Sitavva Joddati

Last updated

Sitavva Joddati is a Karnataka-based social activist working for the emancipation and empowerment of women suffering within the Devadasi system. In 2018, she was conferred the Padma Sri, the fourth highest civilian award, by the President of India. [1] [2]

Contents

Early life

Joddati was born in Kabbur village of Chikkodi Taluk in the Indian state of Karnataka. The youngest of six daughters, Sitavva was "promised" as a Devadasi to the community by her parents who believed that by doing this, they would be rewarded with a son. [3]

After undergoing a religious ritual at the age of 7, Sitavva was made a Devadasi. By age 17, she had borne three children.

Career

Sitavva met Latamala, the Managing Director of Women Development Corporation, in 1991 who made her realise how degrading the practice of Devadasi was to the dignity of women. Sitavva decided to save herself from the Devadasi system. She and the other Devadasis who used to travel to southern Maharashtra and northern Karnataka to attend religious fairs began to speak up against the practice, and within a week, the number of dissenters had risen to 45 women. [3]

Soon after, Sitavva joined the Mahila Abhivrudhi Samrakshana Sansthe (MASS), an organisation dedicated to the eradication of the Devadasi system. Since then, she has rescued over 4,000 women and rehabilitated them with other jobs. She joined MASS when she was 17 and for over three decades, she has worked to uplift Devadasis and Dalits in Belgaum, Karnataka. [4]

She is the CEO of MASS organisation since 2012. The organisation has around 4000 former Devadasis as members. Joddati conduct aids and legal workshops and programmes on women and child rights, financial management, STDs and other issues. She has created over 300 self-help groups (SHG) that provide financial support to former Devadasis, through banks and micro-lenders. [3]

Recognition

In March 2018, Joddati was conferred the fourth highest civilian honour of India, the Padma Sri, by the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ravi Shankar (spiritual leader)</span> Indian spiritual leader

Ravi Shankar is an Indian yoga guru, a spiritual leader. He is referred to as Sri Sri (honorific), Guru ji, or Gurudev. From around the mid 1970s, he worked as an apprentice under Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the founder of Transcendental Meditation. In 1981, he founded the Art of Living foundation.

<i>Devadasi</i> Woman dedicated to the worship of a temples patron god

In India, a devadasi is a female artist who is dedicated to the worship and service of a deity or a temple for the rest of her life. The dedication takes place in a ceremony that is somewhat similar to a marriage ceremony. In addition to taking care of the temple and performing rituals, these women also learn and practice classical Indian dances such as Bharatanatyam, Mohiniyattam, Kuchipudi, and Odissi. Their status as dancers, musicians, and consorts was an essential part of temple worship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sudha Murty</span> Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha

Sudha Murty is an Indian educator, author, and philanthropist. She is married to the co-founder of Infosys, N. R. Narayana Murty. She is the Founder-Chairperson of the non-profit charitable organization Infosys Foundation. In 2024, Murty was nominated as Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha on 8 March 2024 for her contribution to social work and education. Murty was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in India, for social work by the Government of India in 2006. In 2023, she was awarded the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award in India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Veerendra Heggade</span> Indian philanthropist and hereditary administrator of the Dharmasthala Temple

D. Veerendra Heggade is an Indian philanthropist and the hereditary administrator of the Dharmasthala Temple. He succeeded to the post at the age of 19, on October 24, 1968, the 21st in his line. He administers the temple and its properties, which are held in trust for the benefit of devotees and of Dharma. He is a nominated Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha since July 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bachendri Pal</span> Indian mountaineer

Bachendri Pal is an Indian mountaineer. In 1984, she became the first Indian woman to climb the summit of the world's highest mountain, Mount Everest. She was awarded the third highest civilian award in India, Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay</span> Indian freedom fighter (1903–1988)

Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay was an Indian social reformer. She has worked for the promotion of Indian handicrafts, handlooms, and theatre in independent India to uplift the socio-economic standard of Indian women. She is the first woman in India to contest in elections from Madras Constituency, but lost.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murugappa Channaveerappa Modi</span> Indian surgeon

Dr. Murigeppa Channaveerappa Modi often referred by his initials, M. C. Modi was an Indian ophthalmologist and eye surgeon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Janaki Devi Bajaj</span> Indian activist

Janaki Devi Bajaj was an Indian independence activist who was jailed for participating in Civil Disobedience Movement in 1932.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chitra Visweswaran</span> Indian dancer

Chitra Visweswaran is an Indian Bharata Natyam dancer who runs a dance school, the Chidambaram Academy of Performing Arts, in Chennai.

