Manki, Honnavar


Manki is a village in Honnavar Taluk, Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, India. It is located on the shore of the Arabian Sea and between Goa and Mangalore, about 100 km from Karwar. It lies on NH-66 running between Mumbai and Mangalore.
Apparently, it is the largest village in Karnataka and second largest village in India with dense forest and hefty mountains. Population consists of various castes and religions including Gaud Saraswat Brahmin, Namadhari, Ramakshatriyas, Nakhuda, Nawayath, and Christians.

History

Manki was a part of Hoysala empire from 1291 until 1343.
Hoysala empire :
Early inscriptions, dated 1078 and 1090, have implied that the Hoysalas were ancestors of the Yadava by referring to the Yadava vamsa as Hoysala vamsa. But there are no early records directly linking the Hoysalas to the Yadavas of North India. The downfall of Hoysala resulted in the rise of another super power. Manki later fell into the hands of the Vijayanagara empire.
Vijayanagara Empire : *
Vijayanagara Empire is referred as the Kingdom of Bisnaga by the Portuguese, it was an empire based in South India in the Deccan Plateau region. It was established in 1336 by Harihara I and his brother Bukka Raya I of the YadavaThe empire is named after its capital city of Vijayanagara, whose impressive ruins surround modern Hampi, now a World Heritage Site in modern Karnataka, India.
Vijayanagara Empire dominated all of Southern India and fought off invasions from the five established Deccan Sultanates. The empire reached its peak during the rule of Krishnadevaraya when Vijayanagara armies were consistently victorious. Krishnadevaraya was followed by Achyuta Raya in 1530 and in 1542 by Sadashiva Raya while the real power lay with Aliya Rama Raya, the son-in-law of Krishnadevaraya, whose relationship with the Deccan Sultans who allied against him has been debated.
The empire went into a slow decline regionally. Eventually the Saluva rulers of Hadwalli, a town on the State Highway leading to Jog Falls brought this desirable Village under their control.

Geography

Manki is located at 11° 58' 01" N 74° 34' 01" E. It has an average elevation of 3 metres and the time zone is IST.

Languages

"Kannada" and "navayati" "Konkani" are the most spoken languages alongside Konkani. Most of the Nawayaths are economic migrants working in various foreign countries, especially Saudi Arabia and Dubai; as a result they have mastered Arabic too.

Demographics

According to 2011 census, Manki had a population of 22,571: 11,154 male and 11,417 female.
The people of Manki are characteristically called Mankivasi. Since the early 1940s, some of Nakhudas Nawayaths and Christians have migrated to various countries including the Middle East, especially Bahrain, Dubai, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Educational institutions

Manki also has some private schools.
Many of the students commute daily to nearby schools and colleges in taluk Honnavar and Bhatkal.
Manki has also recently counted nearly 20 educational institutions consisting of hostels, schools, colleges and anganwadis.

Tourism and cuisine

Manki has exciting ranges of natural sightseeing spots, alluring and appealing places of tourist interest and scintillating places that makes it a truly amazing place to visit. Places like Chippekal, Madi beach, and Manki Dargah are places that you cannot afford to miss at any cost. It is amazingly gifted by the nature as well as is home to rich flora and fauna.
One of the biggest tourist attractions around is Idagunji's Vinayaka temple. It is barely 4 km from the center. The temple attracts more than 1 million devotees every year.
The other tourism spots include Murudeshwara, a town 16 km away from Manki, which falls under Bhatkal Taluk of Uttara Kannada district. Murudeshwara beach town lies on the coast of the Arabian Sea and is famous for its Shiva statue, which is world's second-tallest.
As far as cuisine is concerned it's widely large because of the integration of different cultures. However, the most preferred food has always been rice, fish, and meat.
The people of Manki have preferred and replicated most of their foods from the neighboring regions including Kerala and other southern parts of India. Seafood has been the basis of the favorite diet for centuries. Alcohol is prohibited in most of the hotels.

Political developments

Members of Manki taluk Formation struggle committee led by Bhatkal MLA Mankal Vaidya met Chief Minister Siddarmaiah in Bangalore recently and submitted a memorandum to may Manki gram Panchayat into a taluk. They said that Manki in Honnavar Taluk in Uttara Kannada District is having sizable population and it is large even in geographically. It is the second largest village in the state. It has 12 villages and 97 Majares under the Gram Panchayat. Hence it must be given Taluk status.
Top dishes of Manki:
Karnataka coastal style food is majority part of food style along with below food items.