Filmfare Award for Best Music Director in 2001, 2002 and 2004. Other

awards includes Nava Yuva Prathibe’ award for the best entry in the TV Industry for acting and Music

(1994),

‘Chitra Premigala Prashasthi’ and ‘Indira Priyadarshani Prashasthi’ award for ‘Pavithra’ and ‘Jeevan Chakra’–

Kannada TV serials (1996) and ‘Aryabhata Award’ for the title music of ‘Balabeladingalu’ (2000).

Born in an ethnic Bunt family in Meeyappadau near Manjeshwar, Kerala, Darbe Krishnananda Chowta is an Indian businessman, writer, artist, and theater personality.

Chowta’s literary works, Kariyavajjerena Kathekkulu and Plilipathigadasu, a drama, received awards from the Karnataka Government’s Tulu Sahithya Academy. His other works include Pattu Pajjelu, Dar-mettimaye, Uri Ushnada Maye and Mittabailu Yamunakka. He has been awarded an honorary doctorate by Mangalore University.

His son, Sandeep Chowta, is an Indian music director has been carrying the tradition of the family. He is also the head of Columbia Records in India. He has also sung some of his songs, who has primarily worked in Bollywood, Kannada films, and Tollywood.

In 2003, he produced an anti-substance abuse documentary, titled Dead End, that was entered into numerous film festivals and was government acclaimed. This was produced by a seventeen-year-old college student and drug activist, Tanya Khubchandani. When

it comes to Tollywood, he composed music for 10 films.

A lot has been said about the glorious past, present and future of the Bunts, having said that, it is just the tip of the iceberg, there are a lot of other notable artists, sportsmen, bankers and businessmen who might not have featured above. That does not make their efforts or effi-ciency any less worthy. Many of them are still in the process of “making themselves” or “pol-ishing other gems” for lighting the future path with their art and talent.

D. K CHOWTA

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KEDAMBADI JATTAPPA RAI

Kedambadi Jattappa Rai is the author of

“Reminiscences of a Hunter”. It is a narrative of the exciting adventures of a

hunter.

K USHA P RAI

Usha P. Rai is an accomplished writer, artist, and novelist, who writes in 3 languages Kannada, English, and Tulu. She has authored 7 novels, 2 short story collections, 3 poem collections one essay collection and a travelogue in Kannada, and one poem collection in Tulu . Many of her poems, short stories, and articles have been published in leading newspapers and magazines. She is a recipient of prestigious Padma Bhushan Sarojadevi Literary Award from Kannada Sahitya Parishad in the year 2002 along with several other honors.

KAYYARA KINHANNA RAI

When it comes to Late Kayyara kinhanna Rai, greatness is difficult to quantify. Late Kayyara kinhanna Rai is a poet, author, Indian independence activist and former journalist passed away last year.

He was honored with Nadoja award in 2006. Rai had started his career as a secondary school teacher and later forayed into journalism and contributed his writings to various newspapers. Some of his fa-mous poems are Aikyagana, Shreemukha, Chethana, Punarnava, and Koraga. His other important works are Sahithya Drushti and Malayala Sahitya Charithre (History of Malayalam literature) which is a translation of an original work by P. K. Parameshwaran Nair.

He was conferred with Nadoja award in 2006. Though he is not alive, but being an artist his contribution in the society will always be around us for ages to come.

DR.SUNITA M.SHETTY

Dr.Sunita M. Shetty, a writer, poet, critic, scholar and educationist of repute is a Tulu writer from Mum-bai, has been awarded the prestigious Jayadevi Tayi Ligade award for an eminent woman achiever from Maharashtra, for the year 2012, instituted by the Vidyadhara Kannada Pratishtana. She has been conferred with the Ajantha National Award by Ajantha Pratishtana Bangalore.

J.SHETTY KADANDALE

Writers make a distinctive impression on hearts of the readers because they make you rethink the world, not reflect current reality. With such a skill, J.Shetty Kadandale is one of the great writers. Along with being a distinguished writer, he was also a social activist.

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The glory of Bunts is renowned worldwide. May the community thrive, prosper and bring more pride to Indians. May their contribution towards the betterment of the society bear best results. The book only chronicles few people from the community but there are many around the globe who may not be as popular but are equally recognised. Since centuries we have taken pride in serving people and we continue to do so till date. No matter what corner of the world we are in, our enterprising streak has only benefited people around us.

The books will embark on a journey to promote and popularize the Bunts community; throw light on the history, culture, lineage and stewardship which has flown through the centuries in the form of artists, educationists, entrepreneurs and social workers. The community has come of age and is now laying path for the next generation who are assertively flourishing. More power to them and to the community.

CONCLUSION

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BIBLOGRAPHY

• Bunt (Community) – Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Bunt_(community)

• Bunts mathr sangha

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ List_of_Bunts

• Some notable personalities of the bunt community https:// vanihegde.wordpress.com/.../ some-notable-personalities- among-bunts-community

• Bunts sangha UK buntssanghauk.org/web/

• Bunts history – Delhi Bunts Cultural Association delhi- bunts.com/about-bunts- history.asp?links=ab1

• Tracing the origin of Bunts of west coast – South Kannada– The Hindu www.thehindu. com/todays-paper/p-features/... origin-of-bunts.../article6596350.ece

• http://www.narayanahealth.org/

• http://www.manjunathbhandary.in/

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belle_ Monappa_Hegde