I am gald that the geneology of the Mudarthas who remained in Balegundi is known for the past 250 years.Likewise the genology of those who migrated towards north (Shirva and Belle) and towards South ( Kinnigoli and Kirem) is also known for the same period. But the genelogy of those who migrated to other places is known for varying periods generally between 100 and 150 years. The name of the eldest person at Balegundi so far known is Mingel Mudartha. The name of his wife is not known. The number of generations who lived at Balegundi till the time of Mingel Mudartha are also not known. With all probability Mingel might have been born in the middle of the eighteenth century and must have lived upto the fourth decade of the nineteenth century.His son was Insa Mudartha . Mingel had seven children, but the names of others are not known since none of them remained in Balegundi. Insa had two wives whose names are also not known. After the demise of the first wife he married again. The property of Balegundi is divided into two by a stream - the eastern portion (althodi) belonged to the children of his first wife and the western portion(polthodi) belonged to the first wife and her children. The present generation belonging to the first wife report that the first wife was very cruel towards the wives of the sons of the first wife. They had to finish the work of cooking well before sunrise and thereafter had no entrance inside the kitchen, but had to work outside the house. They were given limited food. The eldest son of the first wife named Joachim Santhan was a short tempered person. He and his brother Babu (Louis) could not tolerate the step-motherly treatment. Hence, out of anger both of them migrated with their families to Poiman of Kinnigoli, about twelve kilometers south of Balegundi and settled there. They did not ask for any share in their ancestral property nor did they bring any commodity but simply travelled empty handed. They never visited their ancestral place thereafter throughout their life as they had cut-off all the relations. However, their children started going to Balegundi occasionally and re-established their relationship. After the migration of the children of the first wife of Insa Mudartha, there was a division in the ancestral property into the six portions as follows:-

Sr.no	Division	Name of the owner
1.	Gharanthlo Vanto	Gabru Mudartha
2.	Chowkenthlo Vanto	Aplo Mudartha
3.	Kudanthlo Vanto	Ambraham Mudartha
4.	Anganthlo Vanto	Sanu Mudartha
5.	Kodkyanthlo Vanto	Gustin Mudartha
6.	Kolyanthlo Vanto	Paul Mudartha

Note:- 'Kolya' is the name of the place where a portion of the property was situated. There was one big well. All were sharing the water of that well for purpose of cultivation.Accordingly timings were alloted to them. It is to be noted that there had been no division in the family property for more than a century ever since the migration from Goa. This indicate that till the time of Insa Mudartha the property at Balegundi must have been inherited by one child in the male line. Others might have separated themselves and must have migrated to different places.

By the middle of the eighteenth century, the number of christians increased in the coastal Karnataka both by way of evangelization by foreign missionaries particularly from Paris and by immigration of converted Christians from Goa. but on the 21st of July,1773 Pope clement XIV Proclaimed 'Dominus Ac Redemtor' by which the activities of the Jasuits were stayed and they were arrested and deported to Lisbon. The action of the Pope in this regard is a blackspot in the history of the Catholic Church.

With the reduction in the number of missionaries, the existing missionaries started producing native priests. Besides they also trained people in order to proclaim faith and teach prayers. Such trained people were called 'Upadeshis'. In order to achieve speedy evangelisation they used to place 'Upadeshis' in different villages and when a good number of people got ready for conversion, they used to send a priest in order to Baptise them and to provide for their religious needs. For this purpose they were building chapels and a parochial houses for residential priests. Each priest was in charge of several villages around the chapel and each village was provided with a native 'Upadeshi'.

In 1776, as per the directions from Rome the task of evangelisation in Karnataka was entrusted to the Foreign Missionary Organisation (M.E.P) of Paris .On 18-09-1777 in the Conference held in Paris the Society of Jesus ceremoniously merged with the Foreign Missionary Organisation of Paris. As a result, in 1777 itself a seminary named 'The College General' was established in Pondichery which was the headquarters of the Karnataka Mission with the specific objective of training the natives for priesthood.

