www.jainworld.com                                                                                                                                              www.jainworld.com

JAIN FAMILY OF 180 MEMBERS
At a time when the joint family tradition has become a thing of the past and where nuclear families thrive, the 180-member Narasinganavar Jain clan in northern Karnataka is an exception in modern India. As one of the largest joint families in Asia, with its lineage dating back to the 16th century, the Narasinganavar clan has defied all odds to live as a contented lot under one roof at Lokur, a placid hamlet about 20 km from Dharwad and 400 km from here. The family's ancestors hail from Hatkal Angada village near Miraj in Maharashtra. At 90, Tammanna Jinappa is the oldest, while his brother Bhimanna, 75, is the patriarch, presiding over the fortunes of the grand family comprising 60 children, 50 women and 70 men.

Rooted to the soil, with farming as its main occupation, the clan is self-reliant and self-sufficient in meeting its needs by harvesting grains such as wheat, maize and corn for consumption and generating income. Besides cultivating cotton, sugarcane and oilseeds, the men are involved in growing a variety of vegetables, including potatoes and onions on their 280 acres of farmland. Living a frugal life, the joint family is financially sound and debt free, with an annual income of Rs.0.8-Rs.1.2 million depending on the monsoon and the market rate for the farm produce. The annual expenditure, largely on farm labour and machinery, is judiciously limited to Rs.1 million.

Devout Jains, the family consumes daily about 50 kg of maize, 20 kg of wheat flour and 40 litres of milk, drawn from its huge dairy. Though individual families share different rooms with porticos, all the members converge on the spacious dining hall for meals. Many of them also gather in the common hall upstairs to watch television. The grand family has about 100 votes. In the gram panchayat polls, the family calls the shots in choosing the candidate. The 35-year-old stone mansion is a treasure-trove of antiques, artifacts and collectors' items left behind by successive generations over the last four to five centuries.