Category Archives: Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg

Rudresh Mahanthappa: The Time Is Now

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

An outburst of saxophone flurries sits you straight up in your chair. The tone is rich but with a cutting edge.

It has to be Rudresh Mahanthappa. The riveting cry of his alto saxophone is one of the most recognizable sounds in jazz.

But those darting runs coalesce into Charlie Parker’s “Red Cross.” So it can’t be Mahanthappa, can it? He has made 15 straight albums of original music. He doesn’t do covers, right?

On his 16th recording, Hero Trio, Mahanthappa breaks through to the past—his and ours. He proudly proclaims Parker’s bebop—but then “Red Cross” flies apart, into free showers of 16th notes. It is startling to hear Mahanthappa playing songs you know, even lilting ones like Stevie Wonder’s “Overjoyed” and time-honored standards like “I Can’t Get Started.” Of course, his versions do not stay lilting or standard for long. By the sixth track, you’re ready for anything—except “Ring of Fire.” Rudresh Mahanthappa doing a Johnny Cash song? There must be a story there.

The story begins in Colorado—specifically, Boulder. Mahanthappa’s father is a noted theoretical physicist who came to the United States from India to get a Ph.D. at Harvard and stayed in the American academic world, settling at the University of Colorado. The school’s website says that K. T. Mahanthappa is “interested in grand unification theories, fermion mixing and masses including charge fermions and neutrinos.” His son Rudresh shares a proclivity for the intellectually challenging and the arcane, but in 16th notes, not neutrinos. (There are two more sons in this high-achieving family, both with Ph.D.s in the sciences.)

Mahanthappa grew up in Boulder, listening to people like Stevie Wonder. He started on alto saxophone in the fourth grade. He matriculated at the University of North Texas in 1988, right after it changed its name from North Texas State. The school had a reputation for turning out notable jazz musicians. Billy Harper, Lyle Mays, Bob Belden, and David Weiss went there. So did Norah Jones, briefly. (So did Meat Loaf, briefly, though presumably not in the jazz program.) Snarky Puppy started there.

Mahanthappa was not happy at North Texas. He says, “For me it was an uncreative place. There was kind of one way of doing things. And as a brown person in Texas, I never felt comfortable.” After two years, he transferred to Berklee College of Music in Boston, a school even better known for turning out notable jazz musicians. “I had always wanted to study with Joe Viola, who was one of the great American master teachers of the saxophone. Berklee was more the vibe I needed.”

When he took his degree in 1992, he did not, like so many Berklee graduates, relocate immediately to New York City. “I wanted to go to a big city that wasn’t New York, and Chicago was a place you could play a lot.” He entered a master’s program at DePaul University. By 1997, he was ready to make the move. “I always said I wanted to play with Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette someday, and that was never going to happen if I stayed in Chicago. In the mid-’90s, you had to be in New York.”

Mahanthappa hit the jazz radar not long after arriving in town, when he joined forces with pianist Vijay Iyer. They began gigging and making records, some led by Iyer (Blood Sutra on Pi Recordings; Panoptic Modes, reissued on Pi), some led by Mahanthappa (Mother Tongue, Pi), some co-led (Raw Materials, Savoy). Today, Mahanthappa and Iyer are two of the most respected, most decorated musicians in jazz.

They dominate the critics’ polls in the alto saxophone and piano categories, respectively, and most years appear at or near the top of categories like “musician of the year” and “album of the year.”

Back at the turn of the millennium, though, they were up-and-coming players who were unusual for two reasons: There were few Indian-American jazz musicians, and they played strange stuff. Iyer is an autodidact who has always had his own percussive, polyrhythmic piano language. As for Mahanthappa, when you listen to his early recordings now, he already sounds like no one else. He already has that sublime alto saxophone shriek. His art is already dizzying in its diversity, juxtaposing melodicism and dissonance, formal focus and freedom. In his playing, you hear intimations of many moments in saxophone history, from primary sources (Coltrane, Coleman), to footnotes (Jimmy Lyons, Sonny Simmons). You also hear lyricism in beautiful new jagged shapes.

All the unfamiliar sonorities led many listeners, including critics, to assume that Mahanthappa and Iyer were bringing Indian influences into their jazz. “Not so much,” Mahanthappa says. “I knew very little about Indian music at that time. When I was a kid, my mother sometimes played bhajans on Sunday mornings. They were like Hindu hymns. She had this stack of 45s. But that was it. When I became a musician, I mostly ran the other way. I got tired of people expecting me to be an expert on Indian music.”

But a revelation occurred while he was at Berklee. He went to India to play with a Berklee student band at Jazz Yatra, a festival that no longer exists. “It was my first time in India in over 10 years, my first time going as an adult, without my parents. And I was going there to play music. It was a lot to deal with. I was terrified. I was confronting head-on all these questions: ‘How Indian are you? How American are you?’ It was a mindfuck. Then I went to an all-night event in Bangalore. There is a tradition in India of concerts that go all night, ’til dawn. What I heard blew me away. It was unbelievable. I found out later that some of the greats of Indian classical music had performed that night, both Hindustani and Carnatic. I went to record stores the next day and bought as many cassettes and CDs as I could carry. And that’s about all I listened to for a couple of years.”

When Mahanthappa made the recordings with Iyer in the early 2000s, he was not yet ready to incorporate Indian elements into his work: “I kept thinking, ‘How do you put these things together and still maintain reverence and integrity?’ Because I knew that Indian symbolism and iconography had mostly been engaged very superficially in jazz. For a jazz group to bring in a tabla player did not automatically result in a cross-cultural collaboration. I knew I wanted to create something that didn’t sound like cut-and-paste. If I was going to deal with Indian rhythms or Indian melodic content, it had to be integrated.”

