Category Archives: Leaders

‘Plan to organise Kodava Sahitya Vishwa Sammelana’

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Leaders, Records, All
Dr Parvathi Appaiah took charge as the chairperson of Karnataka Kodava Sahitya Academy in Madikeri.
Dr Parvathi Appaiah took charge as the chairperson of Karnataka Kodava Sahitya Academy in Madikeri.

Dr Parvathi Appaiah assumed charge as the chairperson of Karnataka Kodava Sahitya Academy recently.

Meanwhile, the newly appointed members Janaki Machaiah, Babbira Saraswathi, Shambhaiah, P Prabhukumar and Mechira Subhash Nanaiah also assumed charge as the members of the academy.

Dr Parvathi Appaiah said that there is a need to conduct programmes in rural areas towards popularising Kodava art forms among the youth.

“There is a plan to organise Kodava Sahitya Vishwa Sammelana,” she said.

Member Babbira Saraswathi said that the ‘Kembatti’, ‘Meda’ and ‘Kudiya’ communities which have immensely contributed to Kodava art and culture should be brought to the mainstream of society.

Another member Mechira Nanaiah suggested organising programmes at ‘Mund Mane’ and ‘Ain Mane’, directed towards the progress of Kodava linguistic communities.

He felt there is a need to digitally preserve the aspects of Kodava tradition.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State> Mangaluru / by Adithya K A / DH News Service / October 22nd, 2019

Parvathi Appaiah’s appointment surprises many

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Leaders, Records, All
Dr Parvathi Appaiah
Dr Parvathi Appaiah

The appointment of Dr Parvathi Appaiah as the chairperson of Karnataka Kodava Sahitya Academy has come as a surprise to many.

Parvathi Appaiah was working as a member of NAAC committee post her retirement. She is a former principal and professor of Political Science at Field Marshal Cariappa College in Madikeri.

She has several books on public administration to her credit.

According to sources, the appointment was done considering the literary and academic achievements of Parvathi Appaiah.

Gowramma Madammaiah, Janaki Machaiah, Babbira Saraswati, Shambaiah, Padiranda Prabhukumar, Ravi Kalappa and Mecchira Subhash Nanaiah have been appointed as members of the academy. It is said that one of these members was an aspirant to the academy chief’s post.

After the BJP government came to power, the previous appointments of the presidents and members of various academies were cancelled and the order on the appointment of new presidents and members came on Tuesday.

Many BJP leaders were waiting in the wings to become president of Kodava Academy. The appointment of Parvathi Appaiah as Kodava Academy Chief has come as a surprise to them as well.

Lakshminarayana Kajegadde has been appointed as the president of Karnataka Arebhashe Sahitya Academy. This time too, the post has gone to Dakshina Kannada district. In the previous tenure, a person from Sullia was the chief of Arebhashe Academy.

Janaki Baitadka, Smita Amritraj, Prema Raghavaiah, A P Dhananjaya, Ananda Damkodi and Somanna R Soorthale have been appointed as the members of Arebhashe Academy. There were many aspirants for the post of president and members of Arebhashe Academy as well.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State> Mangaluru / by DHNS, Madikeri / October 16th, 2019

C. B. Muthamma – The First Woman Diplomat of India

Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Leaders, Records, All

MuthammaKF15oct2019

Women today are seen in every sector. Professions that were conventionally considered to be ‘men’s jobs’ are now crowded with women. The women of today do not face as much struggle or prejudice in pursuing the career of their dreams as they did two or three decades before. This has been possible because of a few women who have confronted the unjust ways of the patriarchal world and made name for themselves.

One of these powerful ladies was C.B. Muthamma. Muthamma was the first IFS officer of India. She joined foreign services in the first qualifying batch of the service, right after the independence in the year 1949. This was at a time when a woman in diplomacy was a rarity in itself.

For the longest time, women were not considered fit for holding a diplomatic position across the globe. In fact, in 1933 it was stated in a debate in British House of Commons that “The special virtues of women are ill-adapted to the diplomatic life,” the virtues referred being ‘sympathy’ and ‘intuition’. These virtues were considered fatal as a balanced attitude was required in order to preserve diplomatic relations.

A British author Helen McCarthy has remarked in her book, ‘Women of the world’ that, “Even in the 21st century, a woman wielding serious powers in the global arena is an oddity. A phenomenon to be explained rather than taken for granted. Not only is her performance subject to closer scrutiny than her male peers, but it often comes to stand as a test of the ability of all women and to reflect for good or ill, the wisdom of allowing a woman to do a man’s job.”

There was a criterion up until the 1970s that only unmarried women can apply for the IFS services, and they will need to quit their positions whenever they choose to get married. Women were also not promoted to senior positions in the services.

C. B. Muthamma believed that this was clear discrimination. Which is why, when she was not considered for a well-deserved promotion, she filed a petition in the Supreme Court of India against the government of India, seeking justice for herself and all the women who would want to pursue their career in international relations. In a very famous case known as ‘Union of India vs. C. B. Muthamma’, the government changed its policy of not promoting the women before the apex court could give out its judgement for the case. The petition filed by Muthamma was then dismissed with her promotion to Grade 1 of the IFS, with the words by the judges that “We hereby dismiss the petition, but not the problem.”

The landmark case pushed the government to change its rules regarding these discriminating laws. And women now represent 18.5% of the total foreign officers of the country. However, it was this case that set off the trigger for many women to pursue careers in diplomacy while simultaneously leading a normal family life.

C.B. Muthamma has served as an inspiration to all the female diplomats, not only in India but across the world. India lost an exceptional officer of its foreign services when she bid adieu to the world on October 14, 2009.

source: http://www.thecsrjournal.in / The CSR Journal / Home> Header News / by Hency Thacker / October 15th, 2019

Kavya Madappa’s Bluecat Paper wants to make ‘tree-free’ paper mainstream

Business & Economy, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Green Initiatives / Environment, Leaders
Kavya Madappa | Photo Credit: Sudhakara Jain
Kavya Madappa | Photo Credit: Sudhakara Jain

Instead of wood pulp, Bluecat Paper uses cotton, linen rags, coffee husk, banana fibre, mulberry, corn husk and flax fibre among other things

Kavya Madappa’s cabin at Bluecat Paper, a company that makes upcycled paper, overlooks a small verdant garden with a passion fruit vine and other plants. A black native dog sleeps on a thick sheet that is spread on a plush couch. It is not her pet. “He just likes to hang out here,” says Kavya from her desk. The office, located in Peenya, is airy, green and relaxing — it is unsurprising that Kavya also owns a spa resort in Coorg.

“I grew up in Coorg. Having a large backyard with lots of trees is something I took for granted,” she says. When she moved to Bengaluru, it took a while to adjust to the city’s traffic and bustle. Most conspicuous — and disturbing — to her, however, was the rapid felling of trees. She realised this when she happened to witness the large-scale production of paper at a mill.

Paper is mostly produced from wood pulp, which requires sawing of timber and removal of bark. Environmental activist Mandy Haggith, in her book Paper Trails: From Trees to Trash – The True Cost of Paper, writes: “The paper industry consumes 42% of all the wood felled industrially every year and its share of the world’s cleared forest is an area of about three million hectares annually.”

According to worldatlas.com, in the past four decades, the use of paper has risen by 400%. Roughly 26% of solid waste dumped in dumping sites is discarded paper and paperboard. A report by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations says that by 2050, more than half of the world’s total demand for wood and wood products is likely to consist of paper and paper products.

Bluecat Paper products | Photo Credit: Sudhakara Jain
Bluecat Paper products | Photo Credit: Sudhakara Jain

These numbers suggest that Kavya’s concern for trees at the paper mill wasn’t misplaced. She sought and found a way to make paper without wood pulp. For two years, she studied about paper, met papermakers and experimented with different methods. A 15-day hand papermaking course at the Kumarappa National Handmade Paper Institute in Jaipur equipped her to set up Bluecat Paper in 2018.

Instead of wood pulp, Bluecat Paper uses cotton, linen rags, coffee husk, banana fibre, mulberry, corn husk and flax fibre among other things to make paper. These raw materials, according to Kavya, are abundant. Even the quality of her “tree-free paper”, she assures, is as good as the ones made from wood pulp. But handmade papers are expensive as their production is labour- and time-intensive.

“Most machines are developed for rolls of paper, whereas handmade paper is made into sheets,” explains Kavya. She, however, hopes that “tree-free paper” becomes mainstream. “I had to scale it up because most of the hand papermakers I knew were making paper in their backyard or in small units. At Bluecat, we can make 5,000 to 6,000 sheets of paper a day,” she says. But this number is a trifle compared to the lakhs of sheets manufactured at a paper mill every day.

“Paper isn’t a big deal,” says Kavya, “It is use and throw. You don’t even think you are wasting paper because it is cheap… But it comes at a price for planet Earth.”

Kavya steps out of her cabin to pluck a raw passion fruit. “A tree needs to grow at least 20 years before it can be cut for paper. But by this time, it has its own little ecosystem.But one fine day, you come and cut 50,000 trees at one go and say, ‘It is okay’… Come on, it’s ridiculous!”

(Bluecat’s products are available on bluecatpaper.com and leading e-commerce sites)

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Praveen Sudevan / September 26th, 2019

Kodava Convention In US

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Leaders, Nri's / Pio's, Records, All, World Opinion

Over 400 attend grand ceremony in Boston

KodavaConventionKF23sept2019

Boston:

The North American Kodava Convention was hosted by Kodavas of Greater Boston area from Aug. 30 to Sept. 1.

Kodavas from across Continental US, Hawaii, Canada, India and UAE joined the convention that was one of the largest gathering of Kodavas in North America. Over 400 people attended the event.

The community came together as ‘Okka’ at the convention which was aimed at bringing the community closer, renew old relations and forge new ones, facilitate connections for youngsters who are growing up in a foreign land to their Kodagu roots and to help preserve and nurture the rich Kodava heritage, culture and language.

The event was organised at Marriott Copley Hotel in the heart of Boston. The weekend festivities kicked off with an informal meet of the gathering on the evening of Aug. 30 at the hotel lounge, followed by ‘Oorkuduva’ evening on Aug. 31 at the world-renowned MIT Media Lab, to showcase the intellectual side of Boston.

The ‘Oorkuduva’ evening had presentations regarding the origin of culture and biodiversity in Kodagu related to genealogy, including preliminary data from the ‘Kodava Genome Initiative’, which was presented by Prof. Maanasa Raghavan and her Ph.D. student Arjun Biddanda.

The evening also included a talent show of Kodava children in the art of public speaking, piano recitals, jazz-saxophone performance and singing. It was an idyllic setting for an ‘Oorkuduva’ gathering at the MIT Media, overlooking the Charles River and spectacular views of Boston skyline.

There was Kodava Vaalaga after dinner which got most of the guests onto the dance floor. The party then shifted to the Marriott Copley Hotel where Deep Chinappa entertained guests with his rock band, the ‘Deep C Divers’.

There were several daytime activities including tours of various historical and cultural Boston landmarks, walks along the popular Freedom Trail, kayaking on the Charles River and tours of MIT and Harvard campuses. The highlight of the Convention was the gala reception on Sept. 1 at the Grand Ballroom of the Hotel.

It was a Kodava wedding muhurtha-like atmosphere where guests sported their traditional attire. The programme included Kodava folk dances like ‘puthari kolaat’ by Kodava men, an up-tempo exhilarating ‘bode namme’ style carnival dance.

The programme also had panel discussions that covered topics like, “Our enchanting Kodagu: Change is inevitable! The resources are at their limits. How do we advance our beloved Kodagu on a global scale in a sustainable way, while preserving our unique culture, family values, and one-of-its-kind natural bounty? What role each person can play towards achieving these goals? How do we inspire youngsters and serve as role models to excel in whatever field they choose?”

The panellists included Belliappa Cheppudira, an educationist, coffee planter, an entrepreneur, an accomplished novelist and author of several books including ‘Tale of a Tiger’s Tail’, ‘Yarns from Coorg’, ‘Nuggets from Coorg History’, and ‘Victoria Gowramma: The Lost Princess of Coorg’.

Others were Dr. Zarin Machanda, Assistant Professor at Tufts University and Director of Kibale Chimpanzee Project in Uganda and Dr. Naren Anjaparavanda, Professor of Paediatrics at the University of Cincinnati.

After the discussion, the guests were treated to delicious authentic Kodagu food including ‘kadambuttu,’ ‘nooputtu,’ ‘Onakyerchi’ ‘nucchi kum’ curry, ‘kadale payasa’ and of course the traditional ‘pandi’ curry.

The evening’s programme also included an annual update from Kodava Koota and presentation of high school achievement awards sponsored by Bachranianda Muthappa and Rani Education Fund.

