Category Archives: Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg

Kodagu Handbook Released

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A compilation of articles on Kodagu (Coorg) ‘Dateline Coorg’ written by senior journalist P T Bopanna over the last two decades has been released.
Cover page of the book ‘Dateline Coorg’ by P T Bopanna.Inspired by the success of his last book ‘Rise and Fall of the Coorg State’, which went into reprint within two months of its release, Bopanna’s new book contains text of the full bench judgement of the Karnataka High Court on the controversial Jamma lands in Kodagu. 

Commenting on his new book, Bopanna says:  “As a journalist based in Bangalore, I had taken active interest in the affairs of Kodagu in the last quarter of a century. This book will come in handy for those wanting to understand the major socio-economic issues prevailing now in Kodagu. Besides, the book is intended to serve as an important reference for students of history in the future.”

The author was one of the first to report on the Union government’s move in 1993 to withdraw the exemption given to Kodavas (Coorgs) and Jamma-holders to possess firearms without licence. The Centre wanted to withdraw the privilege after guns from Kodagu reached the hands of the banned Maoists in Andhra Pradesh.Through his reports, Bopanna was able to put across to the policy makers in Delhi that people of Kodagu not only worshipped their weapons, but seldom misused their privilege. It was pointed out that the gun-running was the handiwork of a couple of gun dealers in Kodagu who had brought a bad name to the district.

There is a special chapter on India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s lurking fear of a military take-over and his unease with the two most popular Generals of independent India, Field Marshal K M Cariappa and General K S Thimayya, both hailing from Kodagu.
The articles range from serious issues pertaining to separate statehood for Kodagu, Jamma land tenure, gun license exemption, looting of forest wealth to subjects like the experiments involving the DNA study to explore the origin of the Kodavas and the moves to develop a script for the Kodava language by a German.

A postscript has been added to incorporate the developments taken place after the articles were written. The book is priced at Rs 100. Bopanna is the author of ‘Discover Coorg’, the bestselling handbook on Kodagu, published in 2006. The book has already run into three editions. Besides, a Kannada edition of the book has also been published.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Mysore / DH News Service / Aug 19th, 2010

 

Halappa Still can’t believe he is Indian Hockey Captain

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Arjun Halappa still cannot believe that he has been anointed captain of the Indian hockey team but as he prepares himself for the pressure cooker job, the veteran mid-fielder feels that a skipper should always lead by example.
Halappa has been a veteran of Indian hockey, having served the national team for nearly a decade. However, it is the first time he will be leading the national team after he was named captain for next month’s Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh, Malaysia. 

“I never thought in my wildest dream that I would become captain of the national team. My father (BK Halappa) used to play hockey but I started playing the game to get a decent job as the financial condition of my family was not good. It was a dream to play for India and today I am the captain. It’s unbelievable,” the mid-fielder from Coorg told PTI Bhasha.

“A captain should lead by example. He should be a good human being and always keep his cool under pressure. A captain should never get carried away by emotions,” Halappa said. Halappa said as he goes about his job in the Azlan Shah Cup, he would draw inspiration from Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Rahul Dravid besides former hockey skipper Dhanraj Pillay.

“Rahul and Dhoni, definitely, are huge source of inspiration. Dhoni has done wonders as a captain and Rahul is a proven performer. I also take inspiration from Dhanraj Pillay, who is one of the best captain Indian hockey has ever produced,” said the senior playmaker.

Halappa said that Indian cricket team’s World Cup-winning feat is an inspiration for the all sportsperson of the country, irrespective of their disciplines. “We all followed the World Cup as India was doing exceptionally well. The World Cup win is an inspiration for all Indian athletes,” he said.

Known for keeping his cool on the turf, Halappa said taking unnecessary pressure is not his style of playing. “I don’t take pressure unnecessarily. I always believe in what I do,” said the Olympian, who was a member of India’s silver medal-winning Delhi Commonwealth Games team. Despite going into the Azlan Shah Cup with a relatively young and inexperienced side, Halappa is confident of a good showing in the May 5-15 event, which India won jointly along with South Korea last year after the final was washed out.

