Introduction

This website, 'illindala.org' pertains to the details about Aaruvela Niyogi Smartha Brahmin family and its descendents with origin in Telagavaram village, Telangana, India, with the surname ILLINDALA. This village is also referred to as Telagaram or Illindalawada. Presently, Telagavaram has a population of 2366 (2011 Census). It has since been upgraded to Grama Panchayat and is 10 km away from Mandal/Sub-District Headquarter Penuballi in Khammam district. The postal pin code is 507302.

1. A few family members use a variation of the family name as Illendula or Illendala.

2. We are aware that there are families using the same family name but belonging to other Hindu communities. We are also aware of another Brahmin family using the same surname, but our inquiry found that there was no relationship at any level with this branch.

3. Further, our surname or family name has no connection with the town of Illendu or Yellendu in Khammam District. More research needs to be done with adequate time, energy, and resources on how and why different people use ILLINDALA as their family name.

The information contained in this website is the exclusive property of this branch of ILLINDALA’s.

The study on the way of life of ILLINDALA’s on this site has been confined to the first 3 generations, as they were not known to the later generations, and remote methods had to be used to collect data about them. It is left to the representatives of each branch of the 3rd Generation onwards to collect information and create histories of their predecessors.

ILLINDALA’s Profile

Illindala families were Hindu undivided families for the first three generations, as was the practice of those times. From the third generation onwards, migration necessitated the fragmentation of families.

1. Pravara of ILINDALA’s

2. Family Profession in the First 4 Generations

Karaneekam, i.e., the job of maintaining the records of the village's agricultural land and collecting taxes for the government, was the main profession for ILLINDALA’s. This position was hereditary, i.e., passed from one generation to the next in the same family. (The appointment of hereditary Karanams was initiated by the ministers of Golconda Nawab during the 17th century, according to a story. The hereditary form of appointing Karanams was abolished by Sri N.T. Rama Rao's government in the combined state of Andhra Pradesh during 1982–84. Other members of the family obtained employment in Nizam’s government or elsewhere, depending on the opportunity or availability at that point in time.

Life of ILLINDALAs Up To and Including the Third Generation and Migration

It was known that the first two generations of the Illindala family lived in Telagavaram Village, where they inherited/acquired land in and around Telagavaram Village. The head of the family was hereditary Karanam, reporting to Nizam’s government. Other than the names of the principal couples, the family details of the first and second generations (names/numbers of brothers and sisters etc.) were not known to later generations.

1. Our ancestors, upto the 3rd generation,lived as a Hindu undivided family, as was the social norm of those times. The whole family was considered a unit and developed its own rules of administration. The resources were scarce and, when available, were limited. All the activities of menfolk were directed towards fulfilling the basic needs of the family members, while the women would cook and look after the family.

2. During the lifetime of Purushottama Rao Garu (Gen.2), the family, including his five sons, lived in Telagavaram. The age gap between the first brother and the last brother of 3rd Generation Illindala’s was about 20 years.

3. The first three brothers, namely Ramakoteswara Rao garu, Venkateswara Rao Garu, and Satyanarayana Rao Garu, had no formal education as understood today but were proficient in Chaste Urdu, the official language of Nizam’s state. They were very well versed in our Puranas and the Hindu Brahmin’s way of life, right from their childhood.

4. Sometime in 1913, the 1st son Ramakoteswara Rao Garu got employment in Nizam’s government by virtue of his Urdu proficiency and left Telagavaram. Later, when Purushottama Rao garu expired, Ramakoteswara Rao garu persuaded his second brother, Venkateswara Rao garu, to take over as Karanam. Much later, the third brother, Satyanarayana Rao Garu, also got employment in Nizam’s government by virtue of his Urdu proficiency and left Telagavaram. With three brothers gainfully employed, the 4th Brother Rama Rao Garu, got basic teacher training and the 5th brother, Narasimha Rao Garu, got training as an overseer of works. The last two brothers also moved out of Telagavaram. Venkateswara Rao Garu remained in Telagavaram to work as a hereditary Karanam.

5. The fourth generation was a transition from an undivided family to a divided family. Over-time, the decision-making process became decentralized. Sitarama Rao, s/o Ramakoteswara Rao Garu, was a good student and persuaded his father to permit him to appear for the Osmania Matriculation Examination in 1921. Thereafter, he passed Intermediate (2 years) and BA (Science) (2 years) from Osmania University, Hyderabad, without asking for money from his father. (Ramakoteswara Rao Garu was initially reluctant to commit in view of the expenditure involved.) As further education was not available at Osmania University, Hyderabad, he had to choose either Aligarh University or Dhaka University to pursue post-graduation. He chose the MSc (Chemistry) 2-year course at Dhaka University. By June 1927, he was appointed as a temporary lecturer at Osmania University, Hyderabad.

