Davanagere
The Hakkipikki community here makes a living by making and selling artificial tiger nails. However, their business has been hampered due to tiger nail cases.
For the past 300 years, the Hakkipikki tribe of Gopanal village in Channagiri taluk of the district has been making artificial tiger claws and selling them at various places. In addition, they sell rudraksha, massage oil, tiger nails made from bullock hoofs. Each artificial tiger sells its claws for Rs. 500 to Rs. 1,000 and makes a living out of the proceeds.
However, after Big Boss contestant Varthur Santhosh was arrested in connection with a tiger’s nail pendant, their business has come down. Consumers are reluctant to buy artificial pendants. This is their livelihood for those who make a living by selling artificial pendants. But now, the decline in trade has made it difficult for them to survive, lamented the Hakkipikki community.
Puneeth Kumar, State President of Hakkipikki Sangathan, said, for the last few days, there has been a discussion on tiger nail pendant in the state. Our hakkipikki society has been making artificial tiger claws for the last 40-50 years. We are selling artificial tiger nails made from bullock hoofs. We make this hoof like a tiger’s nail and make pendants and sell them. Therefore, the forest department should not immediately arrest our community members but check whether the tiger claws are fake or genuine, he said.
Surgeon Swamy, a Pendant Manufacturer, said, we bring horns from Rajasthan and give them a shape similar to a tiger’s nail. We also make pendants in fiber. We will then sell it across the country. We have been doing this profession for 40 years, he said.