The turning point came in 2005, when he again traveled to India, this time to Chennai, on a commission. He spent time with Kadri Gopalnath, who played Mahanthappa’s instrument, the alto saxophone, but in a style that was decidedly non-Western. Gopalnath employed microtones derived from the Carnatic music of southern India. After Mahanthappa made another trip to India on a Guggenheim grant, he felt ready to record with Indian musicians. The result was Kinsmen, his collaboration with Gopalnath, released on Pi in 2008 to widespread astonishment and praise. Two dissimilar musical cultures, both prioritizing improvisation and energy, meet and commingle organically. Mahanthappa visits ragas and quarter tones, and Gopalnath visits bebop and the blues. They whip all these ingredients into wild eight- and four-bar exchanges and wailing, extended joint ventures.

Kinsmen was important, but it was a one-off project. Around the same time, Mahanthappa formed another ensemble that drew deeply on his Indian heritage, a trio that continues to the present day. Indo-Pak Coalition is two Americans with roots in the Indian subcontinent (Mahanthappa and guitarist Rez Abbasi, born in Pakistan), and a third American, Dan Weiss, who studied for 20 years with tabla master Pandit Samir Chatterjee. Their album Apti (Innova, 2009) expanded upon the cross-cultural explorations of Kinsmen. (They released a second album, Agrima, in 2017, available as a digital download or double LP from Mahanthappa’s website (rudreshm.com) and from HDtracks.com.)

was American Songbook standards and the pop music of his youth. He says, “There was a part of me that always wanted to record standards. But when I was younger, I guess I had a certain agenda, certain ideas and energies that I wanted to get out there in the world. I didn’t want to be just one more saxophone player doing ‘Now’s the Time’ [Charlie Parker’s bebop classic]. I felt like I had a perspective that would not come across effectively if I played ‘I’ll Remember April.'”

It took Mahanthappa a long time to record with Indian musicians, and it took him even longer to record “I’ll Remember April.” But there it is, the seventh track on Hero Trio. When you hear it now, it is unclear why he had once feared that such a song would not allow his “perspective” to “come across effectively.” The perspective on “I’ll Remember April” is radical and personal. It opens with a commanding bass announcement from Franáois Moutin and violent drum detonations from Rudy Royston. Then Mahanthappa fires quick blasts that soon run together into long spilling arcs. It is a rush when Gene de Paul’s time-honored melody clarifies out of abstraction. Mahanthappa hits “I’ll Remember April” hard then spins off it for free, blistering runs, then returns to the song with fervent embellishments.

In our present jazz era, it is common for albums, especially those by younger musicians, to contain all or mostly all originals. But skilled players far outnumber gifted composers. Mahanthappa analyzes the problem this way: “A lot of new players today are coming out of academic settings. There is a kind of unspoken checklist of things you’re supposed to do. One is compose. Everyone puts ‘composer’ in their title now.” Mahanthappa’s exclusive preference for recording original music was understandable in his first 15 albums. He was defending a unique aesthetic position, and he was an accomplished composer. But Hero Trio opens new vistas. It turns out that “I’ll Remember April” does not limit jazz creativity. The opposite is true: The song provides a base pattern embedded within Mahanthappa’s own vast design. He can glance off the form, using it as a touchpoint, a known frame of reference, one resonant with historical associations.

The other covers (if “covers” is the term for such unbridled acts) also lead to inspirations of memory. “Ring of Fire,” with a new beat in the third measure, is the most surprising choice, but Mahanthappa says Johnny Cash was vital to his childhood. Charlie Parker was vital from his adolescence onward. He made a widely praised Parker tribute in 2015, Bird Calls, on the ACT label, but at that time he was still committed to recording his own material. Bird Calls has music motivated by, not composed by, Parker. The decision to record three Bird tunes on Hero Trio is significant. (Besides “Red Cross,” the others are “Barbados” and “Dewey Square.”) Mahanthappa burns these iconic themes into the air then repurposes them in his own vivid timbre and energy. Perhaps the piece that is most literally a cover is Ornette Coleman’s great lament, “Sadness.” Mahanthappa’s version is faithful, concise, and passionate.

Mahanthappa has played with Moutin in various settings for more than 20 years. His association with Royston goes back to 1991, in Colorado. But until the new album, they had never played together as a trio. The saxophone trio with bass and drums is one of the foundational formats in jazz. Trios led by Sonny Rollins, Ornette Coleman, Joe Henderson, Joe Lovano (and, more recently, J.D. Allen) are important examples. Mahanthappa, with a few brief, minor exceptions, has bypassed the format—until now.

Moutin and Royston are extraordinary on Hero Trio. Their aggression establishes drama, even before Mahanthappa enters. Moutin reminds you of David Izenzon with Ornette Coleman. Izenzon was the first bassist who proved that it was not only okay, it was levitational, for a bassist to play so many notes, to become a semi-autonomous whirlwind of energy within a jazz ensemble. Mahanthappa says, “I always wanted to make a classic saxophone trio record. And I always wanted to make an album of music that was not my own. I realized that now was the time, for both. François and Rudy and I are so connected. Anything you play with them sounds fresh.”

He explains how, in live performance, the three of them developed a system of cues: “I play a melodic figure that cues a particular bass line, a certain groove. And the idea is that we can vibe on that for a while and then I’ll start playing a tune, a standard, and everybody will kind of fall in. Then I’ll cue another bass line. Let’s say I have six or seven of these cues. You can play a whole set of standards that are bridged together by these grooves. It works really well live. It’s very organized but it sounds sort of stream-of-consciousness. It puts an original light on standards. The challenge with this album was, ‘How do you capture that spontaneous thing that happens live on a studio recording, a five-minute track?'”