6. He was followed by his brother, Ramachandra Rao, who completed BA and LLB at Osmania University. By 1934, he had been selected as Deputy Collector in Nizam's government.

7. Venkateswara Rao Garu expired due to severe illness in the early 1940s, leaving behind his family (wife and five children) and hereditary position as Karanam. The Kartha of the family, Rama Koteshwara Rao garu, persuaded Purushottama Rao s/o Venkateswara Rao garu, 4th Generation Illindala, who had just completed the Intermediate course, to accept his father’s position as Karanam and take care of his family.

8. The first migration of Illindala’s was from Telagavaram village by the 3rd generation and later to Hyderabad by the 4th generation.
The migration of Illindala’s from Telagavaram to Hyderabad started as a trickle at first but became a flood in due course. Most of the living Illindala’s finally migrated to Hyderabad city for higher education or better employment. This was completed by about 1970.

9. The 3rd Generation ILLINDALA’s (Purushottama Rao of the 4th Generation, representing Venkateswara Rao Garu) divided most of the common family properties among themselves as per the norms of those days, sometime during 1944–1945.

ILLINDALA’s Core Values Practiced in the First Three Generations

1. Unity: All members felt that the family was one, and the decisions made by the Kartha (head of the family) regarding education, employment, marriage, allotment of duties, division of common properties, etc. were accepted by all members.

2. Charity: Though 'incomes' were meager and the 'wants' of the family members were many, Kartha helped the needy (outside the family) as part of his social responsibility.

3. Religious practices: Illindala’s followed all Brahmin practices at home and observed fasts on auspicious days. They performed all the rituals rigorously, as was the practice in those days.

4. Though four of the five brothers were employed and consequently worked with members of other communities or religions in their offices, they did not let this influence their way of life at home.

5. As (4 out of 5) 3rd Gen. Illindala’s were exposed to governance in Nizam’s state and the society at large, they understood the importance of education. They prioritized the education of their children.

Identity of ILLINDALA Family Members

1. Due to migration from Telagavaram in stages, the Illindala family evolved into smaller units consisting of migrated individuals managing their families in day-to-day matters under the advice of the Kartha,while the landed property was taken care of as undivided property.

2. As the families grew in number,younger members migrated looking for better opportunities in pursuit of higher education or better employment, and consequently, the family bonds weakened. A stage was reached where some younger family members did not know the existence of some other family members.

3. As the years pass by, there is every possibility that future generations may become even more nuclear and ignorant of the strong family bonds that were enjoyed earlier. It is hoped that this humble beginning, made in the year 2023, will provide a base for future Illindala family members to relate themselves to each other. The requisite for a good relationship between members would be a member's identity and goodwill.

4. A family chart was prepared, identifying each male (son) and female (daughter) Illindala in every generation. The following exercise elaborately describes the identity and hierarchical relationships of Illindala family members. The methodology for identifying each Illindala is given below with an example.

5. Each individual is identified by a digit, 1 for the first child, 2 for the second child, etc., to his parents.

  5.1 Krishnaiah Garu was known to the 3rd Gen. Illindala’s as a grandfather to Generation 3 and as a great grandfather to Generation 4 Illindala’s. Hence, his generation was taken as the reference, and he was designated as Person 1, Generation 1. It was assumed that he was the only son or the eldest son, as he was a Karanam, passed on to him by his father.

  Note: We learned from unconfirmed sources that Dharmapuri Garu, Sitaramayya Garu, and Sayanna Garu,in that order, were predecessors to Krishnaiah Garu. Similarly, Krishnaiah Garu might have had another son, Errayya Garu. However,in the absence of any verifiable information, we started our family chain at Krishnaiah Garu, the first known Illindala with credibility.

  5.2 Likewise, his son, Purushottama Rao Garu, was identified as 1.1 (since he was a hereditary Karanam, it was assumed that he was the eldest son or only son) to his parents and was designated as the 1st person in Generation 2. Verifiable information on his siblings was also not known.

  5.3 Purushothama Rao Garu had five sons, and no information was available about whether he had any daughters. Hence, these 5 Illindalas were identified as Generation 3. The corresponding identity codes for these 5 brothers were: Ramakoteswara Rao-1.1.1; Venkateswara Rao-1.1.2; Satyanarayana Rao-1.1.3; Rama Rao-1.1.4; and Narasimha Rao-1.1.5.

  In this methodology, we need to know that Illindala identification starts with Krishnaiah garu as 1st generation; 2 digits mean the 2nd generation; and 3 digits mean the 3rd generation. The actual number denotes the number of the child to his/her parents. The dots are used to separate the generations.

  5.4 It will be seen that the identity code allotted to each member is unique and will not be the same for any two members. Also, the number of digits separated by dots gives the generation number, so the requirement for defining the generation is also not there.   The same methodology is carried out for all other members and generations in the family.