The convention ended with a resolve to organise the next convention at San Francisco Bay Area in 2020.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / September 22nd, 2019

Mangalore University to honour six persons

Amazing Feats, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Leaders, Records, All

Septuagenarian B.K. Deva Rao, who has preserved over 150 variants of paddy by cultivating them every year at Mittabagilu village in Belthangady taluk, and national award winning film director Abhaya Simha from Mangaluru are among the six persons who will be honoured by Mangalore University on its 40th foundation day on Mangalagantori campus on Thursday.

Addressing presspersons here on Wednesday, P.S. Yadapadithaya, Vice-Chancellor of the university, said N.R. Shetty, Chancellor, Central University of Karnataka, Kalaburagi, will deliver the foundation day address.

The others who will be honoured are Gopal Mugeraya, Director, National Institute of Technology, Goa; Shashikala Gurupur, Director, Symbiosis International (Deemed University), Pune; G. Chidvilas, Editor, Shakthi daily, Madikeri; and Ganesh Ameen Sankamar, an expert in Tulu folklore.

He said that Mr. Mugeraya would be honoured for his contribution to the fields of Chemical Engineering and Biochemical Engineering. Mr. Simha is one of the country’s newest and most notable voices in the field of cinema. An alumnus of Mangalore University, he has made a name for himself as director of feature films, short films, documentaries, music videos, and as scriptwriter, sound engineer, actor and film activist, he said. Ms. Gurupur would be felicitated in recognition to her contribution to the fields of legal education and social justice.

Mr. Chidvilas has been recognised for his social service and Mr. Sankamar for his research in the field of Tulu folklore.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Mangaluru / by Special Correspondent / Mangaluru – September 11th, 2019

Ramakrishnanagar ‘I’ Block Kodava Welfare Association Meets

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Leaders

RamakrishnaIblock01KF13sept2019

Mysuru:

Ramakrishnanagar ‘I’ Block Kodava Welfare Association and adjoining residents of Mysuru, held its 19th Annual Meet at Hotel Roost under the chairmanship of Association President Nayakanda Mandanna.

The office bearers for the Ramakrishnanagar ‘I’ Block Kodava Welfare Association, Mysuru, were nominated for the next three years term. Kattera A. Nanaiah – President, Poodrimada Somaiah – Vice-President, Maletira Ganapathy-Secretary, Kodandera Pushpa Machaiah- Joint Secretary and Kenjangada Cariappa – Joint Secretary.

Bachamada Vasanth, Kelapanda Vinod Bopaiah, Mukalamada Shanthi Ramesh, Patrapanda Changappa, Kumbera Ganesh Pemmaiah, Kadyamada Vijay Cariappa, Mallangada Vinodha Madappa and Palekanda Nachappa – Committee Members.

RamakrishnaIblock02KF13sept2019

Past Presidents of the Association Dr. Kodira A. Kushalappa – Chief Advisor and Nayakanda Mandanna – Legal Advisor.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / September 11th, 2019

A.K. Subbaiah As I Knew Him

Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Leaders, Records, All

SubbaiahKF31aug2019

My college-mate, a fellow Kodava like me and a politician who spewed fire and brimstone like a dragon on rampage against his political or personal opponents, Ajjikuttira K. Subbaiah is no more.

However, there is no denying the fact that in Karnataka politics he was a role model to all Opposition Leaders. Subbaiah was my college-mate in the only First Grade College in Madikeri, Kodagu, in the late 1950s. When he was doing his B.Sc. first year, I was doing my first year in BA. I remember Subbaiah and M.C. Nanaiah, senior in the college and also a powerful public speaker, showing their eloquence in the college debates.

I was staying in the hostel and the hostellers had issues with regard to quality of food and water supply. Since we didn’t get positive response from the Principal we decided to go on strike. And on the appointed day both the hostellers and the day scholars (who also had issues relating to hygiene and water supply etc.) gathered in front of the college building and took out a procession towards the Police Grounds shouting slogans against the college authorities and the Principal holding the National Flag.

I still remember a student who refused to hold the Flag and march in front, apparently, for fear of the Police who had by then arrived there. Since I was next to that boy I showed my bravado by grabbing at the Flag and marching ahead shouting slogans. Young, hot blood I suppose!

At the Police Grounds, a senior hostel-mate began his harangue only to be pulled aside by a student known as A.K. Subbaiah who delivered his speech in a loud and spirited manner holding everybody’s attention.

