Category Archives: Leaders

First woman SP of Kodagu takes charge

Leaders, Records, All

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Madikeri :

IPS officer Vartika Katiyar took charge as the new Superintendent of Police of Kodagu district yesterday.

Earlier, she was the Additional Superintendent of Police of Gokak for one year. She is the first woman to serve as the SP in Kodagu. She replaces M.N. Anuchet.

Speaking to presspersons at her office here, Katiyar said she was inspired to join the Indian Police Service to serve society and senior women Police officers were her role models.

She said that she had visited Kodagu several years ago, but as a tourist, adding that she was yet to get herself accustomed to the unique land and its people.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / August 06th, 2014

Vartika Katiyar is SP for Kodagu

Leaders, Records, All

Vartika Katiyar took charge as the new Superintendent of Police of Kodagu on Tuesday.

Earlier, she was the Additional Superintendent of Police of Gokak for one year, and she is the first woman holding the post of SP in Kodagu.

Speaking to presspersons at Madikeri, Ms. Katiyar said she was inspired to join the Indian Police Service to serve society and senior women police officers.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Mysore – August 06th, 2014

THE SUNDAY INTERVIEW : ‘Life can be a fairy tale… or a mess’

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Leaders
Author Kavery Nambisan / by Special Arrangement / The Hindu
Author Kavery Nambisan / by Special Arrangement / The Hindu

Kavery Nambisan talks to the writer about her book A Town Like Ours, and juggling the roles of writer and surgeon.

Pingakshipura — where the hair on children’s head has turned white and the water runs black — is the town Kavery Nambisan created in her latest book, A Town Like Ours. Though a fictional account of a fictitious place, Nambisan’s words resonate with a dark, uncensored truth that brings to mind the fate of hundreds of villages across the country. Known for her highly perceptive and emotive style, Nambisan talks about her writing and her dual life as author and surgeon.

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Excerpts from an interview:

Tell us a little about how you created Pingakshipura.

It grew around the character of Rajakumari. When I created this endearing, coarse-tongued prostitute and tried to imagine her life, the place that came to mind was a shapeless, noisy pell-mell town. I worked backwards from the town to what it must have been a decade or two earlier. I thought I had created Pingakshipura but, in actual fact, it was like the villages of Karnataka where I lived in my childhood that, over the decades, transmogrified into towns. The lopsided modernisation that we so timidly endorse in our greed for wealth leads to a distortion of the intrinsic fabric of society. The deep and abiding wisdom that is a part of village life is forever lost.

You choose to use Rajkumari to tell the story?

She is derived from a real characterYou know how you come across a person and she stays in your mind and cooks away in your imagination until she is no longer a strangerThe important thing about Rajakumari is not her beauty but her ability to think, and to believe in herself. Her unique position as a harlot gives her the fearlessness and the freedom to retain her dignity at all times.

As for using her voice to tell the story, who better than a whore to give an honest account of the goings-on in any place, who better to tease out the absurdities of life and people? Her voice is like the drumbeat of Pingakshipura, the collective voice of the town. She speaks in her language, namely Kannada which is also the language I grew up with in school.

Not every character’s story is resolved. This seems to be deliberate.

It is Rajakumari who speaks. She is keenly interested in the lives of four people; two couples and two children. My own experience is that the lives of seemingly disparate people come together due to the strangest of circumstances. And a novel is only a peeping-hole into something that happens somewhere. Life can be a charming fairy-tale but more often it is a mess. I look in and show what I see.

I am also very interested in the way we keep secrets from each other, the way we speak half-truths and get away with it all the time. We try to shield our own ‘imagined’ dignity or shield that of others. But see what dilemmas we can end up with. Would it not have been easier for Manohar to tell his wife about his longing for children instead of doing what he did? Or for Saroja to be utterly honest with Sampathu?

A Town like Ours seems to underline your own worries about where rural India is headed.

I guess that runs like a theme through the book, although it is not talked about much. Yes, I am depressed about the destruction, the thinning away, of our link with Nature. It is like humanity is steadily losing blood, getting more anaemic by the day and, instead of treating the cause, is trying to pep itself up by using the magic tablet of modernisation.

Is this the kind of fiction you believe in writing, one that reflects on and mirrors reality?

I did not plan anything. When I started, all I knew about writing was that you had to tell a story. I like stories that make me smile or laugh (sometimes with bitterness). But what really moves me is the grand canvas of living. We humans have a greater capacity for grief than for joy, don’t you think? At least, that is the case with me. I try to be honest, that’s what I do when I write. Everything flows from there. Injustice of all sorts fills me with disbelief about our future and I write so I can change that disbelief into something more hopeful.

