Mysuru-Kodagu MP Pratap Simha said that unlike many other top Army Officers who preferred to lead their retired life in major cities, Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa chose to lead his retired life in his native Kodagu amidst nature’s splendour and beauty.
He was speaking at the 123rd birth anniversary celebrations of Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa, OBE, jointly organised by Kodava Samaja, Mysuru, Kodava Samaja Cultural and Sports Club, Mysuru and Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa Fans Club, at Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa Circle at the junction of JLB Road and Hunsur Road here this morning.
Pointing out that it was not easy for becoming the first Commander of the Indian Army post-Independence, Simha said that Field Marshal Cariappa, along with Gen. K.S. Thimayya should be credited for showing how a country’s borders can be secured by unitedly taking together all the soldiers.
Terming Field Marshal Cariappa as a true ‘Veeraputra’, he said that Cariappa was also a very able leader and brought many laurels for the country.
Chamundeshwari MLA G.T. Devegowda, in his address, said that today, the entire country is paying tributes to Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa. Recalling the contribution of Kodavas in defence sector, he said that it is the pride of the nation that Kodava is home to many war heroes.
Former Mayor H.N. Srikantaiah recalled how Metropole Circle was renamed as Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa Circle when he was the city Mayor in 1999 and the current Chamaraja MLA L. Nagendra a Corporator then.
Pointing out that as Mayor, he had put forward a proposal to the then Education Minister A.H. Vishwanath to rename the Circle as Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa Circle, to which Vishwanath readily agreed, he said that thereafter a resolution was passed at an MCC Council meeting to this effect, following which the Circle was officially named as Field Marshal K.M.Cariappa Circle. He further said that a statue of Cariappa was also proposed at the Circle when he was the Mayor.
To mark the occasion, the statue of the Field Marshal was garlanded and offered floral tributes by the dignitaries
Former Mayor M.J. Ravikumar, Corporators M.U. Subbaiah and Pramila Bharath, Rangayana Director Addanda C. Cariappa, Mysuru Kodava Samaja President Mechanda M. Shashi Ponnappa, Vice-President Malachira M. Ponnappa, Hon. Secretary Mukkatira B. Jeevan, Joint Secretary Appanderanda Tara Somaiah, Treasurer Machimada P. Nanaiah, Kodava Samaja Cultural and Sports Club President Kuttimada D. Muthappa, Secretary Mechanda S. Bopanna, Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa Fans Club President Nayakanda M. Thimmaiah, Shri Kaveri Kodagu Mahila Sangha President Ponjanda Lovely Appaiah, former Mysuru Kodava Samaja Presidents Mechanda M. Karumbaiah, Poyyettira S. Ganapathy and Ballyamanda M. Nanaiah, Philanthropists Kuttimada D. Cariappa and Pudiyokkada Praveen Chengappa and others were present.
Some facts
1. Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa took over as the First Army Chief on Jan. 15, 1949, so Army Day is celebrated on this day.
2. Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa relinquished his appointment on Jan. 14, 1953, so the Veterans Day is celebrated on this day.
3. City-based VeKare Ex-Servicemen Trust (VKET) President Mandetira N. Subramani had urged the District Administration in August 2006, to install a life-size bronze statue of the Field Marshal at Metropole Circle.
source:http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / January 28th, 2022
Field Marshal KM Cariappa is known as the man who took charge of the Indian Army from its last British Commander in Chief, General Sir Roy Bucher in 1949.
Image Source : TWITTER @RASHTRAPATIBHVN (FILE) /
HIGHLIGHTS
Cariappa was the first Indian Officer to be given command of a unit in 1942
He had led troops in the 1947 Indo-Pak war & successfully recaptured Zojila, Drass & Kargil
On January 15, 1949, Cariappa became the first Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army
Army Day is celebrated on January 15 every year in recognition of Field Marshal KM Cariappa’s taking over as the first Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army from Sir Francis Butcher, the last British Commander in 1949.
Who was KM Cariappa?
Field Marshal Sir Kodandera Kipper Madappa Cariappa is known as the man who took charge of the Indian Army from its last British Commander in Chief, General Sir Roy Bucher. Born on January 28, 1899, in Shanivarsanthe, Coorg Province (present day Kodagu district in Karnataka), Cariappa completed his education at Central High School at Madikeri and went on to study at the Presidency College in Madras. He was among the first Indians to be selected for military training.
Following his training in Indore, he joined the British Indian Army shortly after the end of World War I. Later, he was commissioned into the Carnatic Infantry. He became the first Indian Officer to be given command of a unit in 1942.
He had led his troops in World War II and the first Indo-Pak war of 1947. He successfully recaptured Zojila, Drass and Kargil and established a linkup with Leh.
He went on to receive many awards and accolades in his career spanning three decades. He received the prestigious order of the British Empire (OBE) for his role in Burma against the Japanese force during World War II.
Before taking over as the Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army, Cariappa served as the commander of the Indian Army’s Eastern and Western Commands. He has also conferred the ‘Order of the Chief Commander of the Legion of Merit’ – the first-ever award of its kind given to an Indian General, by President Harry Truman (the 33rd President of the United States).
In 1947, he became the first Indian to be selected to undergo a training course at Imperial Defence College, Camberley, UK. On January 15, 1949, Cariappa became the first Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army.
In 1983, he was given the title of Field Marshal (five stars). The only other person who has been conferred the title so far is Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw in 1973.
After retiring from the Indian Army, Field Marshal KM Cariappa served as High Commissioner to Australia and New Zealand till 1956. He died on May 5, 1993, at the age of 94.
source: http://www.indiatvnews.com / India TV / Home> English News> India / by India TV News Desk , New Delhi / January 15th, 2022
At 35, most players are either past their peak or face challenges to stay hungry. But that’s definitely not the case with Joshna Chinappa who continues to go stronger despite being on the international squash circuit for over two decades.
Joshna had an eventful start to the year as she returned to the top-10 in world rankings last week after a gap of over five years. “It’s obviously great to be back in the top-10. But the goal is to keep improving on it and go higher,” the world no. 10 told TOI. With the
Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and Hangzhou Asian Games scheduled later this year, Joshna is understandably keen to stay in the best possible shape.
“Both the CWG and Asian Games are important events. The key for me will be to pick and choose tournaments this year. You not only need those ranking points to maintain your ranking but must also stay fresh,” pointed out Joshna.
Joshna will be in action at the upcoming Cleveland Classic in the United States to be held from January 27 to 31. “I will be featuring in a few tournaments in the US to start off the new season,” Joshna stated. Joshna is seeded fourth in the tournament and has a bye in the first round. She is scheduled to take on the winner of Georgina Kennedy and Emilia Soini in Round 2.
Given her current form and fitness, Joshna plans to continue playing for the next two years. “The trick is to take it one tournament at a time and see how it goes. But yes, I do aim to be playing for a couple of more seasons,” she said.
Joshna, who majorly trains in Egypt and England, feels the Covid-19 pandemic has made most players mentally stronger. “It has affected everyone in the world. This phase has made me appreciate the simple things in life even more. Be it schedules or tournaments — everything has gone haywire in the last two years. One has to be prepared for events to be canceled at the 11th hour if anyone is infected. Not just physically, even mentally — players have to be prepared,” Joshna mentioned.
Has she planned on what she intends to do once she calls it quits? “I haven’t really thought about that. However, one thing is clear — it will involve helping kids take up the sport,” she said.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> Sports News> Others News / by Prasad RS / TNN / January 17th, 2022
Inside Été Coffee Roasters in Kohima | Photo Credit: Lichan Humstoe
More than 180 years after the Northeast began its journey to becoming synonymous with tea, coffee is demanding space on those verdant hill slopes
There’s an aroma of Brazil in Haflong, Assam’s only hill station 1,000 metres above sea level. It has much to do with a café in a two-storeyed cottage named after soccer legend Pele.
Nibila Jidung set up Pele Coffee Shop in the town’s Gadain Raji locality in 2020. The shop is named as much after the Brazilian football star as Jidung’s deceased son, who was born the day Pele landed in Kolkata in September 1977 to play a friendly match for New York Cosmos versus Mohun Bagan. And, as in Brazil, the coffee she serves is home-grown.
In just two years, the café has become a popular hangout for the young in Haflong. Its success, however, began with a big failure more than two decades ago.