The consequence of this protest, the march and the meeting was impacted on a few students soon after. Among them were A.K. Subbaiah and Yours Truly also included. I was lucky that I was rusticated from the hostel whereas Subbaiah and a few others were rusticated from the college itself. That was the last I saw of Subbaiah but was hearing about his political activities through my friends and newspapers when I was in Bangalore and later in Bombay.

Since he had worked for nearly five years after intermediate (present day PUC) he was looking like a senior person. However, the juniors used to admire him for his determination to pursue higher education. He later pursued his Law degree from Sarada Vilas College in Mysore while I went to Bangalore to do my Law. I had heard that he was practicing Law in Virajpet simultaneously flirting with politics by campaigning for a Praja Socialist Party candidate from Virajpet Constituency. Later, I came to know that he changed his political loyalty to the Hindu Rightist Party — Jan Sangh. This turned out to be a spring- board for him to plunge head-on into full-time politics while also practicing a successful legal career. It is, therefore, not surprising he served as MLC for four terms while he could not make it even once as an MLA despite his efforts.

A powerful public speaker, inside the Legislative Council he would take on the ruling dispensation to an experience of thunder and lightning. Just to give an example, when R. Gundu Rao was the Chief Minister, C.M. Ibrahim was a Minister against whom Subbaiah made an allegation which involved National Security. It was popularly known as Rolex Watch Scandal and attracted attention in print and electronic media all over the country. To recall, Subbaiah, an inveterate politician of extraordinary tongue-power, had simply made a mountain out of a molehill.

The allegation was that Ibrahim in one of his public speeches rhetorically said, showing off a Rolex wrist watch to the audience that it was given to him by an Arab Sheikh and that watch was his visa to enter that Arab country. The demagogue of a speaker, Subbaiah, went hammer and tongs accusing Ibrahim of many legal and moral crimes as if Ibrahim’s conduct was a threat to the country itself. The impact was such that Ibrahim found himself, despite his denials, like being caught between a rock and a hard place. He resigned.

Those were Subbaiah’s glorious days as a Member of Jan Sangh, Janata Party and BJP at different times of the changing political developments in the country. Because of his oratorical skills and leadership qualities he was made the first State President of BJP in 1980. In the Assembly elections that followed, Subbaiah was able to get a total of 18 MLAs including the present CM B.S. Yediyurappa and late V.S. Acharya. It was an extraordinary feat for Subbaiah, who was showered with admirations and encomiums by not only the BJP but also other political parties who least expected such a performance. Unfortunately, this victory got into his head that he thought for BJP he was indispensable in Karnataka. Sadly, what happened later was his fall from BJP. And what a fall! Indeed, pride goes before the fall. He was expelled from BJP following his criticism of RSS ideology and its leaders.

We must remember that during the Emergency of 1975-77, he was jailed for 19 months. Interestingly, but for his mishandling of support to the Ramakrishna Hegde Government, Janata Dal(S) would not have been in the State as it is now.

While the BJP High Command under Atal Behari Vajpayee declared unconditional outside support to Ramakrishna Hegde, Subbaiah was nursing ambitions of becoming the Home Minister by joining Hegde’s Government. The rift between him and the BJP at the Centre was obvious leading to Subbaiah’s removal from the Presidentship of the Party. Thereafter, his political decline began never to rise again.

He thought the people of Karnataka would rally around him if he formed his own political party. Indeed, he formed his own party called ‘Kannada Nadu’ which ended in a disaster. After this, he became a habitual party-hopper. He joined Congress, BSP, JD(S) and then again Congress.

Mentioning of Ramakrishna Hegde brings to my mind one of Subbaiah’s wry humour for which he was very famous. He had made an allegation against Ramakrishna Hegde’s son of taking money from a person promising a medical seat. But, he did not get the seat nor the money was returned. The allegation was so severe that the Chief Minister appointed a Commission to get at the truth of the allegation.

As I remember, the well- known Criminal Lawyer and Supreme Court Advocate Ram Jethmalani was hired to represent Hegde’s son before the Commission while Subbaiah appeared for the medical student. In the course of the proceedings, Jethmalani was repeatedly addressing Subbaiah as ‘Sabaiah’ despite Subbaiah telling Jethmalani the correct pronunciation of his name. When Jethmalani continued to address him as Sabaiah, Subbaiah was so annoyed he got up and told Jethmalani, “If you continue to call me Sabaiah I will have to call you as Joothmalani.”