“Last year also we had some new faces in the team but we won the title. I am confident of good show this time as well,” he insisted. In Azlan Shan Cup, India will be without the services of some key players, like drag-flicker Sandeep Singh, Sardara Singh former captain Rajpal Singh and Tushar Khandekar.

While Sandeep and Sardara are busy playing in the Belgium League, Rajpal and Khandekar are unfit. Halappa, however, said that the senior players will be back in the team before the Olympic qualifiers next year.

“We have 8 month to get prepared for the qualifiers. If we play to out potential, there is no reason why we can’t qualify for the London Olympic,” he said.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / New Delhi / PTI / Apr 21st, 2011

Kodagu Celebrates Arjun’s Selection as Hockey Captain

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Arjun Halappa, lad from Kodagu will lead the Indian Hockey team in the Sulthan Ajhlan Shah Cup hockey tourney to be held in Malaysia, next month.
Indian Hockey team captain Arjun HalappaIt is after several years that a Kodava will be leading the Indian Hockey and with this selection, Kodagu district has a reason to celebrate as hockey has been an inseparable part of Kodagu culture. 

Arjun is the son of B K Halappa and Pramila from Somwarpet. Arjun has been playing in the hockey team for the last 11 years.

With Arjun Halappa leading the team, he becomes the 6th Kodava to lead the India Hockey team, after M P Ganesh, B P Govind, M M Somaiah, B P Subramani and A B Subbaiah.

Basking over his son’s achievement, proud father B K Halappa speaking with the reporters said that he was sure that his son would get the opportunity to lead the Indian team one day or the other.

Mother Pramila, recalling Arjun’s childhood days, said that he used to take part in school-level hockey tournaments and had led the team at various levels. “I am sure he will excel as the captain of Indian Hockey team. It is a big responsibility but I have great confidence that he will do his duty with all dedication,” said Pramila.

Arjun’s wife Bhavana expressing her feeling said that Arjun has gained lot of experience after being in the team for 11 years and captaincy for him can be a platform to revive the glory of the national game.

However, the hockey fans who have always felt that Arjun should have been selected as the captain long back, still have a reason to rejoice because it is better late than never.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / DHNS / Somwarpet / Apr 07th, 2011

Country’s First Woman Diplomat Dies at 85

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C B Muthamma

The country’s first woman diplomat (Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer), Chonira Belliappa Muthamma, died at a private hospital in Bangalore on October 14, 2009,  following a brief illness, family sources said.  Muthamma (85) was born in a modest family at Virajpet in the hilly Kodagu district of Karnataka.

She had served as the ambassador to Hungary, the Netherlands and Ghana. She was also part of Indian diplomatic missions in several countries in Europe, Asia and Africa. Muthamma, the first woman to enter Civil Services in 1949 after clearing UPSC examinations, opted for foreign service and was posted as Third Secretary in the Indian Embassy,Paris.

She had also served in Indian Missions in Yangon and London, besides the Pakistan Division and American Division of the Ministry of External Affairs. The late diplomat was member of the special Non-Governmental Commission on Disarmament and Security Issues set up by Olof Palme, better known as the Palme Commission.

 

source: http://www.coorgnews.wordpress.com / Oct 22nd, 2009

 

Coorg Girl plays a Lead Role in ‘Aaranya Kaandam’

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Yasmin PonnappaYasmin Ponnappa

Yasmin Ponnappa (Coorg Girl), who’s debuting in Aaranya Kaandam, is a Bangalore-based model. Apart from modelling, she has also appeared in many television commercials and has won many beauty paegants.

Ask her about her role in the film and she gets all excited, “I am like a hurt doe in a jungle, which works up courage to fight back. I am really happy to be working on this project, especially with Jackie dada.” Surprisingly, this Bangalore girl can speak Tamil fluently. “I learnt Tamil when I was young. Thanks to that, I can now give hundred percent to the movie. I don’t have any language problems now,” says the sexy Coorg lass.

Directed by Kumarraja, Aaranyakandam is produced by SPB Charan. The film also stars Jackie Shroff for the first time in a tamil film. Ravikrishna and yasmin ponnappa play the lead roles. Yuvan Shankar Raja scores the music.

 

source: http://www.coorgnews.wordpress.com / Nov 01st, 2009

Shubra Aiyappa – Coorg Model on Ramp

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Shubra Aiyappa – Coorg model

She beat a horde of Indian ravision beauties to win Ford Model Supermodel of the World Contest in 2005 at the age of 18.

