Empowered Women Part-1 Great Women Poetess and Harisdasi of Karnataka --Harapanahalli Bhimavva and Helavanakatte Giriyamma

Introduction:

Come March, every woman is waiting for celebration of Women's Day!


While reading about great women scholars, poetess and rulers of India, I came across two women and their contribution to the Haridasa Movement in Karnataka. They were Harapanahalli Bheemavva 1822-1903 A. D and Helavanakatte Giriyamma 1750A.D. in eighteenth century.

They were well known women poetess of Hardidasa movement. In fact proud Women Poetess of Karnataka Bhakthi Movement or so called Haridasa movement.


Women of today are still striving hard to be accepted on par with men in spite of education, exposure, opportunities and legal assurance. One can image the life of women who were blessed with good intellect and caliber stood up to the test of time when women in general were accepted on par with men, no education rigidity in the society rules and norms, ill treatment to women, lots of impositions on dos and don'ts. I call them as real empowered women. Here, I am referring to Women and Women only.





HARIDASA--Hari meaning the Almighty and Dasa--Devotee or servant of the Almighty. One might have come across Purandaradas, Kanakadasa and Vijaya Dasa. Less will be known about Women devotees during Bhakthi Movement. As, women were not encouraged or the songs penned by women were not recognized and Can women be a devotee or Poetess? was also the question raised.


Perhaps, this being the reason, not many women who desired to express were suppressed and were not known. Quite possible also that many works by women were destroyed also.


Harapanahalli Bhimavva:


Bhimavva was born in the village Narayanadevrakere of Hospet taluk in Bellary district in the year 1822 A.D. Not much is known about the life and history of this poetaess. She was adherent devotee of lord Krishna. As per the sources, she was married at the age of eleven to 45-50 years man thrice widowed. Again, she lost her husband at the age of 36 years.As arigid custom of Bhramins, her head was tonsured (shaved)and suffered from all sorts of austerities thrust of a brahmin widow. It is said that right from her childhood, she composed many poems as such, but after becoming widow, her creative mind started working and she composed more than 200 devotional songs, aarati songs, welfare songs, marriage songs and songs suitable for all occasions. the best part in her composition was that the language was simple and easily understood by common people.


With passage of time, many of her compositions were lost and some are still preserved by the family. Some scholars have also done their research on her too.


All her songs end with "Bheemesha Krishna" as Ankita or logo of recognistion of her songs. She was perhaps the first known women poetess in Karnataka.


Helevankatte Giriyamma 1750 A.D


Helevankatte Giriyamma is from from Ranebennur of Dharwar district. She lived around early 18th Century and was having poorna anugraha of Sri Sumateendra Theertharu, Sri Gopala Dasaru and Sri Satyabodha Theertharu.


Giriyammas devotion was not accepted by the scholars and common people then for the reason that she did not have children. (Again, in India even today, unmarried women, widows, and childless women are not invited for ceremonial functions and can't take part in traditional rituals. This practice and discrimination can be seen with minute observation. It was the Sri Sumateendra Theertharu observing her hand said that Chakrapaaani, the Lord was her son, and her hand had the characteristic of Devaki, Her palms were that of Kausalya’s character, and requested her to show him Lord Balakrishna calling her Yashodhamma. Helavanakatte Giriyamma has her Ankitha nama as "Helavanakatte Ranga". One of her versatile works is Chitrapata Ramanayana written by her from feminist point of view. I am in fact in search of that work of Giriyamma. Giriyamma authored more than forty songs, and five narrative poems, the best-known among which is the devotional piece Chandrahasana Kathe. In a prayer poem about famine, Giriyamma wrote:Women are taking out in vessels

Water from the well gone dry

While bringing it, they think all day:

O Hari, send the rain to us soon.

—Helavanakatte Giriyamma, Shiva Prakash (1997), p. 201



I don't have much information about these two great women. I request the readers to contribute if they get to know more information.



Lets on the day of "INTERNATIONAL WOMEN;S DAY BOW DOWN OUR HEAD AND SALUTE THESE TWO WOMEN FOR THEIR WONDERFUL CONTRIBUTION TO KANNADA LITERATURE"