The Hero of Nelavagilu
A huge hero-stone of Nalavagilu (Hoskote taluka of Bangalore district in Karnataka) depicts a severe fight between the hero and a boar. A descendant of this man's family narrated the incident which has been remembered from one generation to the other by word of mouth. The hero was all set to celebrate the great festival of Yugadi (Hindu New Year) and was about to partake the feast when the news came that a wild boar which was playing havoc to the crops for quite sometime was sighted in a field. Without a second thought, the hero left with two of his hunting dogs to kill the boar. But he never returned to enjoy the feast. In the fight that ensued the hero got killed along with the boar. In his memory, to this day, his successors do not celebrate the Yugadi festival. But for this tradition, the hero-stone could not have been understood.
© K. L. Kamat
Hero-stone of Nelavagulu
In the same village of Nelavagilu, there is another family which commences all auspicious and important functions only after paying respect, offering flowers and fruits to a family hero-stone standing in the adjacent village, some of the relatives who have left the village also join them in paying respect to an ancestral member of the family. How proud these simple village folk are when they come to know about the heroic deeds of their forefathers and to find the portraits of these brave men and women preserved in memorials.
K.L. Kamat/Kamat's Potpourri
Hero Fighting Wild Boar, Kolar
Living History: It was the Ugadi festival day and the hero died in the fight. Even today, his family does not celebrate the festival.
