Monthly Archives: January 2013

3 Indian cuisines we really need to see more of

Arts, Culture & Entertainment


Sumana Mukherjee gets list of 3 must try Indian cuisines.

1. Kodava
For a district that’s barely 4,000 sq km in size, Kodagu (Coorg) in Karnataka produces a surprisingly varied range of cuisine. Few mainland cuisines in India embrace pork as whole-heartedly as the Kodavas do, so it’s only fitting that the pandi curry—a rich, slow-cooked pork dish that takes its signature dark colour from a vinegar called kachumpuli—should be considered an icon, but it ends up overshadowing tangy, light fish curries, delicate vegetable stir-fries and endless variations of staples created with rice. Tickling all the taste buds, this is a cuisine that has made a firm imprint on Bangalore—in the past six years, the number of Kodava restaurants has grown from one to three—and is now ready to take on palates in the further reaches of the country.

2. Saoji
Chances are if you’ve heard of the Saoji style of cooking, you’re from Maharashtra. Born of the working classes, it’s only in recent years that the cuisine has stepped outside roadside shacks—Nagpur and Sholapur are dotted with no-frills Saoji bhojanalayas—and into more upmarket restaurants. Ear-buzzing, sweat-inducing fieriness is the primary distinguisher of this cuisine, along with liberal use of oil. There is little record of the evolution of Saoji cuisine but the spice levels possibly had something to do with the region’s dry heat and the perceived low quality of the offal that was often all the weaving communities were able to afford. Though Saoji mutton and chicken (dry and rassa are the two standard varieties) are the most popular dishes, vegetarian dishes are not unknown. Oh, and did I mention that critics and fans aver with one voice that the food is extremely tasty? Marketed intelligently, Saoji could well replace Andhra food as the go-to meal of choice for hot-heads.

3. Ahomiya
While narrowing down this list, one of the criteria was that the cuisine should be something of a will-o’-the-wisp, that is, familiar enough to be welcome and at enough of a remove to be enticing. For a Bengali, that cuisine is undoubtedly Ahomiya, with its river fish, wild greens, mustard oil balanced by a plethora of fermented and dried foods, exotic tribal ingredients like the pupa of the eri silkworm and red ant eggs, as also the kolkhar—traditionally the water filtered through the ashes of dried and charred banana skins that is now frequently replaced with baking soda—used in cooking the first dish of the Ahomiya thali, the khar. There are almost as many kinds of Ahomiya cooking as there are households, and it’d be a rare eatery that would be able to present all the micro-cuisines from the length and breadth of Assam. But this is a restaurant-ready repertoire, waiting to unfurl its wings beyond Assam House in Delhi’s Chanakyapuri.

source: http://www.moneycontrol.com / Home> News> Features /by Sumana Mukherjee/ Forbes India / Friday, January 11th, 2013

Rampage of a haute kind

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg


Is the city in for an overdose of fashion this January or will be it be “the more the merrier?”

Just when the Bangalore Fashion Week dates were getting set for announcements on January 25, Prasad Bidapa announced his dates for The Prasad Bidapa Fashion Week.

Are we getting set to becoming the pret-a-porter capital of the country? We speak to both the organisers on whether there’s any rivalry brewing or is it all fair in the world of fashion.

Prasad Bidapa will be presenting his first ever fashion week in the city. After three decades of working behind the scenes, we wonder why the fashion guru who has launched many famous faces didn’t think of a fashion week earlier. We questioned him whether it was a tad too late, “Everything has a time. I realised that Bengaluru designers don’t have a platform of their own to showcase their talent and we thought what better way to kick off the year.

The three-day extravaganza from January 18 to 20 will present the fashion history of Bengaluru, right from the days of Royal Mysore to present day by the city’s talented designers. We have Amanda Bachalli, Anjali Sharma, Calantha, Deepika Govind, Jason & Anshu, Lokessh Ahuja, Manish Saksena, Namrata G, Nimirta Lalvani, Pallavi Foley, Raj Shroff, Ritu Pande, Rony Dutta, Royal House of Mysore, Runa Ray, Sanchita Ajjampur, Seema Malhotra and Shalini Subramanian.”

