Seventy five families who had lost their houses to the devastating flood that hit Kodagu in August 2018, were allotted new houses as part of the rehabilitation programme of the Government.
The allotment was made through draw of lottery by the Kodagu Deputy Commissioner B.C.Satish on Wednesday. The new houses have been constructed near the office of the Regional Transport Authority.
The DC said in the first phase of the rehabilitation, 35 families whose house was completely destroyed in the flood, were rehabilitated and provided with new houses in Karnageri while 383 houses were constructed in Jambooru near Madapura. Similarly 80 houses were constructed in Madenadu and 22 houses in Biligeri and 140 houses were constructed in Gaalibeedu.
In all, 66o houses were constructed in three phases and allotted to the beneficiaries while the remaining 75 families are being rehabilitated now. The process will be completed by the end of the month and the district official website http://kodagu.nic.in has published the details of beneficiaries complete with the house number allotted to them. Mr.Satish said Infosys Foundation funded the construction of houses at Jambooru.
There were some works pertaining to electricity supply, UGD and water that was pending but the allotment letter will be issued to the beneficiaries in due course by the officials of the Rajiv Gandhi Housing Corporation.
source: http://www.thehindu.com/ The Hindu / Home> News> National> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Mysuru – June 01st, 2022
The Palekanda brothers recently took part in the Pan India Master Games held in Bengaluru and won three gold medals and two silver medals
Palekanda P Bopaiah (94) and Palekanda Beliappa (85)
Madikeri :
Age is just a number. This has been proved right by two brothers of Kodagu who are making their district and state proud by actively participating in various sports championships held for senior citizens across the country. Palekanda P Bopaiah (94) and Palekanda Beliappa (85), residents of Kuttandi village in Kodagu district, have now set their eyes on participating in track and field championships to be held in in Sydney and Japan next year.
The Palekanda brothers recently took part in the Pan India Master Games held in Bengaluru and won three gold medals and two silver medals. By taking part in javelin throw, relay race, 1,500 metre running race, walkathon, 100 metre run, the two brothers call themselves all-rounders.
“Both of us stay together in our village. I have been passionate about sports from the time I was a kid and my schoolmates could never match my speed in athletic events when I was a young boy. My elder brother is a retired Army man. Both of us decided to resume our participation in sports field over three years ago and we haven’t looked back since,” said Beliappa.
The brothers have also set up a Master Games Association for senior citizens in Kodagu and are working out the modalities to enable senior citizens to become its members.“My first participation in sports championship as a senior citizen was at Vadodara. I won the third place in the National Masters Game. Ever since, I ensure that I take part in all championships that are held for senior citizens across the country. Both my brother and I are now looking forward to taking part in the athletic championships scheduled to be held in Sydney and Japan next year ,” he added. However, the duo needs at least Rs 2 to 3 lakh fund to take part in the international championship and are eagerly looking forward to sponsorship.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Good News / by Express News Service / June 03rd, 2022
The virtual museum will likely stand completed and be accessible globally by February next year and the groundwork for the project is ongoing.
Dudi, a traditional drum of the Kodavas, made of metal base and animal hide. Image meant for representational purpose only.
Madikeri :
The Kodava community has a unique culture juxtaposed with tribal and martial history. While the unique traditions are highly revered in the district, research work on the history or culture of the community is less. However, this loophole is now being addressed by the Indian Foundation for the Arts (IFA), which will soon set up an interactive Virtual Museum of Kodava Heritage and culture called the – Sandooka Museum.
The virtual museum will likely stand completed and be accessible globally by February next year and the groundwork for the project is ongoing. The museum will be an interactive online space that will provide a glimpse into the history, traditions, land, lives, customs and beliefs of the Kodava community.
We are putting together various videos, pictures, audios and text for the project. There are numerous village festivals in Kodagu and each Kodava clan has its own annual rituals. At the ground level, we are visiting the villages, Kodava families, temples and Kodava organizations to avail authentic materials for the museum,” explained M Nitin Kushalappa, an author who is involved in the museum project with the IFA.
“We do not acquire the materials from the people but make copies of the same, which will be uploaded online,” he added.
“This might be the first virtual museum of the sort in India. Our approach is based on community collaboration and we have an open call announced in which we are inviting people to share their own stories and experiences of Kodava culture. Be it a family photograph or heirloom, documentation of a festival or ritual, or even images of public artifacts that they would like to talk about. The open calls will select stories from among those sent in a feature on the website and that it is ‘The Living Museum of Kodava Culture,’ “explained Lina Vincent, the project director.