  5.5 The female members of the family are also allocated identity numbers. However, 1) as the member would relinquish her Illindala surname after marriage, and 2) for fear of the family tree becoming too large and unwieldy at a later date, the numerical identity was not given to her progeny.

  5.6 Illindala children who died at a very young age (less than 5 years) were also not identified.

The Illindala family tree and the methodology of relating each member to the others are in finished form and are the property of the Illindala family to be preserved and updated periodically. If, in the future, a simpler methodology can be worked out, it would be given a fair trial.

The Second ILLINDALA Migration to Foreign Countries

1. Some well-settled Illindala youngsters from Hyderabad city were looking forward to relocating during 1967-68 to prosperous foreign countries like the USA, UK, Australia, Singapore, etc., the reasons being marriage, higher education, or better employment. To start with, the relocation was a temporary exploratory exercise, but as time passed, they adjusted to the new environment and settled down comfortably. Those eligible acquired long-term stay documents or even citizenship from the resident countries.

Other eligible youngsters followed suit, and in the latest count, one or two youngsters from every Illindala family have left India for a better life. The findings of a review made recently to estimate the number of such relocations in Illindala families are given below.

2. The assumptions made for counting the relocated Illindala’s are:

 a. A relocated Illindala is defined as a person who went to a foreign country and stayed there for 5 years or more in marriage, for higher education, or for employment.
 b. Only male or female youngsters of ILLINDALA families who relocated to foreign countries or territories were counted.
 c. The daughters-in-law and sons-in-law of the Illindala families were not counted.
 d. Children of Illindala daughters were also not counted.

The Illindala’s relocated to foreign countries as of September 2023 were:
Gen. 4: 2 members: Vinayabhooshana Rao (USA)
     Rama Devi (UK)
Gen. 5: 8 members: Chitra, Hima Bindu, Madhura Smitha, Sai Sameera, Sucharita, Sudhakar, Uday (USA),
     Sesh Kumar (China)
Gen. 6: 11 members: Anita, Nikhil, Ramachandra, Sahithi, Sindhoora, Sitaram, Uday Kiran, Vasanta Lakshmi, Venkata Aditya Kiran (USA),
     Shalini (UK),
     Sri Harsha (Singapore),
     Vamshi Krishna Hemanth (Australia),

The following Illindala's were born in the countries their parents migrated to, as marked against their names.
Gen. 6: 1 member: Praneel Sai Harsh Kumar (USA)
Gen. 7: 8 members: Aadhya, Adharva Ram, Bala, Datta, Eashan, Medha Shyamala Sai, Ritvik, Shreyas Kumar Sai (USA).
     Koustubha Shankara Sai was born in Bangalore; Virinchi Shyam Sai was born during Sri Harsha’s stay in Australia. (Currently they are living in Singapore.)

Illindala Migrants: 21; their children born abroad: 11; Total: 32.
Illindala Migrant Families: 21

It is interesting to note that the USA is the most popular destination for migration by Illindala's for marriage,higher education, and thereafter for employment and citizenship.

Finally, out of 63 Illindala’s (alive as of September 2023), 25 are living in the USA, 2 in the UK, 1 in Australia, 1 in China, and 3 in Singapore, for a total of 32 members.
The rest, i.e., 31 members, live in India.
It is requested that suitable conclusions be drawn from the above data.
(If any error is noticed in the above data, please feel free to point it out for rectification.)

a. From the above, we observe that out of 63 Illindala’s now (September 2023) alive, about 50 percent live outside the country (in the USA, UK, Singapore, or China), while their parents live in India.
b. There are also some Illindala families who are not bitten by the foreign bug. They continue to live in India, their children found employment here and their grandchildren were also born here.

Conclusions

1. This monologue is meant for ILLINDALA’s:
 a) interested in understanding the evolution of the family and
 b) young ILLINDALA’s who want to know about their ancestors.

2. As of September 2023, the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Generation ILLINDALA’s have all departed. Only a very few 4th generation ILLINDALA’s are available to give us their past memories.

3. The prosperity and well-being of a later generation ILLINDALA’s rests on the foundation created by Illindala’s past generations with frugal means. Each generation of ILLINDALA’s is better off financially than their immediate past generation.

4. However, there is a lot to learn from past generations, like family unity, the practice of good family norms, concern for others, adapting to new societies and situations even while maintaining religious and cultural identity at home, etc.

5. The very thought that we belong to a family with a long history will itself instill an effect of humility in us.

Contact

If any person has a query on the content of this site, he/she may contact us on WhatsApp +91 9849612568 (Illindala Naganatha Rao) or +91 9490120153 (Illindala Bhruguramaprasada Rao). It is assured that they will provide necessary clarification to the best of their ability.

You may also reach us by filling the form here: