Vengamamba

The poet who lived life on her own terms

7th August 2022 was the 205th death anniversary (vardanthi) of Tarigonda Vengamamba as per the Hindu calendar, commemorated simultaneously at Tirumala, Tirupati and at her birthplace Tarigonda. Remembrance of a person after centuries is only for a select few - either for those who have left behind a legacy of having done good, or for their notoriety.

Vengamamba is of the first category.

Vengamamba’s life (20 April 1730 – 21 August 1817) was one of personal hardship and deep devotion to her chosen deity Venkateswara, which took the form of worship at temples, offering free food to pilgrims and composing operas and songs that are still performed today. Vengamamba’s life is celebrated even now for her literary output and the life of devotion that she led. She wrote poetry in the Dwipada Kavyam style, as well as operas to be performed in Yakshagana. 

Tarigonda Vengamamba

India Post, Government of India, 

GODL-India <https://data.gov.in/sites/default/files/Gazette_Notification_OGDL.pdf>, 

via Wikimedia Commons

Her early years - an indication of things to come

Vengamamba was a much longed-for daughter born to her parents after six sons. She was named Venkamma since she was a prayer answered by Lord Venkateswara of Tirupathi in Chittoor district of Telangana.

Even as a child she would spend long hours in prayer and contemplation at her village temple. She was unusual for her age, sitting apart immersed in composing verse instead of playing with friends.

Such uncommon behaviour in one so young, and the fact that she thought of Lord Venkateswara as her husband led the villagers to call her ‘mad’. These attitudes were unfortunately only early indicators of how she would be viewed throughout her life - with unfairness and persecution. 

Her father realised that his daughter’s precocious talent for writing and composing needed nurturing so he approached the renowned philosopher Subramanya Desika to be her guru. The teacher was thrilled to have such rare talent to mentor, and took up her education in right earnest. As her education intensified and her writing talent was honed her fame spread quickly. 

It was now time as per custom for Vengamamba to be married, but her beauty and intelligence drove away many suitors. When she did get married at an early age her young husband died soon after. 

This was a huge tragedy for any young woman of the time and, usually, Vengamamba would have had to adopt the dress and customs deemed fit for widows. She however absolutely did not agree to conform and to dress as a widow in plain clothes, without jewellery and the other accoutrements of a traditional married woman. 

In her mind she was much married…..to God. 

As she continue to dress and behave as a married woman, societal opposition to her only grew.

Education, education, education - her escape from a limited life

Vengamamba learnt Yoga from her guru Subramanya Shastri, and became proficient in it. Even while she was still living in Tarigonda, and with the encouragement of her guru, Vengamamba composed poetry and Yakshagana. Her first composition was Tarigonda Nrusimha Satakam. Following this she wrote these works for Yakshagana -  Narasimha Vilasa Katha, Siva Natakam and Balakrishna Natakam - and Rajayogamrutha Saram, a Dwipada Kavyam.

All through she continued to face the ire and jealousy of the local priest. Finally, unable to tolerate the priest’s behaviour, she left Tarigonda at the age of 20 and moved to Tirupathi. 

The lone traveller

Her journey to Tirupati as a lone young woman could not have been easy in those days. There were no facilities for travellers en route. She travelled nearly 100 kilometers on the  journey, crossing dense forests and climbing the hill of an elevation of more than 950 meters to finally reach the temple of Venkateswara.

This is the journey that must have brought home to her the difficulties faced by travellers and pilgrims all the time. It gave her a perspective on how to reduce this hardship in a practical manner by offering free food to devotees. 

At the time she reached the temple her compositions had preceded her and had made her famous. She was welcomed by the temple authorities, and also by the family of the famed composer Annamacharya.

Taking a stand against oppression

Some time later, an incident in Tirumala forced her to leave for Tumburakona in the Seshachalam hills, a little more than 250 kms away. There she observed penance for six years in a cave now named Tarigonda Vengamamba Gavi and also composed many of her Yakshagana operas. 

Over time the priests at Tirumala realised their folly and invited Vengamamba back. The practice now of ‘Muthyala Harathi’, aarati with pearls, as the last ritual of the day during Ekantha Seva at Tirumala dates back to this time. During this daily Seva Vengamamba was given the privilege of reciting her verses before the Lord.   

Her seva for devotees continues today

Vengamamba pioneered the idea of distributing free food at the Srivari temple at Tirumala which was situated amidst dense forest at the time. She made food and water available there every year for 10 days during the festival of Sri Narasimha Jayanthi.  