Nibila Jidung of Barail Coffee at her cafe in Haflong, Assam | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
In the 1990s, the Assam Plantation Crops Development Corporation Ltd had started a coffee plantation on a large area leased from Disagisim village near Haflong, and then handed it back to the villagers to give them a source of income. But the plantation soon fell into disuse; the people were not used to growing coffee as a staple. But when Jidung’s late husband Prahlad Chandra Jidung retired, his family decided to lease the plantation in 1999 and started employing local hands. “This helped us generate some income and provide livelihood to the people of the village,” says Jidung, 65. But the plantation area reduced from 100 bighas to 25 over time, for several reasons.
First, of course, the Jidungs faced worker shortage during a decade of extremism. Another problem was the loss of quality — the delay in transporting the cherry to the auction centre in Bengaluru resulted in a lower price for their coffee beans. “The Coffee Board would take the cherries from us, keep them in a warehouse in Haflong, then transport them for auction in Bengaluru.”
When Jidung’s son died in 2015, she realised her coffee business was going nowhere. “It was around that time that the Coffee Board advised me to create my own brand and open an outlet to promote local consumption,” she says.
Schooled for success
The board helped her procure the equipment to process freshly-plucked coffee: machinery to do everything from removing the shell of the fruit, drying the coffee bean, and hulling (crunching off the parchment skin of the bean) to roasting and grinding. The effort has been worth it; people are developing a taste for her brand, Barail Coffee, in two forms — filter coffee and cold coffee. Her brand is a mix of the Robusta she grows and Arabica from the coffee garden of Sehahohen Eanlhou at Changpijang village about 25 km away.
Jidung is one of a few people in the Northeast who grows, roasts, grinds and brews her own brand of coffee from an annual yield of about 2,500 kg. Lichan Humtsoe, her counterpart in Nagaland’s capital Kohima, has taken a similar venture to a different level. A fashion photographer-turned-beverage entrepreneur, Humtsoe is the founder of Été Coffee. Été in the Lotha Naga dialect means ‘us’ or ‘ours’ and the branding, he says, reflects the diversity of the multi-tribe Naga community as well as the multiple flavours of the coffee sourced from different districts of Nagaland.
Été Coffee dabbles in everything but farming. It has a full-fledged roastery and production unit, retail line, two coffee breweries, consultancy services, a coffee school, three observation farms, two nursery units, coffee laboratory services and an upcoming e-commerce space.“We established Été in 2016 as the first specialty coffee roasting company in the Northeast. It was around that time the third wave of the coffee movement of the 1990s had created a new focus on specialty coffees that were offering a range of aromas and tastes. We subsequently opened the first coffee school in the region to provide eight courses on coffee-related services,” he says. Thanks to the school and consultancy services, Humtsoe’s firm has been able to establish more than 10 coffee shops across Nagaland and train and deploy baristas in several other cafes.
Staff at Été’s units. | Photo Credit: Lichan HumtsoeTrainees at Été’s units | Photo Credit: Lichan Humtsoe
Farmers and growers across Nagaland are at the core of the Été Coffee enterprise. “Farmers form an integral part of the coffee industry and deserve their share of the benefits. Our EML (educate, motivate and lead) network provides a safety net against any form of exploitation and ensures that the resources are optimised, not exploited,” says Humtsoe. His venture coincided with the revival of coffee farming in Nagaland. The Nagaland Plantation Crop Corporation had also undertaken extensive coffee plantations in the 1980s with inputs from the Coffee Board, but the initiative could not be sustained because of transportation and marketing issues, and the corporation was disbanded. In 2015-16, the State’s Land Resource Department was given the responsibility of bringing coffee back to the table.
Says the department’s director, Renben Jami: “We studied the potential of coffee afresh, and realised 10 lakh hectares can be used for it across the State. But we are focussing on 50,000 ha now, with plantations currently covering 12,000 ha. “We are acting as a bridge between farmers and buyers, who are lining up from abroad and elsewhere in the country.” .
Single-estate varieties
The primary buyer of coffee grown in Nagaland is Pieter Vermeulen based in South Africa’s Cape Town.
