Rani Chennamma of Kittur

March 10, 2022 4:28 PM

Dr. Raziya Parvin, "Rani Chennamma of Kittur - Why do we remember?" Much more detail in Chennamma's biography, e.g. "Ch. 5 - The Question of Adoption": "On October 18th, 1824 ... in an impassioned speech, she declared, 'Kittur is ours. We are masters of our own territory. The Britishers say that the adoption is not valid because we did not take their permission ... We will tell Mr. Thackeray [the novelist's uncle; letter of complaint about him] ... that we will not submit to them whatever be the consequences. Kittur will fight to the last.'" Summary in a history of Karnataka, also mentioning Rama Habshi. The 1961 film Kittur Chennamma / ಕಿತ್ತೂರು ಚೆನ್ನಮ್ಮ retells Chennamma's life story, and two songs in it are based on poems by Akka Mahadevi (c. 1130-1160; more on her poetry): "Kolu Thudiya Kodagananthe" and, as described thoroughly / with a translation at The Southern Nightingale, "Thanukaragadavaralli Pushpava."
posted by Wobbuffet (3 comments total)

Wow. This is the first time I'm seeing text in Kannada (my native language) on the Blue (other than the ubiquitous ಠ_ಠ)
posted by dhruva at 6:35 PM on March 10, 2022 [9 favorites]

This is an amazing story. Coupling this with Angela Davis's optimism, I can see how optimism is the answer rather than a violent frame of mind. However Rani Chennamma was skilled in the art of war and politics, a very brave hero, hopeful to the last.
posted by Oyéah at 7:32 PM on March 10, 2022 [1 favorite]

Thanks so much. Sometimes I am bowed down by all that my many years of formal education managed not to impart. But other times I look forward to retirement and the chance to explore all the ways that humanity has flourished and struggled to flourish. This is a story we should know.
posted by allthinky at 6:14 AM on March 11, 2022 [1 favorite]