The Annual Kail-Poldh Festival get-together will be held on Sept. 11 (Sunday) from 9 am to 5 pm at Kodava Samaja premises in Vijayanagar 1st Stage here.
The day-long programme comprises Ayudha Puja, Sports and Games, Lucky Dip, Honouring eminent Kodavas and distribution of Scholarship to meritorious children. In all, 42 scholarships will be awarded to Kodava students who have studied in Mysuru and passed the respective exams.
Details of Scholarship:
Highest scorers in final exam of 7th Std., SSLC (English), SSLC (CBSE), SSLC (Economically Weaker Section), PUC, BA, B.Com., B.Sc. (Computer Science/Maths), BBM, MBA, Law, MA, M.Com., M.Sc., (PCM/CBZ); BE, BE (Mech), BE (Arch), BE (Computer Science), BDS, MBBS, B.Sc./M.Sc. (Ag.), Diploma in Commercial (Secretarial) Practice, Best sports students in PUC; CBSE XI & XII and ICSE I & II; SSLC (CBSE)
Highest marks in Science; PG in Medicine, MD or MS;
Achievers in Sports at State-level, Graduation in Home Science or Hotel Management; Highest marks in SSLC for Kodava Police Family, Sportsperson in Kodava Police Family representing University of Mysore, must be Kodava Samaja Members.
Applications for the award of Scholarship and Honouring of eminent Kodava Members of Samaja for their achievements in various fields should be sent to Hon. Secretary, Kodava Samaja, Mysuru, to reach before Sept. 2 by 5 pm along with Xerox copies of relevant marks card, certificates, family name and contact phone/mobile number.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / August 17th, 2022
Chacko Thomas, the managing director and chief executive officer at Tata Coffee, has nearly three decades of rich experience in the Plantation industry
Chacko Thomas is a Bachelor of Science with a specialisation in Computer Science from University of Jodhpur. He has rich experience in Plantations, Business Strategy, Sales and Marketing. Thomas has been associated with Tata Coffee since August 2015. Before joining Tata Coffee, he was the MD of Kannan Devan Hills Plantations Company at Munnar. Thomas is an alumnus of INSEAD Fontainebleau having done his advanced management programme there.
Thomas has a strong track record in business transformation, delivering sustainable results and building and leading high-performing teams in India and Vietnam, according to his online profile. He also has an extensive experience in general management, setting up distribution channels and running own businesses. He has held board positions in companies in US, Sri Lanka and India. Currently, as its MD and CEO, Tata Coffee is today one of the largest integrated coffee companies serving over 40 countries.
The company states that its suit of major products like Green Bean, Instant Coffee, Tea and Pepper are all about giving consumers a taste of the Tata Coffee goodness. The company has around 8,000 MT annual capacity of shade-grown Arabica and Robusta. Around 90 per cent of its washed Arabica is exported as premium green bean to roasters. The company has 13 Arabica estates that are Starbucks C.A.F.E. Practices certified.
The company’s instant coffee comes in various customised blends that appeal to the palate of its customers, brands, private labels, distributors and large global roasters. Being eco-conscious, all three of its plants – in Theni (Tamil Nadu), Toopran (Telangana) and Vietnam – are fuelled by renewable energy sources.
The company’s distinctive variants of instant coffee are packaged in a fully automated packing unit and delivered across countries like Russia, Africa, Europe and emerging markets like Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
Business Growth
On a yearly basis, consolidated net profit of Tata Coffee surged 10.32 per cent to Rs 233.40 crore on a 4.81 per cent rise in revenue from operations to Rs 2,363.50 crore in FY22 over FY21. Tata Coffee’s revenues from instant coffee business consisting of India and Vietnam grew by nearly 9 per cent during the fourth quarter, driven by improved realisations despite lower exports from India consequent to delay in despatches. There has also been an improved margin driven by higher proportion of specialty/differentiated products as well as lower costs. The sales to all key markets have been robust. For the financial year, the revenues from instant coffee business grew by 20 per cent with improved margins. The order book continues to be healthy both, at India and Vietnam, the company said.
Commenting on the performance, Thomas, said, the performance of instant coffee business continued to be robust. “Our Plantation performance on Green Bean Coffee and Pepper during the year had also been strong, aided by improved realisations. Our subsidiary, Eight O’Clock Coffee [EOC] recorded improved performance during the quarter owing to better realisations and favourable channel mix,” he said.
In March, Tata Consumer Products (TCPL) had announced the merger of all businesses of Tata Coffee with itself as part of a reorganisation plan in line with its strategic priority of unlocking synergies and efficiencies.
The plantation business of Tata Coffee (TCL) demerged into TCPL’s wholly-owned arm TCPL Beverages & Foods (TBFL). The remaining business of TCL, consisting of its extraction and branded coffee business, merged with TCPL.
source: http://www.businessworld.in / Business World / Home / August 17th, 2022 / Magazine August 23rd, 2022
A new bilingual title of 21 poems deep-dives into the culture and literature of Coorg, hoping to become a tool to revive their language after UNESCO listed it as a Definitely Endangered Language.
