Halakki Vokkaliga

When we got on the Yesvanpur-Karwar Express last year around this time I did not know I would witness mighty perennial rivers and evergreen forests. We traveled along the west coast of Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, tucked in between the Arabian sea on one side and forest covered hills on the other side. We eventually got off at the Kumta Railway Station and spent a few days with a local family in their areca plantation, situated in the middle of an organic spice farm on the Karwar - Sirsi State Highway in a tiny village called Baragadde. It was not until we visited Gokarna that I saw her. She was confidently walking down the street in with no chappals (sandals) and was wearing a sari with no choli (blouse). Head load of firewood and basket in hand, she disappeared in the rain. I later on found out she belongs to the Halakki tribe.

Halakki woman carrying firewood. Gokarna, Karnataka 2013.

The Halakki people are scattered across several Taluks (area of land with a city or town that serves as its headquarters, with potentially additional towns and villages) of the Uttara Kannada district namely Ankola, Kumta, Gokarna, Honnavar and Karwar.
With increasing tourism in most of these areas, Halakki people are forced to find new alternative means of income. It's a common scene seeing Halakki women selling flowers and other puja offerings to eager tourists outside temples (especially in places like Gokarna). Some Halakki families also run beachside shacks that offer accommodation and continental menus to both international and local tourists.

Halakki man in a traditional langoti.

Despite their (unavoidable) contact with the mainstream world both in terms of people and access to media, I saw Halakki women more often in traditional attires and outfits, which comprises bright coloured saris wrapped in a special way and worn without a blouse, leaving the back exposed. Their necks are adorned with numerous beaded necklaces (Essentially blue, black and yellow), while glass and metal bangles adorn their hands. Women's hair is well oiled and neatly combed back and rolled into a bun and decorated with flowers such as jasmine or palm tree. The traditional attire of men is simple, a loin-cloth langoti. However, most of the middle aged men and youngsters wear shirts and pants nowadays.

The Halakki language is a dialect of Kannada and is known as ‘Halakki Kannada’. A typical Halakki home (Hullu mane in the Halakki dialect) comprises a thatched hut with mud walls, now most often replaced by concrete structures. It is decorated elaborately with traditional white drawings made from Hali (white mud abundantly available in this area) mixed with water and painted against a dark background. Different Hali are drawn on different occasions such as weddings, ear piercing or naming ceremony of a child, first haircut ceremony of a child, etc. The Hali is mainly considered as a diagrammatic representation of the event and it is believed to ward of evil. 

Hali on a Halakki home. Gokarna, Karnataka 2013.

Two Halakki women chat in Karwar, Karnataka 2013.

The rich culture of the Halakkis is mirrored in many aspects of their life including food, ceremonies and customs, songs  and dances, etc. However, with the advent of modernity and exposure to a variety of other cultures, access to media, education and many more unconventional employment opportunities, threat in their lifestyle and traditional practices are inevitable and, like many other tribal and indigenous communities throughout the country, Halakkis are an oppressed minority struggling to survive.

Halakki mom and son. Karwar, Karnataka 2013.

A night in Barcelona

Last night I decided to go out for dinner and get some drinks in Barcelona, a city I have known and visited often ever since I was a child, as I have relatives from here. We ended up in this seedy restaurant, a Chinese one. The staff was quite unfriendly, yet the food was bearable and extremely cheap. The place soon became overcrowded and we decided to leave.

Although I once was somewhat familiar with the city and its surroundings, it had been a long time since I had not lived here; besides, nightlife in Barcelona is something quite new to me that I never really experienced before. We stopped for a drink at this bar that had a big patio and we later on headed towards El Raval area; we ended up at this old club where we managed to get our groove on.  The environment was certainly unpleasant throughout the night: Drunk Dutch soccer aficionados on the streets dressed in orange and yelling unintelligible words while watching the World Cup game against Spain (a game that I could not care less about), trash scattered over sidewalks and streets, dozens of Pakistanis on every single corner offering canned beer on the quiet, victims of yet another mafia.

After hanging in there for too long, I decided to call it a night at around 3a.m and started heading home. As I walked to the closest night bus stop, the urban landscape became distressing and depressing alike as I hit Les Rambles, a very popular tree-lined pedestrian street with both tourists and locals that stretches for almost a mile north from the harbor: African under aged prostitutes making out with horny old men as some others negotiated the rates for their services. Drunk tourists and locals vomiting on the sidewalk while others still had the energy to being loud and obnoxious. Pakistanis and Indians (old and young) carrying 4 cans of cheap beer per head, desperately trying to make a couple euros by selling them to passersby.

