Kannada Sahitya Parishat will organise the district-level Kannada literary convention and the Golden Jubilee celebrations of Kannada Sahitya Parishat on January 29 and 30, said Kannada Sahitya Parishat district president Lokesh Sagar.
Addressing reporters here on Monday, he said that litterateur Mandepanda Geetha Mandanna will preside over the literary convention.
The programme will be held at Rao Bahaddur Muttanna stage in C S Venkappaiah auditorium. The welcome arch is named after D J Padmanabha.
Madikeri tahsildar Mahesh will hoist the National flag and CMC commissioner Ramdas will hoist the state flag on January 29, he said.
Superintendent of Police Kshama Mishra will flag-off a procession of the convention president at the main road on the day at 9 am.
Madikeri Taluk Panchayat president Shobha Mohan will inaugurate the book exhibition and other stalls.
Various sessions will be held on January 30.
Young poets meet will be held at Kavya Kaveri Vedike at Brahmagiri auditorium.
Senior litterateur Jaraganahalli Shivashankar will inaugurate. Thirty poets will take part.
Kannada Sahitya Parishat honourary secretary Koodakandi Dayananda, director Kodi Chandrashekhar and Madikeri taluk Kannada Sahitya Parishat president Kudekal Santhosh were present.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State> Mangaluru / by DHNS, Madikeri / January
To open ‘Sunny Side’ museum dedicated to Gen. K.S. Thimayya
Madikeri:
President Ram Nath Kovind will arrive in Kodagu district on Feb. 6 to inaugurate the renovated ‘Sunny Side,’ the residence of Gen. K.S. Thimayya that has been converted as a museum. Gen. Thimayya served as the Chief of Army Staff from 1957 to 1961 in the crucial years leading up to the conflict with China in 1962.
The President’s Office has confirmed the visit in a communiqué sent to Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa-General K.S. Thimayya Forum Convenor Col. K.C. Subbaiah who had formally invited the President in April last year to dedicate the museum to the nation and also inaugurate Gen. Thimayya War Memorial.
Accepting the invitation, the President’s Office has on Jan.15 confirmed to Col. Subbaiah about the VVIP visit. President Kovind will participate in the inaugural ceremony on Feb. 6 from 3 pm to 4 pm. Elated over the visit confirmation, Col. Subbaiah said that it would be a historic day for Kodagu and the memorial would gain national attention.
‘Sunny Side’ is located on G.T. Road in Madikeri and has been renovated at an estimated cost of Rs. 6 crore. The structure earlier housed RTO office. Art works featuring the valour of Indian soldiers on the battlefield have now occupied the centre stage at ‘Sunny Side.’ Other main attractions of the museum are an Army Tank that was transported by road from Kirkee War Cemetery at Khadki near Pune in Maharashtra, articles used by Gen. Thimayya, military uniforms, books and information on Indian Army, Navy and Air Force. Apart from the Army Tank, weapons that were used by the soldiers of Indian Army in the past during many operations have been donated to the museum.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / January 17th, 2021
By Prof. A.V. Narasimha Murthy, former Head, Department of Ancient History & Archaeology, University of Mysore
Mahatma Gandhi was always impressed by Kodavas who are hard-working and play a major role in protecting India’s borders. In fact, there are many Kodavas who held and still hold top positions in Defence Forces like the Chief of Army Staff.
Here we recall Gandhiji’s visit to Kodagu. He was camping at Madras (now Chennai). There was a rumour that Gandhiji would visit Bangalore and Mysore. At that time, Pandiyanda I. Belliappa (people lovingly called him ‘Gandhi’ later due to the Mahatma’s visit to his house) was a prominent Congress leader and he was also bringing out a newspaper called Kodagu. He requested Gandhiji to sanctify Kodagu by his visit.
Gandhiji agreed and along with Veeranna Gowda Patil who was the Chairman of Harijana Sangha and others arrived at Gonikoppal on the evening of 22.2.1934. Immediately, he expressed a desire to visit Harijanakeri (where Harijans live). Gandhiji visited Kaikeri, a small village near Gonikoppal. His first programme was to visit the houses of Harijans where more women had gathered than men and Gandhiji spoke for a short while.
The women gathered there collected Rs.25 among themselves and gave it to Gandhiji. He had been garlanded and those garlands were auctioned which fetched Rs. 3. During that time, there was an earthquake in Bihar and Gandhiji spoke about the agony of people and requested contribution, however small it may be and the women immediately gave away their gold ornaments.