“I Can’t Get Started” shows how the trio meets this challenge. A quick melodic flourish from Mahanthappa, repeated twice, indeed cues a groove, an ominous, slow ostinato from Moutin. Then Mahanthappa floats in over the groove. He is playing the alto saxophone, but the sound comes from so far east of Boulder that he might be playing the double-reed shehnai of India. His wavering, hypnotic lines suggest distant ancient ceremonies and processionals. A song by Ira Gershwin and Vernon Duke is transformed. The transformation could only be imagined by someone who grew up in the presence of the American Songbook, was sent on a mission by Charlie Parker, ventured outside of Parker, then returned to where he started, on a passage that included a stop at an all-night concert in Bangalore.

“I Can’t Get Started” is the closing of a circle. Ideally, it would have been a live album. (Surprisingly, Mahanthappa has never made one.) He says, “The original plan was to play a club somewhere for maybe four nights and record everything and then figure out what the record should be.” For various practical and logistical reasons, the plan was abandoned. Hero Trio was recorded by engineer David Amlen at Sound on Sound Studios in Montclair, New Jersey, within long walking distance of Mahanthappa’s home. The upside (as is often the case when weighing the pros and cons of live vs studio recordings) is the sound. Sonically, the album is dynamic and visceral. You are close enough to Mahanthappa’s alto saxophone to reach out and touch it. The mix by Liberty Ellman brings the bass and drums far forward—appropriate given the centrality of Moutin and Royston to this trio’s impact.

You can’t talk to a jazz musician in mid-2020 without inquiring about how the global pandemic has affected their life and work. Mahanthappa says, “This was supposed to be a big touring year for me. I had some major stuff lined up, including a long tour with a project for the Charlie Parker centennial.” (It involved an all-star band co-led with Terri Lyne Carrington and was called “Fly Higher: Charlie Parker @ 100.”) “Of course, everything got cancelled. But I’m doing okay. I’ve been teaching at Princeton for four years now, so I’m less dependent on income from touring. My wife is a therapist, and she has been able to do that from home, by Zoom or whatever. Her field is actually one that ramps up in times like these. I’m more concerned for all my good friends and colleagues who rely mostly on performing. I’m glad that a lot of organizations have mobilized to help.”

When told that many musicians report an unprecedented availability of practice time while sheltering in place, he speculates, “They must not have young children.” (He has a son and a daughter, ages 7 and 4.)

“I imagine the trio will probably do a bunch of touring to support the new album in 2021.” We can only hope.

source: http://www.stereophile.com / Stereophile / Home> Music and Recording Features / by Thomas Conrad / September 04th, 2020

Bronze Statue Of Sqn. Ldr. A.B. Devayya To Be Unveiled At Madikeri On Sept. 7

Amazing Feats, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Leaders, Records, All, World Opinion

A befitting tribute to Indo-Pak War Hero on his 55th death anniversary 

Madikeri:

The statue of Squadron Leader Ajjamada Bopayya Devayya will be unveiled at Madikeri in Kodagu District on Sept. 7. 

The 6-feet-9-inch bronze statue installed at the Old Private Bus Stand Circle will be unveiled on the day Devayya was martyred. Incidentally, the Circle has also been named after him. 

Sqn. Ldr. A.B. Devayya is the only Indian Air Force (IAF) Officer to be posthumously awarded the Maha Vir Chakra (MVC). During the 1965 India-Pakistan War, Devayya (called ‘Wings of Fire’) was part of a strike mission (on the Pakistani airbase Sargodha).

Works on installing the statue of Squadron Leader A.B. Devayya at Madikeri in Kodagu district is almost complete.

Works on installing the statue of Squadron Leader A.B. Devayya at Madikeri in Kodagu district is almost complete.

The work on the statue basement is almost complete and a giant crane was used to shift and mount the statue on the pedestal.

The bronze statue weighs 600 kg and Rs. 20 lakh has been spent on getting the statue carved at Kengeri near Bengaluru. 

The statue installation work was spearheaded by Ajjamada family members, Squadron Leader Ajjamada Devayya Memorial Trust, Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa and General Thimayya Forum, Kodava Makkada Koota. 

Wartime job

Sqn. Ldr. A.B. Devayya was born to Ajjamada Bopayya and Neelamma couple on Dec. 24, 1932 at Manchalli village near Kutta in South Kodagu. He joined the Indian Air Force as a pilot on Dec. 26, 1954. Devayya was married to Keethiyanda Sundari. 

When the Indo-Pak war broke out in 1965, Devayya was an instructor at the Air Force Flying College. He was posted to No.1 ‘Tigers’ Squadron’ and flew the Mystere fighter bomber. During the war, Devayya shot down a US-made PAF (Pakistan Air Force) F-104 Starfighter while flying an inferior Mystere of French make. The dogfight between the Mystere and the Starfighter was recorded by British author John Fricker in his book ‘Battle for Pakistan’ published in 1979. 

Action in the skies

John Fricker wrote, “On Sept. 7, 1965, Mystere pilot Squadron Leader A.B. Devayya showed commendable courage by staying in the fight, and despite being mortally wounded, he eventually scored several cannon strikes against the Starfighter, causing it to be abandoned. This was the first and only Starfighter to be lost through enemy action in the 1965 war.” 

Devayya was part of an air strike mission on the PAF base at Sargodha, with the objective being to neutralise its air assets. He engaged in a dogfight with the Starfighter flown by Pakistani Flight Lieutenant Amjad Hussain at an altitude of 7,000 ft. The PAF fighter was faster and more modern, but Hussain made the mistake of reducing his speed in an attempt to out-turn Devayya. 

