Category Archives: Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg

Meet Brijesh Kalappa-The Man behind Karnataka’s Victory in the Cauvery Case

Agriculture, Business & Economy, Coffee, Kodagu (Coorg), Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Green Initiatives / Environment, Leaders, Nature, Records, All

BrijeshKF28feb2018

The Supreme Court delivered its historic verdict on Friday that the state of Karnataka will get 14.75 TMC or thousand million cubic feet more water, in addition to the 270 TMC awarded by the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) in 2007. The Cauvery water sharing dispute has been a bone of contention between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu since the time of the British Raj.

This verdict is a clear victory for the poll bound Karnataka. However, Karnataka’s victory is mainly credited to Brijesh Kalappa who quit his cabinet rank post for the case.

Brijesh Kalappa is an advocate in the Supreme Court and Former Additional Advocate General, Haryana. He is an alumnus of the National Law School of India University and has also been a Legal Advisor to the Government of Karnataka (with the rank of Minister of State.) He has a sustained interest in public affairs even from his student years. He is a former journalist and has a wide range of interests including reading and travelling. On the professional front, he has worked with several legal luminaries on subjects of importance in civil, criminal, water and electoral laws and has individually represented governments, eminent individuals and major industrial houses. He is gifted with the prowess for distinctive sharp-edged analysis and has the advantage of surmounting well accepted beliefs by his inquiring nature. He is also the spokesperson of the Indian National Congress.

As a Legal Adviser, Kalappa could not appear on behalf of the State of Karnataka. The Cauvery Water Dispute had been very close to his heart, more so since he hailed from Kodagu. Thus he expressed his desire to re-join legal practice in order to continue to appear for the State of Karnataka when the prospect of the final hearing in the Cauvery Dispute before the Supreme Court loomed. The Chief Minister Siddaramaiah understood its significance, since he belonged to the basin area of the Cauvery River and thereby consented. Kalappa therefore resigned from the position of Legal Adviser to the Government of Karnataka/Chief Minister and re-entered the legal team that he was a part of for a decade and a half.

Kalappa had written a detailed post sharing his experience of appearing in the Cauvery case

In this interview, Kalappa has an exclusive chat with The Indian Jurist regarding the latest victory of Karnataka in Cauvery River dispute and his all over experience throughout the case.

The Indian Jurist: Sir, First of all Congratulations for the victory in the Cauvery Judgment. To begin with- you quit your position as the cabinet minister to concentrate on this case. So what exactly gave you the courage and the motivation to do so?

Brijesh Kalappa: In 2007, when the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal award has come, at that time I was very much a lawyer and then I had also prepared the SLP and had worked in regard to the Cauvery case. From 2007 onwards we kept waiting that the Supreme Court will hear the matter and finally when the Supreme Court actually decided to hear the matter on a day-to-day basis in 2017, ten years later, I had been by then appointed as legal advisor to the Chief Minister of Karnataka and Mr.Siddaramaiah was kind enough to have conferred me the rank of minister so at that time my first instinct was that we should succeed in Cauvery just like we had succeeded in Krishna earlier. I was the Advocate on Record for the State of Karnataka in the Krishna Water Disputes, where Karnataka was the beneficiary of the greatest possible award of 524.256 m for the Almatti Dam and enhanced share of the share of Karnataka from 734 to 910 Tmc.

TIJ: Though there has been a reduction in the share of Tamil Nadu but now Karnataka is obligated to release a monthly share. So this in turn does benefit Tamil Nadu and is not complete loss for the state?

BK: No, certainly it is not a loss for Tamil Nadu and I would actually look at it this way that as far as Tamil Nadu is concerned, it is important only if they have a workable order- doesn’t matter if they receive 500 TMC from Karnataka every year. But if Karnataka has refused to give them 500Tmc and they are running to Court every year then what is the joy of having an order like that. It should be a workable order. If it doesn’t work then there is no point. Tamil Nadu will also not enjoy the sweet success of having an order which isn’t going to be implemented. The thing which is important is to have something which is implementable.

TIJ: In one of the media interactions with the reporters at Vidhan Soudha, Karnataka Chief Minister Mr.Siddaramaiah stated that the verdict was not in full accordance with the plea and only some relief had been sought. So are you satisfied with the judgment?

BK: As far as the complete requirements are concerned they are certainly not fulfilled. One can see straight off that Karnataka people could have had much more. But I think there has to be a sense of give and take. We also have a sense that this is final because after the Supreme Court where else can you appeal? You can only go to God next.

TIJ: The major grouse of Karnataka was that the farmers in the Cauvery basin were restricted by curbs on the water usage. So how far this judgment would be beneficial for the farmers now?

BK: The victory is straightaway for farmers. About a lakh and half farmers are going to be benefitted straightaway and as far as the Bengaluru city is concerned, I think the needs of Bengaluru city, which was considered as of the most unlivable city after Cape Town (South Africa), that will finally be resolved.

TIJ: So how has been your experience throughout the entire case these years? You might have been receiving both brickbats and bouquets as well in the case?

BK: See, when you appear in a case like this, a daily assessment is made about your performance. The Cauvery Case is not about the final order, like as if it were to happen in a single day, For instance whenever there is distress, fate is ours to release say maybe 15 cu ft or 20 cu ft of water, many people don’t understand the outcome or implications of this, they would immediately say that the legal team have totally failed us and then there will be burning of effigies and people sending us very vicious WhatsApp messages and people making very horrible comments and mainly these people have lived of the state for so long but what they forget that this is an ongoing case and it is going on, at least as far as I am concerned, for a decade and a half. Suppose they say look Rs 1 Crore has been given to “X” lawyer then public says ‘look at this lawyer they have received such a huge amount’. But 1 Crore rupees over 15 years is nothing or 2 crore rupees a year means nothing because once you are living in Delhi, the living standards are very high there and how much a lawyer earns is very high. So in comparison to all of that what you are actually earning is probably less than a techie who is working in a top software firm. But people will say, “No-No Look at the kind of money these guys are making”. So this is the kind of campaign which really hurts you. But the overall point is that there must be satisfaction in what you do and satisfaction comes from within. So once you understand that this all blaming is just people’s frustration then you are okay with it. Even the normal client, when fails to get justice, he will always blame the lawyer and he will not say anything against the judge or anyone else. So we think of it in that sense. I have personally received both brickbats and bouquets during these years. I have endeavored to treat both with equanimity. This is actually what Lord Buddha says. There is much more to do, miles to go before we sleep. Threats to our environment ought to be thwarted, greater concern for water usage implemented and selfish concerns repelled.

TIJ: So finally this landmark judgment has held that a river is no one’s exclusive property; it is a national property and not a state owned. Will this judgment become a basis for all the other water disputes as well?

BK: This is indeed a wonderful law which has been laid down by the Supreme Court because the previous law had always been laid down under a reference for under such circumstances. So this is a particular law in regard to equitable apportionment which has been now laid down and it’s of course a high point as far as the law in regard to equitable apportionment is concerned. And further, everybody will certainly look at this judgment for all times to come.

source: http://www.theindianjurist.com / The Indian Jurist / Home / by Naazish Fatima / February 19th, 2018

It’s a girl! VJ Nikhil Chinapa and wife DJ Pearl blessed with daughter

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

NikhilKF28feb2018

VJ Nikhil Chinapa, who is right now judging MTV Roadies Xtreme, has become a proud father. Nikhil Chinapa and his wife DJ Pearl were blessed with a baby girl on February 24. Nikhil took to Instagram to announce this beautiful news. He captioned the snap, “She’s fully Coorg + fully Sardarni. #wahecoorg .#Repost @pearls.world”

Pearl too shared a beautiful picture on Instagram and captioned it as, “Our princess is here! Daddy got away easy with just one whack during labour! Baby and Mama are having a giggle watching him recover @nikhilchinapa.”