He exports the Naga Coffee brand of several single-estate varieties. He came to know about the coffee in Nagaland after his farming venture in Nepal met with a bovine end; cows that roamed about the villages devoured most of the 20,000 coffee shrubs he had planted. He signed an agreement with the Nagaland government in 2015 to provide logistical support, training and seedlings to subsistence farmers, and helped them market their coffee. “We were not able to export for two years due to the COVID-19 restrictions but we expect our first harvest of 40 metric tonnes this year,” he says. “The challenge now is to bring coffee in the region at par with international standards,” says Vermeulen.
According to Humtsoe, the organically-grown local coffee, with research having gone into varietals and soil quality, is on par with the best in the world. The coffee grown here has a ‘wild’ flavour, induced by the other plants that are grown alongside, and this gives it an edge over coffee grown elsewhere, says Jubanylla G. Bang, product head of Zizira, a farmer-driven company based in Meghalaya’s capital, Shillong. The estate sells ‘7000 Steps Coffee’, so named because of the number of steps one has to climb to reach Mynriah in the East Khasi Hills district where some of the coffee is grown.
A farmer dries coffee beans in Meghalaya’s West Khasi Hills | Photo Credit: Zizira
Rashi Vaswani runs two Bread Café outlets in Shillong. “We depended on coffee imported from southern India when we started out 12 years ago. About four years ago, we switched to local varieties and they have turned out to be just as good,” she says. “Packaged smartly, the local coffee flies off our shelves.” Her supplier is Smoky Falls Coffee Tribe, the first coffee roaster of Meghalaya.
Arabica over Camellia?
A Sufi saint named Baba Budan is credited with having brought coffee to India in the 16th century. But the beverage actually gained popularity in the 19th century in colonial settlements, and the earliest farming in the Northeast is mentioned in a 1908 book titled Coffee Cultivation in Khasi Hills (in Meghalaya, then a part of Assam). This was about eight decades after the first commercial tea plantation came up in eastern Assam’s Chabua.
Synonymous with tea, Assam today has 3,37,690.35 ha under tea plantation with an annual production of 626.23 million kilos. Tea is also grown in the other six contiguous States of the Northeast, together accounting for some 25 million kilos more.
Since the Coffee Board’s initiatives in the 1980s, the total coffee planted area in the Northeast is 4,618.26 ha, with 1,394.21 ha of coffee-bearing area yielding an average annual 150 metric tonnes of clean coffee.
Bidyananda Borkakoty, advisor to the North Eastern Tea Association, does not think coffee can become a threat to tea. “About 70% of coffee in India is grown in Karnataka, but many popular tea boutiques or lounges have also come up in Bengaluru in the last five years,” he points out. Coffee Board officials say the push for coffee in Assam since 1976 was never intended to give tea competition: for one, coffee is grown in areas above 500 metres altitude while tea in Assam thrives below 100 metres; and two, coffee cultivation in the Northeast is primarily pursued by tribal people.
Tiwa women tend to coffee plants in Karbi Anglong | Photo Credit: RITU Raj Konwar
Coffee Board’s joint director (extension) for the Northeast, Navin K.B. Ryntathiang, says the board’s extension personnel collect the coffee produced by the tribal growers and take it for processing and auctioning. “Besides the decentralisation, we have been providing subsidy and research support to farmers and brewers to pursue their own branding and marketing,” he says. The support system includes coffee processing and curing facilities and a 25 ha regional coffee research station in Central Assam’s Diphu.
Officials involved in promoting coffee, in fact, attribute their strategy to that adopted by the tea industry. “Our department is setting up coffee bars across Nagaland, deviating from the earlier theory of growing coffee for export alone. India has a huge captive coffee market that needs tapping into, and the tea industry has taught us how this market can help us sustain,” says Jami. Humtsoe says the coffee culture is growing exponentially in Nagaland and elsewhere in the Northeast, but the supply from local farms is way below the demand. “In 2021, we ran out of the 15 tonnes we procured in no time. We hope we get more than the 30 tonnes we expect to sell this year,” says Zizira’s Bang.
