Last week, we got some bitter news about something sweet. The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) reported that when they subjected 13 prominent brands selling honey to a sophisticated test in Germany for adulteration, except three, all other brands failed.
The only three brands that passed were Saffola, Markfed Sohna and Nature’s Nectar.
As fear of refined sugar has increased, so also adulteration of other sources of sweetness. Best example is jaggery.
As jaggery gained popularity as an alternate to sugar, its adulteration started. Mandya jaggery was very popular until jaggery makers from Uttar Pradesh came calling and started adding chemicals to rapidly increase production capacity and visual appeal.
In a report submitted to the Government by the Co-operation Department, it found chemicals like “calcium hydroxide, sodium hydrosulphite (hydrose), sodium formaldehyde sulfoxylate (safolite), ortho-phosphoric acid, seashells, baking soda, oil (castor/coconut) and orange-red powder (artificial food colouring) in jaggery blocks”! We educated urbanites find it hard to even pronounce the names of these chemicals which makes us wonder if farmers are making jaggery or chemical engineers?
This is a serious issue because India accounts for over 70% of world’s jaggery production and such practices will ruin our reputation and income. Already Mandya jaggery brand has taken a hit as the use of chemicals has significantly reduced its shelf-life which has forced many wholesalers to sell their product in distress.
We in India don’t seem to take food adulteration seriously. Be it the Government, the producer or the consumer. It is common knowledge that fruit-sellers use calcium carbide because it reacts with the moisture emanated by the respiration of the fruit. And when it does, a gas called acetylene emanates which helps in ripening the fruit. This gas is carcinogenic! Yet, rarely do you see the Government personnel raiding these “ripening sheds.”
Vegetables are not spared either. Bittergourd and lady’s finger are dipped in copper sulphate water to make them look greener. Brinjals are coated with old oil to give them a shine; carrots are dipped in red dye-water and watermelons injected with gulal to make them red from inside. Rarely do you see officials confronting, let alone arresting these colouring artists.
Most of us turn a blind eye to this saying that we cook hot meals and all “these things die”… not really.
But the fallout of this food adulteration should be the rebirth of kitchen gardens and organic farms. It’s time to move on from show gardens to kitchen gardens.
Every year during Dasara the Government has a competition for the “Most beautiful home garden.” May be the same publicity must be given to “Best kitchen garden.”
P.S.: Speaking of organic food, once a husband went to a store to shop for his wife who was very health-conscious and wanted organic, pesticide-free vegetables. The husband walked upto the section where he saw vegetables stacked and asked the sales man if the vegetables were organic. The sales boy didn’t understand. The irritated husband picked up some vegetables and said, “Listen, my wife is health-crazy. So I need to know have these vegetables been sprayed with any harmful pesticides?”
The petrified sales man replied, “No, Sir. You’ll have to do that yourself!”
Ramakrishna Ashram Swamijiand Coorg Honey
Speaking of bees and honey, once upon a time Coorg was the top producer of honey.
In the early 1940s, there used to be a Government-appointed “Bee Man” whose job was to go from house to house, from estate to estate, teaching planters about the importance of bees to the environment and also teach them how to maintain a Bee Box and extract honey.
In fact, Scientific Bee farming in Kodagu was initiated by Sri Shambhavananda Swamiji, the man who founded the Sri Ramakrishna Vidyashala in Mysuru. In 1928, when Swami Shambhavananda became the first President of Sri Ramakrishna Saradashrama in Ponnampet, Kodagu, he initiated a project for Bee-keeping. Since he was born in Kodagu as Chengappa into the Thelapanda family, he knew that Kodagu was very suitable for bee-keeping and could contribute to the local economy.
Sri Shambhavananda Swamiji
Soon he prepared the first apiary and in 1936 set up the ‘Coorg Honey and Wax Producers Co-operative Society Ltd.’ This became the first honey producers co-operative in India.
Shambhavananda Swamiji even developed a new method of bee-keeping now known as ‘Coorg Standard Hive.’ No wonder Coorg came to produce almost 50% of all honey produced in Karnataka.
Now, if any one has space around their homes or in their farms there are many workshops that teach bee-keeping. In fact, there is an Apiculture Training Centre at Bhagamandala, Kodagu, where one can take a few weeks training in bee-keeping.
