When my cousins and I, a group of 15 youngsters, started planning a trip to Coorg, the first thing we were told is, “Don’t forget to try the pork.” We didn’t need to be told twice, and the search for Pandi curry began the minute we reached there and it was as delicious as promised.

However, it was a much simpler dish which was the highlight of our trip to the beautiful hill town. On our first day there, we walked down the road to find breakfast and stumbled upon a tiny hotel, barely big enough for all of us to squeeze in. Two other customers sniggered as we debated who should eat first and who could wait. Before we reached a consensus, the owner of the place came charging in and asked us, in broken Tamil, to follow him.

Right next to the entrance was a stairway leading downwards – apprehensively, we followed. Much to our surprise, it led to a spacious seating area where all of us could eat at the same time. It was just off the kitchen and provided some much-needed warmth from the incessant rain.

And so we ordered: pooris, idlis, dosas and pongal. All of us ordered vadais on the side. We were served the vadais first, on steel plates with a spoonful of spicy sambhar ladled on top of it and coconut chutney on the side.

Although we’re from the land famous for vadais, we agreed that it was the best we have ever had. They were straight out of the frying pan, but were not oily. Biting into them, there was an audible crunch; they were that crisp. Flavour-wise, they were delicious, without the pesky bits of garlic and chilli. I can’t recall eating a vadai that good in any of the famous “bhavans”.

We ordered another round of vadais and not surprisingly, we ate there every morning for the rest of the trip.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Susanna Myrtle Lazarus / August 08th, 2014

Intro: Imagine we are driving our car from Coorg to Mysore and on the way we find a bark or a branch of a tree on the road, and what do we do? We just keep moving our car! But that’s not the case with Venkataramana, who works as a technician at BEML, Mysore. He brings such naturally available barks and branches of trees and transforms them into show-pieces or even furniture. Venkataramana, who has stepped into his 50th year recently, is from Kodagu district but settled in Mysore from past 24 years. After completing his Bachelors in Arts and ITI, he joined BEML as an apprentice and later got his permanent job there itself. He has developed a keen interest in his art of creating something productive using the waste wooden pieces found here and there since his early teenage.

“I bring home stems, prop roots, branches or even barks which I come across at any place and dip them inside a tank of water or in a lake nearby my native town for two to three months. Then I remove the outer skin using a screw driver and wash the wooden piece with brush to get rid of dust and unwanted materials to smoothen it. Later, I dry the moisture out and prepare the design completely using a hacksaw blade and even an electric wooden cutter when needed. Once the design is done, I apply varnish to it and it is all set to be displayed majestically.”

by Phalgunn Maharishi

When I was in PUC, I frequently saw my grand-father indulging himself in such works and learnt a lot by merely observing him. It always thrilled me to lay my hands on such naturally available wooden pieces and mould them into future antiques and decorative modern art,” says Venkataramana while talking about his early teenage interest in the art. His first work was a small wooden showpiece which resembled a crane for which he had won the first prize in a local exhibition held 25 years ago in Madikeri.

In his home, one can find a number of modern artistic items like TV stand, centre table, helmet stands, dried vegetables hung on the wall in a decorative manner and a lot more. But never get confused and ask where and for how much were they bought ! Each and every piece of such marvelous work has been created by Venkataramana himself after returning home from his work everyday.

While speaking about how he gets the idea for every particular piece of work, Venkataramana says, “Every piece of wood in itself is an inspiration for me. Once I had found a natural wooden piece at my aunt’s place in South Canara which looked a lot more like an elephant head with one side bigger and the other side smaller like a trunk. The moment I saw it, the first thing that struck my mind was that the wooden piece was perfect for an abstract looking showpiece of Lord Ganesha and hence I carried it with me.”

Venkataramana has sold hundreds of wooden showpieces at various exhibitions including JSS Urban Haat, Swadeshi Mela and Dasara Exhibition. He also has sold his showpieces to many wooden furniture dealers from Kerala who have bought from him with the purpose of reselling them in Kerala. His one such modern work can be seen at the city’s Infant Jesus Church on Hunsur Road. A huge wooden candle stand was made by Venkataramana when a devotee approached him in 2006 with the order. He has also been an active member among a group of BEML employees who have worked on the tableau cars every year during Kannada Rajyotsava procession by BEML.

“I bring home the stems, prop roots, branches or even barks which I come across at any place and dip them inside a tank of water or in a lake nearby my native town for two to three months. Then I remove the outer skin using a screw driver and wash the wooden piece with brush to get rid of dust and unwanted materials to smoothen it. Later, I dry the moisture out and prepare the design completely using a hacksaw blade and even an electric wooden cutter when needed.

Once the design is done, I apply varnish to it and it is all set to be displayed majestically”, says Venkataramana while talking about the procedure he follows.

He says that he always completes a showpiece with minimum possible investment and adds “Varnish and time are the main investments for me,” with a mystical smile!

Venkataramana also has his interest in growing herbal plants like Baje, Hippili, Nimbehullu, Madhunashini and Nerugala to name a few. “We never go to doctor or take any other medicine, but we use the herbal juices from our plants and use them as first aid in our family,” Venkataramana proudly says while speaking about his roof top herbal garden. He adds, “My friend B.A. Suresh inspired me in growing plants many years ago when I had visited his home and seen varieties of Bonsai plants. He gave me a few plants to look after and today the number of Bonsai plants in our home has grown to 150.” He says his wife Devaki too helps him a lot and is a moral support for all his hobbies.

He is also a specialist in cross-breeding flowers and fruits. He takes two different types of flower plants, intersects and cross breeds them. He also has received a few awards from various organisations like Dasara Fower Show, BEML Karmikara Samithi, Sthree Shakthi Mahila Prathishtana and more for his vivid interest in his artistic hobbies. Such unique talents and people are to be supported by the citizens more and more.

[Venkataramana can be reached at: 93418-20306]

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / August 08th, 2014