Equally, the growing demand is making smaller farmers on Assam’s hills create space for coffee in their holdings that grow ginger, black pepper, long pepper and broomstick grass. “I started growing coffee on one bigha last year with seeds and training provided by the Coffee Board. I am prepared to wait three years for the shrubs to yield fruit and five years for commercial harvesting,” says Litha Kholar of Umswai in central Assam’s West Karbi Anglong district.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Society> New Brew / by Rahul Karmakar / January 22nd, 2022
The Saudi pavilion at Dubai’s Expo 2020 Dubai on Tuesday launched Saudi Coffee Week, a five-day event to celebrate the country’s coffee culture.
Running until Jan. 29 from 3:00 to 9:00 p.m., the series features daily activities to inspire and educate visitors on the Kingdom’s coffee traditions that form an essential part of its culture.
The event will also host two workshops at Sard Café to help guests learn the art of making Saudi coffee. (Supplied)
This includes showing casing a variety of coffee-making and brewing techniques, as well as tasting experiences.
The event will also host two workshops at Sard Café to help guests learn the art of making Saudi coffee.
The pavilion also features booths from Ethiopia, Colombia, Honduras, Panama, and Australia at the Open Square to familiarize visitors with traditions of other countries.
source: http://www.arabnews.com / Arab News / Home> Lifestyle / January 26th, 2022
Perfect combo: Bopanna’s experience and Ramkumar’s powerful serves were instrumental in the Indians’ success. | Photo Credit: Getty Images
Surprise top seeds Dodig and Melo in the final
The unseeded pair of Rohan Bopanna and Ramkumar Ramanathan beat the top seeds, Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo 7-6(6), 6-1 in the doubles final of the $521,000 ATP tennis tournament here on Sunday.
It was the first professional tournament together as a pair for Bopanna and Ramkumar, who had partnered each other in the last Davis Cup tie against Finland.
In five matches, the Indian pair dropped one set and did not drop even one service game, to collect the winner’s share of 250 ATP points and $18,700.
While it was the maiden Tour title for Ramkumar, it was the 21st Tour doubles title for the former World No. 3 Bopanna, ranked 41 now. It was only the fourth doubles title with an Indian partner for Bopanna after the ones with Mahesh Bhupathi and Divij Sharan.
“Amazing feeling to win my first ATP title with Bopsy! A great week ended on a high note. Always lived for these moments and thankful to Almighty for all the blessings,” said Ramkumar.
Chance pairing
Interestingly, it was a chance pairing as Bopanna was scheduled to play with Edouard Roger-Vasselin, who subsequently got into the ATP Cup in Sydney. Since both were in the same flight from Dubai, Bopanna asked Ramkumar to travel to Adelaide for the doubles, as the latter was only scheduled to train in advance for the Australian Open qualifying event.
“I think it worked well for both of us. He got into the singles here as well. He got five doubles matches. Couldn’t have asked for a better week for both of us,” said Bopanna.
Bopanna has watched Ramkumar grow in the professional circuit and has guided him at every opportunity.
“I have seen Ram grow as a player. He has got tremendous potential. His serve is his biggest weapon. Every time I play with somebody serving that big, makes it easy for me at the net. I really felt Ram’s serve today in my ear. So I know how hard it comes through,” said Bopanna.
New-found confidence
Ramkumar has grown in stature as the current India No. 1, and has the new-found confidence as part of his arsenal. “I think what has changed is the belief in himself. That has really changed from last year. Ram was playing some good tennis by the end of the season. He is serving well, volleying well. Now, he is starting to believe he can do well at tournaments. It is just a matter of time for him to string a few matches together and break back into the top-150, 100,” observed Bopanna.
“I would love to play more with Bops, whenever we can,” said Ramkumar, who would focus on the Australian Open singles qualifying event from Monday in Melbourne .
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sport> Tennis / by Sports Bureau / Adelaide – January 09th, 2022
Olympian M.P. Ganesh, who captained the Indian hockey team and was honoured with the Padma Shri by President Ram Nath Kovind, is Coorg Person of the Year-2021.
Mollera Poovaiah Ganesh, hailing from Suntikoppa in Kodagu 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.
There may not be many such extraordinary instances of a person running away from home to join the Army ending up at the Rashtrapati Bhavan to receive the coveted Padma Shri. Ganesh was also conferred the Arjuna award in 1973.
Ganesh, born on July 8, 1946, was an achiever both on and off the field. Though he ran away from home without informing his parents to join the Army after writing his matriculation examination, Ganesh managed to complete his MA in English, diploma in sports coaching from the National Institute of Sports, Patiala and Ph.D in Physical Education.
