Gavara relations of Yellapus

             During my recent visit to vizag to participate in a international conference on Slum Free Urban India held in Novotel hotel, I found one Yellapu Suribabu, belongs to the telugudesam party. I started thinking once again about the caste after a long time. The name of the surname has further changed to Yellapu from the Yellapu, which has long phonetic in telangana area. Earlier also I learnt from one of my friends belongs to Anakapally that the pronounciation is Yellapu only. Moreover they are belongs to Gavara community.

             Interestingly, Gavaras and kapus are dominant castes in the Anakapally town. But Yellapus have merged with the Gavaras only. After the war of Bobbili did they fear to some one of extermination? Did the yellapus found it easy to continue the business with the help of Gavaras?Is it a terminating point to loose the relationship with kapus in north coastal area? One fact is that the existing yellapus along with other malla,dadi and konathala families are no more yellapu. They may do not like to know the history or identify themselves. But we have to unearth the history.I could not get the time to go to Anakapally.But I have to know it from the known persons. I may have to visit them all the way.

         On the other hand I have to visit vijayanagaram district also to know about yellapi community, who are still leading nomadic life. The visit of bobbili may be the best option to serve the purpose.

         The merger of yellapu families in to Gavara community may be due to following historical event: The yellapu families maintained separate entity during and after bobbili war.Their men were involved in the business also, in addition to the warfare. It is also learnt from the elders and stories told in north coastal area that women of yellapu were equally competent in warfare. As per Micheal katten, the yellapu men, especially bhairushetty families were went outside on business work at the time of War of bobbili.At this time many women were killed, when these women pelted the stones in special way and killed about 200 soldiers of opposite camp. On the other hand many women and children were killed by their own people to save from the humiliation. Some people migrated else where along with Velamas.Some people lost employment and continuing as nomads.Some families migrated to telangana area during the war time and after also. That is why there may be shortage of women and forced the yellapu families including konatham, malla,dadi to join in to gavara community, as both of these families are well acquainted with one other in business and both are minority castes.

         The reason for upkeeping the surnames and caste name is to marrying of Gavara women by yellapu men. The information available in the inscriptions revealed about the Gavaras tells that dadi familes were under the service of kakatiyas.Similarly, yellapus and dadi families have also worked under kakatiyas.Hence, these castes may have known each other since many centuries and that facilitated easy merger.

         The Gavaras are called Gavara Naidus. It may be due to merger of some Naidu families in to Gavaras. These Naidus may also include Yellapu families. Gavaras spread to the areas of Karnataka and Tamilnadu, as per the Gavara website.In those areas there are places like dadinayakanpalaya,dadikkombu,dadithota,etc, which testifies to the authority as well as dominance of the dadi families in those area.

        Intersetingly the yellapus have migrated to tamilnadu during the period of krishnadevaraya.This clarifies that yellapus and Gavaras have very good relations during this period also. The Gavara dominant areas of Rayapalayam and the yellapu/Nadar dominant areas of Avaraikulam, chettikulam are in near by areas.It is already mentioned that yellapus came back from those areas and some people would have stayed there itself.But, these migrations during the period of krishnadevaraya to fight against the father of vishwanatha Naika in Tamilnadu has developed close relations between Yellapus and Gavaras.

         In the later stages, after the Bobbili war the merger of Yellapu families in to Gavara community is completed. Another interesting thing is that both the yellapu and Gavaras are migrated from the Near by areas of Delhi.The yellapus migrated from the delhi and meerut districts.where as Gavaras are from ahichchatra, a near by place of delhi and meerut.Delhi to meerut is 65 k.m. and delhi to ahichchatra is 250 k.m. Thus, these people would have close contacts from ancient days.and that may be fecilitated in the close relations and merger of yellapu families in to Gavara caste.

The yellapus have merged with Gavaras.The question now is which family members have possibly merged with them? Usually the family name changes frequently in migrating communities.But the gotram is almost constant. The Pydipala is the Gotram of Yellapu families in Gavaras.So, the following families have the same Gotram.

  

•  Arkala- Pydipala
• Koppula - Pydipala
•   Kotte- Pydipala 
•   Nanvala- pydipala
•   Rapolu -  Pydipala
•  

Hence, it is clear that Kotte,koppula,Arkala,Nanvala,Rapole families or all the families having above surnames would have merged with Gavaras after Bobbili war.Other Yellapu families might have also merged in small number and upkeeped the same Gotram or we do not have information about it.I also informed the same to sri.Yellapu mukunda Ramarao, a gavara researcher.

Let us also examine the other substantiating factors for merger,which are not mentioned above that Kotte families migrated to Tamilnadu as a part of Vijayanagara army and many Gavara families also migrated there and came back.Thus, they have historical relations. It might have fecilitated merger.