Shri Vadiraja Gulla

• Author : Sri Dwarakanath Shivamogga
• Image Courtes : The Hindu

Of late, the spherical, green brinjal has been hitting the headlines of the print media for good reasons. It is grown in a little over five hundred acres of land in tiny hamlets called Matti, Pangala, Koppla and Kaipunjal situated between Papanashini (aka Udyavara river) and Swarna rivers in Udupi district. Generally grown between September and October following the monsoon season, this typical and most distinguished brinjal is more popularly known as Vadiraja Gulla, Udupi Gulla and often as Matti Gulla that directly links it to the native place of this vegetable.

This Matti or Matti Gulla has a legend attached to it. Sri Vadirajaru of Sonda was offering food (naivedya) in a bowl to Lord Hayagreeva, a form of Lord Vishnu with a human body and a horse’s face. He used to close the doors of the puja room for offering food to the Lord. Brahmins and disciples had to wait till Sri Vadirajaru opened the doors. What was baffling to the brahmins and disciples was the fact that Sri Vadirajaru used to return with an empty bowl, signifying that the naivedya had been consumed. The question was – who had consumed it? Few of the brahmins and disciples suspected that Sri Vadirajaru himself was consuming the entire food. They did not have the courage to question Sri Vadirajaru. They were not prepared to keep quiet either. They once enticed the cook of the Mutt with an inducement and mixed poison to the food that Sri Vadirajaru was about to take and offer to the Lord. Their perception was that Sri Vadirajaru would soon die because of the poison.

Meanwhile, Lord Hayagreeva consumed the naivedya and stood without any motion. Sri Vadirajaru looked at the Lord, he revealed that some people had mixed poison to the food. The Lord also assured that nothing would happen to Him. Symbolically, His complexion would become green and the culprits would soon be the guests of Lord Yama. The Lord also directed to Sri Vadirajaru that some brahmins, who had despised their culture and fallen apart, living in a village called Matti should be addressed to return to their original ways. The Lord asked Sri Vadirajaru to give the seeds of Gulla to those brahmins and ask them to cultivate it. Food prepared with that Gulla was to be offered to the Lord as naivedya for forty-eight days to “cure” him of the green complexion. This would make the people know what had transpired. As averred by the Lord, those who had derailed the cook, died the next morning. Sri Vadirajaru went to Matti, distributed the Gulla seeds, asked them to return to their original spirituous life and cultivate the Gulla. After the food prepared with Gulla was served to the Lord as naivedya for 48 days, the original complexion of the Lord was restored. From then, Vadiraja Gulla or Matti Gulla happens to be a mandatory vegetable in the cuisine at Sonda. It is believed that Vadiraja Gulla has great medicinal value and is anti-toxic. It was grown by the distraught brahmins of Matti.

The Udupi Gulla has a very different taste. It is unique in taste, shape and colour. It is exclusively cultivated in a limited area. The GI (Geographical Indication) tag has been granted to this Gulla. Considering a steep decline in its production in recent years, efforts are on by NABARD, a university and other institutions to help increase its production and explore and expand its market. A logo with an image of Sri Vadirajaru is sticked on every Gulla grown at Mattu as a mark of brand standard.

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