Today unlimited and free food is available for pilgrims on all days  at the Matrusri Tarigonda Vengamamba Anna Prasadam Centre near the Tirumala main temple. Such has been the impact of Vengamamba’s social work centuries later.

Vengamamba continued to write and compose kavya (poetry) and Yakshagana (opera) on themes from the Puranas. Her most famous opera is Venkatachalam Mahatyam which consists of nearly 2000 poems. 

About Yakshagana

Although now Yakshagana is popularly known in South Karnataka, the art form has had a long history in Telugu, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam and Tamil speaking areas.

Yakshagana is a performance art that includes music, dance and drama. It has particular costumes, usually explores themes from the Puranas (The Ramayana and The Mahabharata) and is wholly based on the Natya Shastra, the ancient treatise on performance arts written by Bharata in about the 2nd century BC.

Yakshagana has been a prevalent art form since the times of the Satavahanas (100 BCE to 2nd CE). While many other theatre arts modified and evolved to be today’s classical arts, Yakshagana retained its popular touch and rural flavour. It has remained accessible to the common person although rooted in the same origin as all Indian performance art forms. 

In Telugu speaking lands where Vengamamba lived, Yakshagana took inspiration from Telugu literature and current events. As such, Telugu Yakshagana is considered to be a treasure trove on history, culture and society. It took wing during the medieval period Bhakthi Movement and formed a way for even the poor and uneducated to take part and perform this art form. Chindu Yakshaganam, a form performed in Telangana has always been open to women performers, which has not been the case with Yakshagana from other places. 

Yakshagana formed a channel for people to vent against feudal and oppressive rulers down the ages with the choice of themes readily available in the Puranas.

In such a milieu, Vengamamba’s operas were also an important resource for not just people’s entertainment but also for spiritual solace and secular knowledge. 

Venkamamba’s works

Vengamamba’s works are poetry and Yakshagana operas. Some of her compositions are Srikrishna Manjari, Rukmini Kalyanam, Gopika Natakam, Jalakreeda Vilasam, Vashishtha Ramayanam and Ashtaanga Rajayogasaaram among several more. 

For all her achievements, Vengamamba always played down her work. She claimed she was untaught and unworthy of composing great poetry. 

Venkamamba’s legacy today

Her devotion to Venkateswara at Tirupati is acknowledged and celebrated to this day. During the nightly Ekantha Seva for the Lord her name is included as a devotee during the service. Her descendant continues to contribute towards this service in her beloved temple. 

The TTD (Tirumala-Tirupati Devasthanam) has begun to encourage and popularize Vengamamba’s works by sponsoring the training and the performance of her Yakshagana compositions. The compositions were fading away due to not being discussed and researched among experts nor being performed for the general audience. This move by the TTD is a much-needed effort to keep Vengamamba’s works alive and relevant. 

References -

https://www.tirumalahills.org/2021/08/matrusri-tarigonda-vengamamba-tarigonda.html

Abbakka Chowta - She fought the Portuguese

Abbakka Chowta

She Fought the Portuguese

Europeans in India

In the 1500s, after reports of the successful voyage to India of Portugal's Vasco da Gama reached home, European powers first came to India to trade for spices. Over the next few centuries they were sometimes granted trading rights by some local rulers, fought with yet some others in order to keep and expand their trading rights, and then finally asserted their political power. This progression from traders to rulers saw the Portuguese having to confront many Indian rulers who flatly refused to accept foreign suzerainty and fought to keep their autonomy.

Apart from the Portuguese, Indian rulers had to confront other Europeans also, such as the British, when they started to increase their influence from merely trading to interfering in the political arena. One such ruler who put up strong opposition was Velu Nachiyar of Sivaganga nearly a century after Abbakka Chowta.

Who was Abbakka?

Abbakka Chowta (1525 - 1580s) was one of the earliest opponents to European colonizers in India. She stood up to the Portuguese who constantly tried to take advantage of Indian rulers who could not present a united front. The only exception was the Samoothiri (Zamorin) of Calicut who forged a military alliance with her to fight the Portuguese.

Abbakka ruled from Ullal near Mangalore and was of the matrilinear Bunt community that lived in coastal Karnataka and Kerala. The Chowta were an ancient clan. One of the early Chowta rulers was a feudatory of Krishnadevaraya of the Vijayanagara empire. The Chowta dynasty ruled from 1160 to 1833 CE, had 25 rulers of whom 11 were women. They were a Jain dynasty and ruled from Moodabidri. Ullal was a subsidiary capital. 

