Shri. Ganapayya Shanbhogue(Ganapati Shenoy) was a wealthy man in Kaup, a small penta (market) in South Kanara. His father, Shri. Rukmayya Shanbhogue, moved to Kaup from either Mulki or Kadekara and settled here with his family This Rukmayya is the individual from whom today's Kaup Shenoy's trace their descent from.
Among the sons from Rukmayya's second wife, Ganpayya had acquired wealth and status through hard work and Gods grace, in this land of the Tuluvas which had been kind enough to accomodate his persecuted Konkani Saraswata Bandhavas. Ganapayya held a good deal of lands and was a devout and proud man.
One day, while returning home, he heard a voice as though someone was following him and trying to speak. He disregarded it as machinations of his mind due to the approaching dusk, but it continued and increased with the passage of time. With his awareness of the adrusta jagata, he reached out to a daivagya who, with the help of his incantations, revealed that Vyaaghra Chamundi or Pilichandi, the sthaana devata or Daiva of the lands he had acquired, was asking for a shrine for him and his 12 parivara daivas, as a token of gratitude for taking over the lands which the Daivas had been protecting from Ages. Ganapayya complied, demonstrating sensitivity to both divinity and local practices of the Tuluvas, and built a Daiva Gudi, which became a center of reverence for all his descendents, till this day.
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| Pili Chandi Daiva Mask (silver) |
Generations passed on, the lands changed hands by inheritance and the land having the Gudi went out of the entitlement of the Shenoy's. It had come in the share of Ganapayya's son Madhava and was lost due to some debts owed to a Jaina moneylender. Madhava did not have a paisa to his name nor a place to stay. He died after a few years in marriage, leaving his wife Lakshmi and two young sons, Hari and Ananta, in penury. Lakshmi used to stay with her sons in a corner in Kaup Venkatramana Devasthana, the center point for all the Amchigele mandali in Kaup pente. She brought up her kids, doing odd jobs like cleaning utensils and helping around.
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| Smt. Kaup Laxmi Madhava Shenoy |
Hari(appa), the elder son, realised that it was time he had to take on responsibilities of the elder one, and at the age of 13, moved to Bombay, the hub of all commerce and possibilities. He worked in Vasudev Ashram, a successful eating place in Bombay, established by Vasudev Shenoy, Hari's distant cousin. Here, young Hari worked very hard to earn money, experience, network and respect. He was involved in both unskilled labour as well as skilled tasks like cooking and learning the nuances of the food business. His public relations and skills honed over 8 years of service, won him the admiration of many of Vasudev Ashram's customers, particularly of one Mr. Koppikar. Looking at Hari's acumen, he told him of an opportunity to run a canteen at Nair Hospital, which was under Mr. Koppikar's cousin, who had some difficulties managing it. After getting an approval from Vasudev Anna, Hari started a fresh venture of applying his cooking and administrative skills and run the canteen at Nair hospital.
Business was brisk and Hari was enterprising enough to sell packed eatables prepared in the canteen kitchen, which was a hit with employees of the hospital. Here, Mata Lakshmi started smiling on Hari and poverty slowly started becoming a thing of the past. (check ps for the brief story of Hari from here on.)
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| Shri. Kaup Hariappa Shenoy |
Having acquired wealth, he came back to his homeland and acquired the lands lost in debt. The Daiva Gudi built by Ganapayya, two generations ago, was in shambles and Hari renovated it and provided the needed Gaurav to the Daivas who had been kind to him and his ancestors. He provided land and ample resources to a Tuluva named Shri. Kotian to sustain himself, so that he could take care of the affairs of the Gudi, the cultivable lands and himself. Each year, he was provided with ample resources for the regular pooja and other responsibilities of the Gudi.
Fast forward to the 90s. The cultivable lands and the one with the Gudi was usurped by Shri. Kotian and his descendants, thanks to the land reforms act of Smt. Indira Gandhi. Over a period of time, the Daiva Gudi was again an old building in the need for repairs and the Daivas were constantly bringing this to the attention of those who had stayed back in Kaup, during the Darshana sessions in the Hale Mariamma Temple close-by. Anyone considering to take the onus was bogged down by the seemingly impossible task of bringing all the descendents on common ground and getting their help to fund and complete the renovation. The cycle of time had done its damage, not only to the Daiva Gudi, but also the faith and sense of gratitude towards the lands which had given our ancestors a new lease of life.