Duditaptkaras, bards of Kodagu, singing traditional songs of the land
“Come and see the ainmanes of old where our ancestors lived as one.”
This line is extracted from Ainmane, a poem in A Place Apart: Poems from Kodagu, by Bacharanianda P Appanna, is dedicated to one’s ancestral home and sums up the core of this seminal literary project. For the first time, poetry by this authority on Kodava takkë (language of the Kodavas) has been translated and transliterated into English by cultural researcher Kaveri Ponnnapa. Apart from home, family, culture and tradition, forest and prayer are the other subjects from everyday life that find their way here.
The language spoken by an estimated 1.25 lakh Kodavas, it was listed by UNESCO as a Definitely Endangered Language. With her studied knowledge, Ponnapa swung into action to resurrect the language of her community. She collaborated with Appanna and his wife Ranu, an educator and poet, and together they released this ode. In the transliterations that appear in the third section of the book, Ponnapa uses the Roman script to relay Appanna’s poetry and creates an exhaustive glossary, thereby paving the way to familiarise it to the larger audience. This was after she realised that it was easy to read for Kodava speakers like her and those with limited or no knowledge of the Kannada script. The accompanying illustrations by Rupesh Nanaiah act as cultural markers of identity and though they are not directly illustrative, the essence of what it means to be Kodava reflects through this seamless symphony of poetry and art, making each poem read like a love letter about the land and its people.
Edited excerpts from an interview with Ponnapa.
What led to Kodava takkë being identified as one of UNESCO’s listed Definitely Endangered Languages of the world? There are multiple, complex reasons why our language finds itself in this position today, including the lack of good educational facilities and economic opportunities for Kodagu [Coorg], its people. The young continue to migrate out of the district. When this happens, there are far greater pressures for them to learn and use a dominant language such as English to secure their place in a new environment. Historically, the Kodava population has been extremely small. This kind of migration for an already small population implies that ultimately, we have an even smaller number of speakers.
The second contributing factor is that ours was an oral tradition. The historical method of oral transmission broke down to be replaced with formal education using the Kannada script, which was then also used to write Kodava takkë. It has limited the expansion of the language to those with access to a Kannada education. The diaspora in particular, who do not have the opportunity to learn Kannada, have no access to written works in their language which would enrich and expand their knowledge of Kodava takkë and encourage them to keep up with their mother tongue.
A woman carrying poliya, a basket of assorted food items which seals a new relationship between two clans at a marriage ceremony; (right) Stag horn dance of Kodagu. Hunting, a sacred activity, was once an integral part of life. These dances exist to this day. Pics courtesy/Kaveri Ponnapa
What did you discover while working on the project? I was deeply struck by how the language ideally expressed our specific experiences as a people, and like so many aspects of our culture, was embedded in the landscape, which we hold sacred. Appanna was born and lived in Kodagu when it was still an independent state, when our cultural identity was more strongly defined. His understanding and knowledge of the Kodava language, culture and landscape makes him an invaluable repository of our heritage, a great deal of which has passed into history, but needs to be documented for our future.
Since we were dealing with poetry and song—the traditional ways in which all our cultural knowledge was transmitted across generations—it was fascinating to explore the rhythms of unfamiliar poetic expressions spun out of familiar words, which, in the simplest of ways, became capable of expressing a great deal of meaning and emotion.
Ross Perlin of the Endangered Languages Alliance, had observed: “It’s hard to maintain the full richness, depth and complexity of a culture without its languages.” This depth and richness was revealed while writing the book.
All of Bacharanianda P Appanna’s writing projects are collaborative efforts with his wife Ranu Appanna
How did you overcome challenges of translations and transliterations? The use of the Kannada script for Kodava takkë comes with a series of compromises and challenges, reflected in a loss of linguistic nuance, loss of vocabulary as well as distinct changes in pronunciation and speech for the Kodava language.
While transcribing the words of the poems, many of them sounded different from the original. People habituated to viewing Kodava takkë through the lens of Kannada find it difficult to make a shift, and are content to stay with inaccurate renderings, until the nature of the language itself changes. It took repeated readings, clarifications, and consultations with the Appannas, as well as other native speakers and elders before setting anything down on paper.
Creating audio recordings—which will soon be accessible on my website—was another important way to access the linguistic sounds and rhythms that are lost when written in a script that cannot encompass many of its sounds.
Kaveri Ponnapa
How can Kodava takkë stay alive? One of the ways is to provide a more universally accessible script that is available to the greatest number of speakers. This is where Romanisation comes in. The idea of the transliteration came from my personal experience of being part of the diaspora, and despite being a fluent speaker, having no means to enter into the written works in my language to be able to expand my cultural and linguistic knowledge.
To order a copy : www.coorg.com
source: http://www.mid-day.com / mid-day / Home> Sunday Mid-Day News / by Fiona Fernandez, Mumbai / May 22nd, 2022
The day India attained freedom is etched in my memory. I was a young boy then. My friends and I were playing on the ground behind the revenue office in Ponnampet, a small town in South Kodagu. Even in the 1940s, the town was important as it had primary and secondary schools, a revenue office, a treasury, a police station, a veterinary hospital, an inspection bungalow, a club and rice mills.
It was around noon when we heard patriotic slogans drifting from the road across the police station — ‘Bharat Mata ki -Jai, Mahatma Gandhi ki – Jai, Jawaharlal Nehru ki – Jai, Vallabhbhai Patel ki – Jai; Vande Mataram’. My friend Ponnappa, about four years older than me, and I rushed towards the road, leaving others in the field.
What a sight! About 8-10 open trucks and a few cars, all held up on the road. Trucks were decorated with flags and buntings and filled with people waving flags and shouting slogans, which raised to a crescendo! An unusual scene in the otherwise sleepy Ponnampet. We joined the onlookers lining up on either sides of the narrow road.
To our surprise, two elderly boys in the truck in front of us, called us to come nearer to the vehicle. As Ponnappa approached the vehicle, the boys signalled to raise his hands. They then bent over and gently pulled him up into the truck. When my turn came, I was reluctant but Ponnappa egged me on to join. We were nervous until the others assured us that we would be dropped off at the same spot on the return journey. We too joined others in shouting ‘Jai’.
The procession moved slowly towards the town centre, greeted and cheered by the crowds on the way. It then reached Ramakrishna Ashram, on the outskirts of the town. Many went inside the Ashram, probably to seek blessings from the gurus. Our guardians helped us to get off the truck, but instructed to stay nearer to the vehicle. We were glued to our vehicle lest we miss our return journey. An hour later, our guardians returned with two donnes filled with delicious payasam. Soon the procession was on its way back. It crossed the town centre and was moving towards the club. Then, on instructions from our friends, the vehicle stopped, and we were dropped off where we started. We heaved a big sigh of relief. We waved our friends good bye.
Now, a greater fear gripped us — how to face our parents since we disappeared without their permission. Wishing each other good luck, we parted ways. To my great surprise, at my house, instead of an angry face, a happy smile of my parents welcomed me. Perhaps, they thought their young son could participate in the very first Independence day celebration.
Every August 15, my memory goes back to Ponnampet and revisits the first Independence Day celebration. ’Bharat Mata ki – Jai, Mahatma Gandhi ki – Jai, Vande Mataram’ resonates in my ears. I pay my grateful thanks without fail to the two unknown friends who made that unique day possible.
Long live India!
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Opinion> Right in the Middle / by Odiyanda K Muthappa / August 15th, 2022
Some growers, however, are sceptical because heavy rains in July and August have dampened prospects for the next crop.
Tight supply concerns are likely to affect the cost of coffee
India’s coffee sector is poised for a good spell with forecasts of a good crop in the next harvest and strong export potential amid projections of a lower crop in Brazil, the biggest producer. The outlook for Vietnam, the second-largest producer, is also not rosy.
India appears to be better placed than other major coffee-producing countries for a good crop. The Coffee Board, a government entity that oversees the sector, projected a 15 percent increase in its post-blossom estimate to 393,400 tonnes for the 2022-23 crop, comprising 277,000 tonnes of robusta and 116,400 tonnes of arabica.
The India estimates came amid possibly lower output estimates for Brazil and Vietnam, the top two coffee producers.
Brazil’s national supply company (Conab), in its second survey, cut an earlier coffee crop forecast for 2022-23 by 2.3 million bags to 53.43 million bags. That’s still 12 percent higher than last year, although it is 15.3 percent lower than the record crop of 63.1 million bags in 2020. It cited last year’s drought and frost for the reduction, mainly in the arabica crop.
The company revised arabica production downwards by 3.1 million bags, while robusta output was raised by 760,000 bags because of better productivity and expanded acreage.
Robusta and arabica are the two main types of coffee beans. Arabica is considered the more popular coffee bean.
The United States Department of Agriculture pegged coffee production in Vietnam, comprising mostly robusta, at 30.9 million bags, down 700,000 bags from last year. It attributed the lower output to an escalation in fertiliser prices that led to their reduced use.
Higher prices
Global coffee futures have fallen to $2.12 per pound after hitting a 10-year high of $2.60 per pound early this year on supply concerns from Brazil and robust demand. The industry reckons global prices may stay at a higher level as supply issues continue to dog Brazil and Vietnam. A year ago, prices hovered at about $1.75 per pound.
However, some growers are sceptical about India’s coffee exports this time.
“Heavy rains in July and August have dampened the prospects, particularly in the south Coorg area. We can get a clear picture only in September,” said N Ramanathan, chairman of the Karnataka Planters’ Association.
Karnataka accounts for the largest share of coffee produced in the country.
Coffee exports from India increased by 16 percent to 264,191 tonnes in the period from January 1 to August 9 from a year earlier, according to data from the Coffee Board. The rise came mainly from robusta cherry, whose shipments have gone up by 30,000 tonnes. Export growth was as high as 25 percent in the earlier months as pending orders were executed.
India had record coffee exports of 394,343 tonnes in 2021, bettering the 378,909 tonnes achieved in 2017. The country exports 70 percent of its coffee output.
Europe has traditionally been the strongest market for Indian coffee, especially Italy, Germany, and Belgium.