From there, Gandhiji went to Ponnampet and visited Sharada Ashram (Sri Ramakrishna Ashram) and collected Rs. 22 and one ana. From there he went to Thithimathi and collected Rs. 39. Then he went to Hudikeri and addressed a gathering of 800 persons. Chendira Thammayya, who was the President of Taluk Board, welcomed Gandhiji and collected Rs. 72 and 13 anas and gave it to Gandhiji.
Local school students collected Rs. 2 and one ana. From there Gandhiji returned to Ponnampet and again visited Sri Ramakrishna Ashram where he was welcomed by Shambavanandaji. Gandhiji established Harijan Welfare Sangha and he was given a fund of Rs. 220.
While addressing the gathering there, he said that he could not think of living without Dharma. “My Dharma depends upon the support given by men and women who are equal partners. Here, caste should not make its entry at any cost. Dharma means coming closer to God and whatsoever we do should be dedicated to God and this should be nothing but like the clean air we breathe in,” he said.
From there, Gandhiji went to Virajpet where a Muslim leader spoke from the dais in Urdu language. This brought great joy to Gandhiji. He said Hindus and Muslims should live in harmony.
He went to Basavanahalli in Somwarpet and on his way he camped at Siddapura where he was given a donation of Rs. 7. From there he went to the house of coffee-planter Manjunathayya where women donated their ornaments. One woman gave her jewels in the presence of her husband. Gandhiji asked this husband,“What do you say about this donation?” He replied that the ornaments belong to his wife and she is free to use it in whatever manner she wants.
Gandhiji felt happy and asked that man his age and thirty years was his reply. Gandhiji said, “At your age I was not a wise man as you are. Wisdom came to me later.” Everybody burst into laughter. In his short speech, Gandhiji asked them to work hard and make Kodagu prosperous.
Later, Gandhiji went to Madikeri and reached near Raja’s Seat. Over 4,000 persons had gathered there and gave a donation of Rs.760. Gandhiji was given a donation of Rs.82 for Bihar earthquake victims.
He said, “Though travel to Kodagu was tiresome, I am enticed by the natural beauty. Another thing which has given me satisfaction is that there is no untouchability in Kodagu. But Harijans are losing precious land and this should not happen hereafter.”
That night Gandhiji stayed at Madikeri in the house of C.P. Nanjappa. Nanjappa’s wife donated a silver cup and a saucer while Nanjappa donated a gold necklace. The tea-tray made of wood was auctioned and it fetched Rs. 9. In Nanjappa’s house a prayer meeting was held and I.C. Subbayya announced that Rs.2,000 has been given as donation.
Gandhiji stayed that night in Subbayya’s house. He woke up at 2.45 am and wrote letters to Manilal and Susheela. The letter contained a short note — “Tonight we are in Kodagu. It is a small place and its population is 150 thousand. Tomorrow by about six, we descend down and go to Mangalore.”
Meanwhile, some prominent Congress leaders wanted to discuss some political developments in Kodagu. Gandhiji did not permit them and said “I am happy here because there is no untouchability. I have come here to see the activities of Harijans.”
Gandhiji’s visit to Kodagu is special and was worthy of remembrance. This incident had happened about 86 years ago. To commemorate Mahatma Gandhi’s visit, a postal cover was released on May 29, 2015.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Columns / by Prof. A.V. Narasimha Murthy, former Head, Department of Ancient History & Archaeology, University of Mysore / January 16th, 2021
The two major ethnic groups of Kodagu, Kodavas and Arebhashe Gowdas, are like kith and kin and have contributed immensely for Kodagu land, opined Rangayana Director Addanda C. Cariappa.
He was speaking on the occasion of staging of Arebhashe play ‘Sahebru Bandavre!!!’, organised by Karnataka Arebhashe Samskruthi-Sahitya Academy in association with Rangayana Mysuru at Kiru Rangamandira, Rangayana here, yesterday.
“When I took charge as Director here, during Bahuroopi Theatre Festival, it was a feast to watch Kodavas and Arebhashe Gowdas dancing in their traditional attire. Now, Arebhashe play is being staged here in Rangayana. I would like people to come in large numbers to watch and support Kodava, Tulu and Kannada plays,” he said.
“By just stopping speaking a particular language, one can effectively kill a particular section of populace and their unique culture. If you stop speaking Arebhashe language, there will not be Arebhashe Gowdas. Similarly, Kodavas cannot survive without Kodava language and Kannadigas without Kannada,” he added.
Virajpet MLA K.G. Bopaiah, President of Kodagu Gowda Samaja Thontabailu Manohar and Academy Chairman Lakshminarayana Kajegadde, Rangayana Jt. Director V.N. Mallikarjunaswamy and others were present on the occasion.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / January 16th, 2020
United Kodava Organisation to hold Mand Namme at Ammathi tomorrow
The Kodavas were originally worshippers of ancestors and of nature. A Kodava joint family was called an Okka. The members of such a family owned and tilled their farmland in common. A group of these families formed a hamlet called a Keri. A few such hamlets formed a village called an Oor. Each village would have one or more temples. A number of such villages formed a cluster called a Naad. A number of such clusters formed a region called a Shime. Kodagu comprised 8 regions or 35 clusters.
There was a traditional system of leadership in Kodagu called Thakkame. Accordingly, every village, cluster, region and temple was led by a prominent Okka called a Thakka family. This family was responsible for guiding the people in the affairs of and in settling disputes within their jurisdiction. Generally, every family (whether Thakka or not) was presided over by its head who was usually the eldest, able male member called a Pattedara. A Thakka family was hence represented by its respective head.
The Shime Thakka and Naad Thakka families are named in a century-old compilation of Kodava folklore called the Pattole Palame. The Shime Thakkas were sometimes called Desa Thakkas. Some of the Naads had more than one Naad Thakka. Every village in Kodagu had an Oor Thakka and every Devasthana (temple) had a Deva Thakka. Therefore, the Thakkas were hereditary managers who helped run the various local societies in Kodagu. The Thakkas would frequently gather in an Ambala, a roofed hall on a raised platform. A meeting of the Thakkas was called a Thakkorme. In the modern era, with the march of western civilisation, these concepts have been largely forgotten.
A few temples outside Kodagu and frequented by Kodavas also have Deva Thakkas. They served as temple managers especially during the annual festival days. For example, there is the Puggera family at the Baithurappa temple and the Mundiolanda and Bovverianda families at the Payyavoorappa temple.
A Kodava Trust called United Kodava Organisation (UKO) has now been putting in efforts to revive the Thakkorme practise. On Dec. 25, 2020, UKO held a Thakkorme event at Begur village. Kokkalemada Manju Chinnappa, President and Convener of UKO, spoke on the occasion, enlightening the crowd about the ancient practise. Mathanda Monnappa, President of Akhila Kodava Samaja and a present-day Desa Thakka, was also present.
According to UKO President, over 85 Thakkas participated in the event. He said that a Thakka is a religious head and an Oorme is a unity. Hence, Thakkorme is a confluence of religious heads. During the ancestral era, the Kodava clan system was led by these leaders. Urbanisation and politics had affected the system and have a negative effect on the community.
Currently, these spiritual leaders who also head the administrative system of the villages, are losing their hold. The revival of this religious head culture is now being planned by UKO. The 2020 event was held with the purpose of uniting the religious heads so as to empower them to protect the cultural heritage of the Kodava community. Hence, UKO has started an initiative to promote and revive these clan system rituals in their recently organised religious heads’ meet.
In 2015, UKO had organised a padayatra (foot march) from Talacauvery to Bengaluru. Every year they organise the Mand Namme (festival of village greens). The Mand is a village meadow with a sap tree. The dances and sports organised during annual festivals such as the festival of arms Kail Poldh and the harvest festival Puthari are held here. Sometimes disputes are settled in the Mand. This year (2021), the UKO Mand Namme is being held on Jan. 12 at Ammathi-Ontiangadi.
“In order to strengthen our religious system, we need to empower our Thakka culture. We need to revive the Thakka rituals and follow the associated rules strictly. In this manner we can preserve and protect the heritage of our Kodava community,” said Manju Chinnappa, during the Thakkorme meeting.
Just as how the spiritual leaders in various religious mutts are trained, we need to train the thakkas so that they can effectively guide our community. Through these thakkorme programmes, UKO will provide training to the present and the future generations of thakkas. We have to strengthen the thakka culture to ensure that our religious system remains strong.
— Kokkalemada Manju Chinnappa, President, United Kodava Organisation (UKO) at Thakkorme event in Begur village on Dec.25.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / by Mookanda Kushalappa / January 11th, 2021
The 19th Annual Sathyanarayaswamy Puja and Annual Meeting of Ramakrishnanagar I-Block Kodava Welfare Association and adjoining residents was held recently at Shree Ganapathy Temple premises in Ramakrishnanagar.