Well, earlier, Nikhil had told Mumbai Mirror, “I kept thinking about it all these months, wondering how I would react. When it finally happened, it was overwhelming. My friends who are already parents tell me about how your life changes completely but nothing can prepare you for this!”

He further said, “My job gives me freedom in terms of when I can work. Every time I look at my daughter I want to pick her up and play, I’m making the most of these moments.”

Nikhil and DJ Pearl got married in 2006 after dating for 6 years. Congrats to both!

source: http://www.freepressjournal.in / The Free Press Journal / Home> Entertainment / by Sumit Rajguru / February 27th, 2018

Raghunath ’tricks for Kodava Samaja

Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Sports

V.R. Raghunath scored a hat-trick as Kodava Samaja defeated MEG 4-1 to enter the final of the Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa Memorial hockey tournament here on Thursday. In Saturday’s final, it will take on Canara Bank which beat ASC 3-1.

The results: Canara Bank 3 (Ronald Kiran 15, K.P. Somaiah 33, K.M. Somanna 43) bt ASC 1 (Serin 56); Kodava Samaja 4 (V.R. Raghunath 6, 41, 47, K.K. Bharath 43) bt MEG (Shakthi 16).

Surana College emerges champion
Surana College won the Bangalore University South Zone inter-collegiate volleyball tournament beating host RJSIMS College 25-16, 25-20 in the final.

Rajkumar, Kishan shine in NCC’s win
Inspiring batting by opener S.M. Rajkumar (47 & 116) and good mediumpace bowling by Kishan S. Bedare (seven for 26) helped National Cricket Club register a 39-run win over Mysore CC in the two-day KSCA Mysore Zonal first division league tie recently.

The scores: National CC 180 in 55.1 overs (A.M. Kiran 53, S.M. Rajkumar 47, Sandeep four 33, K.M. Sharath three for 16) & 215 for six in 39 overs (S.M. Rajkumar 116, Thushar Harikrishna 34, M. Naveen four for 105) bt Mysore CC 89 in 25.5 overs (M. Naveen 32, K.M. Sharath 34 n.o., Kishan S. Bedare seven for 26) & 267 in 73.5 overs (S. Suprith 66, K.M. Sharath 34, Ayush Shetty 31, M. Naveen 25, M.S. Vinay three for 50, J. Madhu Prasad three for 49). Points: National CC: 5 points, MCC minus 1.

Yodhan, Darshan
star for Mahajana
A six-wicket haul by mediumpacer G.S. Yodhan Hrudhay (six for 19) and an all-round performance by M.B. Darshan (59 & four for 24) helped SBRR Mahajana FGC score a 74-run win over Sharada Vilas College and enter the semifinals in the KSCA Inter-collegiate tournament on Thursday.

The scores:

SBRR Mahajana FGC 126 in 12 overs (M.B. Darshan 59, Vatsa three for 34, Lohith three for 26) bt Sharada Vilas College 52 in 12.2 overs (G.S. Yodhan Hrudhay six for 19, M.B. Darshan four for 24).

MES FGC 45 in 17.4 overs (Goutham seven for 13) lost to Maharaja’s College 49 for two in 14 overs.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sport / Bengaluru – February 23rd, 2018

Retain sanctity of traditional dance, experts urge Kodavas

About Kodagu / Coorg, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Leaders, Records, All

Kodava Sahitya Academy makes suggestions on `Ummathat’

Traditional glory : Dancers performing a traditional dance of Kodagu.
Traditional glory : Dancers performing a traditional dance of Kodagu.

Madikeri :

Kodavas have a unique culture and their folklore too is distinct from others. “Ummathat”, a special dance, a mixture of folklore with a dainty touch of medieval and modernity, performed by Kodava women, is a case in point.

Kodava women lag behind in variety of dances vis-a-vis men. Men attired in traditional costumes perform “Bolakkat”, “Peeliyat”, “Chowriyat”, “Kappeyat”, “Pareyakali”, “Kolatt”, and “Kombatt” whereas women dressed in colourful saris perform “Ummathat”.

