South Carolina, USA :
Coorg Indian Cafe, located in Mount Pleasant Square, features food and coffee from the region of Coorg in India.
source: http://www.postandcourier.com / The Post and Courier / Home / February 06th, 2019
I had heard of people taking their pet dogs for walk in the parks, roads or footpaths for exercise. Also to prevent the animal from committing nuisance, easing itself, at the owner’s house with eyeful of its poop. I also see these dog-walkers daily in my area walking back with a wry smile once the dog does with its pooping, squatting on its hind legs. The poop would lie as a heap on the lawn of the park, walk-way or on the footpath for the unwary morning walkers like me to stamp on, grimace, curse the owners of the dog and move on…
It was in 1992 at the famous Central Park, New York, I was amused to see people armed with a bag and a scoop walk around with their dogs. It was around noon and I was surprised. I made a gentle enquiry with my friend M.P. Prabhakaran, a local resident. In his typical and critical way he said, “Americans are a different species and they often do things differently. You would not be surprised if you find them here at midnight with their pets, the dog, the bag to collect the poop and the scoop. By the way, did you find anywhere in the park any poop fresh or dried ? No. That’s America…”
Before he could denigrate India I interrupted, “That’s why you left India. But where is your dog?” I guffawed.
If the pet-dog’s poop is to be despised and discarded, there is another animal’s poop that is sought after specially in places where coffee plantations are found. My friend N. Raghavan of the pharmacy Raghulal & Co., who keeps sending medicines for my family regularly, last night sent me a packet with an amusing note, “For your use only.” With apologies to James Bond, ‘For your eyes only.’ It was not medicine. Rather a surprise packet. It was Wild Civet Coffee. Wonder, why the word ‘wild’? After all, civet cats are wild. Never domesticated. Let it be.
I have been reading about this super-special civet coffee quite for a few years now though not seen or tasted. Now thanks to Raghavan. Since a few years I have been looking for this animal or its shit with coffee seeds submerged in it in my own plantation at Kutta, Kodagu, without luck. This animal looks like a cat with a long fluffy tail (see pic.) and is both carnivorous and herbivorous found in Central Africa, Indonesia and also in other parts of the world and in Karnataka. In the coffee season they eat ripened coffee fruits (cherry or berries) and poop out the seeds that don’t digest. Civet coffee is the coffee seeds that civet cats excrete after consuming the fleshy berries. An enzyme present in the nocturnal animal’s gut and also in the anal glands produces a strong musky perfume.
Raghavan tells me that a Kodagu planter, Thamoo Poovaiah, is producing this Civet Coffee and marketing it through his partnership firm Coorg Consolidated Commodities (CCC).
There seems to be two issues being discussed about this unique coffee. One, its cost. As much as Rs. 25,000 per kg in foreign market. Real crazy. While it is Rs. 900 for 100 gms of Civet Coffee, it is Rs. 30 for 100 gms of regular coffee available in the market.
Two, cruelty to the animal. It seems civet cats are caught and caged so that they could be fed with coffee berries and collect the poops in plenty. The second allegation is being rubbished by Poovaiah as not true. Of course, NOT in Kodagu. It is obvious more the population of these civet cats, the more Civet Coffee for people like Poovaiah.
Many years ago, I had been to William Shakespeare’s birthplace, Stratford-upon-Avon in England and took a walk along the road in front of Shakespeare’s house. I was surprised to find many shops selling coffee seeds — raw and roasted — and, of course, powder. Each variety was branded, like ‘Mountain Grown Colombian Coffee’, ‘Kenya Special Coffee’, Vietnam etc. But I could not find India’s name anywhere.
In 1950s and 1960s I used to see a display publicity board kept in Coffee Houses at Bengaluru. The board had the image of an old man in typical North-Indian attire with a Hindu religious mark on the forehead and a long white beard along with a steaming hot cup of coffee. The text simply read: “Both are Indian.” Gone are those days of coffee and the way it was promoted…
Now we have Civet Coffee. Good luck to Thamoo Poovaiah and dear Raghu. Enjoy this non-vegetarian coffee with the strong musky perfume hitting your nostrils !!