Kattera A. Nanaiah presided over the meeting. Poodrimada Somaiah, Vice-President, welcomed. Nayakanda Mandanna, Advisor of the Association, addressed the gathering.
Kotrangada Shreehan Sub-baiah was felicitated with a cash prize for securing highest marks in CBSE class 10 exam while meritorious students belonging to the Association too were awarded cash prizes.
Maletira Ganesh, Secretary, presented the Annual Report of the Association. Kenjngada Cariappa, Joint Secretary, proposed a vote of thanks. Kodandera Pushpa Machaiah, Joint Secretary and all other Committee Members were present. About 40 Kodava families attended the meeting.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / January 10th, 2021
Nelji Farmers Development and Recreation Association, Nelji village in Kodagu, has organised the 2nd State-level Coconut Shooting Competition at its Club premises at Nelji on Jan. 9.
Disclosing this at a press meet here this morning, Association President M.K. Nanjappa said that the contests will be inaugurated at 9 am by Nellamakkada Sharath Somanna of Ammathi, Palekanda Sai and Machetteira Naveen. Contest will be held in two categories — 0.22 rifle and 12 bore gun categories.
He further said that the first three winners will be awarded a cash prize of Rs. 50,000, Rs. 30,000 and Rs. 20,000 receptively in 0.22 rifle category and Rs. 10,000, Rs. 7,000 and Rs. 5,000 respectively in 12 bore gun category, along with a trophy each.
Valedictory will be held on the same day in which Mysuru-Kodagu MP Pratap Simha, former senior Sports Officer of Indian Institute of Science at Bengaluru C.P. Poonacha, Zilla Panchayat Member and former President of the Standing Committee C.K. Bopanna of Gonikoppa and President of Napoklu Kodava Samaja A. Manu Muthappa will be the chief guests.
For details, contact Mandira Nanda on Mob: 93803-03387 or Kaibulira Umesh on 94483-26055 or Mandira Sachin on Mob: 73381-75764.
Association Vice-President K. Umesh Uthappa, Member M. Appanna and Director B. Devi Devayya were present during the press meet.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / by January 04th, 2021
Social worker Ittira Dati Parvathi and Janapada Parishat district president B G Anantashayana were felicitated during ‘Puttari Oororme’ programme organised by Kodava Samaja’s Pommakkada Okkoota in Virajpet. Credit: Special arrangement.
The unique attire of Kodavas, their tradition and rituals are the real assets of Kodava community, opined social worker Ittira Dati Parvathi.
She was speaking during the ‘Puttari Oororme’ programme organised by Kodava Samaja’s Pommakkada Okkoota in the premises of Triveni School in Virajpet on Sunday.
“One must respect the deities, birthplace and books. Children who thrive under the guidance of their parents will be pro-societal, becoming an example for others. Real social work involves treating everyone equally, neglecting the barriers of caste, creed and gender,” she said.
Ittira Dati Parvathi called upon the organisations to organise competitions for senior citizens to keep them motivated and cheerful.
Mothers must impart knowledge on culture and tradition to their children, she added.
Janapada Parishat district president B G Anantashayana felt for a need to create awareness among youth on Kodava culture.
Pommakkada Okkotta president Maneyapanda Kanthi Satish said that women should not be confined within the four walls of their house.
“The Pommakkada Okkoota was started with this very purpose so that the homemakers are involved in creative activities. The Okkoota provides a platform for women to showcase their talents. Owing to Covid-19, the association activities were stalled for about a year. The association is also a voice of people and will take a call when the existence of Kodava land is at stake. Pommakkada Okkotta has been preserving Kodava tradition and culture from the past many years,” she said and added that the people’s support is also important in this regard.
Rotary School, Mysuru, principal Balyamanda Ganga Poovaiah, Kodava Samaka Pommakkada senior member Jammada Ponnamma, Okkoota secretary Bayavanda Indira Belliyappa, treasurer Poyyetira Bhanu Bhimaiah and advisory committee director Kuppanda Pushpa Muttanna were present.
B G Anantashayana and Dati Parvathi were felicitated on the occasion.
Cultural programmes were performed by the members of Pommakkada Okkoota.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State>Mangaluru / by DHNS, Virajpet / January 04th, 2021
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