There was a debate whether these dances should be performed in public or only at Kodava religious and cultural ceremonies.

The Karnataka Kodava Sahitya Academy, which had organised a seminar on “Ummathat” at Devanageri in Virajpet taluk recently, has come up with some suggestions concerning “Ummathat”. A decision was taken to maintain a uniform pattern of “Ummathat” in future.

Some of the suggestions are: Ummathat should not be performed in open or public functions or in front of the tableux as it loses sanctity. The dance shall be performed only in venerable places. Dancers shall remove footwear, wear traditional “bottu podiya” (a grand sari with rich brocade) while performing the dance.

The songs, an assortment of over 12 songs, sung in different tunes, will be retained without giving it a touch of modernity, was another decision taken at the seminar.

The “taleyatakki bolakk”, a brass plate containing a burning lamp sprinkled with rice, will replace the woman dressed up as Goddess Cauvery in the middle. The seminar arrived at a decision to formulate enough programmes in future to foster “Ummathat”.

Pace and rhythm

Akhila Kodava Samaja president Matanda C.Monnappa agrees with most of the suggestions that “Ummathat” must be nurtured. There ought to be a touch of modernity to go with it, he says. Increasing the pace of songs to match the rhythm will make it more attractive. At the same time, changes should not dilute the original nor affect the decorum of the dance. It should not portray women in poor light.

No one is sure of the origin of the songs or the nuances of “Ummathat”. Most people believe the songs were compiled by the late Haradasa Appacha Kavi several decades ago. Certain songs are contained in the book written by Kavishishya Haridasa Mukkatira S. Poovaiah. Late Puggera Karumbaiah, who was instrumental in reviving the “Ummathat” in the early Seventies, too had contributed to the dance form.

Origin of Ummathat

According to Puggera Aiyappa, a senior citizen from Devanageri, Ummathat was practised centuries ago though there are no records available to prove it. Mr. Monnappa says his 95-year-old mother (who passed away recently) used to sing “Ummathat” songs.

Other dances performed by men such as “Bolakkat” have religious sanctity. Bolakkat is offered to the deity unlike “Ummathat”, Mr. Monnappa said.

Similarly, dances such as “Peeliyat”, “Chowriyat” and “Kombatt” are performed at the religious places where the deities are worshipped. “Ummathat” and “Bolakkat” were performed in public in the past even in New Delhi. It had drawn criticism.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Karnataka> Madikeri / by Staff Correspondent / July 20th, 2005

Mani Ratnam ropes in Miss India contestant Dayana Erappa for Chekka Chivantha Vaanam

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

Miss India 2011 contestant Dayana Erappa is set to make her acting debut with filmmaker Mani Ratnam’s upcoming Hindi film Nawab, which is also made in Tamil as Chekka Chivantha Vaanam.

Dayana Erappa
Dayana Erappa

Mani Ratnam has roped in Miss India 2011 contestant Dayana Erappa to play a crucial role in his upcoming Hindi film Nawab, which is simultaneously made in Tamil as Chekka Chivantha Vaanam.

Dayana Erappa, who was born in Coorg and brought up in Bangalore, wanted to join the armed forces but ended up becoming a model after her principal encouraged her to pursue modeling. She was trained under fashion guru Prasad Bidappa from Bangalore. Then, she moved to Mumbai to take part in Miss India in 2011. Now, she is all set to make her acting debut with the bilingual movie.

The model is all thrilled to be a part of Nawab. “I was called for an audition by Mani Ratnam’s team. Initially, I thought it was a prank call, but later, I realized that it was genuine and sent my pictures. I even gave two rounds of auditions. But after a couple of months, the team called and told me that I was on board. I just couldn’t believe it,” Dayana Erappa told Deccan Chronicle.

The Miss India contestant feels that getting the chance to work with Mani Ratnam is a dream-come-true moment for her. “I never thought I’d get into films; so the offer means a lot to me. It would be a dream debut and I could not have asked for more,” added Dayana Erappa.