Although Ganesh joined the Army to fulfil his childhood dream of becoming a football player, he failed to make it to the football team. Then he went for the hockey selection where he was successful. This goes to prove the adage that “hockey is in the blood of the Kodavas.”
Ganesh represented the Services (Defence Services) in the National Hockey Championships from 1966 to 1973.
After he found a place in the Indian hockey team in 1970, Ganesh played for India at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, finishing third. He was one of the coaches of the Indian team that won a gold medal at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow.
Ganesh, a right winger, twice represented the country in the Asian Games, first in 1970 in Bangkok and then in 1974 in Tehran. He was in the Indian team that won Bronze at the first World Cup in Barcelona in 1971 and captained the team that won Silver at the next World Cup in Amsterdam in 1973. He also played for World XI in 1972. Ganesh last played for India in 1974, as his career was cut short following a knee injury.
His most disappointing moment probably was during the finals of the World Cup in Amsterdam when India lost to Netherlands in the finals, after missing a penalty stroke.
Ganesh had a long reign as a sports administrator. He served as Director of Sports Authority of India (South) and in 2017 took charge as the High Performance Director and CEO of the National Hockey Academy in Delhi.
He is married to Keethiyanda Prema and their only son Ayyappa passed away when he was 20 years old due to a rare medical condition.
P. Shrividya Somanna, who helped Ganesh to put together his autobiography ‘Living The Dream: My Autobiography’ told this reporter that Ganesh’s wife Prema was instrumental in motivating him to pursue his higher education.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / January 01st, 2022
The traditional Arabic coffee has always been associated with generosity and the unique Saudi hospitality. (Shutterstock)
A wide range of programs, events and competitions will be held throughout 2022
The ministry was inspired by the traditional Arabic coffee cup for the logo, which has always been associated with generosity and the unique Saudi hospitality.
The ministry started working on the “Year of Saudi Coffee” when Minister of Culture Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan announced the initiative and allocated an electronic platform for the celebrations:
The ministry also provided a detailed description of the initiative and its objectives and set guidelines for using the visual identity. At the end of January 2022, the platform will provide a space to receive the ideas of individuals and all parties wishing to implement joint projects that serve the initiative and promote its objectives.
The initiative is part of the Quality of Life Program, one of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 realization programs, through which the Ministry of Culture seeks to celebrate the cultural value of Saudi coffee and its close connection with the customs and traditions of the Kingdom.
______________
HIGHLIGHT
At the end of January 2022, the platform will provide a space to receive the ideas of individuals and all parties wishing to implement joint projects that serve the initiative and promote its objectives.
______________
The ministry, in cooperation with the Culinary Arts Commission, plans to hold a wide range of programs, events and competitions under the initiative’s umbrella throughout 2022, with government and semi-governmental agencies, private sector institutions, restaurants, hotels, cafes and individuals involved in this field.
Through this initiative, the ministry seeks to celebrate Saudi coffee as a distinctive cultural product of the Kingdom and contribute to its marketing locally and internationally, in addition to encouraging related products and activities.
It further aims to highlight the Khawlani coffee produced in southern Saudi Arabia and underline how coffee is prepared in different ways in each of the 13 Saudi regions. It also details how coffee is served to guests in various ways, which gives the Kingdom’s coffee a unique cultural depth.
source: http://www.arabnews.com / Arab News / Home> News> Saudi Arabia / January 01st, 2022
Why Ajai Thandi quit a Wall Street job to start a homegrown coffee brand in India with his best buddies – more on the journey of Sleepy Owl Coffee, its Forbes 30 Under 30 founders and ‘brew-ginnings’ from a small kitchen to raising a whopping $6.5million in funding.
After schooling at YPS Mohali, Sanawar and Woodstock Mussoorie, Ajay Thandi went on to pursue Economics at the University of California.
The cool climes, mountain breeze carrying a refreshing hint of fresh pinecones, sun bathed slopes and a frothy glass of cold coffee. Sundays at The Lawrence School, Sanawar were special.