Standing 5 feet 11 inches tall, this Bangalore beauty was born in Coorg and schooled in Baldwin Girls School and Mount Carmel’s College.

Now 21, this lissome beauty has a graceful air about her, which is more evident when she takes to the ramp.

Her ambition is to be a good businesswoman.

…and we wish her all the best

 

source: http://www.coorgnews.wordpress.com / Nov 30th, 2009

 

Tilak Shatters Course Record

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The Indian elite athletes fared the best in the men’s half-marathon one-way dash from Bandra to CST with Coorg-based BC Tilak shattering the course record. Tilak, who plans to graduate to the full marathon next year, breasted the tape in an hour, four minutes and 45 seconds and was followed by Railways’  Soji  Mathew (1:05:04), his Army Sports Institute (ASI) teammate Kheta Ram (1:05:32) and Parsaram Bhol (1:05:32), all inside the old mark of 1:05:44 set by two-time winner Surender Singh in 2008.

The ASI trio of Bining Lyngkhoi, Angad Kumar and Ram Singh Yadav expectedly topped the full marathon in that order, but none of them, however, succeeded in finishing under the targeted 2:18:00 sec timing. “I paced myself with an African runners at the start but I couldn’t generate enough power till I reached the 25k mark,” said Lyngkhoi, who finished 20th overall (2:21.16).

Kumar (2:24:32) and Yadav (2:25:33) too were at a loss for words for their poor timings. “Maybe the timing pressure played on our minds,” said Kumar. Yadav, in fact, was not unhappy. “After the hamstring injury I had 12 days back, it feel good that I was able to finish this well,” he said.

Indian women full marathoners, aside from the controversial finish by two, saw the top four also finish in the top-20 overall, although none breached the three-hour barrier.

Maharashtra’s Jyoti Gawate, who was runner-up in the Indian category last year, pulled away to finish nearly three minutes ahead of second finishing reigning champion Shastri Devi. At 3:05.30, Gawate was a good 16th overall. Also impressive was pint-sized Anuja Bijagare who finished her first full marathon run of her professional career in fourth position behind the experienced M Sudha.

Ethiopians light up Mumbai morning

Sumil VS adds: It was to be their show of strength against their Kenyan brothers. And, nothing, it seemed, could have stopped the Ethiopians, not even the brief chaos created by the security dog of Trident Hotel in the initial minutes.

And their perseverance and strong teamwork paid off 2 hours 09 minutes and 54 seconds later as one of them, 24-year-old Girima Assefa, his hands reaching for the sky, broke the white tape at the finish line. To add to it their women made it a Super Sunday  as Koren Yal, Merima Mohammed and Elfenesh Alemu completed another year of Ethiopian domination in the full-marathon.

The athletes enjoyed running in the race that began amid chilling breeze at 7.40am on Sunday.

source: http://www. hindustantimes.com / by  Camilo   Fernandes  / Hindustan Times / Mumbai /Jan 16th, 2011

Joshna Chinappa upsets Pallikal to Win Chicago Open

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India’s Joshna Chinappa scored an upset 3-2 victory over compatriot Dipika Pallikal to win the Metrosquash Windy City Open title in Chicago.

Fourth seeded Chinappa, ranked 35th in the world, won 11-4 6-11 12-10 2-11 11-6 against another Indian Pallikal, seeded second, in the $ 8,000 WISPA World tour event.

Both the Indians were neck on neck throughout the tie and matched each other in execution of shots and dead drops for winners.

But Chinappa was able to hold her nerve better and the third game which she won in deuce put pressure on her higher ranked opponent.

In the semifinals, Chennai girl Chinappa, ranked 24th in the world, had defeated top seed Ireland’s Aisling Blake 7-11 11-5 5-11 11-8 6-11 in 59 minutes.

Pallikal, who recently became the highest ranked Indian in the world, advanced to the summit clash after her opponent USA’s Latasha Khan retired in the fifth game.

Both were locked 2-2 (5-11 11-6 8-11 12-10) after the fourth game.

 

source: http://www.coorgnews.wordpress.com / Feb 17th, 2011