Ajekar is a small village at the foot of Valikunja in Karkal Taluk of Udupi district, India. It is situated about 15 km from Karkala, 40 km from Udupi and about 65 km north-east of Mangalore. Ajekar is also called Marne Grama, which is governed by Grama Panchayat. It is also called Ajekaru in the Kannada language. Kemanj(je)a was one of the oldest names of this village. Ajekar has a mixed population of around 7172 [3,397 male and 3,775 female] (Census 2011), Hindus, Christians, Muslims and Jains. The town is quite close to famous tourist destinations like agumbe and kudremukh.

Ajekar
Karnataka SH1 towards Karkala at Ajekar
Karnataka SH1 towards Karkala at Ajekar
Ajekar is located in Karnataka
Ajekar
Ajekar
Location of Ajekar in Karnataka, India
Coordinates: 13°19′12″N 74°59′59″E / 13.3200755°N 74.99977579°E / 13.3200755; 74.99977579
Country India
StateKarnataka
RegionTulunadu
DistrictUdupi
TalukaKarkala
Government
 • TypeGram panchayat
Elevation
75 m (246 ft)
Population
 (2011)
 • Total7,172[1]
Languages
 • OfficialTulu, Konkani, Kannada, Malayalam, Beary
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN
574101
Telephone code08258
Valikunja (Ajikunja) Range from Ajekar

EtymologyEdit

There is a legend which says that its name is directly derived from the sage Aja. It is said that the sage made his tapasu near this place. The concrete location is unknown to this day. There are other modern legends like Ajjana Karu, which is most likely not correct. Karu is an old Kannada word for land.

ReferencesEdit