Dubare Elephant Camp to open from Sept. 15 with restrictions

Kushalnagar:

Many tourist destinations in Kodagu were thrown open on Sept. 1 after months of COVID-induced closure but the public response remained tepid. The District Administration is preparing to open all tourist spots from Sept. 15 and stakeholders are expecting a surge in the number of visitors.

Although most of the tourist spots in the lush green and hilly district of Kodagu, which were shut down due to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in March, reopened on Sept. 1 after the State Government announced new relaxations a day earlier, some of the tourist spots coming under the control of Forest Department have remained closed.

These tourist spots included Dubare Elephant Camp, Mallalli Falls in Somwarpet taluk, Irupu Falls in Virajpet taluk, trekking and expedition spots including Thadiyandamol and the famed Mandalpatti have not reopened as a precautionary and safety measure. These spots are most likely to open on Sept. 15.

Rafting at Dubare will not be permitted as of now.

Among the places that are popular is Dubare Elephant Camp where tourists can see and experience tamed elephants in close quarters and take a look at the life of an elephant and its mahout and kavadi in a day. Also, the place is famous for White Water River Rafting. The Forest Department, however, is now constructing barricades in the wake of COVID pandemic to separate elephant enclosures from the tourists.

Earlier at Dubare, one could touch and feed the elephants and this was a popular activity for almost all the tourists, especially children. But henceforth, this activity will not be allowed and there will be a six-foot distance between elephants and tourists. 

Rafting at Dubare has not been permitted along with boating activities at Cauvery Nisargadhama in Kushalnagar as at present, the water currents are strong and it is dangerous to raft or pedal a boat. These activities are likely to be open from November, said Forest Department officials. At present, barricading works are being undertaken at Dubare. 

The tourist spots which opened on Sept. 1 included Abbe Falls, Raja’s Seat, Chikklihole Dam, Kanive Aqueduct and Cauvery Nisargadhama. 

Nisargadhama, a beautiful 64-acre island near Kushalnagar on the Mysuru-Madikeri Highway, has been renovated and beautified by the Forest Department. The nature park, surrounded by River Cauvery, is an ideal weekend getaway for those who yearn to be amidst nature, far from the madding crowd.

However, visitors are not allowed to touch any animal at the Deer Park which has been completely fenced as a COVID-19 safety measure.

Nisargadhama recorded a footfall of 150 visitors on the first day of reopening on Sept.1 with all COVID-19 safety measures such as thermal screening, wearing of facemask and use of hand sanitisers. Besides, all sit outs and other seating spots are sanitised every day in accordance with the protocol.

Kushalnagar Range Deputy Range Forest Officer Vilas told Star of Mysore that they were expecting an increase in the number of tourists in the coming days. This apart, the tourist destination is likely to witness a good number of visitors on weekends and the Forest Department, which manages the tourist spot, is mulling on allowing visitors in batches if the crowd gets bigger. However, pedal boating is disallowed for now and the Department may allow its resumption only in November after getting permission from the Government, he added.

Raghavendra, Assistant Director of Tourism, Kodagu, said that all tourist spots, including the ones controlled by the Forest and Tourism Departments, will re-open from Sept. 15.

The Department has put all COVID-19 precautions in place at all tourist spots and centres, he said. 

However, there will be no rafting for now at Dubare Elephant Camp and the visitors have to maintain a safe distance from the pachyderms, he added.

Golden Temple at Bylakuppe to remain closed till Oct. 26

The famous Namdroling Monastery — commonly called the Golden Temple — located inside Tibetan Camp at Bylakuppe on Mysuru-Madikeri Highway will remain shut for visitors till Oct. 26.

The Temple, a popular tourist spot close to the border of Mysuru-Kodagu district near Kushalnagar, was closed for visitors following the nationwide COVID-19-induced lockdown in March.