Like every other newbie, Dayana Erappa was also a bit nervous about meeting Mani Ratnam, but the latter kept her at ease by lauding her performance in the audition. Now she is busy preparing for her debut role in Nawab. “I am currently doing workshops with theatre actors to get my expressions right. I have several Tamil films in mind that I will watch to get the role right,” she told Deccan Chronicle.

Chekka Chivantha Vaanam is an action-thriller, which is co-written, directed and co-produced by Mani Ratnam under the banners Madras Talkies and Lyca Productions. The film features an ensemble cast of Arvind Swami, Silambarasan, Vijay Sethupathi, Arun Vijay, Jyothika, Aditi Rao Hydari and Aishwarya Rajesh.

source: http://www.ibtimes.co.in / International Business Times / Home> Entertainment> Movies / by Shekhar H Hooli / February 22nd, 2018

‘Balopat’, ‘Ummathat’ and much more

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Leaders
bonding: The president of Mysore Kodava Samaja, Kattera A. Cariappa, inaugurating the Kodava cultural convention in Mysore recently; (right) Kodava men performing a folk dance at the convention
bonding: The president of Mysore Kodava Samaja, Kattera A. Cariappa, inaugurating the Kodava cultural convention in Mysore recently; (right) Kodava men performing a folk dance at the convention

There was not much of an activity or even talk in public relating to preserving and nurturing the unique Kodava customs before the advent of the Karnataka Kodava Sahitya Academy in the early 1990s. Cultural observations essentially remained within the domains of the Kodava Samaja bodies or during the festivals and feasts. A new epoch had begun almost simultaneously with the coming into being of Kodava news weeklies. And, Kodava literary activities and cultural displays came into the limelight. Identifying those who had achieved laurels in various fields too began, thanks to the activities of the Academy, not just in Kodagu but also outside the district.

The two-day State-level Kodava Sahitya Samskritika Sangama (literary and cultural convention), held in Mysore here on March 1 and 2 was one such programme aimed at taking the Kodava culture to its people spread across the length ad breadth of the State and the country. It provided a platform for various speakers to give a clarion call for preserving and nurturing the Kodava culture for posterity.

The first day of the convention featured competitions involving different Kodava folk dances while on the second day selected speakers presented papers in a seminar with emphasis on arresting the trend of cultural degeneration. Speakers expressed concern at the erosion of Kodava culture and suggested various ways and means to stem the rot of Kodava language, literature and folklore. Traditional ‘Ummathat’ by women, and ‘Bolakkat’, ‘Kathiyat’, ‘Pareyakali’ and ‘Kolat’ by men stole the show.

Special drive

The president of the Mysore Kodava Samaja, Kattera A. Cariappa, observed that all-out efforts were needed to maintain the rich cultural practices of the Kodavas. There was a need to maintain unity among the members of the community. The president of the Karnataka Kodava Sahitya Academy, Rani Machaiah, said the Academy had embarked on a special drive to popularise ‘Kodavaism’ by taking up various programmes. The Academy had also invited three dance troupes from the Karnataka Janapada Academy — ‘Dollu Kunita’, ‘Pattada Kunita’ and ‘Puja Kunita’ — to perform as part of the exchange programme.

The Kodava Academy had organised programmes earlier in collaboration with the Karnataka Beary Academy and Karnataka Tulu Academy as part of the exchange programmes. This move was aimed at enhancing the camaraderie among the different communities. Ms. Machaiah, at the Mysore convention, expressed concern at the migration of Kodava people, particularly youth, from the district in search of greener pastures. Of late, many farmers had sold their land to move out of the district, she said, adding such a development could jeopardise the culture and growth of the Kodava language in Kodagu.

Efforts made by the Academy bodies in the past too are worthy of a mention here. For instance, the Academy took the learning of ‘Balopat’, the traditional folksong of the Kodavas, even to schools under the “Aat-Pat” (Dance and Song) programme. Cultural conventions across Kodagu have turned out to be crowd pullers.

