VORVADY

What made Thimmappa Hegde rise above the ordinary in the coastal district of Dakshina Kannada? If boundless energy contributed to his grit, a keen sense of business combined with a philanthropic bent of mind contributed to his high stature in society at the turn of the twentieth century.

Thimmappa Hegde negotiated with the Jain landlords of Karkala for the purchase of the large tract of Vorvady property in around 1890. He was at the peak of his business career at the time. He was a wholesale trader in food grains, a micro financier who helped a number of traders and farmers at a time when they needed help. He was a benevolent donor for worthy causes, both religious and socio-educational. He was one among the thirty-eight donors who were responsible for setting up the Bunts Hostel in Mangalore.

Son of one of the wealthiest landlords of the region, Thimmappa Hegde had a good start with the support of his father, Hirebettu Chandayya Hegde. His business acumen helped him consolidate and prosper in life.

In early 1890s, Thimmappa thought it was time for the bird to fly out of the nest. He convinced his mother Rukmini, a willful woman in her twilight years that it was worthwhile investing money in lands, not far from Rukmini’s Muthoor House. A nod from mother inspired him to purchase the Vorvady estate.

It was now time for Thimmappa to build a house for his mother. With his wide contacts, he recruited best architects, masons and carpenters of his time. A suitable site was chosen in the Vorvady hamlet which was part of the Pernankila village in the Hiriadka hobli. It took two years to build the house.

In early 1893, Vorvady House was ready for occupation as Rukmini and her children moved in. Among others who moved into the new House were Thimmappa’s eldest sister Durgalaksmi and her two sons Jagannatha and Shankara and four daughters Krishnamma, Rajeevi, Akkaya and Rukmini, all of them growing up and waiting to be married. Other occupants were his younger brothers, Narayana and Manjaya. (One more son of Rukmini died at a young age when he was studying in the Intermediate Class in a college in Chennai).

It was the beginning of the Vorvady era. Thimmappa Hegde became the Yajaman (head of the household) of Vorvady.During the quarter century of his tenure as Yajaman, he set in motion the traditional rituals of the manorial household, the kambla (buffalo race), kola (festival to propitiate the household deity) and tambila (a ritual in honour of the departed souls of the family). His sisters were married to Bunt grooms of rich family background. Thimmappa himself married a girl from an equally rich traditional household of Debbeli located near the Mangalore airport in Bajpe village. When one of his daughters came of age, he gave her in marriage to Kodialguthu Vittal Shetty who was the chairman of the Mangalore Municipal Council and president of the South Kanara District Board. The girl, however, passed away issueless at an early age and Kodialguthu Vittal Shetty had his second marriage with a girl from the Heroor household in Kasaragod district.

Thimmappa Hegde is remembered for building up and making Vorvady a House to reckon with. After his death, the mantle of Yajaman of Vorvady House passed on to his youngest brother Manjaya.