• Agriculturists and pastoralists colonized this region between 1000 BC and 300 AD
• Today agriculture Is the lifeline of about 75% of the people in Uttara Kannada
• Paddy legumes and sugarcane are important agricultural crops in the district
• There are more than 40 traditional varieties grown in the district
• Banana is also widely cultivated and the varieties are Boodibale,chipsbale, Currybale, Karibale, Mitka, Mysore mitka, Nenibale, Rasabale, Pachebale, Sakkarebale.
• Arecanut is cultivated in nearly 10,000 ha. Off land and the other cash crops of the district are cashew, coconut, pepper, and cardamom.
• Apiculture is also one of the important professionals of the district producing nearly 10,000 to 14,000 kgs of Honey.
• Kagga rice, a unique variety of rice grown in tidal wetlands of Aghanashini estuaries
• Kumta onion which is sweet, and used for consumption is very popular and grown only in kumta.
• Gokarana green chilly is one of its kinds used to make spicy dry chilies for storage.

Bedara Vesha

Bedara Vesha is a folk dance performed days before Holi night in Sirsi town of Karnataka. It is also known as ‘Hunter Dance’. People of Sirsi celebrate Holi with this unique folk dance every alternate year. It attracts a large crowd from different parts of the state on all five days of Holi.

Bedara Vesha’ is a unique folk dance with a legend of 300 years. According to the legend, after the reign of ‘Vijayanagar Kings’, Sirsi (then Kalyanapattana) and other southern India regions were taken over and ruled by the Sonda dynasty. 

In the Sonda region, there was always a fear of Muslim invaders attacking. In order to protect them, the rulers appointed ‘Malleshi’, a young boy from the Beda community and a warrior in the Vijaynagar Empire. Initially, Malleshi performed his duties well, but later, he became a troublemaker and a womanizer. He wanted to marry Rudrambika, who was the daughter of local leader Dasappa Shetty. She was bold and fearless; for the interest of society, she married Malleshi One Holi night, while Malleshi was dancing, Rudrambika threw acid in his eyes which made him blind. He then tried chasing to kill her but was caught by 12 villagers and burnt alive.

In appreciation of rudrambika’s sacrifice, ‘Bedara Vesha’ was started and is performed even today.

The Hunter Dance is practiced for months before the actual performance. The artists are donned with peacock feathers, mustaches, cotton, red cloth, fruits, shield, and swords. Two ropes are tied to the belly of the performer and two people will hold the ropes to the back of that gigantic bundle of peacock feathers, depicting to stop the Malleshi from killing the people who come in his place. The dance will be supported by the hand drum(Tamate) players to give a rhythm to the dance. The Hunter Dance performer starts from his local street and goes on performing to the various locations of Sirsi town overnight. The concluding part of the dance will be at the Shri Marikamba Temple. The dancer performs at his complete rage there. He again starts performing in the other locations of Sirsi town till daylight.

There are multiple performers. In each area, there will be one person who will represent and dance throughout the city. There are some designated places where the dance will be in full form and each performer will visit those designated places once. It is also said that one dancer isn’t supposed to look at the other face to face.

Bedara Vesha is performed in the Sirsi town of Karnataka. Another folk dance called ‘Dollu Kunitha’ is also performed during Bedara Vesha.

Modern form

Nearly 50 solo artists perform the hunter dance with whistle-blowers and a troupe of drum beaters. In modern times various performances will be going on the streets along with The Hunter Dance. The Hunter Dance event is an enjoyable night out for the youngsters of the town. In recent years(2019) Hunter Dance organizers will also bring DJs to the streets, and the whole of Sirsi town has got a club-like look in recent times to entertain the viewers more.

References:

en.wikipedia.org
mgravinesirsi.com