From 1783 to 1799 for a period of sixteen years the Christians of Karnataka, the Nayers of Karnataka and the Brahmins all over had to face a serious religious inquisition on account of the religious fanaticism of Tipu Sultan.

As a first step of religious inquisition Tipu Sultan exiled all the religious priests from his province with the result that between 1790 and 1799 there was not a single priest in his province. The christians became 'the sheep without the shepherd'. As such a good number of Christians fled to different places outside his province. Out of those who remained some were forcibly converted into Muslim religion, but a few managed to remain christians by secretly practising christianty, whereas those who were caught but reluctant to give up their faith had to face cruel punishment-----some got their noses cut-off, some men were given to the Muslim women who had lost their husbands and the women were offered to the muslim soldiers.

TIpu Sultan started destroying the Christians churches. It is to be noted that all the churches in his province except three were razed to the ground. These churches were- 1.Kirangur church 2. Gadenahalli church ( near Hassan) and 3. Blockpalli church (Banglore). It is interesting to note that the church of Gadenahalli was rescued by a Muslim who stocked cotton bales inside the church so as to make it appear like a godown.

One of the important churches destroyed by Tipu Sultan in South Kanara was the church of Mount Mary at Mangalore.The parish priest named Fr. Joachim Miranda fled to Veraploy of Kerala along with a few priests and 15 seminarian.

Among the immigrants from Goa the Konkani Brahmans ( both Gouda Saraswat Community and Bhamun Christians) have a fair complexion. It is probable that they are the descendants of the Northern Indian Brahmans that settled in Goa and had connection with fair women belonging to no recognised caste. Since Goa had properous trade with the western countries it attracted to its shores a cosmopolitan population which must have given rise to a mixed class of people with fair colour. Apart from this it is beleived that in the christian population of Kanara there is a strain of European blood passed down from the Portuguese who during the sixteenth and the seventeenth centuries settled along the coast for trade and other purposes. This strain of European blood may be traced in a small minority of the people who form a distinct community.In Goa they go by the name of the 'mesticos' (mixed class). They are the progeny of alliances between Portuguese officers, soldiers and merchants and the Indian women which were authorised by the Portuguese government and encouraged by the clergy, the women selected being generally of the higher castes. Apart from this minority the Konkani Christians of Kanara may be said to be purely Indians except in religion and religious practices and in being divided into castes and wearing dress like the Hindus. They, no doubt, bear Portuguese surnames which were given to their ancestors at the time of the Christening ceremony after the surname of their God-parents. In fact, this has been the case with all the converted christians who bear the Portuguese surnames in all records but generally known by their original Hindu surnames.

It is well-known that the Gouda Saraswat Brahmins are distinguished by their 'paik' names like Prabhu, Shenoy, Kamath, Pai, etc. These paik names are retained by them to show their ancestory. When the G.S Brahmins were converted to Christianity by the Portuguese their paik names were changed to the names of their God-fathers at the time of their Baptism. But side by side the retained their paik names also. Thus the Lobos are Prabhus, the Pintos are Kamanths, The Lasrados are Shenoys and the Albuquerques are Pais. There is no paik name for the Mudarths probably because they were called Mudras earlier. Yet they are also known as 'Porobs' . Whenever their surname is changed into Desouza, they are known as Mudorths. All the Desouzas amongst the Bamun Christians of Kanara do not belong to the same clan. There are three clans namely the Gidoli, the Nathnoli, and the Mudorth. At present about 90% of the Mudarthas have changed their surname into Desouza, some of them who belong to the new generations ven do not know that they are Mudorths.

The Konkani Christians of Coastal Karnataka are diveded into classes or castes corresponding to their Hindu castes and accordingly the Mudarthas being Porob (Prabhu) belong to Bhamun ( Brahman) sect. Inter -marriages between these castes are not forbidden, but rarely take place No Konkani Christian fells himself polluted by dining with a member of lower caste; but members of different castes do not habitually meet for dining on any ocasion. Like other Konkani Christians the Mudarthas used to bear only Christians names derived from western countries, but after independance there has beeen a fashion of giving Indian names.

In the History of the Diocese of Mangalore there is a reference made to the curious tradition among some local Christians regarding the origin of the Konkani christians. It would appear that St. Francis Xavier separated the Konkani concubines from the Portuguese in Goa and had them deported to Kanara to remove both parties from the occasion of sin with result the Konkani concubines seemed to have swelled the number of the temple women called Naikins and such other classes. They were settled in Ankola and Karwar and other towns of North Kanara who trace their homes to Goa and who now find their way in large numbers to Mumbai.

Another tradition referred to in the History of the Diocese of Mangalore is that the convicts of Bijapur state were first sent to Goa and then to Kanara and that the Konkani Christians are their descendants.But this version cannot be believed in view of the fact that there is not even a clue to show that they were ever converted to christianity . In the words of Casmir D'souza (District Registrar) 'It would be just as ridiculous to assert that the citizens of the common wealth of Australia are the descendants of the 'Sydney Ducks' as to maintain that the Christians of Kanara are the offspring of the people who left Bijapur or Goa for their country's good'.

There was greater religious freedom in Karnataka and all over the country during the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century under the British rule . Being shrewd politicians ans good businessmen, the British did not interfere with the religious affairs of the people , but permitted the European Missionaries to proclaim the Word of God and to practice voluntary evangelisation.

The Mudarthas, in general, were honest, hardworking and God-fearing. In the evening they used to recite long prayers and rosary before taking supper .Men used to take limited quantity of toddy and / or arrack in the evenings. Except a few all the Mudarthas were particular in attending Sunday masses . Some of the Mudarthas used to witness /take part in the cock-fighting which was the only recreation in rureal areas . Fishing and hunting were also prevalent. There were no cases of gambling.

Practically, all the Mudarthas of Balengudi were landlords but most of those who migrated to different places were tenants.All those who come under my line of Family Tree were agricultural tenants throughout. The tenants had absolutely no right on the property. Moreover even the tenancy was not permanent. The tenants had no right to cut any tree for any purpose-even for making a plough. However they could seek permission for cutting a particular tree for the purpose of making a plough and permission for such a purpose was usually granted . There was no question of cutting trees for timber because the tenants were provided with houses by the landlord.Construction of houses for the tenants involved the landlords with practically no expenditure except a most ordinary mid-day meal because all the tenants had to do free service to the landlord and all the materials required were available in the farms. The tenants had no right to construct housesof their own even at their own cost. They were even barred from using furniture in their houses.All the houses of the tenants were thatched huts varying in size depending on the size of the family and the generosity of the landlord. But the Mutts of Udupi had comparatively a liberal attitude towards the tenants and were generaly not creating any trouble so long as their rent was cleared. Whenever called by the landlords, the tenants had to attend to their work for which absolutely no remuneration was paid. However, a mid-day meal was provided. The tenancy was only for eleven months, but on payment of the annual rent and on their satisfactory behaviour with regard to obedience and loyalty to the landlord, the tenancy was genarally renewed. The tenants were not growing coconut trees as the tenure of their tenancy was uncertain.

Since the Mudarthas living in Balegundi were landlords their status in society was much higher than those who migrated to other places and lived as tenants. But, at present the status of those who have migrated to other places is much higher than those who remained in Balegundi.There was greater co-operation between the Mudartha families of Balegundi particularly during cermonial functions and social gatherings. Whenever marriages took place amongst any of the Mudarthas, all the famnilies had to send one head load each of vegetables and banana leaves . It was carried by Koragas who were remunerated in kind with one kilogram of rice and pan for their labour irrespective of distance.The Koraga families had their own jurisdiction with in which they had to carry out their duties. Their main duties were transporting head-loads of vegetables for marriage functions, disposal of waste food of any function and disposal of dead livestock. There was no remuneration for disposal of waste food and dead livestock becausethey were getting free food.The Koragas were very strict about their jurisdiction. However, they were distributing the waste food collected and the meat of dead animals amongst their relatives and neighbours.

Child marriage was prevalent as it was the common feature amongst people of all religions and in all places. Dancing and singing Gumta songs were the common feature specially during marriage functions. Usually they used to sing and dance the whole night for whch they were provided with toddy.It was also a kind of recreation to the people around particularly to the women who used to grind masala and carry out similar jobs.Catholic people in the neighbourhood most of whom were Mudarthas used to give free service with regard to the erection of pendal and cooking for all social functions. In the house of the Mudarthas some of the women who were given in marriage to the Mudarth families have complained that the Mudarths of the male line in general are domineering in nature. They do not treat their wives equally, but exercise their authority on them.No doubt, it is true.But it is also evident that such is the case with a majority of men of all castes in our region. In fact the activitiesof the women in the past were confined only to the agricultural fields and the kitchen. But things are changing fast with the spread of education and with an increase in the number of women taking up employment.

At present the society is changing very fast.The generation gap is so rapid in the last decade of this century that the views of the children differ fom those of their parents. In most of the sophisticated families the good deeds of the parents are never appreciated by their own children.The present generation is so accustomed to modern way of life that they have ahatred towards the style of lifr of their elders. "When there are opportunities of leading an easy and effortless life why to take trouble and pains?" .In fact this kind of thinking is also not wrong . The one who struggles hard to accquire material wealth will do so throughout his life passing on all that he has earned to his children and feels satisfied that he has achieved something in life . He thinks that his children should not have the trouble which he had undergone in his life.But this makes his children lazy and irresponsible to such an extent that they will not realize the importance of hard work unless and until they exhaust all that they have inherited.

Most of the elders of the present have a feeling that since they have looked after their parents well,they should also be looked after in the same manner by their children.However this is a wrong notion.it is our duty to look after our parents at their old age but at the same time it is wrong to expect the same treatment from ones children.One has to make provision for his old age so that he may be able to lead an independant life in case of need.

Till the middle of the 20th century, those who had vast agricultural land were quite well off. Thereafter their financial postion has declined.The barron lands particularly those which have road approach are fetching much better price than the cultivable fields. Year after year the cost of labour increases so much that in the case of marginal farmers who depend on workers from outside, it works out cheaper to buy rice than to produce in their own farms and as such many farmes are leaving their paddy fields fallow. Those who have income from other sources are better of whereas the standard of living of those who depend only on agriculture is quit low.

In recent years there has been an increase in the number of English medium schools in the district. At the same time there has been a growing awareness amongst people to limit the size of the family with the result that practically each family has not more than three children.Hence there is likelihood.of a reduction in the number of students in the Kannada medium schoolsand a substantial increase in the English medium schools.In the past admitting children to the English medium schools was the prerogative of the well-to-do. But now it has become fashion even amongst the middle class people.

During the last quarter of the present century, there has been a marked improvement in the financial position, food habits, civilisation and culture particularly due to Gulf-money. Practically 50% of our young men and atleast 10% of our women are working abroad especially in the Gulf countries. This hsa totally westernised our behaviour. The good old traditional marriage ceremonies and social customs are not tot be seen. Besides, mass education, the increased use of television and improved means of communication system has brought about a transition towards modern living.

Another important aspect of the present trend is the migration to towns and cities. Amongst them a good a majority have made their homes in Mumbai,a few in Banglore and the rest in the sophisticated areas of our coastal belt wherethere are better facilities of modern living. But unfortunately this has brought about a number of social evils.The richer class of people particularly the Gulf-goers provide all possible luxuries to their children with the result the present youth particularly the teenagers are becoming the victims of bad habits and even addicts to drinks and drugs.

How long will this continue? Our future generation will have to answer.