Kodethoor and Beyond (The Story of Udupas)

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This book is an attempt to trace the history of Kodethoor Udupas, who claim their ancestry from one of the two Brahmin families closely associated with the Karthikeya Temple of Kandavara near Kundapur in Udupi District of Karnataka. It is the tale of the exploits of the scions of the family, who moved out of the confines of a small, nondescript village to the wide world of opportunities. Among them are scientists of international fame, doctors, engineers, teachers of repute, administrators, writers, lawyers, priests, and publishers. A few have excelled in astrology as well.

Several books have been published an individual belonging to the Udupa clan. As far as the author of this book can vouch, this is the first attempt to bring together all lineages in one book Coverage of certain braches has been superficial owing to paucity of authentic information. The book, one hopes, will help members of the family separated by time and distance, to connect with one another more closely.

About the Author

Nampurath Gopalan Kutty hails from Ottapalam (Palakkad District, Kerala. He completed his MSc from Maharajas College, Ernakulam, and thereafter, started his teaching career in 1976 at Kasturba Medical College, Manipal. Later, he secured PhD in Pharmaceutical sciences from Mangalore University. He retired as Professor of pharmacology from Manipal College of Pharmaceutical sciences, Manipal University, Manipal in June 2016 Besides pharmacology, he is interested in literature, languages, cricket, and politics.

I started writing this book Kodethoor and Beyond, the Story of Udupas on Kodethoor Udupas, as per the suggestions of Dr Nayamabhirama Udupa, the former Principle and present Research Director (Health Sciences), Manipal University. There was a lot of trepidation as I was venturing into unchartered territory. Dr Udupa was very reassuring though, and took me to several places in Udupa and Dakshina Kannada districts, which was helpful in collecting important information relevant to the story of Udupas, By and by, apprehension gave way to interest and the desire to know more and more about the people who chose different paths in their life's journey.

Kodethoor and Beyond, the Story of Udupas is a study in contrasts. There are academicians and researchers of name and fame. There are doctors, engineers, businesspersons, entrepreneurs, author and publishers, technicians, priests, social activists, and so on in the Udupa clan. Some have been loquacious while others are taciturn. Fortunately, most have been very forthcoming in sharing the information they possess.

A major handicap for a family chronicle like this is the difficulty in eliciting the information. As there were not many sources available, the coverage on the Dasa Udupa and Eshwara Udupa lineages has been necessarily superficial. On the contrary, I could lay hands on many books and tap reliable sources on the children, grandchildren, and even some great grandchildren of Thammayya Udupa. Therefore, they have better coverage in this. One hopes the descendants of Dasa Udupa and Eshwara Udupa appreciate the author's plight.

This author heavily depended on the book written by late Sri K Gururaja Udupa for the story. His books furnish mines of information about the older generations, and largely, the present generation as well. He was eager to see this book published, to see all the Udupas in one place. However, that was not to be. Sri Gururaja Udupa passed away in May this year. Although, I have not seen him in flesh and blood, I felt his presence near me as I continued to gather information for the book

On our first visit to the Udupa house in kodethooru, we met Smt Karmalakshi Udupa, the wife of the late K A Udupa and mother of Dr N Udupa. She appeared to be a person of quiet demeanour with a pleasing smile. She left a deep impression in us. Her untimely death came as a big shock.

This book is dedicated to the memory of Sri K G Udupa nad Smt Kamalakshi Udupa. I would like to acknowledge the help from many members of the Udupa families without which I could not completed the project.

My daughter Jyothsna accompanied me on my trips to Kandavara, Kinnigoli, Moodubidre, and took many photographs. It is to her credit that she captured some of the memorable photograph that adorn the book.