Book Draft --- Intro

INTR0

   HE was only a kid then .He used to go to school,play, learn like any other kid of our age .But he also used to work .Work which was demanding physically as well as mentally. Yaksha belonged to one of the many families which lived in Dakshin Kannada.

   Before 1860, Dakshin Kannada was part of a district Kanara which was under a single administration in the Madras Presidency .In 1860, the British split the area into South Kanara and North Kanara, the former being retained in the Madras Presidency, while the later was made a part of Bombay Province in 1862.

   People belonging to this region used to speak Tulu and would fondly call their region the TuluNadu.The place was famous for red clay roof tiles, cashew nuts and unusual cuisine.With its proximity to the Arabian Sea the region was known for its hot & humid climate .Closeness to the sea also meant that most of the families were fishermen by profession.Yaksha belonged to the Mogaveera community. Mogaveeras are a fishermen community in coastal Karnataka.They formed one of the largest communities in the Tulu ethnic group. 

   Yaksha was born in a free India.The atrocities of a tiresome British Rule were overthrown by Gandhi's non cooperation movement,  and a dream of  a new and strong Indian democracy took over peoples imagination. After Indian independence in 1947, South Canara was divided into Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts.

    Independence meant freedom of movement and the beginning of migration in a new nation.Till 1956 the Dakshina Kannada district was with Madras province and after formation of Karnataka state in 1956, November 1,it  become part of Karnataka .Many of Yakhsa's older friends had just  completed their High school  that year.Some joined their parents and helped them in the family occupation of fishing while others made their way to the city of dreams,Bombay.

    Even as a kid Yaksha knew that some day even he would have to make that decision.' title ' follows Yaksha as he makes this decision and many more important ones  in his lifetime.

     

Note:This is a draft version of an intended book which might be published some day.