Organising programmes in the rural parts of the district generated more awareness on the need to arrest the decline or dilution in Kodava culture.

Controversies

However, the Academy was not without controversies. Allegations of financial irregularities against certain office-bearers of the Academy had come as a slur on the fair name of the body. Moves to organise a World Kodava Conference in Madikeri had come to a naught as a result. There were controversies over the appointment of members to the Academy. Some were vociferous in demanding nominations to all Kodava-speaking groups and some were against it.

It happened that the political party in power on the day would have the final say in choosing the members to the Academy. At times, political party workers who owed allegiance to the party in power were comfortably accommodated.

A section of the Kodava-speaking groups felt that the Academy remained confined to organising cultural activities. There were more of displays relating to Kodava folk dances and cultural practices rather than literary activities, some still feel.

The talk that literary research works in Kodava should have come about, is also doing the rounds.

The efforts being made by the Kodava Elthkarada Koota, a body of Kodava writers, which had been bringing out books in Kodava every month, needs a mention here. Thanks to the advent of the Kodava weeklies, a number of budding Kodava writers have come to the fore.

This has indeed helped the spread of the Kodava language, though it has adopted the medium of Kannada for the script.

Jeevan Chinnappa

Vigorous efforts are on to preserve and nurture Kodava culture

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> District Plus / by Jeevan Cariappa / March 12th, 2011

Mini Vidhana Soudha to be inaugurated today

Business & Economy, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Leaders, Records, All
A view of the mini Vidhana Soudha in Virajpet.
A view of the mini Vidhana Soudha in Virajpet.

The first phase of the Mini Vidhana Soudha in Virajpet has been completed and will be inaugurated on Sunday.

With this, the long-pending demand of the people in the taluk will be realised. The first phase of the work was taken up at a cost of Rs 2 crore. It has seven rooms including the tahsildar’s court and toilets.

In the second phase, two-storeys will be built. A proposal for Rs 6 crore has been submitted to the state government. With the completion of the first phase of the work, the taluk office, sub-treasury, Department of Survey will be shifted. Once the second phase of the work is complete, entire Revenue Department of the taluk will function under one roof, according to officials.

The mini Vidhana Soudha for Virajpet was sanctioned way back in 1997. A committee was constituted to decide on the place for the Vidhana Soudha. Though there was a demand to build the Soudha at Ponnampete or Gonikoppa, it was decided to construct it at Virajpet keeping in mind the convenience of the citizens.

It was said that three years were spent on identifying the land. As suitable land was not available it was decided to construct it in a place where the old taluk office existed. The old building was demolished to facilitate the work on the Vidhana Soudha.

Accordingly, PWD invited e-tender for the work. Two contractors who had taken up the work left the work halfway. Later, once again tender was invited in 2013. Owing to a shortage of sand, and change in contractor, the work was further delayed.

District-in-charge minister M R Sitharam will inaugurate the Mini Vidhana Soudha, while MLA K G Bopaiah will preside.

With the completion of the first phase work, the offices will start functioning from mini Vidhana Soudha from March itself, said tahsildar R Govindaraj.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> District / DH News Service, Virajpet / February 17th, 2018

Traditional dance marks mela opening

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Leaders
GRACEFUL: Kodava women perform Ummathat dance at the Kodava Samskrutika Mela at Napoklu in Kodagu on Monday.
GRACEFUL: Kodava women perform Ummathat dance at the Kodava Samskrutika Mela at Napoklu in Kodagu on Monday.

Karnataka Kodava Sahitya Academy president Rani Machaiah on Monday called upon the Kodava-speaking groups to foster the unique Kodava culture to perpetuate it for posterity.

She was addressing a gathering at the Madikeri taluk Kodava Samskritika Mela (Kodava cultural convention) held at the Napoklu Kodava Samaja premises in Madikeri taluk, an official release said here.

The academy had been doing its best to preserve the unique Kodava culture by organising various cultural programmes across the district, she said. The Virajpet taluk convention would be held in Birunani on February 7 and in Somwarpet taluk in March, Ms. Machaiah said.