“This year, purchases from the Middle East and North African countries also increased,” said MP Devaiah, general manager of Allanasons, an agri-based commodity and product company in Mumbai.
India had the advantage of lower freight rates to Europe than the South East Asian coffee-producing countries Vietnam and Indonesia.
Instant coffee
India’s instant coffee exports also picked up after initial hiccups following the onset of the Russia-Ukraine war. Exports to Russia, a big buyer of instant coffee from India, rebounded in the past few months. India also benefitted from lower instant coffee exports to Russia from Brazil.
“Brazil’s instant coffee exports to Russia stopped following sanctions by the US,” said N Sathappan, director of SLN Coffee.
Brazil is predominantly an arabica coffee exporter. A large share of robusta produced in the country is consumed internally and of the remainder, a major portion goes into making instant coffee for exports.
According to the latest report of Cecafé, the Brazilian Coffee Exporters Council, outbound shipments from the South American country fell 5.9 percent to 22. 4 million bags (60 kg each) during the first seven months of 2022 from a year earlier. However, export earnings rose to a record $5.23 billion, up 62.4 percent, on higher prices.
Exports of green coffee – coffee that hasn’t been roasted – reached 20.2 million bags. Shipments of arabica were little changed (+0.1 percent) at 19.3 million bags, while robusta exports plummeted to 939,334 bags, the lowest level since 2019 and down 60 percent, it said.
Over 70 percent of instant coffee exports from India are through value addition of cheaper produce imported from South East Asian and African countries while the rest is produced from local beans. This year, growth in re-exported instant coffee was marginal while shipments of instant coffee from local beans increased sharply.
“Imports from other origins became costly because of freight rate hikes and logistics problems. Hence there was a rise in the use of local beans,” Devaiah pointed out.
The Coffee Board data showed that while re-export of instant coffee after value addition rose by 4 percent, instant coffee made from domestic beans surged by 45 percent in the period from the beginning of the year to August 9.
Sathappan said exporters are now going in for more imports as Indian coffee has become costly with robusta prices going up by 40 to 50 percent. Robusta beans are selling in the range of Rs 4,500 to Rs 4,700 per 50 kg.
The International Coffee Organisation’s latest provincial outlook for global production in the coffee year 2021-22 (October to September) remains unchanged at 167.2 million bags, a 2.1 percent decline from the previous year.It projects world coffee consumption to grow by 3.3 percent to 170.3 million bags, exceeding production by 3.1 million bags.
source: http://www.moneycontrol.com / Money Control / Home> News> Business / by P K KrishnaKumar / August 12th, 2022
The troops and peasants controlled the Amara Sullia region, Puttur, Bantwal and Mangaluru for nearly 13 days. (Photo credit: Twitter/ @girishalva)
Historians say the foundation for the Amara Sullia Uprising was laid in the early 1830s.
Highlights
In 1834, Chikka Veera Rajendra of the Haleri dynasty, the king of Kodagu, was deposed by the British
After capturing the entire Mangalore city, the British Union Jack was lowered and the rebel flag was hoisted
Many are unaware of Coastal Karnataka’s role in the fight against the British: Dayananda Kathalsar
Bengaluru:
In 1837, 20 years before the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny – the First War of Indian Independence – and nearly a hundred years prior to the Civil Disobedience Movement, the people of coastal Karnataka and Kodagu led an armed rebellion against the British and were successful in holding the port city of Mangalore (now Mangaluru) and other regions for nearly 13 days before the rebellion was crushed.
Dr Peter Wilson Prabhakar, a renowned historian from Dakshina Kannada, who narrated the timeline of events of the Amara Sullia Uprising to News9 opines that the foundation for the uprising against the British was built in the early 1830s.
In 1834, Kodagu king Chikka Veera Rajendra of the Haleri dynasty was deposed by the British leading to an immediate revolt in the region. (The British controlled Dakshina Kannada – South Canara – after Tipu Sultan’s death in 1799, while Kodagu was an independent state until 1834).
Swamy Aparampara started the revolt in Kodagu along with Hulikaadida (the one who killed a tiger) Nanjayya. But within two weeks, Aparampara was arrested in Manjarabad and hanged.
Another revolt led by Kalyanaswamy in 1835, who claimed to be a descendant of the former king of Kodagu, was crushed by the British. He was imprisoned and hanged to death in 1836.
This is when soldiers, who belonged to the army of Chikka Veera Rajendra, chose one among them named Putta Basappa and presented him as Kalyanaswamy to the people. They needed a figurehead as the real Kalyanaswamy was dead.
The soldiers trained Putta Basappa at a hill in Kodagu and presented him to the public as Kalyanaswamy.
Varying reasons for rebellion in South Canara-Kodagu
While the invasion of Kodagu resulted in a rebellion in the region, for the people of Sullia and Puttur in Dakshina Kannada the administration and revenue changes made by the British lit the fire.
“Earlier the Amara Sullia and Puttur Magane (revenue divisions) were under the control of the king of Kodagu. In 1834, it was separated from Kodagu and added into the Canara district,” Prabhakar told News9.
Earlier, in 1830-31, the British had made a major change to tax collection.