The advisory committee led by Rathi Vinay Jha, CP Beliappa and Hemanth Sathyanarayan is guiding the project team led by project director Lina Vincent, design team Saurav Roy and Upasana Roy alongside Nitin. The team is currently involved in recording folk songs and other audio and video clips from the people from the community. The team is open to accepting contributions from the community members.
Kodavas are indigenous residents of Kodagu and the population of the community is just 1.25 lakh. The majority of the Kodavas are settled in Kodagu. The community has rich tribal and folk culture that is being passed on from generations. Not many works have taken shape in documenting the rich culture of the community. The establishment of a virtual museum archiving the traditions of the community is welcomed by the residents of the district.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Prajna GR, Express News Service / May 29th, 2022
Dr Vishwa Cariappa BS, Managing Director of San Group of Companies was presented ‘Achievers of Bengaluru’ Award at a function held in Bengaluru on May 20, 2022.
The Award, instituted by Vijaya Karnataka and Bangalore Mirror, was presented by Home Minister Araga Jnanedra. The Home Minister expressed his delight and congratulated the organisers for hosting the prominent event.
Responding after receiving the award Dr BS Vishwa Cariappa said, “It is an inspiration for me to do even better.
‘Achievers of Bengaluru’ Award is intended to recognize those who have achieved excellence in various fields. I am very happy to be a part of such an award.” Cariappa further added, “San Group launched with the goal of achieving excellence in the real estate industry and today the company has expanded into several sectors. This award is also an encouragement to serve more people in the future.”
The event was also attended by noted performer Dolly Dhananjay along with actress Sanjana Anand.
This story is provided by SRV. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/SRV)
source: http://www.newdelhinews.net / New Delhi News.net / Home / by ANI / May 27th, 2022
Travelling for over eight hours from Shivamogga,retired teacher displays simplicity.
Madikeri:
At a time when family members of high-ranking officers do not shy away from using official vehicles of their sons or daughters for long trips at the expense of taxpayers’ money, the father of Kodagu Deputy Commissioner (DC) travelled in an ordinary KSRTC bus from his native in Shivamogga to meet his son in Madikeri.
Eighty-two-year-old B.C. Chandrappa, father of Kodagu DC Dr. B.C. Satish travelled in the KSRTC bus for over eight hours despite his age. After reaching Madikeri, he walked to his son’s official residence with a small bag in his hand and told the gate-guarding Policemen that he was the DC’s father.
The shocked Cop could not believe it and went along with Chandrappa and informed Dr. Satish about his father’s arrival. The DC’s father had not informed his son and his surprise visit brought a broad smile on Dr. Satish’s face. He cordially invited him inside.
Hailing from a humble background, Dr. Satish took charge as Kodagu DC in October 2021. He had earlier worked as the Assistant Commissioner in Belagavi, Bailhongal and Kumta, CEO of Dharwad Zilla Panchayat and as the DC of Raichur.
Chandrappa is a retired teacher and after retirement, he is looking after his six-acre arecanut farm in Shivamogga. He is fitted with a heart stent and he also underwent a knee surgery. Despite his health condition, he did not claim any facility the Government offered to his DC son.
By not utilising his son’s powers as the DC, Chandrappa, who as a teacher earlier having taught thousands of students on the values and virtues of life, is an ideal example for others to follow. Madikeri Akashavani Programme Head Dr. Vijay Angadi said that as the father of a DC, Chandrappa was a model to others. “I came to know of DC’s father’s visit to Madikeri when I went to the DC’s residence for talks regarding Akashavani programmes on May 19. Hats off to his humbleness,” Vijay said.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News> Top Stories / May 23rd, 2022
Arriving in London during the late ’60s with just his guitar, Biddu Appaiah went on to become a globally renowned music producer who sold millions of records. Here’s his story.
What do the songs ‘Kung Fu Fighting’, ‘Aap Jaisa Koi’, ‘Disco Deewane’ and ‘Made in India’ have in common? Apart from selling millions of copies worldwide, these records serenaded audiences from Russia to Peru, and stood as pioneers of global disco and pop music from the Indian subcontinent. (Image courtesy Facebook/Biddu)
What also binds them is the fact that they were all produced by a man from Bengaluru who left for London in the Swinging Sixties to pursue his love for popular Western music.
It’s incredible that more people in India don’t know Biddu Appaiah and his remarkable contributions to music. A great deal of the pop music Indians listen to today can trace their roots to the songs he produced. It was his production chops that not only introduced the world to artists like Carl Douglas, Nazia Hassan, Alisha Chinai and Shaan, but also opened commercial avenues for other independent talent in India who didn’t require the backing or endorsement of the Hindi film industry (Bollywood) producers or already established cinestars.