Commenting on the reason that triggered this “fashion week” of his own, Prasad explains, “I have been thinking of it for a while now. The other fashion week (read Bangalore Fashion Week) has random designers. Bengaluru has enough talent to flaunt. I don’t have anything against anyone. It’s a big city and has space for everyone. If my fashion week is a week before theirs, fashion overdose is not my problem.

My designers are different and I will have top notch models like Bruna Abdullah, Indrani Dasgupta, Acquin Paes, Smitha Rao, Dayana Erappa and other models. I have no problem if my models do other shows, as long as they don’t bring the standards down.”

In its eighth phase, Dream Merchants also announced its Eighth edition of Blenders Pride Bangalore Fashion Week that will be held from January 25 to 28. Nisar Ahmed, casting director for BFW says, “I don’t understand the relevance of having another fashion week in the city, as we are already recognised. I think it will be an overdose of fashion. Now more people will come up and start their own fashion weeks.

They wanted to register themselves as Bangalore Fashion Weekend, but have gone ahead and done it in the name of Prasad Bidapa. I have never seen any fashion show in anyone’s name. We have made a name and are also going global this year with a show in Bangkok in March. This year, we have big designers like Ritu Kumar, Rina Dhaka, Abhishika Dutta and Niki Mahajan apart from other designers.”

Roshan Issac, a model who works for Prasad Bidapa feels, “PBFW is the first fashion week that will have only city designers of repute.” Question the organisers of BFW on the same and they say, “The reason why we didn’t have a lot of local talent was that we wanted to show the city talent from other cities.”

Sajad Mahajan, CEO, Dream Merchants reiterates, “We have also brought in several innovations like our BFW tunes.”

source: http://www.DeccanChronicle.com / Home> Lifestyle> Fashion / DC, Namita Gupta / January 11th, 2013

KBA, PPBA felicitate shuttlers

Sports

Bangalore :
The Karnataka Badminton Association on Monday handed out cash awards to the tune of Rs 1.5 lakh to top performers in the sub-junior, junior and senior National championships in the past year. KBA also handed Ashwini Ponnappa honorary membership to the association.

Later, the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy too celebrated the successes of its trainees, including national champion Sayali Gokhale, in a separate function with the legendary Padukone giving the young shuttlers valuable words of advice. Padukone added that the academy planned to rope in Indonesian coach Yusuf Jauhari, the brother of noted coach Atik, for a month-long stint in the beginning of February. “This will be of great benefit for the kids and it will help the coaches here upgrade their skills too,” he said.

Awardees:

Senior Nationals (Srinagar): Varsha V Belawadi Rs 10,000; Nischitha GM Rs 10,000; Guruprasad D Rs 5,000; Vineeth Manuel Rs 5,000; Ashwini Ponnappa Rs 10,000.

Junior Nationals (Imphal): Reshma Karthik Rs 25,000; Poorvisha S Ram Rs 25,000; Sankeerth BR Rs 5,000; Sindhu Bharadwaj Rs 5,000; Devika Ravindra Rs 10,000.

Sub-junior Nationals (Patna): Ashwini Bhat Rs 22,500; Mithula UK Rs 7,500; Mithun M Rs 2,500; Raghu M Rs 2,500; Mahima Aggarwal Rs 2,500; Shikha Gautam Rs 2,500.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> Sports> More Sports> Badminton / by Shrivathsa Sridhar, TNN / January 09th, 2013

The misty mountains

About Kodagu / Coorg, Arts, Culture & Entertainment


In an overconnected world of social networking sites and every application that lets you broadcast your every move, the idea of a holiday is not just about leaving workmates behind anymore. Today to me it’s about leaving all this technology behind so you can take a vacation from everything that connects you to the world.