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Columns> Abracadabra / by K.B. Ganapathy / February 04th, 2019 /
Em: kbg@starofmysore.com
Kannada Book Authority Chairperson Dr Vasundhara Bhoopathi said there is a need to set up a trust in the name of well known Kodagu writer — Kodagina Gauramma.
Speaking at the first Kodagu district women’s Kannada literary meet organised by Kannada Sahitya Parishat at Kanive on Sunday, she said, “Kodagina Gauramma was a well known women writer of Kodagu. One cannot discuss women’s literature without the literary works of Gauramma. Hence, a trust should be set up. The house where she lived should be developed as a memorial.”
“Several women are engaged in posting their story and poems on social media. The review of women’s literature has been sidelined,” she lamented.
She said, “From the inception of Kannada Sahitya Parishat, efforts are being made to conserve the Kannada language. The literary meets organised by the Kannada Sahitya Parishat not only discusses literature but also the burning issues of the land. Kodagu was a symbol of prosperity. The natural calamity that hit Kodagu on August 16 has saddened the people of the state. The rehabilitation works are pending in the district. It is nice to see people in Kodagu district engaged in literary activities amid the pain encountered by them after the natural calamity.”
Akkamahadevi Study Chair chairperson Leeladevi R Prasad said, “Only 16% of the people in the state capital converse in Kannada. There is a fear that Kannadigas will be sidelined in the state capital.”
“Literature and culture are two eyes of our life. Literature helps in improving knowledge. However, the fight for tradition, culture, and protecting the land is restricted to only speech,” she lamented.
MLA M P Appacchu Ranjan said, “English is a necessity in today’s world. However, we cannot forget Kannada.”
In her presidential address, Sammelana president Vijaya Vishnu Bhat said, “We need to develop love for our mother tongue. Kannada language has a rich history. How can we get attracted to another language by keeping aside this rich language.”
“When masterpieces were written in Kannada, English was in a nascent stage. I do not want people to hate other languages. Learning of languages help in expanding the horizon of knowledge. In the name of English, we should not sideline our mother tongue Kannada,” she added.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State> Mangaluru / by DH News Service, Kushalnagar / February 03rd, 2019
Infosys Foundation chairperson Sudha Murty said that the foundation will construct 200 houses for flood and landslide victims in Kodagu.
Speaking after inspecting the site earmarked for rehabilitation of victims on Friday, she said that during the inauguration of Dasara celebrations in Mysuru, Infosys Foundation had promised to contribute Rs 25 crore for the victims.
“It has now been decided that Infosys foundation will itself construct houses with the fund. Nearly 100 houses will be built in two different phases. The government has agreed to fund Rs 9.85 lakh for each house,” she added.
“The foundation will contribute an equal amount. The remainder will be used to repair damaged houses. Contractors hired by Infosys Foundation will build the houses in a government approved model. The representatives of the foundation will monitor the constructions,” she said.
Other than building houses, 100 cowsheds and 100 poultry farming centres would also be built by Infosys Foundation, Sudha Murty said, adding that there was a plan to construct a poly house for farmers, at a cost of Rs 25 lakh.
Sponsors
District in-charge minister Sa Ra Mahesh said that people ready to sponsor houses for flood victims were welcome.
“The government will undertake river desilting and funds will be set aside in the state budget for it. Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy will chair the meeting of the Kodagu Reconstruction Authority on February 10. A final decision on the disposal of timber washed away during the flash floods will be made at the same meet. A discussion on ‘C’ and ‘D’ land in the district, will also be held,” said the Minister.
The minister directed officials to complete the rehabilitation projects before the monsoon.
Members of Legislative Assembly M P Appacchu Ranjan and K G Bopaiah, Members of Legislative Council Sunil Subramani and Veena Acchaiah, Deputy Commissioner Annies Kanmani Joy and ZP CEO K Lakshmipriya were present in the meeting.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> States> Mangaluru / by Adithya K A / DH News Service, Madikeri / February 02nd, 2019
Kodagu Model School will celebrate its 10th Annual Day on Feb.9 at the School premises in Vidyashankar Layout, Sathagalli, at 3 pm.
Entrepreneur and Social Worker Jammada P. Ganesh Ayanna will be the chief guest.
Star of Mysore Editor-in-Chief K.B. Ganapathy will be the special invitee.
Corporator Rukmini Madegowda will be the guest of honour.
B.M. Devaiah, President, Sri Kavery Kodava Association, Mysore East and Kodagu Model School, will preside.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> In Briefs / February 02nd, 2019
Annies Kanmani Joy, a 2012 batch IAS officer, was posted as the new Deputy Commissioner of Kodagu.
The government notification issued on Wednesday stated that Annies Kanmani Joy, chief executive officer of Zilla Panchayat, Tumakuru, was transferred with immediate effect and posted, until further orders, as Deputy Commissioner of Kodagu district.
The government has transferred Annies Kanmani Joy, a native of Kerala, as deputy commissioner of Kodagu district in the wake of allegations that the rehabilitation work of those affected by the natural calamity had been delayed.
The post of deputy commissioner was lying vacant, as the former Deputy Commissioner P I Sreevidya, had returned to Kerala in order take care of her ailing father. Kodagu Zilla Panchayat CEO K Lakshmipriya was handed over the additional charge of the deputy commissioner.
Annies Kanmani Joy has many challenges ahead such as expediting the rehabilitation works and process of disbursing compensation.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> States> Mangaluru / by Adithya K A / DH News Service, Mangaluru / January 31st, 2019
Mangaluru :
Catholic Sabha Mangalore Pradesh and Udupi Pradesh (R) gave Rs 4 lac financial aid to flood and landslide victims on January 27 at St Michael’s Church Community Hall, Madikeri. Eighty facilities were supported with Rs 5,000 each for all religions. Victims were identified by Fr Alfred John Mendonca and Catholic Sabha Mangalore & Udupi Pradesh (R) helped 50 families.
Rolphy D’Costa, the president of Catholic Sabha Mangalore diocese welcomed the gathering and Alwyn Quadros, the president of Udupi diocese rendered the vote of thanks. Fr Alfred John Mendonca was present as guest along with them from Udupi diocese Walter Cyril Pinto, Dr Gerald Pinto and Santosh Cornelio were present.
Catholic Sabha Udupi Pradesh (R) with the help of Udupi diocese earlier sent five containers worth Rs 23 lac, three to Coorg and two to Kerala.
source: http://www.daijiworld.com / Daijiworld.com / Home> Karnataka / by Media Release / January 30th, 2019
Melbourne :
Indian tennis star Rohan Bopanna has blamed the system for not producing quality players and demanded more tournaments in the country itself.
Bopanna, who had bad outings in the both the categories (men’s and mixed doubles) in the ongoing Australia Open here, also said the country needs to have more academies and strong grassroots programmes to produce more tennis players.
“We dont have system in place to generate that many of players. And not only the system but we need to have tournaments in India. We have only one ATP tournament and two challengers in India which is not enough. If you look at Europe or USA, they have 25 to 30 weeks of just tournaments alone which makes a difference,” Bopanna told IANS.
“Tennis is an expensive sport so to travel constantly week and week out is tough. If each state in India has a one challenger tournament then you can travel only in india and make international points and that way we build constantly nUmber of athletes travelling and getting the sport and rankings high,” he added.
“First we have to start with the system then with tournaments then obviously to have good academies in place. So that entire system once that comes into play we will have more player coming out of it.”
Bopanna, who had paired up with Zhaoxuan Yang, went down 6-3, 3-6, 6-10 to Robert Farah and Anna-Lena Groenefeld in the opening match of the mixed doubles category at the Australian Open recently.
In the men’s doubles category, Bopanna has paired up with fellow Indian Divij Sharan and lost his opening round match to the Spanish pair of Pablo Carreño Busta and Guillermo Garcoa-Lupez.
Divij is a left handed player and Bopanna has paired up with him for he first time. The had won the Maharashtra Open but could not continue the momentum in the first Grand Slam of the year.
“Nothing went wrong in this tournament. I have to give credit to the opponents who is playing in this circuit for such a long time so they are more experienced than us,” Bopanna said.
“Yes we were seeded higher but if you look at the experience in the grand Slams our opponents were more experienced than us.
For me playing with the left-hander is something new this time and it takes time to build a partnership and that what we are working on as a team,” he added.
India will host Italy on grass court in the qualifiers for the Davis Cup in Kolkata next month. Taking bout the tie, Bopanna said the tie against Italy will be tough but the new format might help India.
According to the new rules, the tie have been cut from three days to two and each rubber will be decided over three sets, down from the earlier five.
“The Davis cup tie is very very tough tie because the Italians have four or five players in the top 100 which makes a big difference which we don’t have anyone currently. Yes after this week Prajnesh(Gunneswaran) might come into the top 100 but apart from this they still have a lot more top players,” he said.
“So we will surely going to have a tough tie against them but having new format of best of three sets I think we do have a chance.”
(Gaurav Sharma can be contacted at gaurav.sharma@ians.in)
source: http://www.newkerala.com / NewKerala.com / Home> News> World Sports News / IANS / January 22nd, 2019
An all-religion prayer meeting was organised by the district administration and Sarvodaya Samiti on account of Martyr’s Day in Madikeri on Wednesday.
The sacred ashes of Mahatma Gandhi were carried in a procession from the district treasure to Gandhi Mantap.
The pot containing the sacred ashes, decorated with flowers, was placed in the Gandhi Mantap and all-religion prayer was held on the occasion. Verses from Bhagavadgeetha, Quran and Bible were recited by the religious leaders.
Superintendent of Police Dr Suman D Pennekar sang a song on Mahatma Gandhi.
Former minister M C Nanaiah spoke on the occasion and said that the Gandhi Mantap should be declared as a memorial.
Gandhiji visited Kodagu in 1934 on February 21 and delivered a speech at Gandhi Maidan. The Gandhi Mantap was built in this memory, recalled the minister.
Gandhiji visited Kodagu in 1934 on February 21 and delivered a speech at Gandhi Maidan. The Gandhi Mantap was built in this memory, recalled the minister.
ZP CEO and In-charge Deputy Commissioner K Lakshmi Priya, CMC President Kaveramma Somanna and Sarvodaya Samiti President T P Ramesh were present among others.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State> Districts / by Adithya K A / DH News Service, Madikeri / January 30th, 2019
Mumbai :
Starbucks is taking beverage innovation to new heights with the simultaneous launch of 134 new, crafted beverages. Delivering on the iconic ‘Third Place’ experience, while strengthening commitment to innovation and coffee passion, the global coffee chain has introduced a new initiative called Starbucks Barista Pride where baristas from each Starbucks store will feature a beverage unique to their store, conceptualized and created by themselves.
Till the end of February, all Starbucks stores across India will serve a specially curated beverage, enabling customers to ‘coffee hop’ and try 134 unique beverages across the 134 Starbucks stores in India.
Based on the idea of customization and personalization, while celebrating the heart and soul of the signature Starbucks Experience, Starbucks Barista Pride is here to showcase the talent and innovation the Starbucks baristas have to offer.
The wide range of unique beverages includes Turkish Espresso Praline available at the Chapel Road store in Mumbai, Chai White Chocolate Mocha available at the Vega Mall store in Bangalore and Winter Chocolate Cream available at the DLF Hub store in Delhi.
“Starbucks is committed to delivering an unparalleled, unique experience for every customer. We are delighted to introduce ‘Starbucks Barista Pride’- a new coffee forward initiative which highlights the exemplary coffee skills of our Starbucks baristas and brings to our customers a wide range of artisanal beverages. At Starbucks, we believe in celebrating each customer’s individual coffee preference and profile. For us each cup of coffee is unique and especially suited to the coffee palette of our customer. With a deep understanding of coffee, our Starbucks baristas personalize each cup to perfection,” said Ms. VeetikaDeoras, head – marketing, category, digital and loyalty at Tata Starbucks Pvt. Ltd. “We are humbled to lead specialty coffee in India and initiatives like Starbucks Barista Pride are a tribute to our customers and reflect the Starbucks 47-year legacy of sourcing, roasting and serving world’s top Arabica coffee.”
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(Eds: Disclaimer: The following press release comes to you under an arrangement with Business Wire India. PTI takes no editorial responsibility for the same.)
134 Starbucks stores serve 134 unique beverages – offering customers 134 ways to celebrate handcrafted coffee
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India – Business Wire India
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source: http://www.theweek.in / The Week / Home> Live Updates> Business / by PTI / Mumbai – Business Wire India / January 22nd, 2019