“The taste of that cold coffee still lingers on as a cherished memory,” says Ajai Thandi. Today, this co-founder of the very quirkily named homegrown coffee brand, Sleepy Owl, is in the business, er, correction please – mission of creating memories, conversations and more over a freshly brewed, ready to drink gourmet cup of coffee.
Best pals, Armaan Sood, Ashwajeet Singh and Thandi love a good coffee – “but could never find a great cup when needed.” So they decided to brew their own and box it in a to-go. Founded in 2016, Sleepy Owl is active across the country, and boasts of a 75 product portfolio including cold brew packs, hot brew bags, ready-to-drink cold brew bottles, ground coffee, brew boxes and merchandise.
“We don’t consider ourselves in the business of making and selling coffee, but on a mission to make consumers blissfully happy, and transform India into a country of coffee drinkers,” says Thandi. Now, that’s a serious dare to the champions of chai, but going by this start up’s increasing popularity, national traction and the latest $ 6.5 million raised in funding, the Sleepy Owl boys are perched on the top of their game.
Something’s Brewin’
Days jam-packed with meetings, interviews, innovation and strategies round the clock – it was really not an easy task to catch 28-year-old Thandi. But when one’s a tea drinker (steaming cups of kadakadrak chai), it became all the more imperative to check out the first movers of a very niche segment – the coffee drinkers, and the space it occupies in the Indian teacup, growing beyond good ol’ Nescafe.
After schooling at YPS Mohali, Sanawar and Woodstock Mussoorie, Thandi went on to pursue Economics at the University of California. An investment banker at JP Morgan, New York, he was living the dream, except that deep inside, he always had this urge to do something on his own. Talent and brilliant ideas, he feels, were never the problem, it was the lack of opportunities and monopolistic hold of giants corporations in India with their muscle and money that limited the possibility of a middle class person to start a business on their own.
“There was hardly anything beyond IIT or IIM for a non-business family person,” says Thandi. It was in the USA that he experienced a disruption of new age companies, online platforms like Shopify (first started out of Canada), that cut down barriers, and provided an all-in-one democratised commerce platform to start, run, and grow a business independently.
Post 2010, Amazon and Flipkart proved to be the game-changers in India. Inspired and motivated, Thandi moved back home in 2014, touched base with his best pals, lawyers Sood and Singh, and brainstormed. Always in search of good coffee, Singh was into brewing his own, while Thandi came home with stories of a stimulating New York coffee culture. Their shared passion for coffee and the experiences it offers literally became the conversation starter of their business idea.
They also saw a potential in the country’s untapped market for freshly brewed coffee. “Indian kitchens, for years, have only known one or two coffee brands. We wanted to change that, give people a product that is easy to use, of great quality and value, and educate them on what a freshly brewed cup of coffee can offer.”
With Rs 15 lakh pooled in from their savings, the brewing began from a small kitchen in Dwarka, New Delhi with Singh as the in-house brewmaster, experimenting relentlessly in search of the perfect brew. Research and recce were undertaken. The best Arabica coffee beans were sourced from Chikmagalur, Karnataka. A category creating product, consumer awareness and feedback was paramount, so to suit the Indian palette, their coffee was fine-tuned to be less bitter, less acidic, and taste better. Their cold brew (freshly pressed coffee that can be brewed at home) had been perfected, and in 2016, Sleepy Owl took the first flight.
“The name is a fun play of words really. One doesn’t mind a caffeinated boost to shake off the sluggishness, and owls, well, they are nocturnals, aren’t they?”
The Coffee Tales
People don’t just drink coffee. Although Sleepy Owl are the first movers in this now rapidly-growing category, their ground rule has always been to create a great product, package it well, accentuate ease of use and educate the consumer, aggressively using social and digital media to reach their target audience.
“We curated events, tastings, visited offices, delivered door-to-door, entertained anyone who invited us with a captive audience, all three of us would be there with Sleepy Owl,” says Thandi, who manages the financial aspect of the start up.
Expansion, sustainability, awareness, innovation are the key areas of focus. “We three are innovators by nature, driven by our curiosity.” Their risk paid off when the trio, after two years of testing and trying, introduced coffee bags in the market. “There are tea bags, so why not some good coffee bags too?” he says.
When they arrived, it was just “Nescafe, Bru and us.” Today, the market is brewing with new players, and Thandi is bracing for a competitive 2023. “Challenges are part of life. As entrepreneurs we navigate it on a daily basis.”