“Up to the 1830s, the revenue tax was in kind (payment in the form of goods like pepper etc). But in 1830-31, the people were asked to pay tax in cash and not in kind,” the historian said.
The high tax was a burden on the people, which sparked agitation.
“Separation of Sullia and Puttur from Kodagu, high taxes and payment in cash instead of kind, were the main reasons,” he added.
Before the rebellion in Kodagu in 1834, due to the imposition of these high taxes and change in the revenue system, there was a rebellion in South Canara.
It was popularly called “Koots” – meaning a group – rebellion. Almost the present Kasaragod, Dakshina Kannada and Udupi revolted against the British in 1830-31.
“While the Civil Disobedience Movement by Mahatma Gandhiji began in 1930, a hundred years before in South Canara, the no tax movement was started,” Prabhakar said.
1837 – The Amara Sullia Dange (Uprising)
In 1837, when the soldiers of Chikka Veera Rajendra, led by Kalyanaswamy (Putta Basappa) along with the people of Kodagu started moving towards Sullia. They travelled through the Bisle Ghat and not through the present route of Sampaje.
Through the ghats, the troops first entered Bellare and destroyed the British Treasury in Bangle Gudde.
The British Treasury in Bellare. (Photo credit: Anindith Gowda Kochi Baarike through a special arrangement)
After that, the troops were divided into three divisions. One was sent to Dharmasthala and Uppinangady. Another was sent to Kasaragod and Kumble.
The third division was sent to Puttur, through Bellare and Kumbra.
The first battle between the troops of Kalyanaswamy and the British took place on March 30, 1837, on the outskirts of Puttur.
The British were defeated. Those who survived retreated to Mangalore (presently known as Mangaluru) – it was where the British Collector was seated.
On March 31, the British Treasury in Puttur and the entire city were under the control of the peasants and soldiers led by Kalyanaswamy.
On April 5, the troops, who had gained military aid from the kings of Vittla and Belthangady, entered the port city of Mangalore and started capturing the city.
At the time the district headquarters of the British was located at the present-day Balmatta. After destroying the British buildings and plundering the district treasury, the entire Mangalore city area was captured.
The troops controlled the Amara Sullia region, Puttur, Bantwal and Mangalore for nearly 13 days. The British Union Jack was lowered and the rebel flag was hoisted in Bavuta Gudde – the hill with the flag – in Mangaluru.
This is also noted in the Dakshina Kannada District Gazetteer. Many believe the flag to be of the Haleri dynasty since the troops belonged to the Kodagu king Chikka Veera Rajendra.
Rebellion crushed by the British
The rebellion angered the British, who brought in reinforcements from Bombay and Madras Presidency.
The British then crushed the rebellion led by Kalyanaswamy and the peasants of the Amara Sullia and the surrounding regions. The movement was labelled by the British as the loot of Kalyanappa – Kalyanappana Katakayi – to lower its significance in the region.
“Kalyanaswamy, Beeranna Banta, Guddemane Appayya and Laxmappa Banga Arasa – the king of Nadavara – were hanged to death in present-day Bikarnakatte in Mangaluru,” historian Prabhakar said.
The others, who were captured, were deported to Singapore and other islands.
Anindith Gowda Kochi Baarike, who has authored the book on the uprising titled Recalling Amara Sulya that will be published soon, told News9 that not many know that in May-July 1837, a court marshall took place and the people who led the uprising were charged with treason.
“It was not a mutiny. It was a mass movement led by the people of the region,” he added.
Rich history forgotten
Many are unaware of the rich history of coastal Karnataka and its role in the fight against the British, says Dayananda Kathalsar, the president of the Karnataka Tulu Sahitya Academy.
“All the youth should love their mother tongue. Tulu, the ancient Dravidian language spoken by people in coastal Karnataka, should be included in the 8th schedule of the Constitution of India,” Kathalsar told News9.
Now, a ‘youth revolution’ for the Tulu language, Kathalsar added, is underway in Mangaluru.
“Nearly 25,000 people in Mangaluru have learned Tulu and its script after a ‘revolutionary’ effort by youth of the region,” he added.
“This shows that when the youth are led in the right directions, the impossible can be achieved.”
Kochi Baarike, the author of Recalling Amara Sulya, said that several areas in present coastal Karnataka could be called the “cradle of the Indian freedom movement”.
“Despite a mass movement, they were charged with treason. And till we got independence in 1947 – 110 years after the uprising – there was no avenue to discuss this,” Kochi Baarike said.
“The least we could do now is document what happened,” he added.
(Note: The timeline of the events of the Amara Sullia Uprising has been reported in this feature as narrated by historian Peter Wilson Prabhakar)
source: http://www.news9live.com / News Nine / Home> State> Karnataka / by Prajwal D’Souza / August 14th, 2022
The iconic Pandicurry is the most emblematic and popular food people identify from Coorg. But the kadi (good food) and kudi (liquor) of the Kodava region in Karnataka are as wide and wild as they could get.
The Kodava Cuisine
“Pandicurry please!”