As I landed in Bengaluru, groggy, early one morning, I closed my eyes briefly, took a deep breath and mentally geared myself for a long, almost seven-hour drive to Coorg. Allowing myself the way of listening to some music off the radio in the car, I was determined to use as few gadgets as possible.

The drive was unending, the heat from time to time unbearable and a patch of the road that I was convinced would cause my back to snap. By the time I reached the hotel in Madikeri (seven km beyond Coorg), I was yearning for a bed, waiting to drop into it and pacify my stiffened back, with no intention whatsoever to loo around until I felt adequately rested.

When I walked into the reception of Vivanta by Taj, Madikeri, the staggering view of the hills and ravines took my breath and tiredness away in one swift second. Unobstructed by human habitation stood nature, waiting to cradle you and leave you rejuvenated. Standing at 4,000 sq. ft from sea level amidst a thick rainforest, I was embraced by a short chilly breeze while sipping a Coorg coffee delight bella kaapi.

Within minutes of checking into my room, the very organic feel of the place took me in. Then I discovered that I had stretch myself on the top of my toe and as much away from the room to possibly try and get one bar of cellphone network. If the idea was to get in touch with your inner self on a holiday, that the network was awful most certainly helped.

So I made my way to the Jiva Spa, a much talked about centre of Ayurveda, natural massages and wellness. Sixty minutes later, after the masseuse relaxed every muscle of mine, I stepped out convinced that I’d go back to my room and hit the sack. It wasn’t the best massage I’ve had but it certainly gave me the spring in my step to go out and try to explore a tiny portion of this 108-acre property.

One of the best things on offer is a nature trail. The very knowledgeable naturalist, walked us through narrow paths and dense sholas, reminding us of what we miss out on a daily basis as we live our high pressure city lives.

Rare orchids, bamboo plants, ferns and so many other botanical beauties cut you out of the din of a community and put you one with nature.

When I got ready to come back home, the first thing that got my attenti was just how much noise I was cut off from while enjoying myself in this carefully maintained property. A holiday real should be about relaxing and not Instagramming and updating your statuses. The long drive was worth it but the silence that followed elevated the experience beyond the 4,000 sq. ft where the property was ensconced. Disconnect from your daily din and make this trip to Madikeri.

source: http://www.DeccanChronicle.com / Home> LifeStyle> Travel / DC – by Lakshmi Govindrajan Javeri / January 06th, 2013

Rohan Bopanna says he is taking stand for the future of their juniors

Sports


India´s joint number one doubles player Rohan Bopanna has said that he and his Davis Cup team mates are taking stand not only for themselves but also for the future of their junior players.

India’s joint number one doubles player Rohan Bopanna has said that he and his Davis Cup team mates are taking stand not only for themselves but also for the future of their junior players.

Some of India’s top tennis players including Bopanna and former singles number one Somdev Devvarman have warned the All India Tennis Association that they will represent India in the Davis Cup only if their demands are accepted.

Two of the major demands emailed by players to AITA are the removal of non-playing captain S P Misra and national coach Nandan Bal.

Bopanna said it’s not like that he has a war with the tennis authorities which he wants to win at any cost and feel good about that but he wants to see tennis grow in India. The world number 12 doubles player also said that he is not making demands because he has attained a star status now but he wants the betterment of sport in his country.

The 32-year-old stated in a recent interview, “We are looking for betterment of tennis. It is not about whether you can point out your demands only when you have achieved something. At the end of the day, we are there to make the sport grow and the youngsters benefit from it.”

Bopanna also said that he wants a system in India which is similar to US and Europe, where federations try to facilitate players in every possible way they can.

The Indian player stated, “We want youngsters doing well and coming up through great systems like they have in the US or Europe where the Federations support all the players and help them in a big way.”

He added, “We have to wait and see. We have not heard anything from the AITA. I think when somebody makes some points it is important. Nobody writes an e-mail without importance attached to it.”