The Hindi film industry fought to wrest control back from the music labels supporting independent artists, but the onset of the internet has revived that spirit of independence. Here’s the brief story of a man, music producer and composer who left India behind to follow his dreams, but found his way back to influence generations of artists.
Left: Biddu & Alisha China (Image: Instagram/Alisha Chinai), Right: At a book launch (Image: The Post Script Team/Creative Commons)
‘Everybody Was Kung-Fu Fighting’
Born on 8 February 1944 in Bengaluru, Biddu attended the Bishop Cottons Boys’ School. Growing up listening to pop music from the West on the popular radio station Radio Ceylon (of Sri Lanka), his major musical influences as a teenager were Elvis Presley, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. Learning how to play the guitar, he eventually formed a band with his friend Ken Gnanakan called the Trojans at 16.
They would play in small clubs, weddings, private parties and bars across Bengaluru before graduating to gigs in other cities like Kolkata and Mumbai. As an English-speaking band, they made their name by largely playing cover versions of songs by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Trini Lopez, and other Western music stars of the day. However, once the group split up, Biddu briefly performed as the lone ‘Trojan’ before leaving for England in the late 1960s.
Embarking on a journey to England in 1967, Biddu first made his way to the Middle East by climbing on a Haj ship in 1967 to Mecca before hitchhiking across the Middle East, where he performed multiple gigs.
In a 2020 interview with the Deccan Herald, he recalled, “I wanted to make it in the West. India in the 60s was a poor country; we were dancing with Russia instead of rocking with the West. I needed to get out of India as my interest was Western pop music; I was never into Bollywood. I left India and walked all the way to Beirut, singing there for six months until I saved enough moolah [money] to get to England.”
About his arrival in England, he once said in an interview with the BBC, “I didn’t really know too much about England or anything – I’d just come here on the chance of meeting the Beatles and doing some music. Everything that I did had this danceable flavour.”
To support his dreams of becoming a singer, he worked odd jobs, including one as a chef in London to save up enough money for studio time. He eventually cut a single, which impressed nobody and recalled “as an Indian in those days, they were happier to hire me as an accountant than as a singer”.
Realising that he wasn’t going to make it as a singer signed on a major record label, he instead decided to produce his own records, which, in the early days, didn’t generate much success. His first major success came in 1969, when he produced a song called ‘Smile for Me’ written by Barry and Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees and performed by a Japanese band called The Tigers.
Since members of the band couldn’t speak English at the time, Biddu taught them how to sing English songs phonetically, given his knowledge of the language and love for pop music. The song topped the charts in Japan, and its success was the breakthrough he needed in England.
Entering the 1970s, he was producing a variety of disco songs that received little airplay on radio, but found underground appreciation from fans in the north of England.
His first real moment of success and mass acclaim came when he began working with Jamaican-born musician Carl Douglas in 1972. As a 2020 Financial Times article recollects, “Douglas was recording ‘I Want to Give You My Everything’ (written by Larry Weiss), which they did in a few hours. There was little time left to record a B-side. Douglas proposed ‘Kung Fu Fighting’, which he had written after seeing youngsters doing mock-kung fu moves in the street. It was recorded in a couple of takes. Biddu added the ‘Hurgh! Hurgh!’ exclamations. The record company people heard it and instantly realised that the B-side was the hit. They were right — ‘Kung Fu Fighting’ became one of the biggest-selling singles of all time.”
From here, there was no looking back. Biddu would soon establish himself as an important producer in the UK soul and disco scenes in the 1970s, working with a variety of artists including Tina Charles and Jimmy James. The songs he produced made their way to the UK Singles Chart and Billboard 100, while he continued making his own critically acclaimed music with ‘The Biddu Orchestra’.
‘Aap Jaisa Koi’
Biddu was never truly interested in doing film soundtracks, according to his autobiography ‘Made in India: Adventures of a Lifetime’. But that changed when Feroz Khan, a renowned Hindi cinema actor and producer, came to London to meet him in 1979.
Feroz had heard his instrumental albums and wanted him to produce a song for a film he was making called ‘Qurbani’. They met at an apartment he was renting near Claridges Hotel in Mayfair, and what ensued would change Indian pop music forever.
The Bollywood actor’s sales pitch was pretty simple, even though Biddu admittedly knew little of Hindi films or music. Feroz said, “Listen, you and I come from Bangalore. We are both Bangalore boys.” Biddu observed that Feroz was using the “old boys from the hood routine”. Feroz would then go on to say, “Come on, do it for a friend. Your mama will be so pleased.”