The allure of the tangy-spicy curry keeps calling me back to Coorg, every time. Of course, I am a lover of coffee too but if I were baring my heart to you, I would tell you that pork takes precedence every time I visit the Scotland of South India. No other style of pork has made such an impact, not even the sorpotel!
Let’s agree that the iconic Pandicurry is the most emblematic and popular food people identify from Coorg. But the kadi (good food) and kudi (liquor) of the Kodava region in Karnataka are as wide and wild as they could get. From wild mangoes and mushrooms to tender bamboo shoots, the food here is full of organic ingredients that establish its supremacy over other cuisines emerging from the state.
Wild Mushrooms
In this context, it’s important to mention that Coorg was in fact a state itself, landlocked and rich with biodiversity that attracted foreign attention almost immediately when the British came to India. Ruled as a kingdom established originally by the Nayakas, the state was self-sufficient and housed a clan-based community of warrior tribes. It was the hunted boar, that actually led to the pandi curry’s foundation.
For centuries Coorg was quite inaccessible, a landlocked region. It explains the heavy reliance on locally sourced ingredients. On a recent visit to the Evolve Back Coorg which sits pretty in a 300-acre coffee plantation and traces the traditions of the valley efficiently, I found peppercorn growing carelessly creeping around jackfruit, silver oak and mango trees among the robusta coffee the estate produces.
Robusta Coffee
For the uninitiated, Coorg is also the rice bowl of Karnataka, it grows in abundance here thanks to plenty of rains and rich soil composition. Upon finding The variety of rice items alone is quite humbling at The Granary, the main restaurant at Evolve Back so I had to turn to a specialist who could explain better. Sudhansu Sekhar Jena, the senior sous chef helps me out – “Kadambuttu, Thaliya Puttu, Paaputtu, Noolputtu, Koovale Puttu and various seasonal pickles are signature dishes of Coorg cuisine, just to name a few,” he explained.
While small dumplings of steamed broken rice make the Kadambuttu, Noolputtu is a fine lump of pressed rice noodles and what makes Paputtu stand out is the addition of coconut milk and a dash of shredded coconut which is steamed together with rice. With this newly acquired knowledge, I settled for lunch with paputtus and a delicious koli curry (chicken curry).
Sudhansu Sekhar Jena , Senior Sous Chef – F&B Production, Evolve Back Coorg, shares the recipe of Paputtu and also tells the detials of the dish.Paputtu is generally known as palputtu ( pal means milk and puttu is steamed rice cakes). It’s made of akki thari (coarse ground rice rava), grated coconut, salt and water. It’s steamed in a special kind of steamer called sekala and goes very well with non-veg curries.
Ingredients:
2 cups thari or coarse rice rava 1 – 1 1/2 cups fresh grated coconut 2 cups whole milk / light coconut milk 2 cups water 1 tsp cardamom powder Salt to taste Oil to grease
METHOD:
Wash the rice thari and soak for 1/2 an hour in the 2 cups of water. Add the milk, cardamom and salt and mix well. Squeeze the freshly grated coconut to extract a little milk and add it all to the mixture. Grease the plates with little oil. Pour the prepared mixture into the greased plates till two-thirds full to allow room for the thari to expand. Divide equally between plates and steam for 25-30 minutes or until done. The puttu should look firm, with no soggy bits in the centre. Cover the plates with a clean tea cloth and allow the puttu to cool a little before cutting them into pieces.
Clean & wash Crabs, add salt, and turmeric powder, and keep aside. In a vessel heat oil, add chopped garlic, mustard seeds, ginger julienne, slit green chilli, and curry leaves. Then add onion slice and fry till light brown, add sliced tomato and all Masala powder, salt and little water and sauté till oil comes up. Now add coconut paste & simmer gently, cooking till coconut paste is well cooked. Then add Crabs and salt, and bring to Cooked. When Crabs are tender, remove them from the fire, add temper and serve.
For tempering:
Heat a little oil and add mustard seed, curry leaves, and red chilli whole. when mustard seed crackles pour into the Crabs Masala. Serve hot.
Monsoon brings even more joy for the tribe that used to be reliant on hunting-gathering in forms of mud crabs and fresh fish from the opulent rivers running through the forests of Kodagu. Mahseer, rohu, tilapia, katla, giant gourami are some of the fish which can be caught in river Cauvery, India’s fourth largest and the lifeline to this side of the peninsula.
Anjali Ganapathy, a Chef who calls herself an armchair ethnographist, has been tracing and presenting Coorg cuisine at her estate home, after running a successful catering service in Bengaluru for years. I reach out to her for more information and trivia.
“Traditionally we were hunters”, Ganapathy affirms.
“Our farms and forests had no boundaries and weaponry such as firearms and machetes were a part of every household. They were used for protection as well as hunting to provide for the family,” she tells me. It was the norm.
Meat from wild boar, venison and wild fowl came from the forests according to Ganapathy and though fast disappearing, mud crabs, river and paddy-field fish can still be found in a Coorg home kitchen, she informs. Bush meat has been replaced by commercially available chicken, mutton and pork.
