Karnataka where all men are Gyanappas and women Gyanammas

KOPPAL - Believe it or not, the residents of Gunnali village in Karnataka’s Koppal District share the same names, with the males being called Gyanappa and all females, Gyanamma.

The reason behind the similarity of names is that the villagers are devotees of a saint named Gyaneshwar, who lived in Gunnali till his demise.

The village now has a shrine to the saint and many childless couples visit it.

When they bear a child, they name it after the saint.

“Lot of people who are childless comes here, because of the saint’s blessings, people get a child and use his name as a token of devotion. Due to this reason, not only in this village, but in any nearby village in every house in the village, there is a person of the name of either Gyanappa or Gyanamma,” said Gyanappa Hellikeri, a villager.

The locals here, however, have no problem in distinguishing between the villagers as they prefix or suffix another name to the saint’s.

“No, we call them little Gyanamma, little Gyanappa, and Shiv Gyanamma. We call them like that. We don’t call directly with Gyanamma and Gyanappa name,” said Gyanappa Baba, a resident of the village. (ANI)