Gajula Balija Naidu - Related surnames and family names in Tamil Nadu of 1860 to 1950

Balija Naidus were usually a trading community, found in all cities and mofussil towns of the Madras Presidency, from Srivilliputhur to Srikakulam. There were two major groups. The royalty - the Balija Nayaks, the Kings of Madura, Tanjore and Vijayanagar - were from the same community. As were their generals, ministers and governors. The second group were the traders - and of these, there were two major groups - Gajulu or Gazulu Balijas (bangle sellers) and the Perike Balijas (salt sellers).

In the current Tamil districts of Madras Presidency, the Balijas came to be known as Vaduga and Kavarai. To distinguish between the glass-bangle sellers and the gold jewellery traders, the Gajula Balijas involved in the richer trade got the titles "Chetti" and this was usually preferred. Commonly different surnames are - Naidu, Nayakkan, Chetti, Setti, Nayak, Kavarai, and Valaiyal Chetti among others.

[Valaiyal = Bangles in Tamil... i.e. Gajulu]

The Gazula Balijas in Nellore areas - 

from "The Vizagapatnam District Gazetteer" edited by W. Francis - 1907

The Balija Chettis or Setti, and sometimes, Shetty Balijas, and Sugavansi Balija controlled trading guilds. These communities became powerful and had tremendous impact on the trade of Vijayanagar. These guild-master families were given the title "Desai" by the Vijayanagar Kings. The Chetty families in Srirangam, Kumbakonam and Thanjavur were closely related to many Gajula Balija Naidus.

I remember my parents and grandfather being close friends of the Chetty families who were jewellers in Matunga, Mumbai, because they knew each other from back in Srirangam and were probably related, or close enough. The Chetty families, as I was told by my paternal grandfather, were actually Gajula Balijas, but on research, I learn that they were preferential to the community title - Kavarai Gajula Bangaru Naidu. This is the crucial distinction from glass bangles to gold jewellery traders.

There are variations in the surnames or family names. These include - Balija, Banajiga, Balanja, Bananja, Bananju, Banijiga, Balijiga, Valanjiyar, Balanji, Bananji, Baliga - derived from the Sanskrit term for Vanik or Vanii - a trader. It was the Banajigas who comprised trade guilds, and were famously known during the pre-medieval and medieval period as the five hundred lords of Ayyavolu. The name - Balija - also came to include Boya, Golla, Gavara and others during the rule of Krishnadevaraya of Vijayanagar.

The largest groups were Kapu, and these extended to Vakkaligas. In Kannada, some of these groups and communities came to be known by other names, including Pusala. There are communities named after their nativity - such as Gonuguntla Desayi Chetti - named after Gonuguntla Village. Yet another community was Gandavarapu, who were Gonuguntla Balijas, and migrated to Cuddapah. Other names included Mulaka, Miriyala, Vyasa, Tota, Kondeti, Gopathi and Perike among others.

The official status for Gajula Balija Naidus or Gazula Balija Naidus are -

Naidus of Srivilliputhur area during 1850 to 1925 - some notes

There were historical concentrations of Naidu populations in Tamil Nadu since the Vijayanagar and other empires that conquered lands from Andhra areas to Kerala-Tamil Nadu areas and vice versa, i.e., from South Tamil Nadu to Andhra-Karnataka areas. [Of course, that's a different post...]

Today, most Naidu families in south-south Tamil Nadu speak Telugu at home, in a local accent, but probably cannot read or write it fluently. They would definitely be much better at Tamil, and perhaps, Malayalam. English? Absolutely. Better than the English, most certainly!!!

During 1850 to 1925, the Naidu families would have been proficient in Telugu, following Andhra cuisine, customs and marrying into similar caste and communities, including very specific sub-caste groups. Today, it would be the larger community preferences.

The Naidus during 1850 to 1925 in these areas were known as 'Nayakkars' since they were similar to warrior clans of the local Naick (= Chief). Since the Telugu language that they spoke was known locally in south Tamil Nadu as "Vadugu", the Telugu-speaking community came to be known as 'Vadugars'. So, Vadugars were the larger community, while the Nayakkars were a sub-set. Within this sub-set, there would have been Kamma Naidus, Balija Naidus and other groups.

The southern most group of Nayakkars that probably knew each other would have been residents of today's Madurai, Ramanathapuram and Tirunelveli districts. They lived mostly in villages and specialised in the cultivation of cotton and chillies. The headman of the village was known as the 'Vooru Nayakkar' or 'Vooru Naicker'. Historically, the Naidus in this region have been recognised as economically backward classes and have benefited from the opportunities since Independence and have studied well and moved to wherever their fortunes and future took them.

There is a significant difference when you compare the communities while at Tirunelveli and Srivilliputhur and when they are in the Madras-Chengelpet-Thanjavur-Kumbakonam-Tiruchirapalli-Srirangam areas. In south-south Tamil Nadu, they retained the surname - 'Naidu', 'Naicker' or 'Nayakkar' - but, in the north-east Tamil Nadu areas, they took to be identifying themselves with a surname. They took on different 'house-names' to distinguish themselves within the community. Thus, my great grandfather was "Neela Meghala Shyamala Naidu", while my grandfather, settled in Trichy and later Madras, was "Shyamala Ranga Bhashyam". My father took on the name - Balapila Naga Bhushan, but uniquely, his younger brother, my uncle took on - Shantaram Naidu. This grouping of different names is what made me dig deeper and deeper into the region.

During 1850 to 1920s, the most prominent Naidu families in Srivilliputhur areas were the zamindars, i.e., the landlords - and they were - Pemmasani of the Kurivikulam Estate, and Ravella of the Illavarasanandanal Estate. The Pemmasani family also had the Naickerpatti Estate in Madurai, while the Bellam family owned the Seevalpatti Estate.