Film on Abbakka

Bangalore: The legacy of the 16th century queen Abbakka of Ullal will be revived. A 14th century Jain basadi in Ullal where she used to offer prayers is being rebuilt, a film on her is being planned, and a permanent memorial for her will soon be ready.

The film will be made by well-known film personality Jayamala. She told The Hindu that the film was still in the research stage and a number of consultations with the experts had been going on. While historians might have brushed aside Abbakka’s first battle with the Portuguese in 1546 as a small incident where a feudal kingdom was fighting to save itself, this brave queen with her small band of loyal soldiers kept the Portuguese forces out of Ullal and the Dakshina Kannada region. If not the enemy forces would have established their presence here much before they conquered Goa. The previous government had cleared Rs. 68 lakhs for constructing a “Abbakka Bhavan” in Ullal which is going to be a permanent memorial for the queen.

Former president of the Ullal Nagar Panchayat Dinakar Ullal says the town had struggled for a long time to restore Abbakka’s legacy but things started moving only recently. The Abbakka Rani Utsava Samithi had received the government’s approval for the project of Abbakka Bhavan and soon the work would be started. Several MPs and MLAs have promised funds, said Mr. Ullal.

Ullal town first organised the Rani Abbakka Utsav as a Nada Habba of Ullal in 1998. Rani Abbakka fought the Portuguese forces in 1546, destroyed a flotilla of their ships, and drove them away with a handful of her sailors who were a mix of communities, including Muslims, fishermen, Billavas, and Kshatriyas.

But all is not well with the Abbakka Utsav.

The committee headed by Mr. Ullal has found it extremely difficult to augment funds for holding the utsav on the scale of a Nada Habba. The committee has appealed to the Governor to provide funds to hold the utsav to honour the spirited queen.

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