Although Biddu initially agreed to take on the project, he was still not convinced, even though Feroz had gone out on a limb for him. Local music directors in Mumbai had threatened to organise a boycott of his film if he “used a foreigner” to make music for one of the songs. However, once Feroz agreed to Biddu’s wish to record the song in London and not use playback singers dominating the music charts in India, there was no looking back.
The next thing they had to do was find a singer in London who could sing in Hindi. That’s when Feroz Khan came up with the name of a young 15-year-old Pakistani girl living in London called Nazia Hassan. Feroz knew her parents well and convinced them to let their daughter sing one song for his film. A couple of days later Biddu met the young Nazia, her brother Zoheb and their parents at their apartment in Century Court opposite the famous Lord’s Cricket Ground.
After singing a verse and chorus from one of Biddu’s songs ‘Dance Little Lady’, Nazia got the gig and went on to record the timeless ‘Aap Jaisa Koi Meri Zindagi Mein Aaye’.
“Her voice did not have the piercing sharpness of most Asian singers. The pleasantness in her voice was around C3, from middle C to G4 — warm, expressive and nubile. It wasn’t a great voice. But it was different, and it was this that made the difference between using her and someone from the old school in India,” wrote Biddu in his autobiography.
After recording Nazia’s part, he went into Red Bus Studios and added some of his magic dust alongside his sound engineer Richard Dodd.
“I had a catchy introductory riff played on the sitar; I used the syn drums, which had never been used in a Hindi song before. The syn drum made a sound not unlike my name. It went ‘bidoo’ every time you hit it and I double-tracked Nazia’s voice to give it some oomph. Once again, I used a rhythm box with a Latin beat to give it a hip-swaying groove,” he wrote.
‘Made in India’
Suffice to say, the song became a raging hit in not just India, but around the world. Despite its massive success, Bollywood didn’t come calling immediately. Instead, about a year later, a representative from the London branch of HMV (later called SaReGaMa), one of India’s largest music companies, came to see him. The record executive expressed the company’s desire for Biddu to make an album with Nazia Hassan. This was the first non-film album the company was going to make. After much negotiation, which also included the payment of royalties to the artists involved, he got into the studio with Nazia and Zoheb to produce an Urdu album.
Modelling the siblings on another famous brother-sister duo in the United States called ‘The Carpenters’ they recorded the album ‘Disco Deewane’, which was a smash hit across the world with the record charting across 14 countries, including Brazil, where it went No.1. The record sold almost 100,000 copies on the day of its release, a remarkable feat for South Asian music artists in the West. Following ‘Disco Deewane’, they went onto work on three more albums including ‘Star/Boom Boom’ in 1982, ‘Young Tarang’ in 1984 and ‘Hotline’ in 1987.
Album cover of a pop and disco music classic (Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons)
Together, the brother-sister duo went on to sell 60 million records worldwide. During this period, he also made massive hit records for famous Japanese (Akina Nakamori), Chinese and Filipino pop stars as well, besides making a return to the UK music scene with house music records.
After spending about a decade making records with Nazia and Zoheb, he worked with Hindi vocalist Shwetta Shetty producing her 1993 album ‘Johnny Joker’.
But it was 1995 that Biddu really made his mark in India, composing and producing the legendary ‘Made in India’ album by Hindi pop and playback singer Alisha Chinai. The song and the music video that followed was one of the key avenues MTV chose to launch their channel in India.
Interestingly, some anecdotes even claim that the song was originally meant for Nazia on the vocals, but she apparently refused. Eventually the song fell on Alisha China’s lap and for the backup vocals, Biddu employed another young budding singer, Sophie Chaudhary.
opping the charts in India, the album sold over five million copies. In addition to Alisha Chinai, he kickstarted the pop music careers of artists like Shaan, his sister Sagarika Mukherjee and even famous playback singers Sonu Nigam and KS Chitra. A lot of the Indian pop music scene in the 1990s and early 2000s was marked by the records that Biddu produced.
There’s a lot more to his story. But what’s more important is that generations of people from literally all over the world have swayed their hips to his hit records. And this isn’t even an exaggeration. For a man from Bengaluru, who hitchhiked across the Middle East and landed up in London with his guitar, he sure made his mark on the world of music.
A few thick forests have been left untouched for ages. Though close to human habitation, these forests have withstood the test of time for religious and ecological reasons. Here, the air is cool and sunlight streams in through miniscule gaps in the gaps in the canopy.
Karnataka, Maharashtra and Kerala have thousands of such sacred spaces.
These woods that range from a few acres to a few hundred have many names.
They are called kaan in Malnad (Karnataka’s Western Ghats), devakaad in Kodagu, and devarakaadu in other parts of Karnataka. In Kerala, they are called kaavu where theyyam (ritual dances) is performed.
