(B1002)-OUR ORIGIN

Padubidri village, in erstwhile South Canara district, then in Mangalore district and now in Udipi district in the state Karnataka lies almost at the middle point between Mangalore City and the pilgrim town of Udipi. The trijunction at Padubidri has three roads, one towards North to Udipi, another towards East to Karkala and the third one to South to Mangalore. Badettu family had its origin in this serene village, about 300 meters east of the Arabian sea cost. It is reported to be an off shoot of Kornaya Family connected with the sacred Grove called BRAHMASTHANA which lies 150 meters north of the Badettu family house. Brahmasthana is still revered as a deity by the family which was associated with the center of worship during the time of its founders.

The family was supposed to have been established by Sri Vankatraman, the earliest ancestor known to some of the senior members of the family living currently and he seemed to have lived from the year 1842 to 1922 after establishing a dwelling structure. This place was originally inhabited by "Koragas", a tribal community which was a vibrant group happy with their lives. Koragas used to practice beating an indigenous drum called "Bade" or "Pade" after sun set and during the nights under the influence of locally brewed intoxicants. The beating of the drum or Bade gradually got transformed into Bade Bottu and later Badettu, which became the family name of Sri Venkatraman. The house came to be known as Badettil or Badettu Mane or Badettu House in English. The exact year of construction of the house is not known to any one living at present and there are no reliable documented records to rely on. however it is assumed that the period of building the present house must have been in the latter half nineteenth century (1878-1880).

Sri Narayana better known as Narnappaya and Nanu to his friend then is the central character in any story involving Badettu family as he was a person with whom many presently living senior members had close association and family bonding. He and his Six sons and two daughters spawned over 700 members spanning a period of almost 100years, living in different parts of the country and some even in foreign lands. The evolutionary story of Narnappaya and his descendants is both fascinating and intriguing. This blogger will try to uncover some of them during the next few issues

V.H.POTTY
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