Hussain failed to clear his tail during the dog-fight and suffered several cannon strikes. He was forced to eject since the Mystere had a limited range for action and did not have enough fuel reserves to return to India. 

Posthumous award

The Mystere aircraft was destroyed and it was assumed that Devayya died on Pakistani soil. The IAF was not aware of what had happened to Devayya, first recording him missing and later declaring him dead. It was revealed much later by Pakistan that Devayya’s body was found almost intact by villagers not very far from Sargodha and buried.

For this feat in the 1965 conflict, 23 years later, in 1988 he was posthumously awarded the Maha Vir Chakra (MVC). He is the only Air Force Officer to have been awarded the MVC posthumously so far.

Two heroes from Kodagu receive ‘Maha Vir Chakra’

Two Defence personnel from Kodagu have so far received the honour of Maha Vir Chakra, next only to the supreme Defence award Param Vir Chakra. While Squadron Leader A.B. Devayya received the honour in 1988, the other officer is Major Puttichanda Somaiah Ganapathy (later promoted as Lieutenant Colonel) who is now leading a retired life in Bengaluru. 

Major Ganapathy was awarded Maha Vir Chakra for his combat role in 1987 Operation Pawan in Sri Lanka (launched by Indian Peace Keeping Force) against the LTTE. His unit, located at Annakottai, was surrounded and repeatedly attacked by militants on Oct. 16, 1987. His Company had occupied this location to provide a firm base for the 41 Infantry Brigade to launch an offensive. 

LTTE militants repeatedly attacked the position with very heavy fire, resulting in heavy casualties, and his unit required immediate replenishment of ammunition. Throughout the day, Major Ganapathy fought gallantly and kept the militants at bay. 

When all efforts to drop ammunition by helicopter failed due to heavy fire, Major Ganapathy kept fighting, moving from trench to trench till 6 am on Oct. 17, 1987 when he was finally supplied with ammunition by a patrol. He displayed extreme devotion and held his position against heavy odds.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / by Prasad Sampigekatte / August 31st, 2020

Madikeri: Lt Cdr Suraj Aiyappa to represent naval college in USA

Education, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Leaders, Records, All, World Opinion

Madikeri :

Lt Cdr Muckatira Suraj Aiyappa has been selected to represent India to undergo the prestigious staff course at the US warfare training college.

Suraj Aiyappa happens to be the son of Gonikoppal Arvathoklu Retd Lt Col M A Cariappa and Saraswathi Cariappa. He will be one of the representatives from 52 countries who will participate in the staff training course in the USA.

Aiyappa had attended the Rashtriya Indian Military College at Dehradun. He acquired a cadet captain degree from the Naval Academy. He was chosen as an officer of Indian Navy in the year 2010. He won the Chief of Naval Staff gold medal and best commanding officer of the navy in 2010. He has served as instructor at the Naval Academy.

At the programme held at Visakhapatnam in 2016, he had received the guard of honour presented by the President. His wife, Dr Yamuna, is a dental surgeon by profession.

source: http://www.daijiworld.com / Daijiworld.com / Home> Karnataka / by Daijiworld Media Network – Madikeri (SP) / August 27th, 2020

Captain Maletira S. Muthappa Is ADC To Army Chief

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

Virajpet:

 Captain Maletira S. Muthappa has been appointed as aide-de-camp (ADC) to Chief of Army Staff. Muthappa is at present serving in the Defence Ministry and joined as Commissioned Officer in the Indian Army in 2016.

He hails from Kedamulloor village near Virajpet and is the son of Maletira Rathna Subbaiah and Usha.

Muthappa is the fifth Army officer from Kodava community to serve as ADC to the Chief of Army Staff.

In 1953 Brigadier Codanda Cariappa, in 1973 Lieutenant General Buttiyanda Bopanna, in 1986 Lieutenant General Pattacheravanda C. Thimmaiah and in 2001, Maj. Muckatira C. Muthanna had occupied the post.

Maj. Muckatira C. Muthanna from 9 PARA (Special Force) served as ADC from 2001 to 2003 and had served two Army Chiefs — Gen. N.C. Vij (for a short time) and Gen. Padmanabhan (for full term). Muthanna is the son of Brigadier (Retd.) M.M. Ashok Cariappa, who was also from 9 PARA (SF) and later went on to command First Bihar Regiment.

What is ADC in Armed Forces?

An aide-de-camp (official position) in the Armed Forces primarily functions as a protocol officer, who looks after implementation of the protocols, and as an executive assistant.

An ADC is also responsible for carrying out liaison with the local military authorities and looks after the professional requirements of the Officer/Governor he is attached to.

An ADC should have five to seven years of experience in the Armed Forces. He is selected on the basis of his professional performance and an interview. Besides the Governors of States, aides-de-camp are authorised to senior officers in the Armed Forces and the President of India.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / August 28th, 2020

When a lion was brought to Kodagu

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DoddaVeerarajendra Photo courtesy: C P Belliappa

By 1800, Dodda Veerarajendra had sat on the throne of Kodagu for more than ten years. He is well-remembered for making a daring escape from a prison in Periyapatna in 1788, where Tipu Sultan had incarcerated him, his wife, mother, his brothers: Lingarajendra and Appajiraja, along with other close members of the family. With the help of Kodava and Vokkaliga chieftains, he was successful in foiling Tipu Sultan’s schemes to rule Kodagu.

In this endeavour, he forged an alliance with the British East India Company in 1790, which was sealed with a lofty statement: ‘This treaty of friendship between the East India Company and the kingdom of Kodagu is signed with God, Sun and Moon as witness’.