These groves are rich in biodiversity and are known for the ecological services they offer.
Like these regions, many countries and civilisations across the world have maintained ancient groves. The lore associated with these forests are many. In India, it is said that ancient sages would meditate in forests known as tapovan (woods of penance).
The scrub forests of the Thar desert have been protected by the Bishnois, followers of Guru Jambha. In fact, they are known for putting their lives on the line while protesting the cutting down of trees in these groves.
Glimpses from sacred groves in Uttara Kannada / DH photo
Devakaads of Kodagu
In Kodagu, there are dedicated forests beside every village settlement to Aiyappa, the god of forests and hunting. Kodavas held the belief that the spirits of their deceased ancestors would be led on hunts in these sacred forests by Botekara Aiyappa (Aiyappa, the hunter). No living Kodava would venture out to hunt animals or even cut down the trees in these devakaads.
There are also a few devakaads that are dedicated to other gods and goddesses. One of them is the Mahalaxmi devakaad in Ammathi-Vontiangadi in Kodagu. Located behind the bus stop, the site displays a board issued by the Government of Karnataka, declaring the grove as a devara kadu (forest of the gods).
According to Cheppudira G Kushalappa, Dean of the Ponnampet Forestry College and Kodira A Kushalappa, a retired IFS officer, there were 1,214 devakaads of a total size of 2,550 hectares in 1996 in Kodagu.
Apart from their religious and cultural significance, sacred groves help conserve our forest wealth, says Kodira Kushalappa. “Forests cool temperatures and bring rainfall. They help in retaining the topsoil and help sustain streams, which water neighbouring farms. Forests also serve as home to birds which feed on insects that are found in the fields,” he adds.
According to a 2002 study, there were 215 tree, 86 bird, 163 mushroom and an uncounted number of butterfly species found in the sacred groves and coffee plantations of Kodagu. Forty-nine out of 163 species of mushrooms were unique to these groves.
Another paper noted that there were 25 medicinal tree species (rare, endangered and threatened) found in the devakaads. A 2003 research study noted that the larger sacred groves had higher diversity than in natural reserved forests. There was a high level of endemic and globally threatened species present in these forests.
Butterfly species such as the Travancore evening brown (Parantirrhoea marshalli) or the Malabar banded swallowtail (Papilio liomedon Moore) are restricted to low elevation evergreen forests in the southern Western Ghats that are excluded from protected area network. Tree species like the Actinodaphne lawsonii, Hopea ponga, Madhuca neriifolia, and Syzygium zeylanicum, which are on IUCN threat list, are found in the sacred groves.
The swampy areas in kaans have been found to have the large-sized, threatened tree species Syzygium travancoricum, which grow close to water bodies and is classified in the IUCN Red List as “critically endangered”.
These sacred groves help in watershed protection, protect against fire, maintain a favourable microclimate and protect against soil erosion.
Kaans of Malnad
There are many rules for the Malnad kaans. The trees cannot be cut in the groves but adjoining villagers could cultivate wild pepper.
Francis Buchanan, a British officer, who travelled through Malnad in 1801 wrote that permission to cut a tree in a kaan was to be sought from a village headman, who also served as the priest of the village temple. Otherwise, the tree feller would face the wrath of the forest deity.
The main difference between a kaan and a devakaad is that no cultivation was allowed in the devakaads, while the cultivation of wild pepper and sago palm was allowed in the kaans.
The crop grown in the kaans initially came under forest produce. Later cultivation by clearing by fire was permitted. Even industries were allowed to venture into the kaans, leading to widespread destruction in central western Karnataka.
Now, various individuals have been fighting cases in courts to preserve the sacred groves.
Temple committees and villagers aid the forest department in conserving these sacred groves. Mookonda Arun Ganapathy, the secretary of the Bhadra Kaali temple in Bilugunda village, Kodagu explains that researchers and students often come to the nearby Aiyappa devakaad.
Arun states, “There are encroachments happening in these sacred groves despite government efforts. Many of the well-preserved ones are by the road side. The villagers take measures to protect them. Regular rituals in the forest temples help protect these sacred groves. Trees should not be cut inside these holy forests. Sacred groves are essential for preserving the environment and our culture.”
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Spectrum> Spectrum Top Stories / by Mookonda Kushalappa / May 26th, 2022
A drill on rescule and relief being conducted in the Harangi backwaters by the Kodagu Disrtrict Disaster Management Authority, on Thursday. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Kodagu district administration displays its monsoon preparedness
The Kodagu District Disaster Management Authority tested its monsoon preparedness and its capabilities to conduct rescue and relief operations during natural calamities, at the Harangi backwaters on Thursday.
