Residents of Gunnali village in Karnataka state share the same names, with men being called Gyanappa and the women, Gyanamma.

The reason behind the similarity of names is that the villagers are devotees of a saint named Gyaneshwar, who lived in Gunnali.

[Gyanappa Hellikeri, Villager]: (male, Kannada)
"Lots of people who are childless come here. Because of the saint's blessings, people get a child and use his name as a token of devotion. Due to this reason, not only in this village, but in any nearby village, in every house in the village, there is a person with the name of either Gyanappa or Gyanamma."

The village now has a shrine to the saint and many childless couples visit it. When they bear a child, they name it after the saint.

The locals have no problem in distinguishing between the villagers as they prefix or suffix another name to the saint's.

[Gyanappa Baba, Villager]: (male, Hindi)
“No, we call them little Gyanamma, little Gyanappa, and Shiv Gyanamma. We call them like that. We don't call directly with Gyanamma and Gyanappa name."

The temple sees not only locals but nearby villagers as well.