I wanted to taste the Kaad Maange curry (wild mango curry) but Sudhansu informed me that the season just got over. Ruefully I decide that it’s never too late to plan another visit to Coorg. So I head to the Sidapur Coffee & Culture Museum to sharpen my coffee knowledge instead, since it is housed within the property. Welcoming a group of excited guests, Jenny starts her session with a smile and a question – “How many of you know the difference between Arabica and Robusta?
Assisted by a very skilled Barista, we embark on an aromatic journey of coffee produced in the estate, presented in a variety of concoctions including the famous Moroccan Nous-Nous (half and half) edition and Vietnamese Cold Coffee (with condensed milk to sweeten it). The beauty of a great coffee is not the design you see, but the firmness of the froth that doesn’t allow a spoon to dip, Jenny informed us with a demonstration. After six shots of coffee, I am convinced that I shall never have instant coffee again.
I still don’t know what makes the curry of the pandicurry, so I head back to Peppercorn, the specialty restaurant by the lake at Evolve Back to sit down with the sous chef.
What follows is a deep dive into the organic ingredients that make Kodava cuisine a secret.
A unique souring ingredient, Kachampuli, (Coorg’s version of a Balsamic/black vinegar) is extracted from the ripe fruits of the Garcinia Gummi Gutta tree, commonly known as Brindle berry or Malabar tamarind. The fruits are usually placed in baskets over large vessels to allow the juice to gently drip down (over a few days) as the fruit gradually becomes pulp through natural fermentation. The extract is then reduced over a woodfire to make the vinegar like black smokey sour liquid.
“It is typically used towards the end of the cooking process in many Kodava dishes (including the Pandi curry) and accentuates the flavours of the meat and the colour of the dish,” shared Jena.
Enriched with this information, I wander into the reading room where the resort serves free coffee all day long. Looking over the rice fields being pattered with relentless rain, my mind wanders to the visual of an Ainmane, the Kodava-style clan house. I can almost smell the Baale Nuruk (a fritter made with rice flour and ripe bananas) in the kitchen in my virtual visit when my thoughts are interrupted by a gentleman dressed in khakis. I take him to be a naturalist at the resort. Sweetly he offers a glass of ‘Coffee Wine’, a dark amber-coloured liquid kept at the coffee counter. Intrigued, I take a sip and instantly, a wave of delight hits my throat. It smells of coffee and leaves the aftertaste of pepper, a unique combination indeed.
Coffee Wine
“Pigout has helped me achieve a deeper understanding of how the cuisine took shape, its evolution and a study of how to preserve and as well as prepare for what could possibly be the future holds for a micro cuisine, that is rooted in a wild landscape”, shared Ganapathy.
She has been running Pigout Coorg Kitchen from her family home (also an AirBnB) since the pandemic. “Your best bet at trying fresh ingredients with homegrown produce would be in someone’s home,” she chimes.
On my last day in Coorg, walking around the pool villa with a glass of Chukku Kaapi (also known as Bella Kaapi – coffee made with jaggery and ginger extract) I made a vow to come back to this wild land of delectable fares, soon enough.
source: http://www.firstpost.com / FirstPost. / Home> Arts & Culture / by Chandreyi B / August 12th, 2022
Mysore Narasimachar Srinivas was born in 1916 in Mysore. He belonged to a Brahmin Family and studied various areas like caste, society, religion and so on. He brought up various ideas related to sociology.
He published a book called ‘Religion and Society among the Coorgs of South India’. It put forward a new approach to study Hinduism. Srinivas took two aspects to distinct various sociological aspects. These distinctions are – field view and book view. He advocated field view which helps in observing and examining things more clearly.
According to him, we cannot isolate religious beliefs completely from our life. Religious factors always correlate with social norms and values. No religion is autonomous or eternal. He provides an approach for those who do not regard religion as pure and society as corrupt. They have blind faith in intangible things which are not practically accepted. For him, Hinduism is not solitary and inseparable. According to regional transformation, it goes on changing. This field view of his ideology gives a perfect picture of how religious practices and norms are making everybody more engaged with societal norms especially in the case of Coorgs.
His second distinction, i.e., the book view of Hinduism has many impediments. This view was accepted by almost every believer. This was based on our historical texts. But those texts are away from the real picture of religion and give false understanding. Those texts were based on idealism but in reality away from realism. Whereas the field view takes us closer to the actual practices prevalent in reality, like caste and joint family.
Study of local Coorgs
The book concentrates on the rituals and cultural structures among Coorgs. Kodagu also is known as Coorgs is a rural district situated in Karnataka. They are known as descendents of Arabs or Greeks and famous for coffee production. They worship nature and do not have any deity like Brahmins. They live in mountainous regions with specific language and customs. M.N. Srinivas focused on festivals and customs that are performed by coorgs. He personally spent a lot of time among a Coorg joint family and provides an empirical view of coorgs and Indian society He argues that puranas are responsible for complete Sanskritization of culture and he gives the example of Coorgs. In this, he illustrates that educated Coorgs want to identify the village gods with Shiva and they also explain why gods start liking liquor and meat due to losing their caste when they were crossing Malabar. He states that how they want to preserve social structure using local customs.