Ullal was situated at the mouth of the river Netravathi. This enabled ships to sail from the port of Ullal up the river into the interiors of the mainland, a huge advantage that the Portuguese wanted to capitalise by holding the port. They first tried to tax Abbakka in exchange for allowing shipping. Then they demanded an annual tribute from her. Other kingdoms had capitulated to Portuguese demands and they thought Abbakka would fall in line. But Abbakka had no intention of giving in to extortion.

The Portuguese in India

When the Portuguese first arrived in India the Vijayanagara empire was at its apex. The Portuguese built forts all along the west coast, ostensibly to safeguard their trading interests. They were in contention with local rulers who ruled under the protection of the Vijayanagara empire. The Portuguese were also trading Arabian steeds with the empire through Vijayanagara's ports in Goa and Mangalore, from where they shipped spices and the famed Indian textiles onward to Europe. The spice trade was so lucrative that it was vitally important for the Portuguese to control these ports. 

In a few decades, the Portuguese became extremely powerful with their new naval technology. They were the dominant force all along much of the trade route in the Indian Ocean and levied a charge on all trade using the route. This situation lasted for nearly a century until the British and Dutch started to assert themselves. 

After capturing Goa, and making it their headquarters the Portuguese turned their attention to other ports along the coast. They destroyed the Kapaleeswarar temple at Chennai. In Calicut, they defeated the powerful Zamorin. Daman and Mumbai were captured.

The Portuguese monopoly led to constant fighting with smaller Indian kingdoms that resented their overlordship. One such a kingdom was that of Ullal.

Abbakka’s mindset and fighting spirit

Abbakka and her sister Padumaladevi were brought up to be well-versed in the martial arts and in statecraft. Legend has it that Abbakka was particularly good at sword fighting and archery. When her sister who was the ruler of the Chowta dominions died without children, Abbakka succeeded her to the throne.

Drunk on their military and commercial successes thus far, the Portuguese gave no serious thought to the young queen of Ullal which is about 100 kms from Mangalore. They casually sent a small contingent in boats to capture and bring her to Goa. No boats returned.

Next, a huge fleet under Admiral Dom Alvaro da Silviera was despatched. A thoroughly defeated and much injured admiral returned, minus queen. 

Not to be outdone, the Portuguese sent yet another fleet, but again only a few troops straggled back.

In the meantime, the Portuguese captured Mangalore fort, which made it easier to attack Ullal. Soon another huge contingent under an experienced general Joao Peixoto sailed forth to nab the indomitable queen. 

Veera Rani Abbakka Devi
Special Cover issued 15.1 2003 at MANGALAPEX-2003

Winning tactics of the battle-hardened queen

When they reached the fort of Ullal, they found it deserted. Just as the Portuguese were about to declare victory, Abbakka and her loyal soldiers attacked the fort and decimated the opposition, killing the general. Not resting on her laurels, the very same day Abbakka was on the road to Mangalore and laid siege to the Mangalore fort. Her forces successfully captured the fort, killed Admiral Mascarenhas, had the Portuguese vacate the fort, and rode onwards 100 kms to Kundapura, and captured the Portuguese settlement there as well. 

Unexpected betrayal 

Going by the accounts of Abbakka’s exploits, it appears she would have continued to fight the good fight and rout the Portuguese at every turn. However, the stumbling block she faced, and perhaps didn’t expect, was her estranged husband Banga Lakshmappa Arasa who betrayed her to the Portuguese. This led to her capture and imprisonment. She died fighting in jail.  

Remembered in song and verse

There are three queens in the Chowta dynasty named Abbakka. The queen profiled here is Abbakka II who ruled from 1544 to 1582 and appears in Portuguese and local records. She is known for having fought the Portuguese several times and for her great naval victory against them. 

Abbakka's exploits and bravery made her famous in far-flung countries such as Persia (now called Iran) which was also fighting the Portuguese at the time. The Italian explorer Pietro Della Valle had heard so much of Abbakka from the Shah of Persia that he made sure to stop at Ullal to meet her on his travels. He was struck by her confidence yet simple lifestyle, focussing on the welfare of her subjects.

One of India's Inshore Patrol Vessels for the Indian Coastguard built at Hindustan Shipyard in Visakhapatnam is named Rani Abbakka.

Folklore and Yakshagana enactments have kept the legend and memory of Abbakka alive for nearly six centuries. They commemorate a never-say-die ruler who fought until her last breath.

Reference

1. http://flagsaudrapeaubandeirasandstamps.blogspot.com

2. Selections from The Travels of Sig. Pietro della Valle. Translated by G Havers.

3. Chowtas of Puttige Moodabidri - Dakshina Kannada Jilleya Prachina Itihasa by M Ganapathy Rao. Translated by Mahi Mulki. Tulupedia.com