Hubballi: Who has not seen these colourfully dressed men with parrots on their shoulders reading the future of people from cards during annual fairs and religious celebrations anywhere in the state?
Most of them read palms to tell your future and make a living from it. Now, in modern times, this ancient profession of the nomadic Gondali community is set to make a sad exit as the government is all set to introduce an anti-superstitious bill in the next session of the state legislature to ban such practices .
The community has its historical connections-they were once used by Maratha emperor Chatrapati Shivaji and other kings in neighbouring Maharashtra for spying. Their ancestors took to the streets in the guise of soothsayers, beggars and folk artistes dressed in turbans and traditional coats to keep them informed about the happenings in their kingdoms. But as time passed, they took to astrology for real to earn a livelihood as their services as spies were no longer required with the disappearance of the kings of old.
The Gondaligas migrated from Maharashtra to villages in Bijapur district and other parts of North Karnataka. Over 2000 families of around 9,000 people today live in the hamlet of Kodihal in Bagalkot district, where they continue to depend on astrology for a living, besides engaging in folk art and music.
Several continue their nomadic ways, staying in temples, community halls or in makeshift tents in the villages of north Karnataka. "Many male members of our family still walk around the villages in North Karnataka at night singing folk songs. They also visit homes to collect alms and tell the future of people using astrology. Many of us who are in cities continue to pursue this ancestral occupation. This anti-superstition bill will destroy us" laments Bhimrao Washtar.