His sociological perspective of religion is based on religion skepticism rather than faith. Even after the efforts of Srinivas more than 50 years ago, the religious sociology as a discipline has not been established in India as it has been in the West. His sociology of religion is based on examining the norms, practices and faith structure according to societal needs. The critical analysis of religion through his lens is based on kinship, economics and politics factors. After independence when he established his theories on Coorgs, it hardly received any opposition. But there is also one more reality that his empirical study about Hinduism is not used further by many sociologists in India. It is very irrational for many philosophers to judge the values of any religion objectively. But for the betterment of society, implementation of every reform based on meaningful assessment is necessary.
Undoubtedly, Hinduism is an ancient philosophy prevailing for thousands of years. Thinkers like Srinivas do not condemn its theological aspects. His appraisal was totally based on practical and logical standards. He wants it to be a religion of tolerance but not a religion of hierarchy. Certain practices like untouchability, caste system, women oppressions, etc. must be denounced for the growth and advancement of society. Using religion as an excuse to continue such practices deserve criticism.
This journalist-turned-author talks about his new book Round and About with PT Bopanna, and his journey as an author.
Bengaluru :
Taking a leap of faith and moving to Mumbai 40 years ago, without a job or a plan worked out for PT Bopanna, veteran journalist and author of books such as Dateline Coorg and Are Kodavas (Coorgis) Hindus?. Growing up, Bopanna had no idea that he would become a journalist, and moved to Mumbai from Kodagu in search of better prospects. “I never thought I’d become a journalist, I never had a flair for writing. But when I was in college, I realised that journalists had the power to change the world, that’s what made me want to become a journalist,” he says.
forward to today, Bopanna’s newest book, Round and About with PT Bopanna, is a compilation of lighthearted articles written by the author. What’s special about this book is that Bopanna is able to tap a lighter, more humorous vein in this book, which he hasn’t been able to do in his other projects. The title of the book was inspired by the daily column, ‘Round and About,’ by Behram “Busybee” Contractor, a humour journalist. When Bopanna understood that journalism was his calling, he enrolled in a journalism course at Bhavan’s College in Mumbai. “Even though I wasn’t great at writing when I was younger, I always enjoyed reading the newspaper and books.
I was intrigued by ideas such as Marxism and rationalism,” says Bopanna. Since he also saw the rise of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), he was also influenced by Periyar EV Ramaswamy Niacker’s ideas, who started the DMK. When Bopanna went back to Kodagu, he started working as a part-time correspondent for a newspaper, he was past the age of 30, which points to the fact that one is never too old to follow their passion. Bopanna was working at another newspaper when he started reading the astrological columns.
“I didn’t believe in astrology, but it did pique my interest. Once, the astrology section said that if I were to start a website, it would do well. After I read that, I compiled some of the information I was putting in my columns, and started my website coorgtourism. info.com in 2005, and after that, there was no looking back,” says Bopanna. However, the traffic on his website wasn’t as much as Bopanna wanted it to be. So he thought, “Why don’t I download all this material and bring it out in the form of a printed book?” This is how Bopanna’s career as an author started, with the release of his first book, Discover Coorg.
Writer C P Belliappa came up with the title of the book, and also wrote the foreword. Most of Bopanna’s books are about Kodagu, his home, and he writes about the rich cultural and political history of the region. “My book, Are Kodavas Hindus? was inspired by sociologist M N Srinivas’ work, who went to Oxford for his PhD and wrote his thesis on religion and society in Coorg,” Bopanna says of his journey as an author. Hence, what started as a dream to change the world, was fulfilled by an astrological prediction. Bopanna says a journalist’s profession can be a quite disappointing, however, the key is to ‘wait for the good tidings to come.’
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Fia Majumdar, Express News Service / August 10th, 2022
These will help promote scientific temper and popularise science in the society
The Deputy Commissioner of Kodagu B.C. Satish has said that a master plan for the proposed mini planetarium and sub-regional science centre in the district will be prepared soon to get the project started.
The mini planetarium and the sub-regional science centre is the project of Karnataka Science and Technology Promotion Society (KSTePS) and will help promote scientific temper and popularise science in the society.
He recently attended a meeting pertaining to the implementation of the project and later said that the master plan will take into account the unique geological conditions and terrain of the district and come up with a suitable design to house the centre.
While the sub-regional science centre will come up at an estimated cost of ₹4 crore, the mini planetarium will cost around ₹5.75 crore for which administrative approval has already been granted by the government, according to the Deputy Commissioner.
Though foundation stone for the centre was laid at Stewart Hill some time ago, it has been abandoned due to land slips in the region. Hence the new location has been identified on the outskirts of Karnangeri village where 3 acres of land has been sanctioned for it, according to Mr. Satish.
The DC asked for suggestions from all stakeholders to take forward the concept of the centre and promote science and technology among students. The officials were also directed to visit other sub-regional science centres in the State at Gouribidanur, Dharwad and Mangaluru to ascertain the salient features and implement the same in the Kodagu centre.
It was also mooted that the new centre would be a hub of all scientific activities to benefit the students and regularly conduct exhibitions, science and technology related quiz programmes, organise science conferences for students etc.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> India> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Mysuru – August 08th, 2022
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