The treaty soon came into play during the third Anglo-Mysore war when Dodda Veerarajendra gave strategic and logistic support to the British army. He also provided transport and provisions for the troops. Similar support was extended to the British during the fourth and the final Anglo-Mysore war which ended in 1799. Eventually, Dodda Veerarajendra was able to consolidate his position in Kodagu.

By 1805, the king had three daughters with his queens Nanjammaji and Mahadevammaji. But in his obsession for a male heir, the raja slipped into deep depression. He started having fits of rage. He increasingly became suspicious of people around him. He was surrounded by the ruthless Siddis, of African origin, as his anga-battas (bodyguards). One day, in paranoiac rage, he ordered the assassination of his brothers Lingarajendra and Appajiraja. While Appajiraja fell to the anga-battas, Lingarajendra barely escaped, and lived to succeed his brother.

Dodda Veerarajendra’s officials were highly concerned and feared for their lives. The court officials then figured that they should bring a hogalu-batta (professional flatterer) to lift the king’s spirits. The feisty hogalu-batta, brought from South Canara, praised the king sky-high with a song composed in his honour. Dodda Veerarajendra was much pleased when the hogalu-batta sang that the king was the valiant ‘Lion of Kodagu’ who vanquished the ‘Tiger of Mysore’. The hogalu-batta got a pouch that jingled with gold coins for his flattery.’

Since there were no lions in Kodagu, the king despatched a letter to Jonathan Duncan, the governor of Bombay Province, to help him get a lion. Duncan replied promptly and asked the king to send his men to transport a lion to Kodagu from a zoo in Bombay.

Dodda Veerarajendra deputed his trusted Jemedhar Monnaiah to head a posse of soldiers to Bombay to fetch the lion. It was an arduous task. The men loaded the cage with the lion on to a bullock cart and trudged along the west coast for a couple of months. Sometime in May, they reached Kodagu at the banks of River Cauvery near Bethari village. While they prepared to cross the river there was an unexpected pre-monsoon downpour. The lion, which had withstood the journey reasonably well, was in distress when it got drenched. Its condition deteriorated. The beast died a couple of days later. Jemedhar Monnaiah and his men were most disappointed and braced themselves for the worst reprisal from the king.

The body of the lion was brought to Madikeri. Jemedhar Monnaiah broke the news to the king. Surprisingly, the king received the bad news quite philosophically. He had the lion stuffed and displayed in his palace.

Emblem-of-DoddaVeerarajendra Photo courtesy: C P Belliappa

Subsequently, in 1806, the king even got his royal insignia redesigned by replacing the elephants with lions.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Spectrum / by C P Belliappa / August 29th, 2020

After Priest’s Death in Karnataka Landslide, Kodavas Demand Their Duties Back at Talacauvery

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Every year, lakhs of devotees visit Talacauvery and Bhagamandala to offer prayers to goddess Cauvery. (News18 Kannada)
Every year, lakhs of devotees visit Talacauvery and Bhagamandala to offer prayers to goddess Cauvery. (News18 Kannada)

The Deputy Commissioner of Kodagu, Anees Kanmani Joy has informed the Kodavas that she would discuss their demand at the highest level and would try to find a solution at the earliest.

The recent torrential rains and landslide resulted in the deaths of the chief priest and his family members at Talacauvery, the birthplace of river Cauvery. The Brahmin priest Narayana Achar, his wife and three other family members perished in a huge landslide, last week.

Now, the Kodava community, the natives of the hilly district, have demanded that the state government should return priestly duties to them from the Brahmins. Locals fear that if this issue is not dealt with carefully, it might lead to a legal battle which could take on a political colour.

Every year, lakhs of devotees visit Talacauvery and Bhagamandala to offer prayers to goddess Cauvery. Amma Kodavas, a priestly class among the Kodavas have made an official request to the Deputy Commissioner of the district in this regard.

According to them, the pooja and all other associated rituals at Talacauvery were handled by Amma Kodavas for centuries and the Brahmins had no role in Kodava religious traditions and rituals. About 150 years ago, after the annexation of princely state of Kodagu or Coorg by the British in mid-19th century, the priestly jobs were transferred to the Brahmins from the neighbouring Mysore kingdom.

Since then, the Brahmins have been conducting all religious activities at Talacauvery, which is a holy place for the Kodavas and other communities. According to Amma Kodava community leader Bananda N Prathyu, their community had transferred the rights of worship to Brahmins due to certain reasons. However, they argue that there are hundreds of historical records to prove their claims that Amma Kodavas have an ancient connection with river Cauvery and its origins.

“We are the original inhabitants of Kodagu district. We are nature worshippers. Cauvery is our goddess. We have the first right to worship at Talacauvery and Igguthappa temple”, he said.

After the tragic death of priest Narayana Achar and his wife, their two daughters who live in Australia, rushed back home to perform their parents’ last rites.

According to a report in the Kannada daily Vijayavani, when the local government officials issued a compensation in their names, they informed them that they are no longer Hindus and have converted to Christianity. This revelation has now created a furore among the devotees of Cauvery. Since the deceased priest was a leader of the Vishwa Hindu Parishat (VHP), this has now taken a political colour with opposition parties questioning BJP’s commitment to Hinduism.

The priest’s daughters have declined to comment on the conversion and have gone incommunicado. Local Tahasildar has confirmed that their given names and names on record don’t match.

The Deputy Commissioner of Kodagu, Anees Kanmani Joy has informed the Kodavas that she would discuss their demand at the highest level and would try to find a solution at the earliest.

