Stories tagged “Coastal Karnataka”

At 70, Yakshagana guru Bannanje Sanjeeva Suvarna is still teaching, still performing, and still being honoured — most recently with the 2023 Parthi Subba Award. His journey, from a Udupi night school to stages in Europe, Russia and New York, is a story of an art form staying alive because one man refused to stop moving.

Born in Mangalore in 1903 to the district's Collector, Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay went on to become the first Indian woman to contest a legislative election, one of the first women arrested in the Salt Satyagraha, and the single most influential figure behind independent India's revival of handicrafts, handlooms and theatre. She built a refugee township, founded institutions that still shape Indian culture today, and largely refused the political rewards offered to her for it.

Prabhakar Kamath — Mangaluru's beloved 'Pabba Maam' — taught himself to make ice cream at home and opened Ideal's first parlour on 1 May 1975 with 14 flavours. A story of quiet enterprise, coastal pride, and lasting sweetness.

Harekala Hajabba — Mangaluru's orange-selling 'Akshara Santa' — built a government school from scratch using daily earnings of Rs 60–150. A story of humility, grit, and Padma Shri glory.

Long before social justice became a national conversation, Kudmul Ranga Rao dedicated his life to uplifting the oppressed communities of Dakshina Kannada through education, dignity and reform. Known as the “Poor Man’s Lawyer,” he challenged caste discrimination and laid the foundation for one of coastal Karnataka’s earliest social reform movements.