Mysuru: A book on Kodavas ‘Who are we Kodavas?’ (English) and ‘Navyaaru Kodavaru?’ (Kannada), written by Maletira B. Thimmaiah, Attorney-at-Law, Federal Court of America,  was released in city last evening at Rotary Hall on JLB Road. The event was organised by D.M. Trust.

The book was released by K.B. Ganapathy, Editor-in-Chief of Star of Mysore and Mysooru Mithra. In his address, Ganapathy, who has written the Foreword to the book, said that it is not an easy task to write a book on Kodavas. “Though many people have written books on Kodava culture, folklore, social life, traditions and language, none has been able to trace the origins of Kodavas,” he said.

When one compares Kodavas with other people around, Kodavas stand out in their physical features, attire, language, behaviour and customs. “Questions like who are Kodavas, what is their origin, why are they staying in hilly areas, have been raised in the past and that is the reason many research scholars and historians have conducted extensive research to trace the origin of Kodavas. Dr. K.K. Subbayya (Keekanamada), Professor, Ancient History and Archaeology, Manasagangothri, has written a book on Kodavas titled ‘Archaeology of Coorg’ (1978) which is based on excavation and research. Still the question about the origin of Kodavas, whether they are indigenous natives or have come from other places, remains unanswered,” he said.

Commending Maletira Thimmaiah for doing extensive research to write a book on Kodavas, Ganapathy said that the author argues that how Kodavas do not belong to Indus Valley Civilisation but Ganges Valley Civilisation.

However, Ganapathy said that he believed that any research book without proper footnotes and index cannot be trusted as authentic.

“The proposition of the author that Kodavas came from Gangetic Plain could be a new line of thought and it might be true. This is because though we Kodavas consider River Cauvery as holy and we go to Talacauvery to offer prayers, after the wedding in the family the final ritual is called ‘Ganga Puja’ and not ‘Cauvery Puja.’ There is a need for more research in this area,” Ganapathy opined.

“A book takes a lot of painstaking efforts and years of study, research and documentation. Here, the author Maletira Thimmaiah has done a commendable job. The book is small in size but the subject covered in the book is explosive. Though the author is settled in America since the past 40 years, he has not lost touch with Kodagu, his homeland,” he said.

As a surprise, the author of the book M.B. Thimmaiah himself spoke about the book at length.

The book release event was presided over by city advocate J.M. Aiyanna. D.M. Trust President Dr. D. Thimmaiah, Publisher and Founder-President of Vaidya Vartha Prakashana Dr. M.G.R. Urs, the printer of the book P.S. Ganapathy of Good Touch Printers, Mysuru Kodava Samaja President B.M. Nanaiah and others were present.