However, some fringe groups are opposing the handing over of the temple to Kodavas, by calling it a violation of old tradition. Kodagu, Karnataka’s tiny district is known as the coffee bowl of India. With its deep forests, rivers, waterfalls and hills, Kodagu is also known as the Scotland of Karnataka.

It was ruled by the Lingayat Kings from the Haleri dynasty till 1830s. The last King Chikka Veera Rajendra was a despot and the British exploited the resentment among his subjects to annex Kodagu with British India. The deposed King was sent to Vellore in Tamil Nadu and later Benares, now Varanasi, to keep him away from his subjects.

Hoping to get his Kingdom back, Chikka Veera Rajendra travelled to England to lobby with Queen Victoria and the British Parliament. After his efforts to secure the Kingdom failed, a dejected King died in London and was buried there. His granddaughter Victoria Gowramma, whose only son died in the First World War, breathed her last in London in 1930s ending the line of succession.

The British ruled Coorg/Kodagu as a separate state for over a century till 1947. It was a separate state with an Assembly till 1956. In 1956, Kodagu was merged with Karnataka State. The martial race of Kodavas have produced two of India’s best Army Chiefs Field Marshal KM Cariappa and General KS Thimmaya. They have their own language Kodava Thakk.

source: http://www.news18.com / News18 India / Home> News18> India / by DP Satish / August 26th, 2020

Do not question my commitment: Ashwini Ponnappa

Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Sports
Ashwin Ponnappa

Ashwini Ponnappa’s refusal to join the national camp in Hyderabad when the doors of the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy were thrown open on August 7 garnered attention for all the wrong reasons.

She was expected to join her doubles partner N Sikki Reddy. Instead, she chose to train under U Vimal Kumar at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy in Bengaluru with the Thomas and Uber Cup – potentially the first international badminton assignment since the All England Open Badminton Championship in March – slated to be held in October.

“It’s funny the people should criticise me for this,” exclaims Ashwini over the phone from Coorg where she is meeting her folks after months. “She (Sikki) and I have been partners for four years. I have trained in Hyderabad for four years with her, and I have barely been in Bengaluru. I don’t think anyone should question my commitment.”

Further defending her decision to stay in Bengaluru, the 2011 World Championships doubles bronze medallist said: “Performance is all that matters. I don’t think it makes sense for me to train in Hyderabad when everything is so uncertain. What people don’t realise that most of these players are from Hyderabad or at least nearby so that works for them, but should anything happen to my parents, it’s obviously easier for me to travel from Bengaluru to Coorg, as opposed to shuttle between Hyderabad and Coorg. I can’t train when I am constantly worrying about my parents.”

Ashwini, much like P Kashyap and some of the others in the camp, questioned the feasibility of the Thomas and Uber Cup. 

“When we don’t even know if this tournament is going to happen or not, what’s the point in taking the risk?” she wonders. “I am training as hard as I can and the training facility is as good as the one in Hyderabad. I am doing everything I need to. In any case, we’re not a new partnership, we should be able to train apart.

“It’s also important to have a coach who understands what I need,” she adds. 

The Badminton World Federation announced a revised Tokyo Olympics qualification guideline in May since it was unable to complete the last six weeks its one-year qualifying period scheduled to end on April 28. But with the Olympics postponed, BWF shot out a letter stating: “an extended Olympic qualification period will be introduced from Week 1-17 in 2021 and includes the select number of tournaments that were postponed, cancelled or suspended due to Covid-19.” 

“We know what we need to do. She has just tested negative and she will return to training soon. As long as we’re not slacking and have the big picture in front of us, we should be able to make it,” she says. 

Ashwini also delved into the mental aspect of being an athlete during a pandemic, stating that staying motivated was the hardest part.

“It was hard because you have lived a very different way for a very long time, but this honestly changes your perspective. It also teaches you to be grateful about the little things such as training and the value of sport,” she reveals. “I think one of the most important things to have come out of this break is that I have started loving the sport like I did when I was a kid. It’s amazing.” 

She continues: “When you play the game for so long you forget why you play is sometimes. It feels amazing to get that enthusiasm back, the enthusiasm to learn as well.” 

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Sports> Other Sports / DHNS, Bengaluru / August 23rd, 2020

Robin Uthappa announces Sports School’s nat’l cricket scholarship programme

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

The Sports School, under the mentorship of veteran India cricketer Robin Uthappa, and in association with Center.

Bengaluru :

The Sports School, under the mentorship of veteran India cricketer Robin Uthappa, and in association with Center for Cricketing Excellence (CCE), on Tuesday, announced a scholarship programme for students across India.

“Cricket has tremendous potential and India is a goldmine of talent. Our scholarship program at The Sports School is a wonderful opportunity to train under a specialized curriculum built by us, under the guidance of our expert coaches and keeping in mind our world class facility,” Uthappa, chief mentor at The Sports School, said.

“As the Chief Mentor, I am excited about the journey as our programme, our team and our infrastructure is built to foster future cricketers for India.”

This Cricket Scholarship Program will be offered to students in the U-14, U-16, and U-19 age categories and will be handed out on the basis of their potential in the sport. The last date to apply for the scholarship will be August 20. IANS

source: http://www.sentinelassam.com / The Sentinel / Home> Sports / by Sentinel Digital Desk / August 12th, 2020

Big bubble in the Big Apple: Rohan Bopanna on life in the new normal

Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Sports, World Opinion

Rohan Bopanna, India’s doubles specialist, provides a peek into the stringent regulations for the US Open, which will be played without spectators from August 31 in the renowned Flushing Meadows

Rohan Bopanna with his coach Scott Davidoff and physio Gaurang Shukla in New York, where he will play at the ATP Masters this week. (Source: Rohan Bopanna/Instagram)

The layover in Frankfurt, from Bangalore en route New York was quite short. “About an hour,” estimates Rohan Bopanna. There wasn’t much time to spare after de-boarding and proceeding to the next gate. In queue though, he noticed a number of familiar faces, fellow tennis players lining up to board the same plane that was to take them to the US Open.

