Dr. Bidari Siddappa Sabanna

 

Siddappa Bidari was born in Bilagi in 1956 to Gouramma and Sabanna in a shepherd's family. He spent his childhood grazing livestock and later lambs and goats. It used to be a community custom to sing while working as a form of entertainment. Similarly, he began singing cinema -movie songs and tunes at first. 

During the Ganesh festival celebrations, his singing earned him a book and a pen as a reward. With that, he approached Dr. Sreeram Ittannavar, a folklore song writer and also was a lecturer in Shree Siddeshawar college bilgi. He appreciated Siddappa, encouraged him and gave a book, Holisala balli, a compilation of songs written by him. 

This was the initiation, and the artist in him arose, and Siddappa began singing melodies about his own emotions and preferences. He is a kind of Ashu Kavi. You give him any topic, He sings a poem right there on that topic. This resulted in the outcome of more than 27 books of poems:    

1. Holisala Hori 1990
2. Hattona Ba Preeti Gaadi 1992
3. Anubhavada Adigi 1994
4. Maatu Manikya 1999
5. Muttona Preeti Chukki 2000
6. Kereya Neera Kerege Chelleeni 2002
7. Bittoon Ba Jaat Mutta 2003
8. Jaanapada Jaanguti 2003
9. Hattaito Uri     2003
10. Namma Devru 2004
11. Ida Nanna Baduku 2005
12. Devara Jagala 2005
13. Gelati Nenapinorti
14. Galam Gutak
15. Tirukaru
16. Maaye
17. Nudi Muttina Maali 2010
18. Basavanna Nenapina Butti
19. Maye Ninna Maat Keli
20. Koosina Kanasa 2010
21. Adavi Mallige 2010
22. Basavanna Nenapina Butti 2013
23. Galam Gutak 2013
24. Tirukaru 2013
25. Maayi 2016
26. Kalyanada Sharanaru 2016
27. Jatiya Jatre2016 and so on...

He has been blessed and appreciated by numerous noted famous personalities of Kannada. A dramatic situation in him is: he cannot read or write. All the above said books are the compilation of poems sung by him and employed others to write them. 

He is a unique individual who can rightfully be described as a "ILLITERATE INTELLECTUAL."

He received lot of awards like Karnataka Ratna , Kannada Rajyostav prashasti , ambikatanayadatta award etc...

Some of his singing videos :

You can get lot of videos of his singing on youtube: 

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=siddappa+bidari 

Holi Hunnime

Holi, also known as the Festival of Colors, the Festival of Spring, and the Festival of Love, is one of Hinduism's most famous and important festivals. It commemorates the gods Radha and Krishna's everlasting and heavenly love. The day also represents the triumph of virtue over evil, as it honours Vishnu's victory over Hiranyakashipu as Narasimha. It's also the day of Kama dahan from Shiva from his third eye.

It began and is primarily honoured in the Indian subcontinent, but it has spread to other areas of Asia and the Western world via the Indian diaspora. 

In Bilgi also, we celebrate Holi festival with lot of enthu and tradition. As Bilgi is part of Bagalkot district, that trade it carried over here too.  Bagalkot is known for it's holi celebration. It's said that Bagalkot is the second place in the world where holi is celebrated with such a enthu and tradition. Kolkotta is the first city.

After Shivaratri amavasya, they start the preperation for holi. In every street of the town, there is a place known as Holi-Katte where they keep all the wood, sticks, dung-cake. These are going to be used for the burning of kama- Kama Dahana on the holi day. For fifteen days from Shivaratri amavasya to Holi hunnime, they-kids, lads steal the wood, dung cake etc from the houses of the street and gather them in holikatte. Everyday they sing, play drums in the evening. One day before the Holi, they make the statues of Kama and Rati. People go to see them. 

Next day morning, that's next to hunnime-Poornima day, morning 5 am, they put all the wood and cow dung cake etc in one place and make it a gopur kind of stuff.  People come in procession with drums and bajantri, they lit the fire to this. They go to every street of the town and lit the gathered wood put in a shape.

After this only they start throwing colours on each other. They celebrate this as win over the evil. They burn the bad evil and celebrate by putting the colours on each other. They go to each other's house and put the holi- that's different colors. 

In each street, they make a bullock cart of colours, Tractors of colors and go around each streets of the town with throwing colors. There will be around 10-15 bullock carts and tractors fully filled with different colors. 

In some streets they arrange the color water rains, so that people can do rain dance.