Are there any similarities/overlaps in the two facets of your life: writer and surgeon?

Surgery is all about knowledge, skill and team-work. Writing, on the other hand, is done in isolation; it is a bizarre mix of observation, experience, memory and imagination, a chipping- away until something comes out on the page. But both writing and surgery require a certain confidence and the ability to take risks. Who knows what your novel will turn out to be like? In surgery, the risk is that each human body behaves differently and, although you think you know it well, it always throws up surprises. When I open an abdomen, or take on something else, I should be prepared to handle the innumerable variations. Especially in a rural area where you cannot cry for help. You succeed by staying abreast of progress, by keeping your faculties sharp and your mind open to learning. Once you say, “Yes, I can do this for you,” to a patient, you go all the way in the best way possible. By nature, I’m a risk-taker. That’s how I’ve survived as a writer and a surgeon.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Sunday Magazine> The Sunday Interview / by Swati Dastur / August 02nd, 2014

Nanaiah to head panel on women’s safety

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Leaders

The 26-member committee has to submit its report within three months

The government has set up a 26-member expert committee, headed by the former Law Minister M.C. Nanaiah, to suggest amendments to the law related to sexual assault cases and enhancement of punishment for the crime.

According to a government release on Wednesday, Mr. Nanaiah will have the Cabinet Minister status. As the chairman of the committee, he enjoys powers to invite opinions and suggestions from experts and officers concerned. The committee is expected to submit its report along with its recommendations within three months from the date of its formation, the release said.

Increase in the incidents of sexual assault on women and children, followed by protests both inside and outside the House, prompted the government to constitute the expert committee comprising legislators, representatives of social organisations and women and children’s organisations, and legal experts.

Legislators Shakuntala Shetty, Y.S.V. Datta, Motamma, Jaimala, Tara, V.S. Ugrappa, Basavaraj Horatti, K.B. Shanappa, Govind Karjol, Tanveer Sait and Vinisha Nero, the former Minister Rani Satish, the former MLC Prafulla Madhukar, Leela Sampige, retired IPS officer Jija Hari Singh, writer Suchitra Rao, journalist Gouri Lankesh, Sangeetha Saxena, Krupa Alwa, Chandramouli and M.R. Hegde are members of the committee apart from four government officials from the departments of Home, and Law and Parliamentary Affairs.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Karnataka / Special Correspondent / Bangalore – July 31st, 2014

This Woman from Srirangapatna is the Queen Bee Among Entrepreneurs

Agriculture, Business & Economy, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Leaders, World Opinion
Chayaa nanjappa National Best Entrepreneur Award From the Confederation of Women Entrepreneurs of India was presented toher in Hyderabad on Monday. |EPS
Chayaa nanjappa National Best Entrepreneur Award From the Confederation of Women Entrepreneurs of India was presented toher in Hyderabad on Monday. |EPS

Bangalore :

From Srirangapatna to Europe, it has been a long and difficult journey for 42-year-old Chayaa Nanjappa. But she has battled the odds and today heads a rural enterprise which produces high-quality honey that sweetens many a home even in Europe and the United States.

As a reward for her hard work, Chayaa was on Monday awarded this year’s ‘National Best Entrepreneur Award’ in food processing by the Confederation of Women Entrepreneurs of India.

Her path to success has not been a smooth one; she had to overcome many an adversity, physical abuse and traumatic relationships. But now, this gentle, self-made woman provides a livelihood for not only many illiterates of Mysore and Mandya districts, but also some tribals across the state. She is also the largest buyer of forest honey from Malayalis and tribes like Siddis and Jenu Kurubas.

She began her journey by setting up a small unit at Bommanahalli with the help of a `10-lakh loan. She then shifted operations to Nanjangud and later, to Srirangapatna.

Today her enterprise Nectar Fresh, which produces monofloral honey, has a capacity of 200 tonnes and is worth `6 crore. It is one of the largest bulk suppliers and packers of honey in the country and falls in the top five bulk exporters of raw as well as processed honey. Nectar Fresh also has the ISO 22000:2005 certification.

Chayaa told Express, “With no work experience or exposure, I started a rural industry in 2007 that could be identified with my hometown, Coorg. After doing a basic course from Central Bee Research and Training Institute (CBRTI), I jumped into the industry completely, sourcing honey from tribes and farmers.” She has 20 mobile apiary vans across the country.

Going International

To earn her brand a significant international presence, she decided to market it as a basket of products, including jams and sauces. The result: it found a place in the European market. “I added jams and sauces to my basket by purchasing pulp from sick units run by women in places like Bangalore and Mangalore, and sourcing fruits like papaya and tomato directly from farmers,” she said.

