Vittala Malekudiya

Reporter

Vinutha Mallya

Editor

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The tain-tain-tain sound
of cowbells is now hardly heard in the undulating and hilly terrain of Beltangadi taluk in Dakshina Kannada district. “No one is making these bells anymore,” says Hukrappa. But it isn’t the
common cowbell he’s talking about. In his village, Shibaje, the bell tied around a cattle’s neck is not made of metal – it is handmade with bamboo. And Hukrappa,
an areca nut farmer in his late 60s, has been crafting the unique object for years.“I was a cattle
grazer before,” Hukrappa says. “We would lose track of the cows sometimes, and
so the idea of making cowbells with bamboo came up.” The sound of the bells would
help them locate the cows that wandered away in the hills or strayed into
others’ farms. So when an elderly man in the village offered to teach him the craft, he
started out by making a few. In time, he became skilled at making bells of
varying sizes. It helped that the bamboo was within easy reach – his village in Beltangadi falls in the reserve forest of Kudremukh National Park, in the Western
Ghats of Karnataka, which is home to three species of the grass plant. 



Called ‘bomka’ in Tulu, the language Hukrappa speaks,
the bamboo cowbell is known as ‘monte’ in Kannada. It has a special significance
in the cultural life of Shibaje, where the Durga
Parameshwari temple is known for the tradition of offering montes to the deity. The temple
precinct is even called ‘Montethadka’. Devotees pray for their cattle’s
protection and to have their wishes fulfilled. Some of them get the bamboo
cowbells made to order from Hukrappa. “People buy this for harke [votive offering]. When a
cow doesn’t produce a calf [for example], they offer it to the deity,” he says.
“They pay up to 50 rupees for a piece. The larger bells sell for up to 70
rupees.”

Before Hukrappa
turned to farming and craft making, cattle grazing was his only way to earn a
living. He and his elder brother grazed the cows that belonged to another
household in the village. “We did not own any land. We were 10 of us in the
house, so there wasn’t ever enough food. My father worked as a labourer and my
elder sisters also went out to work,” he says. Later, when a local landlord
offered the family a vacant piece of land to cultivate on tenancy, they started
growing areca nut (betel nut) there. “A share was given to him as rent. We did
this for 10 years. When Indira Gandhi enforced land reforms [in the 1970s], we
got ownership of the land,” he says.The income from the cowbells hasn’t been much,
though. “No one else is making them in these parts anymore. None of my children
have learned the craft,” Hukrappa says. And the bamboo, an easily accessible forest resource once, is dying now. “We have to  walk 7-8 miles [11-13 kilometres] to find it
now. Even there it may
survive only a few years,” he says.But in Hukrappa’s skilled hands, which cut
and slice the tough grass, carving it into the desired shape, bamboo bell
making is still alive in Shibaje – its sound still reverberating in the forests of Beltangadi.

Hukrappa bells Beltangadi’s cows

بیلتانگڑی میں گائے کے گلے کی گھنٹیاں بنانے والے ہوکرپّا

হুকরাপ্পার ঘণ্টায় বাঁধা বেলতঙ্গড়ির জীবন

બેલતાંગડીની ગાયોના ગળે ઘંટ બંધાતા હુકરપ્પા

ഹുക്രപ്പ മണികെട്ടുന്നു, ബെൽത്തങ്ങാടിയിലെ പശുക്കൾക്ക്

ਬਾਂਸ ਤੋਂ ਗਾਵਾਂ ਦੇ ਗਲ਼ੇ ਦੀਆਂ ਟੱਲੀਆਂ ਬਣਾਉਣ ਵਾਲ਼ੇ ਅਖ਼ੀਰਲੇ ਕਾਰੀਗਰ

বেল্টাংগাড়িৰ গৰুৰ ডিঙিত হুক্ৰাপ্পাৰ টিলিঙা

బెల్తంగడి ఆవుల మెడలో హుక్రప్ప గంటలు

பெல்டாங்கடி பசுக்களுக்கு மணி கட்டும் ஹூக்ரப்பா

ହୁକ୍ରାପ୍ପାଙ୍କ ଘଣ୍ଟି ଓ ବେଲତାଂଗଡ଼ିର ଗାଈ

बेलतंगड़ी के गाय मन मं हुकरप्पा के घंटी

बेलतांगड़ी की गायें और हुकरप्पा की घंटी

ಹುಕ್ರಪ್ಪ: ಬೆಳ್ತಂಗಡಿಯ ದನಗಳ ಕೊರಳ ದನಿ

बेळतांगडीच्या गायी आणि हुकरप्पांच्या घंटा

Beltangadi

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Hukrappa bells Beltangadi’s cows

One of the last remaining artisans of bamboo cowbells in Shibaje village, in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka, explains the intricate nature of the craft in this video

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