It may be recalled that the Government in 2014, to increase production and marketing of Coorg Honey, ordered the setting up of a “Honey Park” at Bhagamandala, Kodagu. The park was to be managed by the Food Processing Division of the Agriculture
Department. Later, Rs. 60 lakh was also released for the project. An old building was refurbished and not much else has been heard. Now, six years on neither is there a Park nor is there any Honey. Guess, like most Government projects it was all about the “Money Honey”?
e-mail: vikram@starofmysore.com
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Columns in Black & White / by Vikram Muthanna / December 19th, 2020
Ponnampet Forestry College Dean calls upon growers to maintain quality from estate to cuppa; 18th AGM of Kodagu Mahila Coffee Jagruthi Sangha held
Madikeri:
Coffee growers should give priority for cultivating tasty coffee naturally, said Ponnampet Forestry College Dean Dr. Cheppudira G. Kushalappa.
He was speaking at the 18th Annual General Body meeting of Kodagu Mahila Coffee Jagruthi Sangha held at a private hotel in Madikeri recently. Though Vietnam and Brazil produces large quantity of coffee, they are unable to get back the amount invested in coffee cultivation. They use highest quality of fertilisers to cultivate the crop and most of the finances are drained out here.
The growers of Kodagu must concentrate on cultivating coffee naturally by reducing the use of fertilisers. There are 360 species of trees inside the coffee estates in Kodagu. As a result, the ground gets good manure. This is the reason why Kodagu coffee is famous across the world.
“The undeniable natural beauty and abundance in Kodagu — from rainfall to fertile soil and diverse water sources — has made the region a highly sought-after location to cultivate coffee. Coffee flourishes in a unique blend of climatic conditions that includes humidity, heat and rainfall. Kodagu is ideal for these conditions and the slopes of the Western Ghats ensure orthographic rainfall that measure between 60 to 80 inches,” he said.
The abundant species of shaded trees work together in a two-tier system to protect coffee plants. These trees also prevent soil erosion and provide mulch to act as fertiliser. “The soil of Kodagu is rich with nitrogenous material and has a good sub-surface drainage,” he said and called upon growers to maintain quality from the estate to the cuppa.
Coffee Board quality expert Vikram Kuttaiah said that the prices of coffee have not increased drastically for the last 25 years. The maintenance of Arabica coffee was Rs. 25,000 per acre 25 years ago and now it has reached Rs. 80,000 per acre. The maintenance of Robusta variety has increased from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 60,000.
“The maintenance costs have increased manifold but the prices of coffee has remained stagnant. There is a huge disparity between production costs and end profits. There is a situation where the grower has to be satisfied with meagre income,” he explained.
Kodagu Mahila Coffee Jagruthi Sangha President Pandikuthira Chitra Subbaiah said that the Sangha has been creating awareness about Coorg Coffee since the last 18 years. Sangha Director Kumari Kunjappa has been provided permission by Kodagu District Administration to open an outlet at Coorg Village that is coming up near Raja’s Seat in Madikeri, she said.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / December 14th, 2020
Harvesting new crops is always a much-awaited occasion, with many festivals revolving around this event. One such harvest festival celebrated by Kodavas is Puthari (which translates to new rice), and it marks the first harvest of the paddy crop.
Puthari is celebrated in the Kodava month of Birchiyar, which falls in November and December. This year Puthari is on November 30.
“In the past, rice cultivation was what brought prosperity to Kodagu. There are beautiful images in our folk narratives of caravans of oxen, loaded with rice, setting off from ancestral homes to neighbouring regions indicating a thriving rice trade. Puthari celebrates the new crop of rice that promises a year of abundance; it’s a time of thanksgiving, and is the most important festival of the year,” says Kaveri Ponnapa, the author of The Vanishing Kodavas.
On a predetermined day, at a fixed time after dusk, the Nere Kattuvo ceremony is first held, wherein leaves of certain trees are tied together and later placed at different corners of the house. Men in traditional kupya chele and women wearing Kodava saree then go to the paddy field, led by a woman holding a taliyakki bolcha (lamp) under the light of the full moon.
Here the Khadh Edpo ceremony is held. The eldest man of the family called the patedara cuts an odd number of paddy sheaves (khadh) and they return carrying the harvested crop in a kuthi (a sacred bamboo container) while uttering Poli Poli deva — praying for a bountiful year.
The paddy sheaves are placed in front of the nellaki bolcha (sacred lamp) at the ainmane (ancestral home) and people pray for a good harvest. Then two special types of desserts — thambutt (made from roasted rice flour and mashed banana) and rice payasa — are prepared.
The day ends with children bursting firecrackers and a wholesome meal.
Traditionally, Puthari would be followed by week-long celebrations. On the days following Puthari, a few people would go door-to-door visiting every house in the hamlet and sing songs eulogising the family members of that house, beating a dudi (traditional hourglass drum). This formed part of the mane paado (singing at houses) ceremony. Children of the hamlet would tag along with these singers in merriment.
On the last day of the celebrations, people would visit the mandh, the sacred grounds of the village, and men would perform kol aat, a traditional stick dance.
Men performing Kol aat as part of Puthari celebrations. DH File Photo
Building solidarity
“Rice cultivation is a community-oriented activity — one had to rely on neighbours to help with transplanting and harvesting. So, you find that many of the customs — the dances, feasts, the bringing in of new household implements and so on — are all directed at building solidarity. It’s also a time when we reconnect with our own clans; the dudi patkaras (traditional singers) walk from one ancestral home to another, singing the histories of clans, re-establishing our links with our heritage, and the land,” says Kaveri.
While many Kodavas have moved outside of Kodagu for their careers, Puthari is still celebrated in the same spirit of togetherness. Kodava families in a region get together, and celebrate this festival upholding the traditions.
“Since we stay in Bengaluru, every year on Puthari, we make it a point to go to Bangalore Kodava Samaja, which we regard as our ainmane in the city. There we symbolically harvest some paddy crop and bring back home the paddy sheaves to the tunes of Poli Poli deva,” says Mundanda Sudha Poovaiah, an advocate practicing in Bengaluru.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Spectrum> Spectrum Statescan / by Dhanyata M Poovaiah , Bengaluru / November 18th, 2020
Revenue department workers take over the gomala land at Arji village in Virajpet taluk and secure it by erecting fences. Credit: DH.
Revenue department workers took over 15.12 acres of gomala land identified through the survey at Arji village in Virajpet taluk on Tuesday and secured the land by erecting fences.
Thirty days ago, the taluk Gomala Samrakshana Horata Samiti had staged a protest and urged the local administration to preserve the gomala land in Arji.
Tahsildar Nandish, after holding a discussion with the committee, had ordered for a survey of the land. Accordingly, the survey department identified the 15.12 acres of land and handed over the map to the tahsildar.
The tahsildar, with the cooperation of the villagers of Arji, took over the land and installed fences.
The official meanwhile assured that all gomala land will be cleared of encroachments and the same will be protected.
Twenty-three acres of gomala land has been encroached upon. Notices will be served to 51 people to clear the encroachments within the next 30 days, he said.
Also, a five-acre land was reserved for the construction of KSRTC bus depot. Currently, the land is vacant. If the said land is taken over by the revenue department, 28 more acres of land will be recovered.
Including the land recovered on Tuesday, a total of 43.12 acres of land will be added to the gomala, he added.
Virajpet Taluk Panchayat president Smitha Prakash, Zilla Panchayat member Acchapanda Mahesh Ganapathy, Taluk Panchayat member B M Ganesh, district BJP unit former president Suja Kushalappa, Gomala Samrakshana Samiti convener M M Ravindra, members Purushottam, Ramaiah and others were present.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State> Mangaluru / by DHNS, Virajpet / November 25th, 2020
Karan Kakkad, a disease reversal expert, & oncoplastic breast surgeon Poovamma C U jointly conduct a session on breast cancer awareness, below are the excerpts from the session.
On Friday October 30th, Reverse Factor, a company in India helping people reverse lifestyle diseases through the right kind of food, held a breast cancer seminar on Zoom. Founder of Reverse Factor, Karan Kakkad, along with oncologist and breast cancer surgeon, Dr. Poovamma C U, jointly held the session speaking to participants about being aware of any signs of malignancy.
Dr. Poovamma started the seminar saying it was important to detect cancers early, referring to the need for a routine mammogram once in a year or once in two years, after 40 years. “People land up reporting an abnormality late, perhaps when they don’t want to bother the family over something, they think is not important. If there is a lump in the breast, it may not always be cancer, however it needs to be examined. Doing self breast tests are important too. It’s also important that one doesn’t procrastinate addressing such concerns,” underlined Dr. Poovamma.
Dr. Poovamma also mentioned to attendees at the session when the best time for self tests are. She said the 7th day, counting the first day of one’s period as day one, should be the time to check your breasts. “One can start examining the breast from one point, using the surface of one’s fingers. What’s normal and what’s abnormal can be picked up at that time.”
The conversation thereafter moved towards discussing our lives and how they could breed disease. Dr. Poovamma spoke about obesity, lack of physical activity, an early menarche, being in a state of stress all the time, as well as “toxins from the environment” as being some causes for breast cancer. She also added that it was a complex set of circumstances that led to such cancers and it was also difficult to pin point the exact cause for their onset and growth. However, she revealed that “almost 95 % of breast cancers are curable…”
The next person to enter the conversation was Reverse Factor’s Founder Karan Kakkad. He spoke about diabetes and obesity being linked to the menace of breast cancer. However, he said the good news was that right nutrition can prevent these linked diseases. Kakkad referred specifically to fibre in one’s diet as that marvellous element in diet that could help fight cancers.
“Eat foods with fibre. Drumsticks have excellent immunity building properties. Eat green, leafy vegetables, and eat nuts and seeds such as walnuts, chia and pumpkin seeds.” Kakkad also spoke about onion and garlic as having stunning medicinal properties – they go a long way in beating lung and kidney related cancers he said.
Kakkad also added avoiding foods that give you a rush of sugar and for many are immediate go-to options when one wants to quench thirst or receive a boost of energy at the gym for example. “Avoid aerated drinks, colas, and energy drinks. They feed cancer cells.”
source: http://www.freepressjournal.in / The Free Press Journal / Home> Health / by Maithili Chakravarthy / November 01st, 2020
A sarpakaavu, or traditional sacred space for snakes, in Kerala. Photo: Manoj Karingamadathil/Wikimedia Commons CC BY SA 3.0
Underlying cultural and religious beliefs in serpent deities has played a role in protecting iconic animals such as snakes and other species dwelling inside the Western Ghats’ sacred groves. But these beliefs are eroding among youth and economic pressures are eating into the groves, threatening their very existence. Experts call for greater state government protection to preserve the groves’ legacy for the benefit of posterity.
For millennia, local communities in India have maintained sacred groves where they managed natural resources and many of these are tied to their cultural and religious beliefs. In the Western Ghats, such groves are relatively undisturbed patches of evergreen forests that sometimes have a pond, stream, or well that ensures perennial water supply. Often located outside of protected areas, sacred groves are rich in biodiversity, housing many threatened and endemic species of plants and animals. In many cases, these fragments are the only relict forests that remain outside the protected area system.
The mountain chain of the Western Ghats along the western coast of India is older than the Himalayan mountains; in 2012, 39 sites in the region were inscribed on the World Heritage Sites list by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). While India boasts the highest number of sacred forests globally, with estimates suggesting at least 100,000, the Western Ghats is endowed with a large concentration. Although many are undocumented, Kodagu district in the southern state of Karnataka alone was estimated to have 1,200 sacred groves.
Many of these verdant groves are associated with gods and are named after deities. The worshipping of serpent gods known as nāga plays a central role in many groves in Kerala known as sarpakaavu in Malayalam (snake garden or grove), and often house idols of serpent deities.
Worshipping involves unique rituals that are performed in sarpakaavu and temples with serpent deities. One common ritual involves pouring a preparation of water, milk, rice powder, and turmeric on the deities and devotees call this offering as ‘Noorum palum’, said Dileepkumar R., director of Indriyam Biologics Pvt. Ltd., Jayakumari Kunjamma, senior research fellow at the University of Kerala who has also authored a book on snake worship in Kerala, and Divya S. chief scientific officer of Indriyam Biologics Pvt. Ltd.
Sacred groves: a refuge for snakes
In a study published last year, researchers surveyed visitors of 30 sacred groves in Kannur and Kasaragod districts in the state of Kerala and Kodagu (Coorg) in Karnataka. They found that visitors were less likely to harm snakes inside the groves than outside. And, a large proportion of visitors who did not harm snakes even outside of the groves worshipped snake deities.
Felix Yuan, the lead author of the study and doctoral student at the University of Hong Kong had expected a “fair number of people would not harm snakes inside the groves” given the role of snake deities in the region, but he was surprised by the results. An overwhelming 96% of the visitors surveyed showed pacifist attitudes towards snakes encountered inside the groves, whereas only 60% had the same reaction outside of the groves. The reverence towards snake deities and pacifism towards snakes pervaded all the sacred groves regardless of whether they had idols of snake deities present or not.
“The broader implications of this study lie in the intricacies of the relationships between sacred natural sites and local communities,” explained Yuan, “where the reverence for a specific plant or animal can potentially result in its protection despite the ongoing degradation of other ‘natural’ qualities of these sites.”
Visitors tend to live in harmony with snakes inside the groves (sarpakaavu). Dileepkumar, who frequently visited sarpakaavu in Kerala since childhood, said that if people spotted snakes, they would not touch the creatures, leaving them to slither around the groves freely.
V.C. Balakrishnan, who has also grown up in Kerala, had on some occasions, encountered snakes in the sarpakaavu. “I will just wait for them to pass by,” he said.
Serpent god worship and the role of taboos
At the heart of the conservation of snakes in the groves lie taboos, which are essentially an interplay of devotion and fear, according to U. Prashanth Ballullaya, co-author of the study and a doctoral student at the Central University of Kerala. Local communities believe that their ancestors created the sarpakaavus to provide shelter to snakes, he said, adding that snakes, especially cobras, were considered divine.
Fear also plays a prominent role. Harming snakes is a sin, Ballulaya gleaned from the surveys. If anyone harms snakes inside the groves, they will be cursed and more snakes will emerge, said some visitors. One of the repercussions of killing snakes according to traditional beliefs is that the family could be deprived of progeny and hence there is a cultural practice of worshipping the habitats of snakes among communities in the Western Ghats, explained T.V. Ramachandra, professor at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru. “Later, gradual transitions to worshiping idols with snake inscriptions happened and eventually, temples with concrete structures replaced these,” he said.
A king cobra. Credit: Rushenb/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Shonil Bhagwat, professor at the Open University, United Kingdom, said “a ‘healthy’ fear of wild animals is good because that discourages people from going to parts of sacred groves, naturally creating ‘no go’ areas.” He believes that “these so-called ‘fences of fear’ can help protect biodiversity within sacred groves by simply keeping people out of the groves, or at least some parts of the groves.”
Communities in the rural highlands of the Western Ghats in Kodagu and adjoining urban lowlands in Kasaragod were surveyed and the results were published in 2019. Researchers found that both urban and rural communities did not abuse the groves by cutting trees, dumping waste, hunting small animals, taking soil and foliage, and damaging termite mounds. And those with nāga deities, who are not only highly revered but also feared, were rarely abused.
The protection of snakes was extended to other taxa as well. Palatty Allesh Sinu, assistant professor at the Central University of Kerala and co-author of the community perception study was surprised to learn that “even taking a leaf from the sacred groves is considered a taboo or abuse of the land.” Believers told him that “the organic matter is food for insects, which is food for frogs and snakes!” Because of this snake-centric food chain, Sinu and his team were forbidden from collecting insects from the groves.
Rural communities had stronger cultural and religious beliefs than their urban counterparts, who valued groves also for their environmental benefits. Although the reasons for this are difficult to answer, said Sinu, one farmer told him “our agriculture, economy and lives are bound to these forests around us … When there was no access to a temple, these forests and local deities living inside the forest were the resort for us. When the upper castes have direct access to Gods, the backward caste people did not have.”
Erosion of beliefs
Community-preserved sacred groves in the Western Ghats are facing mounting pressures over the past decades. Many are shrinking in size or have disappeared altogether. At the time of its formation in 1956, Kerala boasted more than 10,000 sacred groves, but in 2015, only around 1200 remained, according to a report prepared by the Kerala State Assembly Committee on Forest, Environment, and Tourism. A global Nature study published in May reported that reptilian phylogenetic diversity in the Western Ghats is under very high levels of human disturbance.
“Earlier thesarpakaavu was a symbol of divinity and sanctity and it was with only utmost reverence that one was allowed to enter its premises,” said Dileepkumar, Kunjamma and Divya. “People were afraid to touch the trees let alone cut them. But the scenario has almost completely changed with the term ‘sarpakaavu’ being reduced to a mere social terminology. The infuriating demand for more land to accommodate the growing population coupled with the placid attitude of today’s generation has diminished the values of biodiversity and conservation,” they rued, adding that most people view the groves as wastelands, which could be used for construction.
Researchers have observed that youths are losing interest in sacred grove traditions. The loss of oral traditions that narrated stories behind the groves has been cited as one factor. Bhagwat believes that awareness of sacred groves and nature conservation should start early. “If children are introduced to the creepy crawlies that live in sacred groves and maintain a healthy forest ecosystem, they will learn to like this real, everyday nature that is found in landscapes where people farm, live and work,” he said.
V.C. Balakrishnan, who is the secretary of the NGO Society for Environmental Education in Kerala (SEEK), also stresses the role of educating youth to ensure the protection of the groves. SEEK, he explains, holds many camps on the importance of the sacred groves and biodiversity.
On 25 September, Dileepkumar R. joined forces with a group of snake experts and developers and launched a mobile app called SnakeHub, which is dedicated to education and conservation. Currently, the app is a social responsibility initiative of Indriyam Biologics Pvt. Ltd., a Department of Scientific and Industrial Research recognised medical startup working on snakebite management and mitigation, but the group plan to register a society and keep it as an independently functioning body under the organisation. With 114 snake species, Kerala is the top three states in India in terms of species number (after Tamil Nadu, which has the highest, followed by West Bengal) and more than half of these are endemic to the Western Ghats, said Vivek Sharma, head of SnakeHub App.
A part of the Western Ghats. dotcompals/Flickr, CC BY 2.0
In both English and Malayalam, the app is the first on snakes in the state of Kerala. Apart from providing biological and ecological information on all of the species, the app also covers snakebites including a list of hospitals equipped to treat bites. “Snakebite is an important objective in our work and based on requirements, we will add facilities to provide snakebite-related solutions and education materials,” said Sharma.
Their goal is to expand the scope of the app to the rest of India in other regional languages to cater to rural communities. India accounts for almost half of the total number of annual deaths from snake bites worldwide. Earlier this year, a study estimated that over the last 20 years, 1.2 million people died from snake bites nationwide. Most of the deaths occurred in rural areas and farmers were most at risk especially during the monsoon season.
“Sanskritisation” and commercialisation
Over the years, there has been a trend towards “Sankritisation” of the groves, which involves the conversion of animistic deities in the sacred groves to mainstream Hindu gods and goddesses, explained Bhagwat. This phenomenon, he said, paves the way for cement structures such as temples and other buildings to be constructed in the groves, which compromises the conservation value of the groves because natural features such as trees disappear. “The only way to solve this problem is to make the custodians of sacred groves aware that trees are important to protect biodiversity within the groves,” Bhagwat said.
“The sacred groves are losing their sanctity and some of the groves are becoming temples for commercial purposes,” said Balakrishnan, explaining that the owner can earn an income through money offered to the deities.
es are taking over in urban areas and even creeping into the hinterlands. According to Sinu, some sacred groves are under the direct control of the state while others are privately owned. “Sadly, both want to generate money out of it,” he lamented. “Selling the land is a way,” he said. “So, they first relocate the deities including snake god through a ceremonial ritual and free the land.” Many owners are in the process of relocating deities, noted Sinu, adding that the ceremony is a costly affair amounting to about Rs 4 lakh (Rs 400,000).
Ramachandra of IISc echoes these concerns. Cemented buildings have become commercial spots, he said, revealing that many sacred groves that are under the revenue department have undergone large-scale conversion to other land uses such as villas and resorts in Kodagu. He attributes these conversions to a lack of knowledge among the bureaucracy of the ecological and hydrological significance of the groves, which has sustained the livelihood of communities in the region for centuries.
Dileepkumar, Kunjamma and Divya believe that people fail to realise that their exploitation of the groves could pave the way for their own doom. “With the sacred groves being deconstructed, the snakes that were taking refuge in the grove vegetation enter into human colonies leading to a conflict between snakes and humans thereby posing a threat to both snakes and humans alike,” they warned.
A sarpakaavu in Kerala. Photo: Manoj K/Wikimedia Commons CC BY SA 3.0
How to protect the sacred groves?
Apart from cultural beliefs, the coexistence of snakes and humans hinges on the preservation of the ancient sacred groves of the Western Ghats.
Experts believe that state governments must play a greater role in protecting the sacred groves of the Western Ghats. Earlier this year, the Kerala state government launched a program “Pachathuruthu” to cultivate ‘green islands’ in degraded land in a bid to preserve biodiversity. For the initiative, “they are planting trees that can give shade, shelter, and food for birds and other animals,” Sinu said. “We have over 1500 sacred groves in Kerala along the west coast. Why not declare them as natural sanctuaries?”
Ramachandra proposes that the Karnataka and Kerala Forest Department should assign heritage status to all the sacred groves of the Western Ghats under section 37(1) of the Biological Diversity Act 2002. Such a move, he argues, will ensure the conservation of these ecologically fragile regions.
Conservation of the groves should be initiated at both the community and government level, according to Dileepkumar, Kunjamma and Divya. “Snake groves are an inherent part of Kerala culture and conserving them must be our obligation. For implementing the conservation strategies initiated by the government, a special task force must be employed to ensure the protection and maintaining the status quo of the snake groves.”
Balakrishnan said that the forest department had funded building fences around the sacred groves a few years ago. “These sacred groves are to be protected surely because they are rich in biodiversity and they are the wealth of our future generations.”
This article was first published on Mongabay India .
source: http://www.science.thewire.in / The Wire, Science / Home> Science> Environment / October 29th, 2020
The Tamara Coorg has been announced the winner in the “Rural Accommodation Category” at the recent Skål International Sustainable Tourism award 2020. The prestigious award function was part of the 19th Edition, with 23 countries competing where winners were chosen from 9 different categories at the virtual General Assembly of Skål Clubs Delegates held through Zoom.
The Skål International Sustainable Tourism Awards are geared towards enhancing the visibility and grant recognition to entities from the Travel and Tourism industry. The selection has been made based on the pillars of sustainability of the Responsible Tourism Institute and the winner offered a one-year free Biosphere Certification in one of their available categories.
Shruti Shibulal, CEO and Director, Tamara Leisure Experiences Pvt. Ltd, said “At Tamara Leisure Experiences, our core ethos has always been based on a foundation of workplace ethics and sustainable business practices. To that end, every Tamara property is designed, built and operated with a conscious emphasis on environment and community. This award is an encouraging recognition of our effort and strengthen even more our commitment to responsible hospitality.”
Tamara is deeply committed to responsible tourism, respecting and supporting local culture and practices and intruding on the surrounding natural environment as little as possible. To this end, all Tamara properties are constructed with care and respect for the environment, aiming to create the experience of a Sustainable Good Life for every guest
The Tamara Coorg is a luxury experience nestled in the heart of the hills, where you can rediscover the joy of being in nature; where your quest for serenity ends. The Tamara Coorg spans 180 acres where you will experience nature and luxury at its best as you wake up to the breath-taking view and the calming silence of the hills, disturbed only by the chirping birds and the rustle of leaves. The unique nature-based experiences at The Tamara Coorg includes Forest Therapy, Trekking, Plantation Tours, Blossom to Brew, Bird Watching amongst others.
The exquisite cottages at The Tamara Coorg are designed to provide guests with a rustic, luxurious space to unwind, and enjoy an unmatched view of the hills in the distance, while suspended in nature. Relaxation gets even better at the award-winning spa and wellness centre, The Elevation Spa. It offers signature spa treatments, while the fitness centre includes a steam & sauna, a state-of-the-art fitness center, and a Yoga Temple.
source: http://www.voyagerworld.in / Voyager World / Home> Hospitality / by VW Bureau / October 28th, 2020
Commonly known as black vinegar, ‘kachampuli’ is indigenous to the district and is prepared by locals.
Madikeri :
Udiyanda Subbaiah, a 90-year-old resident of K Nidugane in Madikeri, is always busy during the rainy season. While most of the residents stay indoors due to the wet and chilly weather, Subbaiah (aka thaatha) goes out early in the morning and begins his search for the Malabar tamarind fruit – scientifically called Garcinia gummi-gutta.
With his feet buried in slush, Subbaiah walks miles to collect the ripened fruits. He rushes back home with a basketful and sits down to remove loads of bloodsucking leeches that have crept all over him. He later sets up a make-shift tent and begins the tedious job of brewing vinegar from the fruit – popularly known as Kodagu’s ‘kachampuli’.
Kodagu district is known for its exclusive traditional culinary and the ‘pandi’ (pork) curry tops the table. And adding the special tang to these traditional non-vegetarian dishes is ‘kachampuli’ or ‘pulineer’ (puli in Kodava language means sour). Commonly known as black vinegar, ‘kachampuli’ is indigenous to the district and is prepared by the locals during the rainy season.
“The ‘kachampuli’ fruits start to ripen following the first rain in the monsoon season. Every day, we collect the ripened fruits that are mostly fallen on the ground. We take the fruits home and separate the seeds. Next, we put the fruits on a handmade wooden grill, which is fixed atop wood fire. The fruits have to be dried at high temperature continuously for nearly two days. The dried fruits are then put in boiling water (measured in proper proportion) and kept in a container for over a day.
The pulp gets separated from the fruit in the boiling water and the water is strained, which is then heated constantly on wood fire for nearly two days…the water must be heated until it gets thick and starts foaming. It might take more than two days sometimes,” explains K A Vedavathi, a resident of Galibeedu, about this sour extract. She has been brewing ‘kachampuli’ for nearly 25 years now.
While there are various methods of making ‘kachampuli’, Subbaiah follows the simplest one. “Until the extracted vinegar is thick and filled with flavour, the method used to brew it will not make much of a difference,” he opines. Subbaiah collects the ripe fruits, squeezes the pulp and brings the liquid to perfect blend by constantly heating it – sometimes for two days straight.
Kodengada Sumithra Nanaiah of Kiruguru village has been brewing ‘kachampuli’ in the most authentic way for 25 years now. “A funnel-like structure is raised using wooden logs and this structure is called ‘bhalley’ in Kodava language. Banana leaves are used to cover the funnel and the ‘bhalley’ is filled with the ripened fruits. The structure is covered to prevent rainwater entering it and a container is placed under the filter. Once the fruits start to ferment, the juice drops down into the container. The liquid collected is then heated on wood fire and the thickened extract is ‘kachampuli’ or ‘pulineer’,” explains Anju Thimmaiah, daughter-in-law of Sumithra.
The popularity of this black vinegar is reaching worldwide even as Michelin Star Chef Gordon Ramsay was introduced to its authentic taste during his recent visit to Kodagu. ‘Kachampuli’ is usually bought from the locals who prepare it without adulteration. The numerous spices shops that have opened across the district have become good marketers for the product and the vinegar is reaching all across the country. “We sell the thickened vinegar at Rs 700 to Rs 800 per 750 ml bottle. The same is sold at a higher price in retail shops, but the product at retail shops is prone to adulteration and is usually watery,” explains Ramyashree, daughter of Vedavathi.
The Ponnampet Forestry College has now started an initiative to rejuvenate the Garcinia gummi-gutta trees. They have started a nursery where grafts of the plant are sold to farmers. The college administration is also promoting the traditional art of brewing ‘kachampuli’ as the Garcinia gummi-gutta fruits are collected in large numbers from the farmers and the students of the college are involved in brewing the traditional vinegar.
PULI POINTS
‘Kachampuli’ is locally brewed by many residents and this earns the local families an annual income
This vinegar has a shelf-life of nearly three years
Malabar tamarind trees are not cultivated but are found naturally across the terrains of the district
Mother-daughter duo Vedavathi and Ramyashree at work. Nonagenarian Subbaiah brewing Kachampuli. Inset: Garcinia gummi-gutta fruit | Express
VARIOUS USES
Nothing goes waste while preparing ‘pulineer’. There is great demand for the dried pulp in neighbouring Kerala. It is sold between Rs 75 and Rs 100 per kg
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Prajna G R / Express News Service / October 25th, 2020
Dr. S.V. Narasimhan, a family physician based at Virajpet in Kodagu district, is an avid birder, nature lover, adept at computers, Karnatak music and astronomy.
Author of Feathered Jewels of Coorg, a field-guide to 310 species of birds found in Coorg, Dr. Narasimhan is the pioneer in spreading wildlife conservation messages through his unique hand-painted Wildlife Message Cards that are sent free to individuals throughout the world to mark the Wildlife Week.
Total number of hand-painted cards made by him this year is 1,930; in 36 years, 72,655 cards. Total recipients this year including Star of Mysore – 1,010; in 36 years – 13,004 persons.
The Special Wildlife Messenger of this year is Red-whiskered Bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus) — This is the most common garden bird of India. It has a black chest that is turned forwards and has bright red patches on the cheeks and vent. Melodiously vocal, it feeds on fruits, nectar and small insects.
Bulbuls are mostly monogamous. They build an open cup-shaped nest made of rootlets and leaves lined with soft fibre. They live for about 10-11 years.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / October 20th, 2020
Six blue eggs of the rare Indian Robin bird were found at a coffee estate in Kodagu recently.
The 6 eggs were found nesting securely in a nest made of hay on a plant amidst the coffee estate.
The eggs were found by the farm workers of the estate owned by a woman named Pushpa in Bettathur village in Kodagu.
While the mother was found nowhere around the nest the eggs nested safe and secure from the current harsh climate.
According to reports Robins usually lay four eggs and then stop. However, Pushpa and her staff found six bright blue eggs in this nest.
It is the female bird’s job to maintain the proper incubation temperature, keeping the eggs warm during cold weather and shaded during hot weather.
The blue colour in robin eggs is due to biliverdin, a pigment deposited on the eggshell when the female lays the eggs.
There is some evidence that higher biliverdin levels indicate a healthier female and brighter blue eggs. Eggs laid by a healthier female seemed to encourage males to take more interest in their young ones.
source: http://www.newsable.asianetnews.com / Asia Net Newsable / Home> English News> India / by Team Newsable / Bengaluru – October 15th, 2020
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