With exports to Germany and France, Nectar Fresh has broken the monopoly of global companies like Bereenberg, Darbo and Bonne Maman. “We met the stringent standards necessary for approval to export to Germany and made a strong impact by packaging our honey and jam in polypropylene sachets for high quality and shelf life. The European competitors feel threatened by our presence,” said Chayaa, who is now busy tying up with a Saudi Arabian company for the production of jams from dates.

She credited the Karnataka Village Industries Board (KVIB), CBRTI, the Horticulture Department, the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), Le Meridien, ITC Foods and a host of others who supported her. “Any small and marginal farmer in Karnataka producing quality honey can contact me. My sole aim is to promote rural products and help women in distress by providing employment opportunities,” she said.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Meera Bhardwaj / July 31st, 2014

Nanaiah may head panel on safety of women, children

Leaders

Bangalore :

Former law minister MC Nanaiah is likely to head the expert committee to suggest measures for safety of women and children.

Several rapes in the state, especially in Bangalore, prompted the government to constitute the committee comprising legislators, representatives of social organizations, women and children’s organizations and legal experts.

“The official notification will be issued in a day or two. The panel will have eminent persons,” home minister KJ George told TOI.

This apart, for the first time, the term “rapist” will be incorporated in The Karnataka Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Bootleggers, Drug Offenders, Gamblers, Goondas, Immoral Traffic Offenders and Slum Grabbers Act, 1985, commonly known as the Goonda Act.

The amendments to the Goonda Act would be introduced in the ongoing session of legislature. Though sexual offences are not covered under the act in its present form, the six accused in the gang-rape of a law student on the Jnanabharathi campus in October 2012 were booked under the Goonda Act. Normally, repeat offenders in crimes are included under the Goonda Act, but amendments to the act will include first-time rape offenders.

Persons booked under the Goonda Act can be detained for one year without trial.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Times of India / Home> City> Bangalore / July 25th, 2014

M.C. Nanaiah, as I know him

Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Leaders

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by K.B. Ganapathy
Former Law Minister and JD(S) leader M.C. Nanaiah, Merianda Chengappa Nanaiah to give him his full Kodava name, bid adieu to Karnataka Legislative Council when his six-year term ended on June 30, 2014. Many MLCs have spoken in the past when their terms in the House had ended. In keeping with that tradition, M.C. Nanaiah too made his oration; but that was a class apart from what I have heard others speak before. In Nanaiah’s speech there was much food for thought for all those who swear by Democracy and Secularism.

If Democracy works best ONLY where there are checks and balances, where there is synthesis of various shades of opinions, where there is dialectical debate and discussion, then there also must be a House in the form of a Rajya Sabha (Upper House) at the Centre and a Vidhana Parishat (Legislative Council) in the States to act as a sieve to further filter what is processed in the Parliament or the Legislative Assembly. After all, law-makers are not Solomons, nor above reproach in their thinking and conduct. It is obvious Nanaiah has realised this deficiency, lack of maturity and haste on matters of Bills deliberated in the Parliament or the Assembly and therefore, in his farewell speech, he devoted much time on the need for making the institution of Legislative Council mandatory by amending the Constitution.

At present, the Constitution allows only Rajya Sabha to be a permanent house but not the Vidhana Parishat. As a result some States have abolished the Council. Hence Nanaiah’s concern. He may also have apprehended that such a doomsday may overtake Karnataka Legislative Council too at a future date and hence his appeal to the Speaker to take up the issue as an amendment to the Constitution to make the Legislative Council mandatory for all States. Tamil Nadu for example had a Legislative Council for many years. However, it was abolished by M.G. Ramachandran Government on Nov. 1, 1986.

In his impassioned oratorical flourish, as is his wont whenever on his feet to deliver a speech, he said the existence of the Legislative Council is imperative in view of the seriousness with which Bills have to be debated before passing them into Law.

In order to corroborate his point, he gave the example of the system prevalent in the United States where the US Congress (their Lower House equivalent to our Lok Sabha) always appreciated the role of the US Senate. Nanaiah said that in US the members of the Congress used to say that the Senators “Pour the Legislation into the Senatorial saucer for cooling.” And the Legislations (Bills) vetted by the Senators were the only ones that could be considered as Law. Let us hope our politicians heed Nanaiah’s words of wisdom distilled after over 40 years in State politics.

