Devanira K. Appaiah, a teacher, received the prestigious President’s Award for teaching from the then President Dr. S. Radhakrishnan  in 1962.

He may have been the first Kodava to wear a kupiya-chale (traditional Kodava men’s attire) for the ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Appaiah is the father of Raghu and Sanju from Ammathi, Kodagu. (Pic. courtesy: WhatsApp)

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles (above part of the article ) by Prof. G. L. Shekhar / Top Stories / April 10th, 2023