Bopanna became a part of one of the biggest controversies of Indian tennis history when he and Mahesh Bhupathi refused to partner Leander Paes at the London Olympics last year.

Bopanna and Bhupathi said either they would play together or they would not at all. AITA had to bow to their demands at the end and Paes was forced to partner low ranked Vishnu Vardhan. AITA later put a two year ban on Bopanna and Bhupathi from representing India at any level but they got a stay from the court against that decision.

source: http://www.tennisworldusa.org / Home> Tennis Stories / by Talha Asif / January 04th, 2013

Indian Ocean, Shankar Mahadevan to collaborate

Arts, Culture & Entertainment


New Delhi:
Rock band Indian Ocean and composer-singer Shankar Mahadevan are all set to collaborate for the grand finale of Storm Festival 2013.

The two powerhouses of the Indian music industry will be coming together especially for the second edition of the festival, to be held in Coorg, Karnataka.

Talking about the collaboration with Indian Ocean, Mahadevan said, “I really wanted to collaborate with them. I love them as people as well as for them being the wonderful musicians they are… I`m a proud mainstream musician but having said that I do firmly believe there`s more to musical talent in India than just Bollywood…”

“There is so much talent in India and these kind of festivals are fantastic ways to promote that talent. I am really looking forward to performing at the Storm Festival in the fabulous backdrop of Coorg this year.”

Rahul Ram, the Indian Ocean bass guitarist who was Mahadevan`s co-judge on the latest edition of music reality show `SaReGaMaPa`, said, “We`re really looking forward to this collaboration and the Storm festival. Shankar is a fantastic guy to work, a very capable musician and a outstanding singer.”

Festival director Lavin Uthappa said, “Change is what the audience always craves for. What better way to bring about that change than these two fantastic acts coming together for the first time ever especially for our festival. I am sure that this collaboration will be a feast for the audiences at storm festival in Coorg this February.”

PTI
source: http://www.zeenews.india.com / Home> Music / by PTI / Saturday, January 05th, 2013

Drought, a blessing in disguise for Karnataka coffee growers

Agriculture, Coffee News, Coffee, Kodagu (Coorg)


Harvested Arabica coffee berries drying in sunlight at a plantation.
Bangalore , JAN. 4:
The drought in neighbouring districts has helped Karnataka’s coffee-growing regions get sufficient labour for picking coffee. This is because farming has been affected in the drought-hit areas. Besides, the slowdown in sectors such as mining and constructions has helped. The coffee belt of Kodagu, Hassan and Chikmagalur are getting many more workers from Mysore, Tumkur Chitradurga and Davangere.

“Easier labour availability has made coffee-picking manageable this season. Availability of workers between December and February is crucial for us to pick coffee and this year there is no dearth of labour,” Bose Mandana, a senior coffee planter from Suntikoppa in Kodagu, told Business Line.

“This year, however, since the crop is lower than the original estimate, we may need less labour,” he said.

LOWER WAGES

Due to more workers being available, wages have fallen by Rs 50-100 a day per person. Coffee-growers are paying Rs 200-250 a day, depending on the nature of work.

Labour shortage in the last three years had forced coffee growers to pay workers between Rs 250 and Rs 300 a day.

“In the last two to three years, we had to literally run behind the contractors to get workers. But this year, it is their turn to knock on our doors for estate-related jobs. This season, I am getting 20 to 30 calls per day, asking if I need workers,” said Mandana. Marvin Rodrigues, former Chairman, Karnataka Planters Association (KPA) and a grower from Hassan, said: “This year, we are getting people slightly more easily than the last few years. We are paying around Rs 200-210 for temporary workers.”

Nishant Gurjer, Chairman, KPA, and a grower from Chikmagalur, said: “This year, labour supply is plentiful and people are coming to work on the estates.”