A veteran now on the tour, Bopanna is accustomed to bumping into colleagues at airports. He’s longed to see his ‘family’ on tour for five months. And now that he did, a new reality sunk in. “Dominic Thiem, Dennis Novak, Mate Pavic, Marc Polmans, Alexander Bublik, Radu Albot…” he starts listing. “Everybody was wearing a mask, so you have to give it a closer look to see if that’s the person you think it is. It’s a guessing game. But everyone just greeted each other with an elbow tap. It was good to see them.”

The last time Bopanna boarded a plane was back in March, when he waited for hours at Doha airport to catch a flight home. On that occasion, he wasn’t allowed to leave the airport for over 17 hours, one of the Qatar government directives against the Covid-19 pandemic .

Things have become a bit smoother since then, which is why the tennis tour could consider reopening. But the protocol has become much more stringent. Masks are now as important as a tennis racquet.

And when entering the bio-secure bubble in New York, things would be a lot different.

The USTA has decided to shift the Western and Southern Open – an ATP 1000 Masters and WTA Premier event usually held near Cincinnati – to the same venue as the US Open, and scheduled it just a week before the major. The idea is to provide a three-week window for the two events, and create a safety bubble where players are restricted to only the hotel and the venue – in some cases, players like Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams have been provided rented accommodation at predetermined locations.

But the difference in the US Open this year could be seen from as early as the drive to the hotel from the airport.

“We weren’t driving through skyscrapers like we normally would, but instead going through open space. We weren’t going to be staying in Manhattan, the hotel this time is in Long Island,” says world no. 37 Bopanna. “This is the first time I’ve been to New York but nowhere close to Manhattan. There is a shuttle every 15 minutes from the hotel and courts and back, but it’s an hour’s drive, even on a Sunday.

Covid-19 test

The US Open is scheduled to begin August 31 without spectators and players like Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Bianca Andreescu, and Ashleigh Barty. (Source: File)

Immediately after check-in, players were put through a Covid-19 test and instructed to remain in their rooms until the result of the first test came – no exceptions. Bopanna landed on a Saturday and was tested for the second time on Monday. There on, he will be tested every fourth day.

Though he tested negative, Bopanna’s not allowed to leave the hotel. “There are signboards everywhere, we aren’t even allowed in the hotel parking lot because that’s outside the bubble. Everywhere we go we have to have our mask and credentials on,” says the 40-year-old, who won the 2017 French Open mixed doubles title.

At Flushing Meadows, the venue, too, has been altered. Since the tournament will be played behind closed doors, fan parks have been converted into player lounges, and there are a number of activities set up around the grounds. “Mini golf, basketball, pool tables, arcade games… The whole place has a relaxed atmosphere now because you can walk anywhere,” he says.

The regular changing rooms too have become a bit decongested because the top 32 seeds from the men’s and women’s draws have been allotted what would have been the hospitality suite inside the Arthur Ashe Stadium. As many as 67 of the 80 suites have been provided for the seeded players, complete with a massage table.

There are certain dos and don’ts, however. “You aren’t allowed to keep anything in the locker room when you’re not there. So only if you’re getting treatment with the physios, or taking a shower, you can keep stuff there. All other times you have to take everything with you,” Bopanna says.

The rules this time reflect the simple philosophy that you’ve come here for business – tennis – and that’s all you will do.

This is a grim reminder of the current times, the new normal inside the bubble that players have to make peace with.

In the absence of crowds, Bopanna’s only support will be from his coach Scott Davidoff and physio Gaurang Shukla. At the entrance of the Arthur Ashe Stadium – the world’s largest tennis arena – is a quote by Ashe himself. “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”

source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Sports> Tennis / by Shahid Judge / Mumbai / August 23rd, 2020

Western Ghats: No lessons learnt from recurring disasters

Agriculture, Business & Economy, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Green Initiatives / Environment, Leaders, Nature

Who is to blame?

The site of landslide in the Brahmagiri range, Kodagu. DH Photo
The site of landslide in the Brahmagiri range, Kodagu. DH Photo

The oft-cited maxim of the ecological sensitivity of the Western Ghats, repeated ad nauseam over the past two decades or so, has fallen on deaf ears. The failure to prevent the degradation of forests in the Sahyadris, along with the increasing instances of extreme rainfall over a short period of time — especially over the past three years — has wreaked havoc in this lifeline of South India.

The Karnataka government, which has improved its performance in terms of flood preparedness, relief work and rehabilitation measures, seems to have taken little action to prevent or mitigate future landslide hazards.

Despite the devastation, the government has either proposed or persisted with over 20 linear projects that could damage more than 25,000 hectares of forest in the region. These projects include Yettinahole River Diversion project, Kalasa-Banduri project, Sharavathy pumped storage power plant, Hubballi-Ankola railway line and many road construction and widening projects.

Worse, this year landslides have been reported in 80 locations between Mangaluru and Karwar, where highway construction work has been taken up.

Apart from infrastructure projects, change in land use norms, the lack of a long-term mitigation policy to address deterioration of green spaces and improve forest cover, and relentless expansion of plantations in the Malnad districts are just some aspects contributing to a looming environmental disaster in one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots.

Several activists, who relentlessly protested against projects in the Western Ghats, have hung up their boots, and lament the futility of their past efforts to ensure legal protection to the ecosystem.

