House of Gadasalli
Founded in AD 1780

The House of Gadasalli was founded by  Rangappa Esquire  at Kan Kan Halli  now known as Kanakapura, which is located at a distance of 35 miles to the south of Bangalore city, India.

Rangappa, a wealthy land lord cum Revenue Administrator in the service of the Maharaja of Mysore at Belur in Hassan district moved to Kan Kan Halli, purchased a large house - still in the family's possession - and over 1000 acres of fertile agricultural land. To cultivate the lands he brought in several farmer families from nearby villages and founded a hamlet with about 50 families, which has doubled in size since then. The hamlet was then named as Gadasalli by the farmers as a mark of respect to the land- lord who had a majestic voice befitting his bearing (gadasu in the Kannada language means loud and proud halli meaning village.) Thus the family came to be known as the Gadasalli family. These  Hoysala Karnataka Smartha Brahmins of the Hindu faith, are descendents of the great sage Haritasa and so belong to Haritasa Gotra. Their lineage is memorized and passed on to successive generations through its Pravara, which  is chanted  like this.  "Angirasa, Ambareesha, Yavanashwa thraya rusheya  pravaranvitha, Haritasa Gotra, ashwilayana sutra, vrikshaka, adhayee.... ". The family diety- Kula Daiwam - is Lord Subrahmanya. The family preceptor - Kula Guru - is Shankara.

The deeply religious Rangappa, soon got recognized for his philanthropy. He distributed lands to some relatives. Nobody who sought his help  for education of  children or for marriage of daughters  or to feed  their families in hard times, returned empty handed. Thousands of persons were fed in the large house on numerous  religious, festive and social occasions, all year round, besides offering groceries  to temple priests on a daily  basis. From time to time Sanyasis and their disciples were invited to camp at the house during the holy months of Chaturmasya and to conduct religious discourses. Dharmopanayanam  and Dharma Vivah - Thread ceremonies and Marriages were performed by the family, to help out needy families. Successive generations remained true to his ideals.

Gadasalli family being connoisseurs of South Indian classical (Carnatic)  music, frequently arranged  music concerts at their home for  select gatherings besides educating their girls in music under eminent teachers. Almost all girls of the 7th generation became good singers. But being a tradition bound Mysorean family, it did not encourage it's sons to learn music!. Now things are changing.

The  family tradition of sharing with the community, some of the bounties that the good Lord lavishes  on the House continued -  albeit modestly -  even after the land reform legislations of post Independent India of the 1950s adversely affected the family fortunes. Some of the lands were taken away by the Government in the name of land reforms. To-day the tradition continues to be nurtured by the younger generation. For a glimpse of recent  contributions by a 8th generation Gadasalli  settled in the US,  please read a News report in the Odessa American. News and Special Events . 'Local Family gives ECISD (Ector County Independent School District)  an early Gift.' 

Higher education became a priority for the 7th  generation, with seventeen of its twenty two members obtaining Bachelor's, Master's and Doctorate degrees in Science, Engineering and Medicine. The more enterprising members  started to look at America for their future and the first member of the clan set foot in Chicago in the 1940s. After obtaining his doctorate in Chemical Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology, Dr K. Nagaraja Rao (716) distinguished himself by serving  as a member of the Economic Commission for Asia setup by the US Governemt in the 1950s. He worked in Korea and  Indonesia. Later he worked as a Ford Foundation advisor in Brazil.  He  lived in Welsley, Massachusetts, until his demise in 1988. One of his children Harsha, is a Vietnam veteran.

Subsequently, several members of the highly acclaimed family -  both men and women - migrated 
to the US, some obtained higher college degrees  and all settled down in various professions.

Please go to the bottom of this page for links to Gadasalli families in USA and other useful links.

The main purpose of this website is to enlighten the younger generation Gadasallis and relatives 
living in USA and other western countries about their great Heritage, Culture and Ancestry.

 Website  hosted by Raj Gadasalli.  October 2003