“We are also getting quite a few experienced workers, who had worked in the estates earlier but had moved over to the mining and construction sector. Since these sectors are not doing too well now, they have returned.”

anil.u@thehindu.co.in

source: http://www.TheHinduBusinessLine.com / Home> Industry> Agri-Biz / by Anil Urs / Bangalore, January 04th, 2013

Karnataka to expand orange cultivation

Agriculture, Business & Economy, Nature

Bangalore, Jan 03:
Karnataka is planning to expand area under orange cultivation by 50 per cent to 15,000 hectares in five years.

The horticulture department has identified Kodagu, Chikmagalur and Hassan districts for expansion of orange growing area.

“As per the plan prepared by us, about 1,000-hectare addition is planned annually till we achieve sizable production level,” S.V. Hittalmani, Additional Director, Karnataka Horticulture Department, told Business Line.

“Looking at the favourable agro-climatic conditions, the department is planning to expand annually 500 hectares in Kodagu and the rest in Chikmagalur and Hassan districts,” he added.

At present, 10,000 hectares are under orange cultivation, mainly grown as intercrop in coffee estates, though real fruit yield comes only from 5,000 to 6,000 hectares.

“After inclusion of orange under National Horticulture Mission (NHM) in the State seven years ago and also by offering Rs 15,000 per hectares as incentives to growers, we are seeing good quantity of oranges in the market,” said Hittalmani.

“Fairly good yield is being reported from Sidapura and Thitimati in Kodagu. Now we plan to replicate this in other districts where we plan to introduce the crop,” he added.

CURRENT YIELD

Current orange production (2012-13 crop year) in the State is estimated at 50,000 tonnes as against 45,000 tonnes last year (2011-12 crop year).

The department is also planning to give a boost to orange cultivation by encouraging fruit processing units in the growing regions. According to Hitalmani, at present a couple of processing units are operating under cooperative societies in Kushalnagar and Gonikoppa in Kodagu.

Hitalmani said the revival of orange in the State has led to steady demand. “Prices early in the season (November) average around Rs 60 a kg. Then it drops to Rs 45 a kg by the middle of the season (December/January) and later it quotes around Rs 50 to 60 as the season ends (February-March).

ORANGE MELA

As a step forward to develop farmer-centric business model, National Horticulture Board (NHB) and Karnataka Horticulture Department are holding an ‘Orange Mela’ in Bangalore from January 4 to 6, said Jagadeesha KG, Director of Horticulture.

For the mela, farmers from orange producing States such as Maharastra, Punjab, Rajasthan, a few States from North-East, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu are taking part.

anil.u@thehindu.co.in

source: http://www.TheHinduBusinessLine.com / Home> Industry / by Anil Urs / Bangalore, January 03rd, 2013

3 Indian Cuisines We Really Need To See More Of

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Uncategorized


\Image: Sunith Shyam
1. Kodava
For a district that’s barely 4,000 sq km in size, Kodagu (Coorg) in Karnataka produces a surprisingly varied range of cuisine. Few mainland cuisines in India embrace pork as whole-heartedly as the Kodavas do, so it’s only fitting that the pandi curry—a rich, slow-cooked pork dish that takes its signature dark colour from a vinegar called kachumpuli—should be considered an icon, but it ends up overshadowing tangy, light fish curries, delicate vegetable stir-fries and endless variations of staples created with rice. Tickling all the taste buds, this is a cuisine that has made a firm imprint on Bangalore—in the past six years, the number of Kodava restaurants has grown from one to three—and is now ready to take on palates in the further reaches of the country.

2. Saoji
Chances are if you’ve heard of the Saoji style of cooking, you’re from Maharashtra. Born of the working classes, it’s only in recent years that the cuisine has stepped outside roadside shacks—Nagpur and Sholapur are dotted with no-frills Saoji bhojanalayas—and into more upmarket restaurants. Ear-buzzing, sweat-inducing fieriness is the primary distinguisher of this cuisine, along with liberal use of oil. There is little record of the evolution of Saoji cuisine but the spice levels possibly had something to do with the region’s dry heat and the perceived low quality of the offal that was often all the weaving communities were able to afford. Though Saoji mutton and chicken (dry and rassa are the two standard varieties) are the most popular dishes, vegetarian dishes are not unknown. Oh, and did I mention that critics and fans aver with one voice that the food is extremely tasty? Marketed intelligently, Saoji could well replace Andhra food as the go-to meal of choice for hot-heads.