RIP A.K. Subbaiah

e-mail: kbg@starofmysore.com

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Columns / Aabracadabra by K. B. Ganapathy / August 30th, 2019

State’s first BJP chief, A.K. Subbaiah, became one of its fiercest critics

Leaders, Records, All

SubbaiahKF28aug2019

Senior politician and the first State president of the BJP A.K. Subbaiah, 85, who passed away in Bengaluru on Tuesday, was responsible for the party taking roots in the State in the 1980s. Later in life, this plain-speaking politician, was also one of the saffron party’s most bitter critics.

Mr. Subbaiah (called AKS) was an enigma for many. He was born on August, 9, 1936, in Belluru village of Virajpet taluk. He began his career as an advocate but then moved to politics. He was imprisoned during the Emergency, later drifted towards Bharatiya Jana Sangh and was elected the first State president of the Bharatiya Janata Party in 1980. Known for his fiery speeches, he played a major role in the BJP’s expansion during its infancy in Karnataka along with others like V.S. Acharya and B.S. Yediyurappa. So much so, that by 1983, the BJP had emerged as a significant political force in Karnataka. AKS had rocked the Congress government of Gundu Rao exposing some of its scandals, and the BJP contested in the Assembly elections on its own and won 18 seats.

In view of a hung Assembly and at the instance of the party’s national leadership, BJP ended up extending outside support to the Janata Party which had won 95 seats and formed the government with Ramakrishna Hegde as Chief Minister.

Though influenced by the RSS and the Jana Sangh, he subsequently began speaking out against them and often landed in controversy. Mr. Subbaiah’s views used to be at variance with the BJP’s official stance on various issues, but he was known to speak his mind.

Falling out
As he fell out with the party’s leadership that began to ignore him, Mr. Subbaiah was marginalised within the BJP and began leaning towards the Congress. He served as Congress MLC from 1988 to 1994. Later, he launched his own party — Kannada Nadu — without success. Though he was not a force to reckon with politically in later years, he remained active in public life.

More recently, he had questioned the BJP for its stance against the Tipu Jayanti celebrations, even though it had drawn the wrath of a large number of Kodavas. In the run up to the Assembly elections in 2018, he called for a coalition of like-minded forces to keep communal forces at bay. He had written a book titled RSS Antharanga, critiquing the organisation. He was also part of a three-member committee, along with freedom fighter H.S. Doreswamy and the late editor-activist Gauri Lankesh, formed by former CM Siddaramaiah, to rehabilitate and bring to the mainstream left-wing extremists. The committee mediated the mainstreaming of nine of them.

Leaders across party lines condoled his death. CM Yediyurappa said that Mr. Subbaiah built the party from the grassroots and always fought against injustice.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by R. Krishna Kumar / Mysuru – August 28th, 2019

Biddanda K. Subbaiah No More

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Leaders

BiddandaSubbaiahKF27aug2019

Madikeri:

Biddanda K. Subbaiah, fondly called as Jack Subbaiah, who was revered as a Guru by thousands of people in Kodagu and outside, passed away in Bengaluru last evening. He was 84. Subbaiah founded Soham Dhyana Yoga and owned Modur Estate near Madikeri. He was also the President of Kodagu Vidyalaya.

He propagated Advaitha philosophy and had many followers even in foreign countries and he used to stress on Dhyana Yoga. Oneness and unity with God was among his preaching and he criticised the common habit of praying for divine intervention for problems faced by human beings. Whenever problems bother a person, Jack used to say, “Time to Pass”. He used to advise people that like passing clouds, problems too will pass.

A distinct quality of Jack Subbaiah was that during Satsanga, he used to preach Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism, Sufi philosophy Zen Buddhism, Kabala and Shaivism. He used to preach in a language that is understood by common man.

Apart from being a Guru, Jack was a good photographer, avid agriculturalist and had a deep interest in sports. Despite being a Guru, he lived the life of a common man and this character made him connect with the masses. He was way apart from other spiritual leaders who with a little spiritual knowledge lead a lavish life. Subbaiah leaves behind his wife, a son and two daughters. The mortal remains will be cremated on Aug. 27 in Bengaluru, said family sources.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / August 27th, 2019