Congress candidates AS Ponnanna and Mantar Gowda won from Virajpet and Madikeri constituencies, defeating the sitting BJP MLAs with a considerable margin.
Facebook / AS Ponnanna
For the first time in nearly two decades, Congress managed to win an Assembly election in Kodagu district of Karnataka, breaking the BJP’s run of wins in the hilly district. Congress candidate AS Ponnanna, a former Additional Advocate General in the Karnataka High Court, defeated KG Bopaiah of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Virajpet constituency of Kodagu district. In the same district, another Congress candidate Mantar Gowda, son of former Karnataka minister A Manju, defeated BJP’s Appachu Ranjan in the Madikeri constituency.
In 2004, BA Jeevijaya of the Congress had won from the erstwhile Somwarpet constituency in Kodagu district. However, in the last three elections held in 2008, 2013 and 2018, KG Bopaiah and Appachhu Ranjan had won from the two constituencies in the district — Virajpet and Madikeri. This time, the two Congress leaders defeated the sitting MLAs by a margin of over 4000 votes each.
The incumbent Virajpet MLA KG Bopaiah had triggered a controversy in the run up to the election, when he claimed that a win for the Congress would lead to celebrations of Tipu Jayanti returning in the state. AS Ponnanna maintained a studied silence on the issue and urged the BJP leader to speak about development.
The Congress party has emerged victorious in the recently concluded elections to the 224-member Karnataka Assembly, having won 132 seats and leading in four more constituencies as of 7.30 pm on Saturday, May 13, according to the Election Commission of India (ECI).
source: http://www.thenewsminute.com / The News Minute / Home> News / by TNM Staff / May 4th, 2023
Bacharaniyanda Appanna teaching I M Muthanna’s script at the Kodava Sahitya Academy in Madikeri.
Featuring unique words and vowels not found elsewhere, the Kodava language, spoken in Kodagu, is an independent Dravidian language. According to the most recent data from the Karnataka Kodava Sahitya Academy, there were 21 castes living in Kodagu who spoke the Kodava language: the Kodavas, Amma Kodavas, Kodagu Heggades, Kembattis, Airis, Koyuvas, Boonepattas and the Gollas (Eimbokalas), to name a few.
Kodagu was an independent principality in South India between 1633 and 1834. After the British annexed Kodagu in 1834, it was called Coorg and became a province of British India. After Independence, Coorg was retained as a state and placed under a chief commissioner. In 1956, when the states of the Indian Union were reorganised, Coorg became a district of Karnataka state.
Kannada was the official language in Kodagu for much of its existence. The Kodava language generally uses the Kannada script.
The earliest inscriptions found in Kodagu date back to the 9th and 10th centuries and are in Kannada. But there were two peculiar 14th-century inscriptions of Kodagu, dated around 1370-1371 AD found in the Bhagandeshwara temple of Bhagamandala and the Mahalingeshwara temple of Palur. Many have dismissed the inscriptions as a mixture of scripts and languages. In 2021, my work involved isolating letters used in both. I labelled the script used ‘thirke’ (meaning ‘temple’).
Several scripts
There have been a number of scripts invented for the Kodava language in the last 150 years or so. Koravanda Appayya, a doctor in the erstwhile Mysore State, had invented one with around 50 letters in 1887.
Kodagu scholar Iychettira M Muthanna invented another alphabet for the language in 1970. Appaneravanda Kiran Subbaiah, a sculptor in Mysuru, invented one in 1980. In 1983, he introduced a variant of the Kannada script to accommodate the Kodava language. Often, Kannada or Roman characters (the script used for English) were adapted, sometimes with additional changes.
Ponjanda S Appaiah, a professor, used the Roman script with his own transliteration system in 2003 to write in the Kodava language. In his Kodava-English dictionary, Appaiah used combinations of English letters for the Kodava language. He authored the entire book in the Roman script.
On the other hand, the ‘Kodava Arivole’ (Kodava dictionary) by Boverianda Uthaiah is in the Kannada script and makes use of 35 of the 49 Kannada letters.
In 2005, German linguist Gregg Cox introduced the Coorg-Cox script. Three years later, Charles Henry Kumar, a teacher from Mandya brought out another script to write the Kodava language.
Extra sounds
Boverianda Nanjamma and Chinnappa say that in addition to the five rounded Kannada vowels (with both long and short forms), the Kodava language has four unrounded vowels in their short and long forms and a nasal sound which accompanies some of the consonants. They have used five diacritical marks (symbols added above letters to indicate accent, tone and stress) in their works to accommodate these extra sounds.
In February 2022, under the presidentship of Ammatanda Parvathi Appaiah, the Karnataka Kodava Sahitya Academy discussed the various scripts used for the Kodava language. Bacharaniyanda Appanna, a former president of the academy, taught those assembled the script invented by I M Muthanna.
Upon comparison, it was declared that Muthanna’s script was the easiest to learn. The Kodava Sahitya Academy then recommended the Muthanna script to the Central Institute of Indian Languages to be made official.
Muthanna was of the opinion that his script was to be taught to children below the age of 15-16 years, says Appanna. “They will learn with passion and help promote the script when they write in it and inspire others,” he adds.
On why a script is important, Appanna says: “A script adds strength to a language, like how pillars strengthen a house. Yet, there are many prominent languages which do not have their own script. English uses Roman, Hindi uses Devanagari.” Having a native script is also important as it accommodates native sounds otherwise not found in other scripts.
Nerpanda Prathik Ponnanna, a language activist, has been popularising the Muthanna Kodava script by creating awareness about it through social media videos. He has also been getting signboards in the script for various shops, ancestral houses, and hockey tournament family teams.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Spectrum / by Mookonda Kushalappa / May 10th, 2023
Pan-India actress and ‘National Crush of India’ Rashmika Mandanna is ‘Coorg Person of the Year-2022.’
Rashmika, hailing from Virajpet in Kodagu (Coorg) district, was selected ‘Coorg Person of the Year’ in a poll conducted by www.coorgtourisminfo.com, Kodagu’s first news portal promoted by journalist and author P.T. Bopanna.
Rashmika Mandanna, who achieved phenomenal success in the pan-India movie ‘Pushpa-The Rise,’ has brought focus on the tiny hill district of Coorg, a popular tourist destination inhabited by the Kodavas, who have a unique culture.
Rashmika, who has become a household name through her acting and dancing skills, has emerged as an unofficial ‘brand ambassador’ for Kodagu culture. She has thrown the spotlight on the Kodava (Coorg) saree which involves tucking the pleats at the back of the waist, instead of the front. She has also popularised Coorg cuisine through her media interactions.
On the professional front, she is the reigning queen in the Telugu film industry and made her debut in Bollywood through ‘Goodbye’ starring Amitabh Bachchan. Rashmika-starrer ‘Mission Majnu’ is set for a January 20 release on Netflix.
Rashmika, who made her acting debut in the Kannada film ‘Kirik Party’ in 2016, has been associated with commercially successful films that include ‘Anjani Putra’ (2017), ‘Geetha Govindam’ (2018), ‘Yajamana’ (2019), ‘Sarileru Neekevvaru’ (2020), ‘Pogaru’ (2021) and ‘Sita Ramam’ (2022). Rashmika made her Tamil entry with ‘Sulthan’ opposite Karthi.
Born on April 5, 1996, she is the daughter of Mundachadira Madan Mandanna and Suman.
She did her schooling at the Coorg Public School (COPS), Gonikoppal, Kodagu. She studied for a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, Journalism and English Literature at the M.S. Ramaiah College of Arts, Science and Commerce in Bengaluru.
Along with her studies, she took up modelling. Rashmika got a break after she won the ‘Times Fresh Face’ title in 2014. There has been no looking back ever since.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / January 03rd, 2023
Lt. Col. M.A. Smitha of Mysuru has become the first Kodavathi Woman Army Officer to be selected for promotion to the rank of Colonel.
Commissioned to Army Service Corps (ASC) in 2005 from Officers Training Academy (OTA), Chennai, she has had a illustrious career of 18 years in the Army service in challenging appointments and locations across the country.
A few major achievements include a tenure in UN Peace Keeping Mission in Israel and Syria (UNDOF) where she was awarded a Force Commander’s Commendation Card for displaying exemplary courage under challenging situations.
She displayed her multi-talented skills in 2013 by winning the Raid Himalayan Car Rally along with her Army Team in a Gypsy in women’s category. She also summited Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa, in 2014.
A native of V. Nalkeri in Kakotuparambu, Virajpet taluk, Smitha is the daughter of ESM HSM, Mevada S. Appanna [37 (Coorg) Medium Regiment and 35 Medium Regiment] and Radha, who are presently residing at Vijayanagar 3rd Stage, Mysuru. She is married to Col. Mandepanda Aiyappa (Maratha Light Infantry) and they are blessed with two daughters.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / April 14th, 2023
KARNATAKA MYSURU 01/05/2023: I Vote was created using mobile flashlights at General Thimmaiah Stadium in Madikeri on Sunday to create voter awareness by the SVEEP committee. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
With only a few days left for the elections, novel campaigns are being launched to make an impact on the voters to turn up to the polling booths and cast their votes on May 10.
One such campaign was held in Madikeri by the Kodagu SVEEP Committee where hundreds of people, using mobile phone flashlights, created words ‘I Vote’, on Sunday evening at General Thimmaiah Stadium.
Despite the threat of rain, people gathered at the stadium to spread the message the importance of voting using their mobile phones. Switching on their mobile flashlights, they created ‘I Vote’ words and later waved the phones with the flashlights on with a pledge to ensure they vote and others also vote in the coming elections.
This is a joint initiative of Kodagu SVEEP Committee, Madikeri Rotary Club, Rotary Misty Hills, and Rotary Woods, along with other organisations.
Speaking on the occasion, Deputy Commissioner and District Election Officer B.C. Satish gave a call for voting without fail on May 10. “Everyone must vote,” he said.
The district administration has identified polling booths that reported low voter turnout on Kodagu and those booths were getting the focus with drives being carried out for increasing voting percentage.
Kodagu SVEEP Icon Basavaraj Badiger and team presented a musical programme where his daughters, including the winner of a music reality show, Pragathi Badiger, and her sisters Pratiksha Badiger and Triveni Badiger presented a programme. Songs by the members of Madikeri taluk Janapada Parishat also drew the attention of the participants.
SVEEP Icons K. Ravi Muthappa and S.K. Eshwari also spoke on the importance of voting. On behalf of Rotary Club, Anil H.T. and Madikeri Chamber of Commerce and Industry M. Dhananjay oversaw the drive.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Elections / by The Hindu Bureau / May 01st, 2023
Honorary Secretary of Environment and Health Foundation Colonel C.P. Muttanna has proposed a novel solution to ward off tiger attacks that has claimed as many as five lives in Kodagu district so far.
Locals in southern Kodagu are in scare over the increasing instances of man-tiger conflicts. In this scenario, Muttanna at a press conference highlighted the technique followed by the residents of the Sunderban region in West Bengal.
Pointing out that tigers usually attack their prey from behind, Muttana said that people can wear face masks on the back of their heads to avoid a conflict situation. He said that the number of deaths due to tiger attacks has reduced considerably in the Sunderban region due to this ploy.
Muttanna said that he has put forth the proposal to the government and the forest department and urged them to take action in this regard.
Speaking further, he said that in most cases the tiger attacks have taken place during early morning hours especially when a person is out to answer nature’s call. Though the district claims to be open defecation-free (ODF), several houses lack toilet facilities. Thus, the government should make suitable plans to construct toilets for such houses.
Stressing on the predator’s eating habit, Muttanna said that the tiger usually eats a portion of its kill after preying on them. The big cats tend to return to the spot to eat at a later time when they are hungry. In this context, he said, that if a cattle has been killed by a tiger, people should not dispose of the carcass immediately as the tiger would then try to make another kill. Rather people should inform forest department officials of any killing who can take necessary action to capture and relocate the tiger.
He also urged the district administration to make suitable transport arrangements for school-going kids in areas facing tiger menace. Tigers are likely to come to hunt wild boars in the fields. Hence, Colonel Muttanna advised not to allow the growth of wild bushes in fields and coffee plantations.
source: http://www.udayavani.com / Udayavani.com / Home> State / by Team Udayavani / January 12th, 2023
Kodava traditions and celebrations are centred around a rich oral folk tradition. Mookonda Kushalappa tells the stories of those that kept it alive.