Every day starting the next day, they create legendary dresses and costumes of mythology for the people and parade them through the streets in a procession. They call it "Sogu".

This goes on for a week. So over all it's a good entertainment for the people after the harvesting season in the field.  

Suggi Festival- ಸುಗ್ಗಿ ಹಬ್ಬ-೨೦೨೩-ಬೀಳಗಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹಂತಿ ಮತ್ತು ಹಂತಿ ಹಾಡುಗಳ ಪ್ರಾತ್ಯಕ್ಷಿಕೆ:

Traditionally, the month of Phalguna, or February-March, was the month for harvesting Jawar. - Jola( In kannada) . There were no tools and machines to do this in the past. 

As a result, cultivators used to create Hanti to separate the Jawar grains from the jawar corn pile- Tene. The place where the jawar corns were seperated from the pile through the roaming of bullocks and oxes is known as 'Hanti-Kana'. Bullocks and oxes were used for walking on the piles of  Jawar put on this Kana.. They used to sing  while executing this task.- hanti. These compositions are referred to as Hanti-Padagalu--Music of Hanti. 

This procedure used to take several weeks. Typically, the granules are removed at night and cleaned in the morning. Cleaning entails separating granules from grime. Farmers used to sing these hanti padagalu all night long this week. These hantipadagalu are folk melodies with deep significance that praise God.. These hantipadagalu are the folksongs with lot of meaning. 

Our generation has not seen these things as now a days the harvesting is done through machines. Hanti moved into the background when the machine came to the corn pile. Since Hanti is no more, Hanti's action-related songs are gradually fading. In the changing times, no one can stop such a transition.  Earlier in all the fields, farmers use to stay in the fields and harvest the grains using Hanti. And they help each other harvesting with the oxes, manual resources etc. Now all these are fading in this machinary world. 

However, the traces of hard work, happiness, and coexistence that were once part of our agricultural culture should be preserved in the form of articles, books, and videos; all of this must be convincing for the present. With such optimism, the farmers of Bilgi, led by Shri. V G Revadigar, vice-president of the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, North Division, arranged a display of Hanti and Hanti songs on Thursday, 2-3-2023, at 6 p.m. The place was : Sri Basava School, Kalyana Nagar, Jamkhandi Road, Bilgi.

Congratulations to the Gurus who presided over the programme, Dr. Shriram Ittannavara sir who directed and coordinated the programme , the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh state president and office bearers, and Dr. Bhaskar, Vice-Chancellor of Haveri District Folklore University, Vice-Chancellor of Haveri District Folklore University, and Chancellor Shri Guru Prasad who unexpectedly participated in the programme and graced the programme. Also the whole farmers and the citizens of Bilgi who participated and made the programme a successful. Farmers participated and sang lot of Hanti padagalu. And people were ablr to see the whole process of Hanti how it use to happen in the earlier days. Below are the videos and photos of this :

Hanti Kana- Pooja Before start of the hanti:

Bullock and oxes Pooja before the start of Hanti:

Putting of Jawar Corn piles to the Kana:

While bullocks are doing their job, they sing the Hanti Songs. Here are some videos of it:

After the whole night of this hanti, the cleaning process start. Please see the cleaning process in the below video:

After cleaning this, they put these grains in the bags. Now when this while programme is completed, they congratulated all the people who involved and made this happen. This was really a awesome experience. Thanks to all who made this awesome programme 

Shivaratri at Shree Rameshwar temple

Maha Shivaratri is an annual Hindu festival commemorating the god Shiva. The name also alludes to the night when Shiva performs the divine dance known as Tandava. 

On the day before the new moon in each month of the luni-solar Hindu calendar, there is a Shivaratri, or "night of Shiva." But once a year, this night is referred to as "Maha Shivaratri" or "the Great Night of Shiva" and occurs in late winter or early spring (February or March). 

According to the South Indian Hindu calendar, this day is in the month of Magha. 13th day- Trayodasi of māgha māsa (amānta)  Krishna Paksha. Parane on 14th day- Chaturdasi of Magha masa.

                

It is a significant Hindu festival, and this festival is solemn and commemorates "overcoming darkness and ignorance" in life and the world. It is observed by remembering Shiva and chanting prayers, fasting, and meditating on ethics and virtues such as honesty, charity, forgiveness, and Shiva's discovery. Dedicated devotees stay awake all night. They call it as "Jagarani", Others go on pilgrimage to Jyotirlingas or to Shiva temples. 

