Kaduru

Kadur ಕಡೂರು
town
File:Kadur Road, Chikmagalur..jpg Kadur Road
Kadur Location in Karnataka, India
Coordinates:
Country	India
State	Karnataka
District	Chikkamagaluru
Elevation	763 m (2,503 ft)
Population (2001)
• Total	200,802
Languages
• Official	Kannada
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN	577548
Vehicle registration	KA-18

Kadur is a taluk in Chikkamagaluru district, in the Indian state of Karnataka with an area of 2813sq. m. Pop. (1901), 362,752, showing an increase of 9% in the decade. It was a district in the Mysore state, as early as 1863.

Etymology

The name kaduru, is believed to have derived from kadave or kada (elk)- ooru(place/village). In the 14th century, the lands around Yemmedoddi gudda were conferred upon a chief named Mada Nayaka by Vijayanagara rulers. Then it was a small agrahara known as Narayanapura. As per local tradition, when this Nayaka was hunting in this region he found his dogs were turned back by an elk (kadave) and impressed by this incident, he founded a fort called kadave-uru (elk town). An epigraph dated 1609 A.D. of Devanur calls this place as Kadaooru.

Geography

Kadur is a taluk which is located at . It has an average elevation of 763 metres (2503 feet).

The larger portion of the taluk consists of the Malnad or hill country, which contains some of the wildest mountain scenery in southern India. The western frontier is formed by the chain of the Ghats, of which the highest peaks are the Kudremukh (6215 ft.) and the Meruti Gudda (5451 ft.). The centre is occupied by the horse-shoe range of the Baba Budangiri hill range, containing the loftiest mountain in Mysore, Mullayanagiri (6317 ft.). The Maidan or plain country lying beneath the amphitheater formed by the Baba Budan hills is a most fertile region, well watered, and with fertile black cotton soil. The principal rivers are the Tunga and Bhadra, which rise near each other in the Ghats, and unite to form, the Tungabhadra, a tributary of the Krishna. The eastern region is watered by the Vedavati. At the point where this river leaves the Baba Budan hills it is embanked to form two extensive tanks which irrigate the lower valley. From all the rivers water is drawn off into irrigation channels by means of anicuts or weirs.

Kadur is reachable by Road and Train from state capital, Bangalore. Bus journey takes through NH-206 just 4-5hrs. Train journey takes 3-4 hrs.

One of the Grama panchayath Mathighatta is gateway to Chikkamagaluru district. Mathighatta comes on the way (NH-206) to Kadur by road.

Natural resources

The following is an account of the region from a British source in the early 20th century (sadly, almost all the forest is today gone): The chief natural wealth of Kadur is in its forests, which contain inexhaustible supplies of the finest timber, especially teak, and also furnish shelter for the coffee plantations. Iron is found and smelted at the foot of the hills, and corundum exists in certain localities. Wild beasts and game are numerous, and fish are abundant.Animal named KADVA(which is said to belonging to family of deer) were more in this region in older days ,there are stories that kadur owned its name due to this animal but to sad most of them were hunted down by British during there rule.

The stable crop is rice, chiefly grown on the hifi slopes, where the natural rainfall is sufficient, or in the river valley, where the fields can be irrigated. Coffee cultivation is said to have been introduced by a Mahommedan saint, Baba Budan, more than two centuries ago; but it first attracted European capital in 1840. The district is served by the South Western Railway and is the nearest railway station to Chikmagalur.

Places of interest

During the Ganga period, the place was a Jaina settlement. There are temples dedicated to Ishvara and Anjaneya on the bank of a pond (Sihineera Honda). Both these temples are said to have been built in the 17th Century. There is another temple of Channakeshava built in Hoysala style. The town also has Shri Renuka Matha and Sri Raghavendraswami Brindavana. There is an interesting place of antiquity called Machchari which is about four km east of Kadur town. River Vedavati flows on a rock-bed cutting it in seven places, which is locally called the Kuntihole. Very close to the pool there is a hillock referred usually as Keechakana Gudda on the top of which there is a cave temple having seven stones representing Mailaradevru or Mallideva. The place also has three ruined temples dedicated to Yoganarasimha, Keshava and Ishvara. The Yoganarashima temple is an ancient one.

Demographics

As of 2001 India census, Kadur had a population of 35436. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Kadur has an average literacy rate of 68%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 73%, and female literacy is 63%. In Kadur, 12% of the population is under 6 years of age.

References

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: