Battered by heavy rains, our ancestors did not just have to stay indoors struggling to pacify the pangs of the stomach, but rain induceed ailments too loomed large making the month of ‘Ashad’ or ‘Aati’ the most inauspicious month of all.

As per Tuluvas, it is during the month of Aati that evil spirits start hovering around, casting a spell of bad fortune. During this period of crisis, what our ancestors looked for was solace and mythical character of ‘AatiKalanja’ gave them just that.

Kalanja is a minor spirit, which is believed to have the powers to protect the villages from the ill-effects of the evil spirits. Even to this day, in the rural pockets of the coastal belt and even in hilly terrains of Kodagu, members of Nalike community, dress up like AatiKalanja and visit homes, driving away the evil forces.

With yellow painted faces and highlighted moustaches, Kalanja holds in his hand a typical umbrella with which he walks through the village lanes. He dons a strange costume, somewhat similar, yet simpler than the costumes worn by the impersonators of Daivas. The highlight of the costume is an over skirt made of tender coconut leaves. The head gear, embellishments on the hands and legs too are artistically made of coconut leaves. AatiKalanja is always accompanied by a man who plays a small drum. To beats of the percussion, Kalanja dances, driving away the evil.

However, like most rituals and cultures, AatiKalanja too is slowly vanishing in dunes of modernisation. The sight of Kalanja has become rare even in rural pockets and in time to come, he will only be a mythical character remembered as a line art of a painting or a photo in a book!