Shree Uma-Rameshwara Temple is situated in Killa Galli of Bilgi. Lot of people call it as Eshwar temple also. It's known place to all the people of Bilgi. Mahashivaratri is celebrated here with lot of devotion.

            

Same rituals celebrated in Rameshwar Temple of Bilgi. The celebration starts on the Shivaratri day that's on Trayodasi of Magha maas.  Prayers and Pooja starts on the early morning of the Shivarati.  Main archaka's of the Rameshwar Temple, Shree Shankaracharya Dixit and Vinod Dixit perform the Yam Poojas , Panchamruta abhisheka and Alankar to Shree Rameshwar.

Lot of volunteers- Yuvaka mandali of Bilgi make sandal paste to put on the Shivalingam of Rameshwar. 

                                

Panchamruta Abhisheka to Shree Rameshwar happens:

After Abhisheka and Rudra chamaka chanting starts: 

After Abhisheka and Rudra chamaka chanting, they put alankara to Shree Rameshwar. 

    

                    

On this whole day,  all do fasting and do jagaran- i.e no sleep on that shivaratri night. They all pray to Rameshwara and sing the songs of lord shiva whole night. They chant Rudra, and do abhisheka in the night too.

Next day, they do the Pooja and naividya to Lord shiva. On this day also they do alankara to Rameshwar before the naivedya. All the people have the lunch with lot of sweets etc at Shree Rameshwar temple.

 

Butti Pooje to Shree Rameshwar:

Shree Madhwanavami

In Bilgi, Shree Raghavendra Swamy Math known as Rayar Matha is a auspicious place. The following are only a handful of the many festivals that are observed in Rayar Math:

    1. Rayar Aradhane.

    2. Purandar Dasar Punya tithi.

    3. MadhwaNavami.

    4. Rayar Pattabhisheka.

    5. Rayar Vardanti Ustav.

    6. Akshay Tritiya.

    7. Ramanavami.

    8. Hanama Jayanti.

    9. Teekarayar(Jayateertharu) Aradhane.

In this blog, I'll describe how Madhvanavami is celebrated in Bilagi Rayar Mutt. 

Dwaita philosophy was created by Shri Madhwacharya, who also spread it through his sishyaas. Because of his extensive understanding of the Vedas, Upanishads, and other sacred texts, he was known as Poornaprajnya and Anandatheertha. According to popular belief, God Vayu took incarnation as Hanuman first, then Bhima and then as Purnaprajnya, the Madhwacharya.

Though Acharya Sri Madhwa is to be revered and worshipped everyday, two specific days are earmarked in Hindu Lunar calendar for his specific worship. They are, Sri Madhwa Jayanthi falling on Vijayadasami- Dasara day that is  his birthday. The other day is Sri Madhva Navami falling on the 9th day (Navami) of Lunar month of Magha Masa during the bright fortnight That is Magha Shudda Navami. It is said that it was on this day in the year 1317 AD, Sri Madhvacharya while teaching his disciples at Udupi Sri Anantheshwara Temple, had suddenly a heap of flowers  showered on him and he disappeared from that heap of flowers not to be seen later.

Many of us- his devotees firmly believe that Sri Madhwacharya is still alive and well today in the Greater Badari region of the Northern Himalayas, where he continues to pursue his study- spirituality with Sage Sri Vedavyasa. So on this day all the people(Dwaita Followers) remember and worship Sri Madhwacharya on this Madhwanavami in their home and in all matha's.

In most of the mutt's and Bilgi mutt, the Madhwanavami starts with Vayustuti Punascharna in the morning followed by Rayara astottar 

Panchamruta abhisheka to Rayar Vrundavana

Then follows the procession where the Sarvamoola Grantha's written by Shree Madhwachrya are brought to mutt from Shree Venkateshwar temple Bilgi

There will be bhajane with Sri dasar padagalu by Mahila Mandali of Bilgi and Pravachana on Shree Madhwacharyaru by Scholars is arranged. People sit and listen about Shree Madhwacharyaru.

Then Pushpa Vrusti to Sarvamoola Granthagalu. 

Naivedya and Maha-mangalarathi to Shree Madhwachryaru, Rayaru happens, then after that there will be lunch to all the people.

The programs for the day are:

08:30 am - Sri Harivayu Stuti Punashcharan

10:30 am – Sarvamula Granth Procession from Venkateswara Temple to Rayara Mutt.

11:30 am- Pravachana on Shree Madhwacharya Life history from scholars

12:30 pm- Bhajane from Bilgi Mahila mandali.

01:00 pm - Tirtha-prasada

Some more photos and videos are as below: