Thousands witness Teertodbhava
Several devotees reached Talacauvery ahead of the scheduled event
The annual spectacle of ‘Teertodbhava’, symbolising the emerging of holy water from the ‘Brahmakundike’, a tiny niche at the foothills of the Brahmagiri Hills at Talacauvery in Kodagu, occurred at 12.15 a.m. amidst the chanting of Vedic hymns by priests on Sunday. The Cauvery originates from Talacauvery.
Thousands thronged the spot to catch a glimpse of the occurrence. Many devotees had reached Talacauvery much ahead of the scheduled event. “Everything went off well,” Manu Muthappa, president of the Bhagandeshwara-Talacauvery Temple Management Committee, said.
Devotees streamed into Bhagamandala to take a holy dip at the Triveni Sangama, offer prayers and proceed towards Talacauvery, located about eight km away. The district police had a tough time controlling devotees. Priests sprinkled ‘teertha’ on the devotees as soon as it emerged from the Brahmakundike.
The water is not allowed to overflow from the niche, since it is considered inauspicious.
Distribution of teertha will take place on Sunday evening and Monday morning. The entire area had a festive appearance with people scrambling to carry ‘teertha’ from the birthplace of the river.
There is also a tradition of the devout performing rites in memory of the deceased and adequate arrangements were in place to cater to the devotees. Public representatives, administration and police officers were present.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by V. Paneesha And / Madikeri – Mysuru, October 19th, 2015
Talacauvery geared up for Theerthodbhava tonight
Madikeri (Kodagu) :
Talacauvery, the birth place of River Cauvery in Kodagu district, is all set for Cauvery Theerthodbhava to occur at 12.15 am (Sunday).
Inspecting the preparations, Kodagu DC Meer Anis Ahmed and Additional DC Satish Kumar yesterday visited the pilgrim towns of Bhagamandala and Talacauvery.
DC Ahmed, speaking to media persons, said that about 700 cops and 47 officers, 42 women constables and 150 Home Guards would be posted on security duty during the Theerthodbhava in which thousands of devotees from the State and neighbouring States will take part.
Kodagu Ekikarana Ranga will serve breakfast to the devotees, he said and added that temporary toilets had been built for the convenience of visitors at both Talacauvery and Bhagamandala.
This apart, the KSRTC will run special bus services from Madikeri to Talacauvery today.
Traffic regulation:
In an effort to avoid congestion of traffic on the occasion of the Theerthodbhava, the district administration has regulated movement of vehicles towards Talacauvery and Bhagamandala on NH-275 by imposing one-way rule.
All vehicles traveling towards Talacauvery and Bhagamandala on Mysuru-Bantwal NH-275 have been asked to take a right turn near Thalathamane and pass through Appangala-Bettageri.
Likewise vehicles returning from Talacauvery and Bhagamandala have been instructed to pass through Bettageri-Appangala-Katakeri road to join Mysuru-Bantawal Highway and the restrictions would be in force till 6 pm on Sunday.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / October 17th, 2015
Coffee Board of India Recruitment 2015 for 06 Junior Assistant Posts
Under Special Recruitment Drive for Persons with Disabilities, the Coffee Board of India has invited applicants to apply for six posts of Junior Assistants.
Interested and eligible candidates need to apply through prescribed application format before November 15, 2015.
Selection of the candidates would be made based upon performance of the candidates in the written test, typing test/skill test and personal interview round conducted by the concerned requirement authority.
Due to the World War during the 1940’s the state of Coffee industry was miserable in India and this is the time when the Government of India established the ‘Coffee Board’ though the “Coffee Act VII of 1942” under the administrative control of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
The board is responsible since its inception to develop the status of coffee marketing, finance, research and development.
Research and development undergoes in various substation and research centres of the Coffee Board around the nation to improve the quality and standards of the Indian Coffee.
Vacancy details:
Name of the post: Junior Assistant
Total number of posts: 06
Pay scale: Rs. 5200- 20200/- with Grade Pay of Rs. 1900/-
Eligibility:
Educational qualification:
Candidates having passed 12th Class from any recognized board/institute along with a typing speed of 35 wpm in English or 30 wpm in Hindi on computer can apply for the post.
Age limit: Candidates must be between 18 to 27 years age.
For official notification, click here.
Selection procedure:
Selection of the candidates would be made based on the performance of the candidates in written test, typing test/skill test and personal interview round, conducted by the concerned recruitment authority.
How to apply:
Interested and eligible candidates need to apply through prescribed application format which can be downloaded from the official website from October 14, 2015 onwards.
Candidates need to pay Rs. 100/- in the form of Indian Postal Stamp addressed to the Deputy Secretary (Adminstration), Coffeee Board, No. 1, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Veedhi, Bengaluru- 560001, in order to get the application form by post.
Filled in application form along with all the requisite documents, certificates, passport size photograph and other testimonials should reach the “Deputy Secretary (Administration), Coffee Board, No.1, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Veedhi, Bengaluru- 560001” before November 15, 2015.
source: http://www.prepsure.com / PrepSure.com / Home> Jobs> Government Jobs / by Editorial Team / October 15th, 2015
Continue exemption to possess firearms, demand literary bodies
The Kodava Sahitya Academy and Arebhashe Samskriti Mathu Sahitya Academy will urge the Ministry of Home Affairs to continue the exemption to possess firearms under Section 3 and 4 of the Indian Arms Act.
At a meeting convened on Wednesday, to collect public opinion on the issue, the Kodava Sahitya Academy president B S Thammaiah said that a delegation under the leadership of MP Prathap Simha would be taken to Delhi to impress upon the Home Ministry.
“The public should give their opinion on exemption to possess firearms in writing. All the written opinions will be compiled and submitted to the Central government,” he said.
Arebhashe Samskriti Haagu Sahitya Academy President Kolyada Girish said, “There are several burning issues in Kodagu. Now, the issue of exemption to possess firearms has appeared. We are not ready to lose the exemption given to us.”
Napoklu Kodava Samaja President Uthappa demanded, “Exemption to possess firearms by every person of Coorg race and every Jamma holder should be continued.”
P J Ayyappa said the circular issued by the British rules mentions the term ‘Coorg race.’ There is a need to define the term ‘race’ to make the officials and the government understand, he insisted.
Kudukuli Bharath said, “All the traditional dwellers of Kodagu come under Coorg by race. I had availed exemption to possess firearms way back in 1976.
“The exemption is not restricted to Kodavas alone. It is related to all the traditional dwellers of Kodagu. We have to protect our rights.”
Kodagu Gowda Vidya Sangha member and Advocate Dayanand concurred, “The exemption to possess firearms has been given to ‘gallant people of Coorg’, according to a circular issued by the British Commissioner Cubbon in 1861. The circular does not mention one community alone.
“The ‘Coorg race’ is not restricted to one caste or creed alone. The circular on Coorg race has been misunderstood by the officials. The exemption enjoyed by the traditional dwellers of Kodagu prior to 1976 should be continued.”
Codava Makkada Coota President Bolajjeera Ayyappa said, “Coorg, by race, is only Kodava community. There is no need to create confusion in this regard.”
List of communities
Kodava Bhashikara Sangha District President Sara Changappa said, “When K G Bopaiah was the Speaker of the Assembly, the State government had submitted a list of communities that come under ‘Coorg by race’ to the Kodagu deputy commissioner. The list includes all the traditional dwellers of Kodagu.”
Advocate Yaladaalu Manoj Bopaiah said, “The exemption given by the British regime is continued by the Central government through a circular. The exemption is not a legislation passed in the Parliament. In case the government feels that the exemption will create discrimination among communities, then it will be withdrawn. The right is not bestowed on a particular community. Instead, it is given to the residents of a geographical area. There is a need to convince the government that the exemption has been availed by the Codavas, Arebhashe Gowdas and other community members in the district.”
Legislators K G Bopaiah and Appachu Ranjan should impress upon the Home Ministry through Union Minister for Law Sadananda Gowda, he said and added, “As we do not have time, we have to act swiftly.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> District / DHNS, Madideri – October 15th, 2015
New gorgeous coffee tree species from Honduras is critically endangered
Amid the challenging terrain of north-western Honduras, where Dr. Kelly’s team faced rugged and steep forest areas cut across here and there by a few trails, a gorgeous tree with cherry-like fruits was discovered. Being about 10 metres (33 ft) high and covered with cream-colored flowers, it was quickly sorted into the Coffee family (Rubiaceae), but it was its further description that took much longer. Eventually, it was named Sommera cusocoana, with its specific name stemming from its so far only known locality, the Cusuco National Park. The study is available in the open-access journal PhytoKeys.
During a plant diversity study in the Cusuco National Park, conducted by Drs. Kelly, Dietzch and co-workers as a part of a broader survey by Operation Wallacea, an international organisation dealing with biodiversity and conservation management research programmes.
A couple of curious findings in the past decade provide a strong incentive to further work. The place turns out to be not only of high biodiversity, but to also contain rare and hitherto unknown plant and animal species.
For instance, the tree Hondurodendron (from Greek, ‘Honduras Tree’) and the herbaceous plant Calathea carolineae are another two endemic species discovered as a result of the Operation Wallacea survey.
In 2013, two individuals of another unknown, 10-metre high (33 ft) tree with cream-colored flowers and red, cherry-like fruits were found by Daniel Kelly and Anke Dietzsch from Trinity College, University of Dublin, Ireland. The two were aided by local guide Wilmer Lopez.
The multinational collaboration did not stop then and there. Although the scientists quickly figured that the tree belonged to the Coffee family, they needed some additional help to further identify their discovery. Thus, they were joined by two leading specialist in this plant group, first Charlotte Taylor from Missouri Botanical Garden and then David Lorence from the National Tropical Botanical Garden in Hawaii.
It was actually David who was the first to recognise the unknown tree as a member of the Sommera genus, a group of nine known species of trees and shrubs. Later, the team decided to name the new plant Sommera cusucoana to celebrate its singular locality, the Cusuco National Park.
“Sadly, there has been extensive logging in the vicinity in recent years, and we fear for the future of our new species,” the authors stressed. “According to the criteria of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), it must be regarded as Critically Endangered.”
“We hope that the publication of this and other discoveries will help to galvanize support for the conservation of this unique and beautiful park and its denizens,” they concluded.
source: http://www.yubanet.com / YubaNet.com / Home> Enviro / by Pensoft Publishers / October 13th, 2015
Forest dept may acquire land in Kodagu to reduce man-elephant conflict
To reduce man-elephant conflict, especially in Kodagu, the Forest Department is keen to acquire land from people and has joined hands with Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) in this regard.
The department wants to acquire about two kilometre of land belonging to the Huvinkadu and Faith coffee estates, which is part of the Kutta-Tiranahalli corridor, which in turn is part of the Nagarahole-Brahmagiri elephant corridor link. “Elephants use this stretch and we want to acquire it to reduce man-animal conflict,” Manoj Kumar, Chief Conservator of Forests, Kodagu, told reporters here on Friday on the sidelines of a workshop on ‘Dealing with leopards and elephants in human-use landscape’ here organised by Wildlife Conservation Society-India Programme (WCSIP).
“Landowners are demanding Rs 20 lakh for an acre. Hence, we have approached the WTI to map the area, ascertain land width and find out if that is necessary because there is another route through Wayanad which is also frequented by elephants,” he said.
To further reduce man-elephant conflict, the Forest Department will soon hold meetings with officials in forest departments of Kerala and Tamil Nadu on how to strengthen the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. The 6,000-sq km biosphere reserve presently houses 6,000-odd elephants. The last meeting in this regard was held in December 2014.
“We will hold meetings with the deputy and assistant conservators of forests of the two states to assess ground reality and undertake research. There is a need to know how many elephants can the biosphere hold and for how long. It’s crucial since this is the only habitat left for elephants. That will also help strengthen corridors,” Kumar added.
Prithviraj Fernando, Trustee and Scientist at the Centre for Conservation and Research, Sri Lanka, stressed the importance of ensuring safe habitats for elephants. “Case studies in India, Malaysia and Sri Lanka have shown that elephant relocation has not been very successful. Relocation is temporary and shifts the problem from one area to another,” he said while speaking on human-elephant interaction.