The temple will remain closed till Oct. 26 as a precautionary measure and no outsiders will be allowed entry into the Temple, according to Lobon, General Secretary of Namdroling Monastery, who manages the Buddhist Temple.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Coronavirus Update, News / September 07th, 2020

Tasked with curating the India episode of ‘Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted’, Anurag Mallick & Priya Ganapathy  wondered what food adventures could they dish out to a

Gordon Ramsay is no stranger to India. In his 2010 series Gordon’s Great Escape, he learnt Lucknowi biryani, Rajasthani khud gosht, Bastar’s chapda chutney to blood sausages in Nagaland. In South India, he tried sattvik fare and cooked on a houseboat in Kumarakom. For Uncharted, Gordon would undertake a culinary adventure in remote parts of the world learning food secrets from emerging chefs and locals, ending in a Big Cook with his take on the region’s cuisine.

The Season 2 of the series would take him to Tasmania, South Africa, Louisiana, Guyana, West Sumatra, Norway and one wondered how India would match up. We drove via Coorg to Kannur in mid-October last year on a weeklong recce. The Mapilas, Kerala’s second-largest community, are known for their unique cuisine. But Uncharted went beyond the food to the source with emphasis on foraging.

Though kakka irachi (fried clams) is a kallu shaap (toddy shop) favourite, Valiyaparamba backwaters where women dove in shallow riverbeds for the elambakka (clams) was too far north. Kannur’s legendary thattukadas (food stalls) serve typical Malabari snacks like pazham pori (banana fritters) and ari kaduka — green mussels stuffed with rice dough. At Ezhara Beach, local fishermen rued the late monsoon’s effect on the sea’s salinity and the reduced spawning of the kallumakai (green mussels).They ventured on a two-hour boat ride to rocks mid-sea for a sizeable catch, holding their breaths for 4-5 minutes in each dive. Too dangerous and time-consuming!

Our friends Nasir and Rosie acquainted us with some local fishermen. The best kallumakai came from Thottada and none knew these waters better than 70-year-old Moiuddin or Moidu ka. His group used the caravela or dragnet technique — two men waded in to spread out a wide net that the crew dragged in an arc to dredge the catch ashore. Moidu ran an eatery in Bengaluru before he settled for a quiet life by the sea. “Those were wild days when he was “Yeshwantpur ka Don,” his vivacious wife Shakila teased the mellowed Moidu, clearly showing who was boss now! He humoured her by baring his battle-scarred body — reminders of drunken brawls at his eatery. We told them about a crazy British chef who would learn the ropes from him —perhaps Shakila could teach him a fish curry? On the itinerary was a kachhkada serving fruit pickled in brine and chilli. Just the spice test Gordon needed (though he never made it to the kachh, a fiery red tamarind chutney used as a topping.)

In Coorg, we were early to harvest honey with the Jenu Kurubas. Monsoon-centric activities like hunting for bemble (bamboo shoot), kumme (mushrooms), kembu (colocasia) and termay (fiddlehead fern) or collecting ripe Garcinia fruits to make kachampuli, Coorg’s signature black vinegar, was out. Seasonality dictated our choices and we couldn’t ask Gordon to come back in the rains! Coorg’s legendary pandi (pork) curry was on the menu but didn’t really have a foraging or adventure angle. Besides coffee, bitter limes would be in season, so we opted for chutta kaipuli pajji — the smoky flavoured chutney made with roasted bitter lime and Kodagu’s delicious kumbla (pumpkin) curry.

On the pre-shoot scout in mid-November, the production team unanimously chose Coorg as the Big Cook locale. The network zeroed in on Chef Sri Bala from Chennai, an authority on ancient Chola cuisine and Kerala local Harish. The India shoot was sandwiched between Indonesia and Guyana. 

Come coffee picking season, estate workers are beset by ant nests. Enter chigli (Weaver Ant) chutney, a dish not native to the Kodavas but consumed by the Gowda community from neighbouring Malnad. He dubbed his attempt to catch the ant nest ‘the funniest TikTok dance ever’. Pavithra from Mudigere helped us make the chutney in a grindstone. Eventually, chigli chutney was the ace up Gordon’s sleeve though he didn’t bargain for the ants in his pants! At the Big Cook, the graceful Kodava ladies fearlessly critiqued his pandi curry. “Less kachampuli, more spice… ’cos we are all spicy ladies,” they chimed in. Ramsay promised to return with his mum. The latest in the grapevine is that he plans to open a restaurant in Kerala! Wouldn’t that be a coup?

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Living> Living-Front Page / by Anurag Mallick & Priya Ganapathy / September 01st, 2020