During the times of the Rajas, writing was not popular among the Kodavas of Kodagu, who were paddy farmers and cattle herdsmen.
In the absence of literature, the region was rich in oral folklore. A song was sung for every occasion — songs were sung during the annual village festival and during the harvest festival Puththari. Songs were sung for weddings and funerals. Four singers would carry small hourglass drums called dudi and beat them with small, curved sticks. These rustic songs often had the same rhythm.
The compiler
A key force in chronicling these oral traditions was Nadikerianda Chinnappa. Chinappa was born in 1875 in Karada village.
In 1899, he joined the revenue department and wrote an English poem “My position as Shanbhog”. In 1900, he became a Revenue Inspector. In 1902, he joined the Indian Army’s Coorg Regiment and became a Subedar Major. Two years later, the regiment was disbanded and he joined the police department.
Subedars Codanda Ayyanna, Bolachanda Nanjappa and Nadikerianda Chinnappa of the Coorg Regiment, Fraserpet (Kushalnagar), 1902. Photo courtesy Boverianda Nanjamma Chinnappa
After his training from Vellore, he became an SI in Kushalnagar. Thereafter, he was transferred to Napok, Srimangala and Virajpet until he was made prosecuting inspector in Madikeri.
In 1917, he created a Kodava prayer called ‘Sri Moola Kanniye’, addressed to ‘the first maiden’ or Parvathi who was incarnated as Kaveri. This came to be known as the Kodava anthem. He also composed a Kannada poem in honour of the deity of Chomamale hill, Somagiri Deva.
During his free time, he would ride through the countryside on horseback. He would visit folk singers and every time he heard an interesting song, he would bring the singer home. His wife would cook food for the singer, while Chinnappa would offer him toddy. The singer would beat the dudi and sing the song while Chinnappa wrote it down.
By 1922, he had extensively collected several folk songs which were sung during various ceremonies and festivals such as the Kaveri Song, the Wedding Song, the Funeral Song and the Puththari Harvest Song, along with 750 proverbs and idioms.
The folk songs were divided into categories based on when they were sung or in praise of whom they were sung — customs and ceremonies, festivals, heroes and deities. He published a compilation, titled ‘Pattole Palame’ in 1924. The Pattole Palame is one of the earliest compilations of folklore in India.
The name Pattole Palame was originally used for old palm-leaf records kept by astrologers in Kodagu. It comes from the words ‘patt-ole’ (silk leaves) ‘palame’ (lore), meaning oral traditions recorded on palm leaves, which were like silk.
Between 1894 and 1928, G A Grierson, a civil servant, conducted the Linguistic Survey of India. A knowledgeable speaker was invited from every known Indian language. The person had to narrate a translated biblical parable and either sing a song or narrate a story in the language.
In 1922, Chinnappa was recorded narrating the ‘Prodigal Son’ in Kodava language. He also sang his own composition, ‘Sri Moola Kanniye’. These gramophone recordings were sent to the British Library’s Sound Archives and the Madras Museum.
The language was recorded as ‘Kodaga’ and wrongly identified as being from Madras. The narrator was uncredited and the song was called ‘Coorg national anthem: Swadesi priya kirtane’. It was in the 1970s that Chinnappa’s voice was identified by his son Subbayya when he listened to the Madras Museum recording.
In 1929, Chinnappa translated the Bhagwat Gita into Kodava and called it ‘Bhagvathanda paat’. Krishna was called by his Kodava name Kuttappa in this book.
The translators
Chinappa’s legacy has been kept alive by his descendants, including his grandson Boverianda Muthanna Chinnappa, fondly nicknamed Bobjee. After working as an engineer in India and various countries abroad, Boverianda Chinnappa became an entrepreneur in Canada. He married his cousin Nadikerianda Nanjamma, another grandchild of Nadikerianda Chinnappa.
Nanjamma worked as a statistician and taught statistics in India and Canada. She co-authored a book on Business Survey Methods. In 1993, she was elected a fellow of the American Statistical Association.
After their retirement, Boverianda Chinnappa and Nanjamma returned to India. Their translation of Pattole Palame into English was published in 2003. Nanjamma’s brother renowned cartoonist N Ponnappa illustrated the cover of the book.
The Pattole Palame book cover
The couple visited nearly 1,720 clans in Kodagu over the years to research ainmanes. Their work was compiled into a book called ‘Ainmanes of Kodagu’ and an online website.
The author (extreme left) with Boverianda Chinnappa and Nanjamma in 2018. Photo courtesy: Iynanda Dinesh Monnappa, Cauvery Studio, Ammathi
In 2006, Nanjamma received a Mangalore University honorary doctorate from the Governor of Karnataka. That same year, she won the ‘Coorg Person of the Year’ award.
Boverianda Chinnappa passed away on March 10 this year. He is survived by his wife, two daughters and their families.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Spectrum / by Mookonda Kushalappa / April 05th, 2023
Devanira K. Appaiah, a teacher, received the prestigious President’s Award for teaching from the then President Dr. S. Radhakrishnan in 1962.
He may have been the first Kodava to wear a kupiya-chale (traditional Kodava men’s attire) for the ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Appaiah is the father of Raghu and Sanju from Ammathi, Kodagu. (Pic. courtesy: WhatsApp)
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles (above part of the article ) by Prof. G. L. Shekhar / Top Stories / April 10th, 2023
Air Marshal (Retd.) K.C. Cariappa (Nanda) released Dr. Lata Muthanna’s novel “War – The Ugly Mistress” at a programme organised by Mysuru Book Clubs-2015 at Sri Kanteerava Narasimharaja Sports Club (Mysore Sports Club) on Lalitha Mahal Road here last evening.
Speaking on the occasion, Air Marshal Nanda Cariappa said that his profession is related to the book. Pointing out that the book has focussed on Indian Navy, he said that it reminds one of the turbulent times of the war period over 50 years ago.
Noting that the author has vividly explained war scenarios, he said that the book has also highlighted the post-war scenarios.
Recalling his younger days when he dreamt of becoming a pilot, which he realised by joining the Air Force, he said that he was fortunate to get an opportunity to serve the Nation. He further said that everyone should read this book for a better understanding of the serious consequences of war.
Prof. K.C. Belliappa, former Vice-Chancellor of Rajiv Gandhi University, Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh, who was the chief guest, said one can get a real war experience by reading the book and lauded the author’s contribution to literature though she is a doctor by profession.
Dr. Lata Muthanna, a well-known Consulting Physician, said the book owes a lot to serendipity. She stated that when she started to draw the outlines of the narrative, the civil war in Sri Lanka was still on. After the civil war ended, she went to Sri Lanka and spent time with the main character of her book, Angeline, a Singaporean, who as a child, had survived the Second World War. The book literally carries her (Dr. Lata) to different places and various periods of time. It was as though she lived through the wars and felt the fear, anger and desperation of all those who were involved in it, she said. Maintaining that no Government has the right to throw its people into the jaws of death, she said that the world citizenry should never allow that to happen.
The book release was followed by a panel discussion, in which retired Statistician Boverianda Nanjamma and retired engineer Boverianda Chinnappa took part. Both are translators and scholars of Kodava studies
Sharada Chengappa, a multifaceted personality, received the first copy of the book. Her husband Chengappa was a well-known freedom fighter, who had the good fortune of caring for Mahatma Gandhi when he visited Kodagu.
Mysuru Book Clubs-2015 Founder-President Shubha Sanjay Urs, Chinimamba Desraj Urs, Sita Bhaskar, Nalini, Kavita Bopaiah and others were present at the event.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / February 12th, 2020
Brigadier (Retd.) Mukkatira M. Ashok Cariappa (Para/Bihar), passed away at his residence, No. 1006, Brigade Horizon Apartments on T. Narasipur Road, Siddarthanagar here at 5.30 am today. He was 82.
A native of Devanageri in Kodagu, he leaves behind his wife Chitra Cariappa, sons M.C. Ponnappa and M.C. Muthanna and a host of relatives and friends.
Last rites will be held at the foot of Chamundi Hill tomorrow (Mar. 10) at 2.30 pm.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Obituary / March 09th, 2023
WELCOME. If you like what you see "SUBSCRIBE via EMAIL" to receive FREE regular UPDATES.
Read More »