The traditional Bolakkat dance was inaugurated by Neriyandammanda Prabhu, Ummathat by Ikolanda Dotty Aiyappa, Kolatt by Mechira Ravishankar Nanaiah and Kodava song competitions by Boppanda Bollamma Nanaiah.

The former president of the Academy Bacharaniyanda P. Appanna presented a paper on the history of Nalnad area, comprising Napoklu and surrounding areas, at a seminar later.

There were five taluks in Kodagu in 1834 and several ‘nads’ (nad is a group of villages), he said. However, they had undergone geographic changes, Mr. Appanna said.

There were 26 villages in the Napoklu nad. The credit of preserving the Kodava culture should go to Napoklu nad, he added.

Mr. Appanna remembered the contributions of Kodavas of the past to nurture Kodava culture such as Appachira Mandanna, Kaliyatanda Ponnappa, writers such as Appaneravanda Appacha and Nadikeriyanda Chinnappa, all of whom hailed from the Nalnad area (Napoklu and surrounding areas).

Biddatanda Ramesh Chengappa, vice-president of the Napoklu Kodava Samaja, presided over the function.

Writer Moovera Rekha Prakash spoke on the history of Cauvery on the occasion.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by Staff Correspondent / Madikeri – February 01st, 2011

Awareness programme on forest fire

Agriculture, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature
An awareness rally on forest fire was held in Gonikoppa.
An awareness rally on forest fire was held in Gonikoppa.

A forest fire is not a natural incident. There are always human hands behind the accident, said Wildlife First president K M Chinnappa.

He was speaking during the flagging-off of an awareness rally conducted by Wildlife First and the Aided High School at Gonikoppa to create awareness against forest fires.

Negative impact

“A forest fire not only results in the loss of valuable flora and fauna but also increases the temperature levels. This will further result in less rainfall and depletion of groundwater level. The amount of rainfall is diminishing year by year as the forest cover is depleting. If this continues, drought will be the most common phenomena,” Chinnappa said.

Dependence on forests

Inaugurating the rally, Titimati Assistant Conservator of Forests Sripati said that the existence of all organisms depends on the existence of forests. “Everyone should, therefore, extend their help towards preserving forests and wildlife,” he added.

Around 3,000 handbills on forest conservation were distributed among citizens on the occasion. Up to 50 students took out a procession and raised slogans on conservation of forests.

Science teacher and Tiger Pug Nature association coordinator D Krishna Chaitanya was present on the occasion.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> District / DH News Service, Gonikoppa / February 05th, 2018

Varsha Bollamma looks cute as a button at the audio launch of Kalyanam at Thiruvanthapuram

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

The debut film of actor Mukesh’s son Shravan had a unique audio launch, held underwater!

The launch was held at Kovalam beach in Thiruvananthapuram on February 6 and marked the first-of-its-kind event in the film industry. Putting across the message on ocean conservation, the team, including actress Varsha Bollamma, director Rajesh Nair, music director Prakash Alex and actor-turned-producer Vijay Babu dived into the sea in their scuba outfits to launch the music of the film.

Varsha Bollamma
Varsha Bollamma

“By diving into the depths of the ocean, we could use the event for an environmental cause,” said director Rajesh Nair. “The scuba divers alerted us about the plastic debris settled on the sea bed. But I didn’t believe them. Then I saw it with my eyes and was shocked to see the amount of plastic deposited on the shallow beds of the ocean.

It was very hard for us to walk under water due to the plastic deposits. I wish to spread awareness about this among people,” says Rajesh.

Later the party peeps, socialites and stars from the film industry switched to their party avatars and headed to the launch venue.

Though the lead actor and hero of the film Shravan was missing at the do, his father, Mukesh, dancer Methil Devika, Asha Aravind, Unni Mukundan, Prasanth, Rajagopal and Usha Rajesh were spotted at the do.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> Entertainment> Hindi> Events> Kochi / February 07th, 2018