It’s this attitude, planned and disciplined use of their funds that helped Sleepy Owl raise USD 6.5 million (about Rs 48.3 crore) in funding, led by existing investor Rukam Capital, recently. The company has raised $8.5 million in total.
The Highs & the Lows
By all means, the biggest high is ‘when employees are happy, when customers love our product, and when you walk into someone’s home and find Sleepy Owl on their shelf, or on in some shop in a random market place’. Being featured in the coveted ‘Forbes 30 under 30 India’ for the year 2020 was a bravo moment.
The biggest low was the pandemic and the early days of national lockdown. A dip in sales, transportation stalled, markets shut – the co-founders were facing crisis, and an inventory with limited shelf life. It was time to think fast and act faster – “we got special passes made, loaded our inventory and went door to door to sell our cold brew direct to consumer”.
Post ready-to-drink bottles and cold brew, Sleepy Owl needed another shot of caffeine and it came in the form of hot brew bags—coffee in a tea bag—which the startup rolled out during the winter of 2019.
In this uncertainty, the team went into survival mode by opting for zero budgeting – growth, slow and steady, but not at all cost. This rigorous fiscal discipline and their coffee bags bagged them their funding. “It was great validation for our mission. Our vision is being backed,” says Thandi.
The Secret Brew
Thandi gets his entrepreneurial spirit from his father. Retired from the Army, his father’s only regret in life is risk not taken. “The craziest thing I’ve ever done is to quit my job on Wall Street to start a company in India. Once an entrepreneur, always an entrepreneur,” he says, conditioned to take risks, be independent and walk the path less taken thanks to the Army life and boarding school. Curiosity, innovative spirit and resilience – “true grit in the face of massive uncertainty and defeat,” is what keeps Thandi driven.
The Tricity traction
Thandi is passionate about helping people, especially youngsters, make their life easier by mentoring and guiding them. “I love the city, but would definitely like a better start up ecosystem, more opportunity and infrastructure for new businesses and ideas to germinate here – see Chandigarh turn into a model base city for start ups and innovation.”
source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chandigarh / by Jaskiran Kapoor, Chandigarh / December 17th, 2021
CNC pays floral tributes to Kodava warriors killed by Tipu
HIGHLIGHTS
The Codava National Council (CNC) on Sunday paid floral tributes to the Kodava martyrs who were massacred by Tipu Sultan army in Devatparamb, near Vhagamandala.
Madikeri:
The Codava National Council (CNC) on Sunday paid floral tributes to the Kodava martyrs who were massacred by Tipu Sultan army in Devatparamb, near Vhagamandala.
Addressing the gathering, CNC president N U Nachappa said that on 12 December 1785 Codava Tribal warriors laid down their lives while trying to defend Kodagu from the aggression of the Tipu Sultan. Tipu and his father Hyder Ali made 32 failed attempts to wrest the Kodagu kingdom because of the valiant efforts of the tribal warriors though the Mysore army at that time was one of the strongest military forces in the world and was even more powerful than those in Europe. Such a mighty army could not defeat Codava warrior race. Nachappa said Tipu after failing to win Kodagu invited Kodavas for compromise at Devatparamb.
When all Kodavas, including women and children came unarmed Tipu and French army surrounded them and massacred them. He said these Devaattparamb tragedy and political assassinations of Codava tribal race at Naalnaad Aramane and Madikeri Fort in a palace conspiracy are unforgettable traumatic chapter in the history of Kodavas.
Following resolutions were passed by CNC on this occasion.
1. Demand for International Codava Genocide Memorial at Devaattparamb.
2. UNO and Govt of India should jointly condemn the Devaattparamb tragedy and political assassinations of Codava tribal race at Madikeri Fort and Naalnaad Aramane in the palace conspiracy for nearly 201 years.
3. Demand for inclusion of both tragedies in the International Holocaust remembrance list of UNO.
4. Present French Govt and custodians of Keladhi Royals and Hyder & Tippu should ask for forgiveness from Codava tribal race.
source: http://www.thehansindia.com / The Hans India / Home> News> State> Karnataka / by Hans News Service / December 13th, 2021
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