This is part of an exercise in the run up to the monsoon conducted by the Authority not only to test their capabilities but also to infuse confidence in the public.
The exercise was conducted at Basavanahalli in the backwaters of the dam and entailed putting all the equipment at its disposal and using it for various missions that were simulated for the drill.
Kodagu has been affected by floods and landslides in the recent past and hence the focus was on rescuing people trapped amidst swirling waters or from landslides and protecting human and animal life.
Deputy Commissioner B.C.Satish said the District Disaster Management Authority and the district administration had taken precautionary measures to prevent any untoward incident and was also equipped to deal with any eventuality. The exercise conducted by the district police and fire emergency personnel, was a demonstration of the strengths and capabilities, he added.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team was expected to arrive and be stationed in key and vulnerable areas of the dsitrict next week, said Mr. Satish. Both the NDRF and SDRF will coordinate their activities in areas identified as vulnerable based on the floods and landslides that hit the district since 2018, he added.
In addition, scientists from the Geological Survey of India are also expected to pay a visit to the district and map the vulnerable areas. The DC said task forces will be constituted at the district, taluk and gram panchayat levels during monsoon to coordinate rescue and relief in case of any eventuality. Nodal officers have already been appointed to coordinate the efforts at all hoblis and necessary instruction and information provided on the ways and means of handling any situation in an effective manner, said Mr.Satish.
Fire Officer P. Chandan said that all preparations were in place to rescue human and animal lives in case of floods.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Mysuru – May 26th, 2022
People can send stories along with photographs and audio or video clips for curation.
Bengaluru-based India Foundation for the Arts (IFA) is inviting members of the Kodava community to share stories of their people and cultural history for an online museum it plans to launch next year.
It is International Museum Day on May 18.
Speaking ahead of the occasion, IFA said people can send stories along with photographs and audio or video clips, which will be curated.
The project is called Sandooka, the Living Museum of Kodava Culture. Sandooka means treasure chest in Coorgi language, and the museum strives to be a repository of stories ranging from the traditional costumes to present-day experiences of the Kodavas, native inhabitants of Kodagu in Karnataka.
IFA is working with Nitin Kushalappa, an author and researcher who is a member of the Kodava community, to put together this project along with design experts Upasana and Saurav Roy from Switch Studio.
The project started in 2021. Rathi Vinay Jha, chair of the Sandooka museum’s advisory group, shares, “The younger generation of the community is dispersed all over the world and is losing connection with their heritage. This museum will provide an opportunity to reconnect with their culture.”
And because the project wants to foster community participation and be accessible globally, the concept of online museums fits well, says Lina Vincent, project director and curator.
Arundhati Ghosh, executive director, IFA, believes the museum will help document and preserve the stories and heritage of the Kodavas, much of which remains undocumented.
“My vision is for it to be a virtual space devoted to the Kodava community. I hope this can serve as a model for other communities that are disappearing to keep their stories alive,” says Lina.
You can submit the stories at sandookamuseum.org/form/intro
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Metrolife – Your Bond With Bengaluru / by Sowmya Raju, DHNS / May 17th, 2022
“There’s one Indian playing an ATP250 event or in an ATP Masters, for example, out of a billion people and if you’re not able to show that match, how do you encourage young athletes?,” asks Indian tennis star Rohan Bopanna.
Proven champion: Rohan Bopanna was the last man from India to win a Grand Slam title when he lifted the mixed doubles crown at the 2017 French Open with Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski. – V. SREENIVASA MURTHY
After a lean 2021 season, Rohan Bopanna,India’s top-ranked men’s doubles player, has had a fairly good run in the first four months of 2022.
World No. 25 Bopanna began this season winning the first ATP 250 event of the year in Adelaide with compatriot Ramkumar Ramanathan . The pair went on to win the Maharashtra Open in Pune.
The 6-foot-4 tennis star from Bengaluru was the last man from India to win a Grand Slam title when he won the mixed doubles crown at the 2017 French Open with Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski.
In a chat with Sportstar, the 42-year-old reflected on the first quarter of this season and his plans for the Roland Garros. He also shared his thoughts on the possibility of the Chennai Open returning to the ATP tour calendar and the way forward for Indian tennis.
Any initial thoughts on your season so far?
I am extremely happy with the way the season has gone so far, especially looking at how it was last [year]. Last year during this period of time, I hadn’t won a match up until literally this week (April), which was the Estoril week. So surely, extremely happy with the way the season has gone. Having two titles, having some good results in some big events, so that’s really wonderful and I’m really happy with it.
This season, you have played with a few singles specialists (Ramkumar Ramanathan, Denis Shapovalov and Aslan Karatsev) and also with players who primarily play doubles (Jamie Murray and Matwe Middelkoop). How do they differ? How do you adjust to their playing style?
The biggest thing that has always helped me, no matter who I played with, is to only focus on my game and not to really worry whether he’s a singles player or a doubles player. I try and see where I can adapt my game to their strengths and use my strengths in those situations. That always helps me.
At the end of the day, you just have to find a way to win these close points. Figure out who’s playing kind of a little bit better in that particular match on deuce points and maybe ask them to take it or you take the deuce points.
As far as a singles player is concerned, Karatsev was the only one who I had not played with and that was the first time but I’ve been playing with Dennis Shapovalov for a long time and you know we had some good wins. We beat the number one pair [Mate] Pavic and [Nikola] Mektic in Miami. And then I played with Jamie for the first time, and that was really a fruitful partnership. We lost a close semifinal match [against eventual champions Rajeev Ram of the US and Joe Salisbury of UK in Monte Carlo]. Even in the semifinals, we definitely were the better team, but unfortunately, we could not win.
Great beginning: Rohan Bopanna began this season winning the first ATP 250 event of the year in Adelaide with compatriot Ramkumar Ramanathan. – GETTY IMAGES
This season has been very interesting with some big wins, but there’s a pair — Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski — that has beaten you three times. Would you say they are ones to beat this season? You finally beat them in Monte Carlo.
I told them after the match, “Nobody beats Bopanna four times in a row!” But having said that, yeah, they’ve been very, very consistent. They’ve been consistent throughout the season, and I think they have won three tournaments already. They made a couple of finals. They’re definitely the team doing well this season. When they’re confident like that, it’s tough to play them. You have to really find those small margins to try and beat them. That’s what happened in Monte Carlo. We played some close points which went our way and we managed to get that win. Yeah, surely they are the top team and the hottest team right now in the season so far.
India also won the Davis Cup tie against Denmark at home. The next tie is against Norway, which has a top ten player in Casper Ruud. Have you already started planning for that tie? Can you also share your thoughts on the format of Davis Cup?
Colours of pride: Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan with the tricolour after winning their doubles match to help India seal the Davis Cup tie against Denmark at the Delhi Gymkhana in New Delhi. – V.V. KRISHNAN
It was really nice to have a home tie. The crowd in Delhi was fantastic. It was lovely to have so many people come out and support us. Playing in India after long time, playing on grass — I’ve always loved it.
We’ve gotten used to the format. Two-day format works perfectly well, especially if you have a separate doubles team and a few separate singles guys playing it, so it kind of works out.
For every team out there, there’s not really that much of a difference. Because it’s also best-of-three sets, it’s much easier on the body, it’s easier to manage that… really happy that we got through that tie. Divij [Sharan] and I had an extremely close match.
They [Danish captain Frederik Nielsen and his partner Mikael Torpegaard] saved a couple of match… three match points. I was happy that we got the win there and especially for Divij also, to win at home. It’s a club he has grown up in and practised quite a bit, so it was nice for us to finish that tie in the third rubber itself.
We have a tough opponent in Norway and still long way to go before that because we have so many other big events before even looking at that far ahead of the season. We are still in the clay-court season and have Roland Garros. Not really looking for anything beyond that actually.
Talking about Roland Garros, have you finalised your partner?
I am playing with Middelkoop itself all the way except for Madrid because [in] Madrid, both of us could not get in because the cut-off was so strong. In Rome, Geneva and Roland Garros, I am playing with Middlekoop and I will be playing mixed doubles also, but I’m looking for a partner who I can play with and try and do well there.
How did this partnership with Middelkoop start?
Actually, it was just one event we had played in Antwerp a couple of years ago. We went to the finals in that tournament in Antwerp. So I kind of knew we got along well. Our game style suited pretty well so we said ‘why not? Let’s give it a try in the clay-court season’ but unfortunately the cuts have been so strong. Even though both our rankings are almost combined 60, we’re still struggling to get into the bracket, so that’s been a little challenging, but nevertheless, we’re trying to get as many tournaments as possible together and see how that goes.
Double impact: India’s Rohan Bopanna serves as Divij Sharan watches during their men’s doubles tennis match against Denmark’s Mikael Torpegaard and Frederik Nielsen in the Davis Cup world group 1 play-off between India and Denmark, in New Delhi. “The biggest thing that has always helped me, no matter who I played with, is to only focus on my game and not to really worry whether he’s a singles player or a doubles player. I try and see where I can adapt my game to their strengths and use my strengths in those situations — that always constantly helped me,” Bopanna said. – AFP
Do you think on clay, a team that plans better strategies wins more as compared to hard court, where if you have a very big server on your team, then you can possibly win with power? Do you think there is some basic difference while playing on clay and on hard court as a doubles team?
I don’t think that really makes that much of a difference for doubles. It’s pretty similar. The game is still pretty quick. Yeah, you know it’s not like singles that you have so many more rallies. A lot of these matches are still going into super tiebreaks like anywhere else, any other surface.
The Tamil Nadu government is trying to bring Chennai Open back. Your initial reactions to that.
I was thinking about it. It’s excellent. Chennai has always given such great support for tennis. I’ve had some very good success playing in Chennai, not only in the Chennai Open but also much earlier, playing nationals, futures and Davis Cup.
I’ve always loved playing in Chennai and I will be very happy if the tournament is back. I don’t know whether I will be playing or not by the time the tournament comes back, but still, I’m very happy to hear that they are planning to get the ATP back there. It’s a good city and [has] a lot of good tennis lovers who would love to have the tournament back.
Do you think India should have more ITFs and Challengers to give the players more exposure? What do you think should be the way forward?
It’s definitely what we need. We need a minimum 30 men’s and women’s Futures, about 20 to 30 Challengers for men and women. Also, that’s the only way if we want to compete with the best in the world. Other countries hold so many more tournaments. We have to give our country that chance before we say, ‘OK, here’s an Indian, maybe competing at the highest level’.
The other biggest thing I keep saying is that tennis has to be shown in India. This is one thing lacking. There’s one Indian playing an ATP250 event or in an ATP Masters, for example, out of a billion people and if you’re not able to show that match, how do you encourage young athletes?
How does a young athlete even know that there is somebody from their own country even playing? These are small things which make a difference.
I’ve been saying this over and over again for a long time. Unfortunately, the only way it will change is when there is visibility for your sport.
Like any other sport, there is growth when there is visibility. That is what is needed for tennis as well and it’s not just about showing tennis [with] the top guys playing. If there’s a countryman playing, it’s very important to get that also broadcast and that’s surely the right step forward for the sport to grow.
Little joys: Rohan Bopanna with wife Supriya and daughter Tridha. “My wife and daughter have been travelling to Australia and now my daughter understands that I play a little tennis. She keeps asking me why I keep going to the tennis court and why I’m playing tennis so much,” said Bopanna on travelling with the family for tennis tournaments. – SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Any fun experience that has happened to you this season or any other memorable incident across the tournaments that have you played so far that you think the readers might love to know?
The good part is that everything is finally open. We don’t have to do Covid tests anymore. Doing all those PCR tests… 150-160 PCR tests… Getting your tests done every two days in different countries, getting the reports… Definitely happy that we don’t have to do that anymore that often and maybe just once in a while.
It’s good to have the fans back. To be honest, that is the biggest fun thing about playing this sport.
I get to travel with the family. My wife and daughter have been travelling to Australia and now my daughter understands that I play a little tennis. She keeps asking me why I keep going to the tennis court and why I’m playing tennis so much.
You kind of build a family outside your family when you keep travelling because you constantly see them during that particular tournament once a year like it may be the US or UK or wherever it may be. So that is something I missed for two years. Going into the country, but not able to see them. So, it’s now nice again to meet those friends. The biggest thing is I love exploring the city so I can go and start exploring some coffee shops.
Federer and Nadal are returning after injury breaks. Federer is 40 and Nadal will be turning 36. And then there is someone like Ash Barty who took retirement at 25. What’s your perspective on this situation. What does it say about the changing narrative in the world of sports when it comes to age and retirements?
It’s a purely individual choice, to be honest. It’s how you feel. At the end of the day, it’s not easy travelling week in, week out, living out of a suitcase, eating every meal in a restaurant. It takes a toll. Even though it sounds glamorous from the outside, it’s not easy because you’re away from family and friends. Each individual looks at life differently.
Also, during the pandemic, a lot of people have gotten to reflect on what they really enjoy, what they missed and all that. Having said that, it’s very difficult to say whether they want to retire or keep going… At the end of the day, it really comes down to purely the individual decision because you never know where the mindset is. As long as the mind is healthy, you want to travel [you carry on].
The mind says, ‘You know what? I don’t want to travel anymore. I just want to stay at home. I enjoy being home more.’ That’s what it boils down to.
And then, everybody has goals — different goals, different mindsets. That athlete or that person has decided, ‘OK, this is my goal. I’ve achieved that. OK, I’m done.’ I don’t think that’s something anyone else can talk about or figure out.
source: http://www.sportstar.thehindu.com / Sport Star / Home> Tennis / by Nihit Sachdeva / May 14th, 2022
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