I. Origins

My ancestors hailed from a town called ‘Mokhtal’ about 30 miles from ‘Raichur’ on the way to ‘Mahbubnagar’. They moved to Sira during Nizam’s time.

Our ancestors were pure Vaidika's smartha mulakanadu group (Harithasa gothra-Angirasa/ Ambareesha /Youvanaashwa triyarusheya) and hailed from a place called Mokhtal, a tiny village about 40 kilometers north of Bellary in Nizam's dominion on the borders of Karnataka and the present Andhra Pradesh situated in Mabubnagar Taluk.

During the Nizam's time, our ancestors migrated to Karnataka to a place called Sira, a taluk head quarters 75 miles north from Bangalore on National highway no 4.

Mokhta is town near the ‘sangama’ or junction of river Bhima to Krishna. This junction is clearly visible in the map at the top north of Raichur.

I have not had a chance to visit this place, nor do I know when my ancestors left Makhtala exactly. Our family is called Makhtaala vamsha. Our family deity is Ahobila Narasimha(image below).

Our Family Deity is located at Ahobilam and is shown on the map below. There is a town called ‘Alagadda’ in the Chittor- Nandyal road. The map identifes pedda Ahobilam. A small stream from the mountains (Nandyala giri)is an important stream for Ahobilam and has a name which escapes my mind at the moment (suvaranaavati). This is the stream in which we bathe.

I was born in 1908 in a town called Sira (32 mies from Tumkur-Bangalore- Bombay National Highway). My father was Narahari Shastry and my mother was Lakshmidevamma.

The population of the town was then 5000 half of them being muslims. Hindus and Muslims lived amicably side by side, a road differentiating our houses. Our house was built of mud. There were three tanks, Doddakere, Chikkakere and Jajikere. Water was scarce and was very hard with dissolved minerals. One well had sweet water, a distance away from our house. My parents had seven sons and two daughters. Those were glorious days and I cannot imagine how they brought all of us up.