That was certainly not the image they portray of nightlife in Barcelona, possibly the most popular destination within Spain (even though it is a city where a substantial number of people do not identify themselves as Spaniards) widely known for its great weather, endless parties and laid-back people always willing to drink and enjoy life. However, the picture from last night will remain with me for a long time, and not exactly in a good way. Although Spain is suffering the consequences of a massive economic meltdown that has left millions of (local) people jobless, homeless and helpless (in several cases even hungry), immigrants are bond to be subject to extra challenges such as racism, xenophobia, social discrimination, and other kinds of oppression. I was appalled to see that one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world and so-called 'civilized' has very little interest in those who are literally fighting the battle for survival on a daily basis. Unfortunately, there is nothing new with the fact that the most vulnerable ones always remain in the shadows. 

Well, thank you for being so openly honest when you condemn immigration to underdevelopment and crime and beatify Spanishness and patriotism. This goes to all of you, even though I know that I am taking on all risks that involve irritating you poor mediators. 

Spain was formed with immigration, so understanding a nation like an isolated island is a pretty big mistake. It is likely that your (our) ancestors were immigrants and they had to harden their souls in order to embark a new life. This country was enriched through conquests, wars, colonizations and  probably through one of the biggest robberies of resources and treasures in history. It's probable that if you at least returned all the gold to Latin America, Peruvians, for instance, would be the ones receiving you Spaniards and they would be the ones complaining (understandably) that you are stealing their national resources. 

Without going any further, these immigrants we see around here come from historically prosperous and extremely advanced cultures. Africa was a resourceful continent and the cradle of civilization, Latin America and Asia were an enclave of social and scientific discoveries (all of which Europe has taken centuries to decipher), not to mention the Islamic world, traditionally tolerant and well versed with culture; Europe, on the other hand, was a continent of uncivilized barbarians...and it still is when it comes to certain aspects (even though we have this persistent superiority complex that we use as a defence mechanism when we refuse to acknowledge that it actually is okay to be inferior in some ways). You are lucky that your culture is the thin end of the wedge nowadays. But do not forget that you could be starving to death tomorrow and you would then dream of fleeing to Burkina Faso or Pakistan. Never know.

Two girls walk around El Raval neighborhood, in Barcelona.

The European immigration movement that occurred towards the end of the 20th century was planned, as there was no internal workforce to be able to rebuild all these countries. Let's not forget the exile of Spaniards who escaped from war, destitution, poverty and Francoism and they were welcome in some of these developing countries. Lots of immigrants are your children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. 

If all immigrants in Spain were removed, the country would starve to death. Up to now, most foreigners living in this country work crazy hours and shifts. While you are enjoying national holidays and vacations, there is an immigrant replacing you temporarily. If they are illegal, they work three times as much as you do and on top of that they barely get paid. If they are legal, however, they pay for your vacations in order to have the privilege of listening to you complain that they are stealing your jobs and your social security. Let's remember that making little money for so much work is not something desirable at all because it has direct consequences over the standard of living. No immigrant would complain about earning as much as you do.

It would be interesting knowing where all these investments that support the country come from. But who is really paying? The EU lent substantial funds so Spain can straighten out its economy. So, it's likely that the Swedish are paying for your social security system. Or someone else is. Let's face it. With or without marginal immigrants, Spain is known as "the resting country"...People who come here to spend their vacations are often shocked to see that all stores are closed between 2 and 5pm, and a bunch of locals are having beer and liquor at 11a.m. Immigrants?  Spain is way behind Europe because it chooses to be. 

Regarding the civilization aspect, I will agree with the fact that economies in developing countries are a complete disaster and that it is a problem of historical domination that keeps taking place. In order to own more, one needs to crush somebody. And this deplorable lesson was learnt from the big ones; the so-called first world coutries, because they imposed their society to others. It is easy after giving lessons on economy and politics with disdain, when everything that has been acquired comes from robberies, pillages and slavery. The fact that this happens on a state level does not authorize you to feel outraged by some Black or Pakistani guy selling beer on the beach. They are hard-working and skilled citizens for the most part, and surprisingly caring and compassionate despite their lack in resources and a life full of uncertainty. The less they have, the more they share. However, how should we feel towards societies that had to take into public ownership helping one's neighbor because no one shares spontaneously. How should we react on societies that have to include special seats on public transportation in order to force citizens to give up their seat and behave kindly (and even then some refuse to do so!). How should we feel towards those who set homeless people on fire and hit women to death; those who belittle others in public without no one intervening whatsoever. What civilization are you talking about? What are you trying to defend? Little they deserve what they have achieved. 

Poverty is a broad concept, but those poor in spirit are the most miserable ones. This is how many empires ended, always due to internal weakness and abomination. Even then, when your afraid and hungry grandchildren flee to disregarded and unknown lands, they will be welcomed with no visa or work permit, just like many times in the past...because that quality is not distributed by the social security administration or by any government.