M.C. Nanaiah is Mr. Clean politician of Karnataka who survived in the “cesspool of corruption” without blemish, like a lotus in the murky waters. I know him since 1956. He was one year senior to me in the then Government First Grade College in Madikeri, Kodagu, now Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa College and in law college at Bangalore. Loud with a silver tongue, he would stand out in any group of students. He was assertive and daring in speech but some students thought that he was a master manipulator. I had no occasion to test this allegation which I thought was made by those who envied his dash and drive.

A.K. Subbaiah, Ajjikuttira Kariappa Subbaiah to give him his full Kodava name, who also became famous as a politician like Nanaiah, was one year junior to Nanaiah like I was. I don’t know about the age though. I remember Nanaiah defeating Subbaiah in the 1957-58 college elections. Later in life as both marched like knights-in-arms to fight the political battle, it was Nanaiah who made it once to the Legislative Assembly, then as MLC and finally to the State Cabinet. He was Forest Minister and then, many years later, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister for five years with the additional charge of Information Ministry.

In contrast, Subbaiah only made news, acquiring the epithet in Kannada as “suddi maduva Subbaiah,” which means “Subbaiah who makes news.” Some even called him as “Five day Lawyer, weekend Crusader.” If ego and hubris destroyed Subbaiah’s political opportunities (of which he had so many as a BJP Leader), as for Nanaiah it was the gift of the gab and indeed the intelligent persuasive ability and manipulative skills that took him to the acme of State Political Office via Legislative Council as he was not able to win Assembly elections except once.

After Kodagu got integrated with the then Mysore State, (now Karnataka) following the State reorganisation (1956), two persons who came on the political horizon of Kodagu are M.C. Nanaiah and A.K. Subbaiah, separated in their political ideologies as sharply as oil and water. If Nanaiah was a leftist, Subbaiah was a rightist. Nanaiah was into Congress, a change over from his Communist beliefs and Subbaiah was into Jan Sangh. Nanaiah then switched to JD(S) and became an achiever; but in contrast, Subbaiah followed his saffron brothers into BJP and almost came out as an achiever, but no. Soon he committed political harakiri because of hubris after winning some 18 Assembly seats under his leadership in the year 1983. It was a case of the time-tested maxim “pride goes before the fall.” Subbaiah was so presumptuous he thought without him BJP in Karnataka could not survive. He was unable to grasp the importance of a national political party in a democracy where individuals come and go but the party goes on. He was unceremoniously ousted from the BJP and despite changing political parties thereafter, rather shamelessly, he became a political pariah. His political career was doomed once and for all. In contrast, Nanaiah played his political cards well even when he was dealt with bad cards. Once he joined the JD(S), he became its loyal worker, nay soldier. Naturally, he rose to the rank of a General – Minister !

When Nanaiah was in Congress, political churning was taking place in Karnataka’s Congress Government led by D. Devaraj Urs, following the defeat of Indira Gandhi in the post-Emergency election. Nanaiah was inducted into Devaraj Urs ministry as Forest Minister. R. Gundu Rao, who had by then moved too close to Indira Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi derisively called Nanaiah as a “Peppermint Minister.” Soon Devaraj Urs was dethroned, dumped from Congress and Gundu Rao became the Chief Minister. Thanks to Sanjay Gandhi. Being old friends, Gundu Rao urged Nanaiah to join Congress. But Nanaiah’s loyalty to Urs did not allow him to renege. For a time he was in political doldrums, but soon found himself a place in Janata Party and then the JD(S). If politics is the “art of possibilities,” Nanaiah indeed has mastered that art. It was a case of discovering the truth of the Kannada proverb “thaalidavanu baaliyanu.” He who has patience will survive. Speaking to media recently, Nanaiah has said, “politics is a strange coincidence of incidents.” Indeed true in this game of ‘snake and ladder’ which is politics.

Yesterday morning, I was speaking to Nanaiah to express my appreciation for his “hurrah” speech in the Legislative Council and mentioned of what the former Chief Minister and JD(S) State President H.D. Kumaraswamy has brought upon himself unwittingly, by demanding Rs. 40 crores for a MLC seat etc. Of course, those who know how these “tickets” are given by all political parties were not surprised but Kumaraswamy was caught on tape and got huge negative publicity. Responding, Nanaiah recalled his friendly talks with MLAs on the subject some six years ago. Indeed, some MLAs opined that they being the voters in the MLC election, they must get a share in the money collected from the candidate by the party. After all, these MLAs claimed that they too have spent a fortune to get elected as MLAs.

However, Nanaiah asked them what if a candidate like him who has no money to pay to the party and is given the ticket on merit. The good MLAs told Nanaiah, “Then there is no problem. We don’t make any demand.” Nanaiah got smart and told the MLAs: “Well then, go and tell Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy that you would not ask for money if the ticket is given to me” and Nanaiah became the JD(S) MLC six years ago to retire on June 30, 2014.

e-mail: kbg@starofmysore.com

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Abracadabra….Abracadabra .. / by K.B. Ganapathy / July 09th, 2014

Ganapathy , IPS from Kodagu is PS to Union Home Minister

Leaders

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Mysore :

M.A. Ganapathy, a 1986 IPS batch officer, has been appointed the Personal Secretary (PS) to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

Ganapathy, who had won the President’s Medal twice, had earlier served as the Spokesperson for the Union Home Ministry. He had also served as the Secretary to the Sectoral Magistrate. Ganapathy, son of Maneyapanda Appaiah and Premalatha, hails from Eachoor near Kunda in Kodagu.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / July 03rd, 2014

Nanaiah’s parting request: make Council mandatory in every State

Leaders, Records, All
M.C. Nanaiah
M.C. Nanaiah

This will facilitate threadbare discussions on all legislations, he says

M.C. Nanaiah of the Janata Dal (Secular), on the day of his retirement on Monday, made an impassioned plea to Chairman of the Legislative Council D.H. Shankaramurthy in the Upper House to take up the issue of an amendment to the Constitution so asto have a Legislative Council in every State. This would facilitate threadbare discussions on all legislations.

Delivering his last speech as member of the House, Mr. Nanaiah said such an Act was necessary in view of the seriousness with which bills have to be discussed before their passage. He said that the Constituent Assembly had allowed Rajya Sabha to be a permanent House, while not extending the same facility to the Council in States. This lacuna must be corrected.

Giving a chronological history of the House, he said it came into existence in 1881 as Mysore Representative Assembly and became the Legislative Council in 1907. The Legislative Assembly came into being in 1952 after the first general elections. The Council is the oldest and has the natural right to continue, he said, arguing against the opinion of some who said the Upper House was not necessary.

He said Members of the Congress, Lower House, in the United States, used to say that “they pour the legislations into the senatorial saucer for cooling” and added that the American Congress members were of the view that the legislations vetted by the Senators were the only ones that could be considered as law.

He wanted Indian politicians to learn from such an observation.

Supporting M.V. Rajasekharan’s (Congress) criticism that moneybags were entering the portals of Parliament and State legislatures, Mr. Nanaiah reminded him that former Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee had passed a remark before presspersons when they asked him about his government’s defeat by one vote in 1996: “There are commodities for sale in the market and brokers too, but I was not ready to purchase them.”

Mr. Rajasekharan (Congress), who also retired, expressed his happiness over his achievement as Union Minister of State for Planning during which he was instrumental in raising the plan outlay from around Rs.10,000 crore to Rs.13,000 crore.

The others who retired are S.R. Leela, Doddarange Gowda, M.R. Doreswamy, B.B. Shivappa, Bharati Shetty, K.V. Narayana Swamy, Siddaraju, K. Monappa Bhandari and A.H. Shivayogiswamy. Puttanna (JD-S) and K. Abdul Jabbar (Congress), who have been re-elected, have returned to the House.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Banglaore – July 01st, 2014

MP Pratap Simha receives rousing reception in Kodagu

Leaders

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Madikeri :

The newly-elected MP from Mysore-Kodagu constituency, Pratap Simha, was given a rousing welcome on his arrival here yesterday. The district BJP members had organised a road show in which Simha participated after offering special pujas at prominent temples in Talacauvery and Bhagamandala.

The open jeep road show commenced from Gadduge with MLAs K.G. Bopaiah, Appachu Ranjan, former MLC S.G. Medappa, District BJP President Suja Kushalappa and others participating in it.

Simha was later felicitated at a function held at Cauvery Kalakshetra. Addressing the press later, he assured that he would not allow any project which would be detrimental to Kodagu.

When questioned whether he would explore the possibility of providing a rail link to Kodagu, Simha said that with D.V. Sadanandagowda as Railway Minister the project would be explained as the survey work on the project has already been done from Mysore to Kushalnagar.

When a reporter pointed out that the survey report had opined that the railway project was not feasible, Simha said that all projects need not be profitable as railways was a service oriented department.

When asked about the development plans for Kodagu, Simha said that he would go by the suggestions of locals MLAs. He observed that the taluks of Hunsur and Periyapatna were deprived of good infrastructure and assured to give top priority for that.

When pointed out that the DC was not responding properly to the grievances of the people, Simha said that he would call for a meeting of all officers of district to discuss the matter and bring in harmony.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / June 01st, 2014