There is no dearth of comprehensive reports on the cause of problems in the region and how to address them. In 2011, the report submitted by the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel, under the chairmanship of Prof Madhav Gadgil, had warned of impending natural disasters unless immediate and sustainable measures were taken to protect the ecosystem. The report sought to designate over 60% of the Western Ghats as highest-priority Ecologically Sensitive Zones.

All the states who are the custodians of the Western Ghats ignored this report. The states couldn’t come to a consensus on the subsequent Kasturirangan report even after four draft notifications, with Karnataka repeatedly rejecting the recommendations.

The Gadgil committee report was back in focus last year, as most of the places where the landslides took place were considered ecologically sensitive by the committee.

Now, the state government has set up another panel to study landslides in the region.

The benefit of commissioning a new report is still unclear. However, the government’s actions have made it evident that it is not keen on conserving the Western Ghats; experts say the degradation of forests here will have cascading effects, triggering landslides, choking streams and posing a flood threat for downstream areas, something we are witnessing today.

A scientific paper by Prof T V Ramachandra, Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science and others shows that the extent of evergreen forests shrank by 16% in Kodagu between 1973 and 2018, from 40.47% to 24.17%; a loss of around 67,000 hectares of forest land. “The region had 32% of forest cover under interior or intact forests in 1973, whereas in 2018 it covers only 19% in various protected areas,” says the study.

“The expansion or construction of linear alignments would result in irreversible ecological degradation. The recent floods and landslides are certainly a warning to the decision makers of likely implications, with the drastic changes in the land cover eroding the native forest ecosystems. Further interventions will worsen the ecology and hydrology as well as livelihood, with increase in instances of human-induced calamities,” the paper warned. Yet, the state revenue department lifted a ban on the conversion of land use in Kodagu in February this year.

Degradation main cause

While environmental degradation triggering landslides is starkly evident in Kodagu, similar situations persist in all districts bordering Western Ghats – Hassan, Chikkamagaluru, Shivamogga, Dakshina Kannada, Uttara Kannada, Dharwad and Belagavi.

Conservation biologist Keshava H Korse pointed out that major landslides are being reported at core ridges of Western Ghats due to repeated disturbance of vegetation in such areas. “Bhagamandala, where major landslides were reported in the past two years, is one such area which has loose soil,” he said.

The area was classified as a highest-priority ecologically sensitive zone in the Gadgil committee report, where all development projects were expressly forbidden due to the fragility of the ecosystem. Yet, several projects were taken up here.

“The injuries to the Ghats cannot be healed in one go. Just to recover the natural vegetation where landslides have occurred, it will take four years,” Korse said.

Among the alarming incidents during the downpour in the first two weeks of August this year, were the landslides reported just six km from Linganamakki reservoir in Shivamogga district, pointed out Ananth Hegde Ashisara, Chairman of Biodiversity Board. He is heading a 10-member committee set up in February this year, to study the main causes for such landslides and to suggest an action plan to mitigate them.

Some of the places highly prone to landslides include the Kodagu DC office, villages near Jog Falls and settlements situated in the Western Ghats. “Our major challenge is to ensure people relocate from areas which are dangerous. It is a difficult task as people don’t want to move away from their homes or agricultural land,” Ashisara said.

Though reasons for landslides were varied across Malnad districts, he suspected that vegetation loss was one of the key triggers for extensive damages witnessed in Kodagu and Chikkamagaluru.

“Deforestation is high, non-agricultural use of land near the forests are prominent. The ecosystem can rejuvenate by reducing human interference in such regions. The ecosystem will revive on its own; this can be accelerated by planting flora indigenous to the region,” Ashisara said.

G S Sreenivasa Reddy, former chairman of Karnataka Natural Disaster Monitoring Cell and a member of the committee, said that there were observable changes in rainfall patterns that have triggered the crisis. “We will give recommendations on what each department should do to mitigate the problem,” he said.

According to him, the cascading effect of disturbing the Western Ghats will worsen fluctuations in the intensity of rainfall, affecting water security and crop cultivation patterns.

Col (rtd) C P Muthanna, former president of Coorg Wildlife Society, noted that Western Ghats are susceptible to even minute changes. “We are talking with the district administration to discuss measures to prevent such incidents. We are against converting land for commercial use as it causes degradation,” he said. Efforts are also being made to encourage planters to cultivate native trees inside plantations.

Sundar Rao Bantwal, who put an end to his environmental activism after the Yettinahole project was cleared, painted a gloomy picture on how environmental concerns were always sidelined over profits by politicians and contractors. “Despite a strong opposition, large projects are taken up in eco-sensitive zones. Even if we drag the cases to court, it will be of little consequence. Approaching the Green Tribunal too won’t help,” he said, citing the controversial project as an example. The project might fail in 10-15 years and neither those who approved it nor the ones constructed will take responsibility for the disaster, he added.

Ramachandra said despite recurring disasters, as many as 55% people in Kodagu are for ‘development’, while 40% are for conservation measures, with a small minority undecided. “After the last floods, we managed to convince the Deputy Commissioner to impose restrictions against resorts mushrooming in the district, which used to occupy natural courses of water. Recently, the restrictions were lifted after political interference,” he said.

Virajpet MLA K G Bopaiah was of the view that climate change was responsible for the widespread devastation. “Save for the last three years, receiving 20 inches or more rainfall in less than a week is unprecedented,” he said. Disputing that change of land use was the major cause for landslides, he said that landslides were reported where thick forests were present. “Nobody has even considered interfering in such dense forest areas,” he said.

Noting that several areas of the district were susceptible to landslides following heavy rainfall, he said that measures will be taken to address the same.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Specials> Insight / by Akram Mohammed, DHNS, Bengaluru / August 15th, 2020