Fernando, who has been working on elephant conservation in Sri Lanka for many years now, said there was a huge population of jumbos in the island nation, and 70 people and 250 elephants died in conflict every year.
Vidya Athreya, Senior Research Fellow at WCSIP, spoke on human-leopard interaction and Ranjeet Jadhav, a journalist at Mid-Day, Mumbai, spoke on ‘Reporting human-leopard interactions in Maharashtra: A case study’.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> City / DHNS, Bengaluru – October 10th, 2015
Who said Kannada heroines are not glam?
In her few years as an actress, Harshika Poonacha has been a part of Kannada, Kodava and Konkani films and won a state award for her work in Thamasu. Now, with a Telugu film in the offing and with her currently shooting for an untitled multi-lingual thriller, she is set to make her Tamil debut too. Harshika tells us about the challenges the film industry has put forth before she could make headway.
Is branching out of the Kannada film industry to work on films in other languages the only way for a south actress to make a mark today? I don’t think actresses here can be blamed if they work towards making a mark elsewhere. We move out because, at times, filmmakers here fail to see the potential in local, Kannadiga actresses. See the number of films that are being made here each year — most of them have heroines from various other states. This, even when there are so many talented local actresses right here. I have often heard people say that heroines from here are not on par with, say, heroines from Bollywood or other south industries. They say we don’t look glamourous enough or are not bold enough. But that is not true. Actresses here can transform to play any role and I am not speaking for myself when I say that. Take a look at the many actresses from here that have gone on to make a mark in other languages. It is unfortunate that makers tend to notice potential only when an actress has ventured out and proven herself.
Tell us about the multi-lingual thriller you are shooting for… I have been shooting right through the nights for this film at a huge house on the outskirts of Bengaluru for the last one month. It is a thriller, directed by Venugopal,which is being made in four south languages simultaneously. So the cast for all are on the set together as we are required to shoot our scenes one after the other. While it is being made in Kannada too, I am not part of the Kannada version. This will mark my Tamil debut instead, in which I star opposite Mahat Raghavendra.
Do you find yourself facing language issues when it comes to such projects? Going to a school where you have friends who speak so many different languages is a huge advantage. I can speak most south Indian language fluently. While I dub for all my Kannada films, it is up to the director to decide if my Tamil is fluent enough for me to dub. Though, dubbing for your own films does give you an advantage, in terms of portraying your character to the fullest, as well as when you are being considered for State awards. There are not many actresses in the Kannada film industry who can dub for themselves. I am part of three Kannada films that are being shot in the coming year, and I will, of course, dub for all these films myself.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> Entertainment> Kannada> Movies / by Kavya Christopher, TNN / October 11th, 2015
The Invisible Casualties of War
What do pretty words do? A lyrical line, a clever turn of phrase, a poetic piece of prose in a book, a page, a passage: what it does is that it gives you a line to note down in a journal of favourite such lines from there and elsewhere. What these words and phrases do is make you remark privately on the poetry in the writer’s prose, applaud her imagination in stringing smart metaphors together, the sorts that make you pause your reading and say ‘ah’. But there is something like too much of a good thing. We have known that for long. And it is this too much of a good thing that threatens to tarnish the gleam in Sarita Mandanna’s Good Hope Road.
Mandanna is a good writer, undoubtedly. Some of her metaphors are very well thought of indeed. “…petrol-over-water colours”, “the sheen of a fin upstream” and suchlike draw a picturesque scene in the readers’ minds, like something at the edges of a detailed postcard. They lend themselves delightfully to a reading aloud, the lyricism as pleasing to the ears as to the mind that recreates every scene in a story as you go along. But the pitfall—and I imagine it is a hard one to avoid falling into—is that the story itself gets clouded by the pretty décor that is sprinkled on every page like sparkly confetti. Which is too often the case with Good Hope Road.
The story’s scope is ambitious and is spread over many decades and a couple of generations, spanning the First World War and ending just at the beginning of the Second. The narrative goes back and forth, shifting between the years and stories and incidents, jerky in some places, but mostly retaining a decent pace. There is Major James Stonebridge, a Yankee from New England, and Obadaiah Nelson, a Louisiana native, who find themselves at the warfront in Paris. Idealistic, brave, loyal and hungry for adventure, as most young men were, they form a deep, and unlikely, friendship. A decade and half later, Stonebridge is a recluse, back home, but lost somewhere still in France’s old war zones. A mirror that he is content to stare into stares back at him an image of a man broken and burdened by a war that changed his generation and the histories of many nations. His anger, his moods are most felt by his son Jim, whose first understanding of his father’s life comes when pretty and privileged Madeleine enters their lives. She won’t let the Major stew in his black mood, drawing him slowly out of his shell.
Then there is the Bonus March that is sweeping the nation… a reference uncannily, similar to the protests sweeping this nation, for pensions and dues. Mandanna picks up on a little known protest by veterans demanding that the US government give them the bonuses due to them and explores poignantly the way nations ignore their returning soldiers. It is in that sense a story of every nation that has ever been at war. While young men are sent off to the front with fanfare and hailed as heroes, or martyrs, the ones that return are often ignored. Their assimilation into a society that has never seen bombs or been in trenches is an exercise undertaken only reluctantly, half-heartedly, if at all. The book addresses this theme with sensitivity, highlighting the trauma, the depression and lack of a sense of purpose that plagues war heroes. It is not limb or life alone that is affected, but the hidden scars that run dark and deep that Mandanna seeks to shine a torch on. And for all the gloss, the book does do that rather well.
Her attention to detail makes for fascinating reading as well. Skimming over the technical details of war strategies, Mandanna cuts right through to the lives of the soldiers, strangers thrown together by patriotism, adventure or something else. Their camaraderie, the little sharing of a song or a letter, small conversations, these are places where the book offers lovely insight into the human-ness of those that fight a nation’s wars.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> LifeStyle> Books / by Deepa Bhasthi / October 10th, 2015
Gun worshippers of Kodagu
Centuries-old custom of Kodavas and Jamma land tenure holders in Kodagu
The issue of Kodavas (a native community belonging to Kodagu district in Karnataka) enjoying the concession to hold guns under the Indian Arms Act without licence along with a few other communities like Amma Kodavas, Kodagu Gowdas, Mapillas also known as Moplah in english, enjoying the special and unique land holding called Jamma tenure, has once again come into public discussion following a PIL filed by one Y.K. Chetan.
Since I had written about it a couple of times in this column, I thought I would ignore it this time but after seeing a letter to the editor written by a Kodava senior advocate of Mysuru, P.D. Medappa, I decided to add my bit to the “gun question” raised frequently by those who are jealous of Kodavas per se and others enjoying the concession in Kodagu. Those who question this privilege bring in such irrational arguments like that this privilege is discriminative in nature in a democracy, it is ultra-virus to the Constitution, it is dangerous to other citizens who do not have the privilege etc.
This privilege issue became so serious about a decade ago when a communal clash in Kodagu resulted in the death of two persons belonging to the Moplah (Malabar Muslim) community. A month after this, Union Home Ministry received a letter from Kerala Chief Minister mentioning the incident and demanding withdrawal of the concession under the Indian Arms Act.
This development at the highest political level had almost led to the withdrawal of the concession but for the intervention of the then Home Secretary C. G. Somiah (who later became the Comptroller and Auditor General of India). C.G. Somiah has written about it in detail in his book titled ‘The Honest Always Stand Alone.’ Let me quote the relevant part from the book:
There was a stray incident of communal disharmony in my home district, Kodagu. It started as a case of eve teasing of a Coorg girl by the youth belonging to the Moplah community, which led to violence and arson in the market area of Virajpet.
The next day a wayside temple was found desecrated and the clashes continued between the two communities resulting in the death of two Moplahs, one of them having suffered gunshot wounds. With a massive show of force, the district administration brought the situation under control and peace returned to the area.
The Moplahs of Malabar in Kerala have lived in peace for centuries in Coorg and they were the main traders of the produce of Coorg — coffee, oranges and spices. They also traded in fish, bringing fish to Coorg from the nearby seaports of Kerala. I was happy that peace had returned to Coorg by the deft handling of the situation by the local administration. A month later we were surprised to receive a letter from the Chief Minister, Kerala, addressed to the Home Minister about the incident and suggesting that gun culture in Coorg had to be curbed. This was to be done by withdrawing the concession under the Indian Arms Act granted to the Kodavas, which permitted them to own guns without a licence under the Arms Act.
The section dealing with the Arms Act was in charge of a Malayali Section Officer and he gleefully supported the proposal, with endorsements from the senior officers, when the file landed on my desk. In the Arms Act enacted by the British Government in India, the Indian Princes and the Kodavas of Coorg owning Jamma land were both exempted from the provisions of the Arms Act. Indira Gandhi, while abolishing the payment of Privy Purses to the Princes whose territories were ceded to India at the time of Independence, got the concession of exemption under the Arms Act enjoyed by them also abolished. This fact was also mentioned in the letter of the Chief Minister of Kerala, who wanted the similar exemption granted to the Kodavas abolished.
I recorded an appropriate note in the file explaining the rationale why this concession was granted to the Kodavas in the first place and also the fact that possession of a gun (which is worshipped) is as sacred to the Kodava inhabitants of Coorg, as it was sacred for a Sikh to possess a kirpan (sword). Buta Singh, Home Minister, readily agreed with me and a suitable reply was sent to the Chief Minister of Kerala. The age-old custom and right of the Kodavas was thus safeguarded.”
Before I revert to the ‘gun question,’ let me allude to the casual, even callous manner the IAS, IPS, KAS and other higher officers work, blindly following the note their subordinates write on the case file. That’s why a citizen fails to get justice and is driven to law courts where many times getting justice is rather dicey!
Here in this gun case, just because C.G. Somiah, as the Home Secretary, took special interest, may be himself as a son of Kodagu, justice was done. Otherwise, one Malayali (Keralite) Section Officer would have succeeded in getting the gun privilege abolished.
Nearer home, let me narrate one instance where injustice was done to Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan (BVB). To cut a long story short, the High Court ordered that BVB should not construct the school building on land granted for playground. But BVB’s school building plan was approved by MCC after collecting about Rs. 8 lakh as fee. Following High Court order, BVB asked for refund of Rs. 8 lakh since it was not going to construct the building as per High Court order. Three successive MCC Commissioners went by the all important ‘note’ written on the file by the Joint Director, Town Planning and wrote back saying no refund is possible.
BVB, a Charitable Organisation, sought legal opinion paying a heavy fee. The legal opinion, running to a few pages clearly said that BVB is entitled for refund since it was the High Court that barred BVB from constructing the MCC approved building. The legal opinion also quoted some High Court decisions in support of its opinion.
The BVB for the nth time approached the MCC with this legal opinion through its advocate. Now, BVB is waiting for a decision after over two years…
Anyway, I have heard that sometimes dog wags the tail but many times it is the tail that wags the dog! Amen.
To revert to the ‘gun question,’ I entirely agree with advocate P.D. Medappa, who has mocked at the PIL and explained the reason that entitled the Kodavas by race and other Jamma land tenure holders to get this concession — religious tradition and the need to protect themselves and their crops from the wild animals that filled the thick, rain forests of the early centuries.
Tailpiece: The truth is that it was neither the 1857 Arms Act by the British nor the 1959 Arms Act of Independent India that should be discussed here. Both these Acts relate only to Kodavas and other Jamma land tenure holders getting concession. The core issue, according to advocate P.D. Medappa is that the Kodavas possessed their own brand of gun known as ‘Tharikal Thok,’ apparently a country-made weapon, which they worshipped along with other traditional weapons like the sword, dagger, bow and arrow, shields and spears even before the Lingayat Rajas came to Kodagu. The Britishers in their fair sense of justice merely respected the sentiments of Kodavas. Hence, it has been part of their religious practice for centuries and now, a right under the Constitution.
e-mail: kbg@starofmysore.com
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Abracadabra…Abracadabra / by K.B. Ganapathy / Saturday – October 10th, 2015