Having taken over the lands in an unrighteous manner, Shri Kotian eventually suffered losses in life. It is noteworthy that the Daiva still considered the descendants of Shri. Hari Shenoy as the true Dhani (land-lord) and would always ask for their presence in all darshana sessions. Hence, in order to mitigate the issues, Shri. Kotian had to bring it to the attention of Shri. Hari Shenoy's descendants, most of whom were away from Kaup, as their presence and contribution was equally required.
Finally in 2005, Shri. Raghurama Shenoy, Hari's 2nd son, being a resident of Kaup, determined that this item had to be completed. He was amply supported by his siblings in Manipal and Mumbai as well as Shri. Nagesh Shenoy and Shri. Ramaraya Shenoy, his paternal uncle and cousin, who shouldered much of the responsibilities in supervising and getting the reconstruction efforts completed in a satisfactory manner. In this manner, the stage was being set for the families coming together and completing the task.
The entire group of Shri. Ganapayya Shanbhogue's descendents eventually came together and jointly funded the renovation, along with Shri. Kotian and the construction was finally was completed in 2006. This was followed by many grand festivities.
The Daivas were finally happy, having achieved their status, and brought the families close by.
Many helpless souls of family members and non-family people who had passed on and taken shelter in the dilapidated daiva gudi, were identified with the help of Prashna Margam, conducted by Padubidri Sharma Master, and they were released and provided solace with the help of many rituals like Narayana bali, Tarpana etc.
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| The approach road to the current Gudi |
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| The current Gudi |
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| Daivas placed inside (representation, from another Gudi) |
We as a family realised that our relations which our native lands should always be remembered and cherised, and the Daivas and Nagas are not just superstitions but actual deities with whom, our lives are entwined for generations to come.
P.S. - Hari became a successful hotelier post 1940s, having acquired a place to start New Central Health Home in Girgaon as well as a hotel in Fort, the latter being inaugurated by Pandit Nehru himself. Hari also ventured into confectionary in 1951 and was the proprietor of Hurricane products, a confectionary unit close to JJ Hospital, which did brisk business in Gujarat, Goa, Maharashtra and Karnataka.
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| New Central Health Home, Girgaon |
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| Pamphlet of Hurricane Products, with information about Pt. Nehru inaugurating the new hotel in Fort, Mumbai |
In the social sphere, he was a secretary of Kashi Mutt Sansthan. He visited Varanasi twice in his lifetime, to supervise restoration activity on the Kashi Muth premises, despite health issues and mounting responsibilities. He was a lover of Bhajana singing and among the founding fathers of Shravana Bhajana Saptaha in the premises of Walkeshwara Kashi Muth.
He was also instrumental in starting a primary Kannada School in Banam Hall Lane, Girgaum, Mumbai, after a long struggle with the BMC.
During a litigation, he came in contact with Mr. Bijoor, who informed him about an old Balaji Temple in Fort, which belonged to the GSB Samaj, but was appropriated by other community members. He worked hard at restoring its ownership to the Kashi Muth Sansthan, which had been encroached upon, with the blessings of Srimad Sukratindra Tirtha Swamiji of the Sansthan. This temple was built originally by Shri. Rama Kamath, the legendary figure in Bombay's history, who reconstructed the present Walkeshwar Temple and donated land for Kashi Muth, Walkeshwar in 1715.
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| Balaji Temple, Fort, Mumbai |
Srimad Sudheendra Tirtha, the former Mathadhipati of Kashi Muth, held Hari in high regard, and would always remember him whenever we used to visit His Holiness for mantrakshate.
Politically he contested elections, provided his time, network and resources for canvassing leaders of Congress like S.K Patil, Morarji Desai etc. All these hallowed leaders were present in his funeral, when he passed on untimely in 1958. Around 3000 people are said to have attended his last journey to Chandanwadi/Sonapura Smashaana Bhoomi where he was cremated.
Author: Shrinath Prabhakar Shenoy, Hari Shenoy's grandson.
Sources: Shri. Kamalaksha Hari Shenoy, Late. Shri. Raghuram Hari Shenoy, Shri. Pundalik Hari Shenoy, Smt. Jayanthi P. Shenoy and Late. Shri. Prabhakar Hari Shenoy
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