Dr. Kamini A. Rao is a pioneer in the field of Assisted Reproduction in India. She has specialized in reproductive endocrinology, ovarian physiology and assisted reproductive technology and has been awarded the Padma Sri, one of India's highest civilian awards. Dr. Kamini A. Rao is the medical director at Milann – Centre for Reproductive Medicine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R. Nagarathnamma</span> Indian theatre personality

R. Nagarathnamma (1926–2012) was an Indian theatre personality and the founder of Stree Nataka Mandali, an all-women theatre group based in Bengaluru. A recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, she was honored by the Government of India, in 2012, with the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri.

P. R. Thilagam, popularly known as Thiruvarur Thilagam, is an Indian composer, vocalist and exponent of Kuravanji, a traditional form of dance drama popular in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. She hails from Kondi parampara of the Isai Vellalar community, a sect of women dedicated to the worship at Thyagaraja Temple, Tiruvarur.

Meenakshi Chitharanjan, an Indian classical dancer, teacher and choreographer, is known as an exponent of the Pandanallur style of the classical dance form of Bharatanatyam. She is the founder of Kaladiksha, an institution promoting Bharatanatyam and striving to preserve the Pandanallur tradition. A disciple of the father-son duo of Chokkalingam Pillai and Subbaraya Pillai, she is a recipient of several honours including Kalaimamani Award of the Government of Tamil Nadu and the Natya Kala Sarathi of Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha. The Government of India awarded her the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2008, for her contributions to classical dance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sulagitti Narasamma</span> Indian midwife (1920–2018)

Sulagitti Narasamma was an Indian midwife from Pavagada town, in Tumkur district of Karnataka state. She performed more than 20,000 traditional deliveries free of charge over a 70-year period of service in deprived regions of Karnataka with no medical facilities. Her work was honored with the National Citizen's award of India in 2012 and the country's fourth highest civilian award, the Padma Shri, in 2018.

A Zakia is a literati, a literary personality from the Siaha town of Mizoram, India, who was awarded the Padma Sri, the fourth highest civilian honour, by the Indian government in March 2018 for the preservation of the Mara language and cultural ethos through his exemplary contribution towards Mara journalism and literary creation.

Deshamanya Vajira Chitrasena is a veteran Sri Lankan traditional dancer, choreographer and teacher. Vajira is regarded as Sri Lanka's first prima ballerina. She is the first Sri Lankan woman to practice the traditional Kandyan dance which was traditionally performed only by men. Vajira is credited for creating brand for female style of Kandyan dancing and set the tone for women to become ritual dancers. She was married to Chitrasena who was a well known legendary dancer and dance guru. On 26 January 2020, she along with late professor Indra Dassanayake was conferred with the Padma Shri award which is one of the highest Indian civilian awards coinciding with the 71st Republic Day of India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indra Dassanayake</span> Sri Lankan professor

Indra Dassanayake was a Sri Lankan academic, emeritus professor in Hindi, a scholar, and known for promoting Hindi-language and North Indian culture in Sri Lanka through educational institutions. On 26 January 2020, she received the Padma Shri award.

Tara Jauhar is a writer and educationist from Delhi, India who has dedicated her life for disseminating the teachings of Sri Aurobindo who was an Indian philosopher, yoga guru, poet and nationalist who advocated a philosophy of life based on spiritual evolution. Tara Jauhar is the Chairman of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Delhi Branch which had been founded by her father Surendra Nath Jauhar in the year 1956. In the year 2022, Govt of India honored her with the Padma Shri award for her life long work dedicated to spreading the teachings of Sri Aurobindo.

R Muthukannammal is a seventh generation veteran Sadir dancer from the Indian State of Tamil Nadu. She is the only surviving person among the 32 Devadasis who served the deity at the Viralimalai Murugan temple and she is the last woman to have the ceremony pottukkattutal of dedicating oneself to God performed at the Viralimalai temple. In the year 2022, Govt of India honoured Muthukannammal by conferring the Padma Shri award for her contributions in the field of art. The dance form Sadir, variously called as Sadiraattam or Parathaiyar Aattam or Thevarattam, is a classical Indian dance from which was reinvented, modified and rechristened as Bharatanatyam through the efforts of E Krishna Iyer in 1932. However, Muthukannammal has chosen to call her art form Sadir, making her the only Sadir exponent today.

Nivruti Rai was the head of Intel India and vice president of Intel Foundry Services. She has received the Nari Shakti Puraskar, the highest civilian honour for women in India.

References

  1. ↑ "These Are The Unsung Heroes In The 2018 Padma Shri Awards List". NDTV.com. Retrieved 2018-11-17.
  2. 1 2 "#SheInspiresMe: Here Are All The Women Who Inspire Our Politicians, Including PM Modi". News18. Retrieved 2018-11-17.
  3. 1 2 3 "Sitavva leaves 'service of God' to save innocents". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2018-11-17.
  4. ↑ "TBI BLOGS: This Woman Was Dedicated as a Devadasi at Age 7. Today, She Is a CEO". The Better India. 2016-05-04. Retrieved 2018-11-17.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.