3. Ahomiya

While narrowing down this list, one of the criteria was that the cuisine should be something of a will-o’-the-wisp, that is, familiar enough to be welcome and at enough of a remove to be enticing. For a Bengali, that cuisine is undoubtedly Ahomiya, with its river fish, wild greens, mustard oil balanced by a plethora of fermented and dried foods, exotic tribal ingredients like the pupa of the eri silkworm and red ant eggs, as also the kolkhar—traditionally the water filtered through the ashes of dried and charred banana skins that is now frequently replaced with baking soda—used in cooking the first dish of the Ahomiya thali, the khar. There are almost as many kinds of Ahomiya cooking as there are households, and it’d be a rare eatery that would be able to present all the micro-cuisines from the length and breadth of Assam. But this is a restaurant-ready repertoire, waiting to unfurl its wings beyond Assam House in Delhi’s Chanakyapuri.

Image: Neil McAllister / Alamy

http://www.forbesindia.com / Forbes India / Home> Life/Special / By Sumana Mukherjee / January 03rd, 2013

Showcase: Set the sands on fire

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

With its star line-up, Sunburn 2012 is a year-end treat for EDM fans.

Goa’s sultry beaches are set to pulsate to heady beats from some of the best names in electronic dance music (EDM). Yes, it’s time for Sunburn. This three-day festival has been a much awaited affair since its inception in 2007. Sunburn 2012 has a stellar line-up of performers including S.P.E.K.T.R.E, Nikhil Chinappa and Ma Faiza. Grammy award winner Paul Van Dyk headlines the fest while other showstoppers include Brian Transeau (BT), Jitter, Sashanti and Dutch heavyweights Sander van Doorn and Fedde Le Grand. The festival promises to be bigger and louder compared to earlier editions with more than 150,000 revellers expected to make a beeline to Candolim Beach. Seven stages will be spread over two grounds.

Presented by Micromax, Sunburn is organised by Percept Live, a division of Percept Limited. Shailendra Singh, Joint Managing Director, Percept Ltd., says, “The idea behind Sunburn was to create a sync between EDM and people; their love for music and life. With Sunburn, we have managed to create a ‘Glocal’ music property and brand.”

Asked about the USP of this fest, which is ranked as the ninth best festival in the world and has put India on the international music scene, Singh says, “Sunburn offers the best in EDM, access to world renowned artists, world class sets and stages, the magic of Goa and over a 100,000 music lovers soaking up the sun.”

The festival has thrown up some interesting talents like Jalebee Cartel and Midival Punditz. The ones to look out for this year, says Singh, are “Lost Stories, Sanjay Dutta and Arjun Vagale”. Sunburn encourages budding EDM artists through The Sunburn Anthem & Video Contest (SAVC).” This year the contest has been extended to 15 other countries. The contest has two components: Audio Remixing and VFX creation. The winning track will be featured on the Sunburn Anthem compilation along with acclaimed international and domestic artists.

Apart from the music, sun and sand, some trendy Sunburn merchandise, including the special Sunburn collection of ‘glow-in-the-dark’ flip flops from Havaianas, are also available for shoppers.

“Sunburn has always been about more than the music, it’s an experience. Where else can you get together with friends and meet new people, in the fresh air and with a beautiful soundtrack? Forget the hustle bustle of the city and for three days just… Live. Love. Dance.” Singh signs off.

Sunburn Festival 2012
Where: Candolim Beach, Goa

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> Arts> Magazine / by Reshma S. Kulkarni / December 22nd, 2012