Rohan Bopanna: ‘Iyengar Yoga made a difference to my knees in lockdown’

Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Sports

Since he resumed touring this year in August, Rohan Bopanna says he has undergone the coronavirus test “30-40” times.

India’s highest-ranked doubles player, ranked World No. 39, Rohan Bopanna, 40, reached the quarter-finals of the Paris Masters last week, with his partner, Austrian player Oliver Marach, before they lost 6-0, 7-6. Since he resumed touring this year in August, the 2017 French Open Mixed Doubles champion says he has undergone the coronavirus  test “30-40” times.

What precautions are you taking given the coronavirus?

While travelling for tournaments the most important precaution was getting tested, almost every four days. The organisers asked us not to high-five or fist-bump that often, and do the racquet tap instead. As doubles players, we have been asked to not talk about strategy holding the ball in front of the mouth (players do that to ensure the other side can’t read their lips)… Most of the time we follow these precautions. But sometimes, on the spur of the moment, you just instinctively do the fist-bump. It’s a habit… we have been doing it for
15-20 years.

Also, now, we carry several sanitiser bottles in our bags. Wearing a mask has become normal. There have been times when I have entered a hotel room, and only realised after 10 minutes that I still have the mask on… We have become so used to them. The only time I take off the mask is when I’m playing or eating. Before a short flight too, I try and eat beforehand so that I don’t have to in the flight. That way I avoid taking off the mask.

Have you got yourself tested for Covid-19?

From starting the tour in August to returning to Bangalore recently, I have been tested at least 35-40 times. The day you land at a new venue and enter the hotel, you have to go in for testing. Then you have to be in the room and quarantine till the result comes. Then, in 48 hours, there’s another test, and then a test every fourth day.

What was your routine like in self-isolation?

The first two-and-a-half months of the lockdown, I was in Coorg (in Karnataka) with my family. There was enough space for my daughter to play around. And it may have been 25 years since I managed to spend that much time with family.

I went for morning walks with my daughter. I enjoyed home food and being at home.

I also started Iyengar Yoga, which was suggested by a cousin because of the condition of my knees — I don’t have cartilage any more in either patella (knee cap). It has completely worn off over the years. The couple staying next door conduct the yoga classes and I have been attending them since then. It has made a tremendous difference to my knees. I also experimented with cooking.

What kind of gloves and mask do you use?

I don’t use gloves much. But I use masks (the regular ones). There were some made of organic material that my wife bought online. I use those along with the light-blue ones when I travel.

While interacting with people at work, how do you ensure safety?

I don’t think I have greeted anyone with a hug (since the tour resumed). It is either an elbow tap or a ‘Hi’. Even at restaurants (during the tour), everyone kept a good enough distance from each other. In locker rooms too, everybody is wearing masks.

How long did you go without seeing your family?

I was with my family during the lockdown. When the tour resumed, I didn’t travel with anyone. So I was away from them for around two months.

While travelling, what precautions do you take?

I carry sanitisers and masks. When I board a flight, I use alcohol wipes to clean the hand rests, seat belt and tray because those are the things that are normally touched by everyone. And I make sure not to touch my face with my hands. I also sanitise my hands all the time.

How much time do you spend in front of a screen?

It varies. During the indoor season, when there are not many courts to play or practise on, one is either watching the game from the stands or in the room. So the screen time is a lot more. But, in general, before the pandemic, I would spend around a couple of hours in a day on screens. Now, this is easily around five or six hours.

How do you keep your mind off the pandemic?

Things that I cannot control don’t worry me. I just take precautions.

What is the first thing you want to do in a Covid-free world?

Explore cities. We keep going to so many cities for tournaments, and I always enjoy exploring places when I have some free time. I like to go for walks, do something a little different. So that’s the thing I’d like to do.

source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Sports> Tennis / by Shahid Judge / November 15th, 2020

Laptops given to top scorers in PU exam in Kodagu

Education, Records, All
Laptops were distributed to the meritorious students in Madikeri.

Laptops were distributed to the meritorious students in Madikeri. Kodagu district is ahead in the field of education due to the discipline inculcated by the students and teachers,…

He was speaking during the distribution of laptops for meritorious students from SC/ST community of government PU colleges at a programme organised by the Pre-University Department and District PU College Principals’ Association.

Amid the Covid-19 scare, the II PU exams were held successfully in the district in the month of March. The postponement of English exam due to Covid-19 pandemic had affected the overall PU results in the district. As a result, the district had to be content with the third position in PU results. 

Social welfare department Deputy Director Bharathi said that a few students have excelled without any basic facilities in their houses.

PU department deputy director Mahalingaiah said that already online classes have commenced for PU students.

No students should be devoid of the classes. If there are no Android phones with the students, donors should come forward to help them, he said.

Retired principals G Kenchappa, Dr Bhavani, A K Parvathi, B Rajanna, Suresh Babu, P T Shaji and A Prakash were felicitated.

Top II PU scorers in the district from SC/ST community – H P Pooja of Virajpet Government PU College, S Reshma, M S Pooja of Nellihudikeri College, Pramod and Abhishek of Kushalnagar College, H R Kalim of Ponnampet, Bhoomika and S G Sindhu of Koodige College and Y S Prathima of Palibetta College were given laptops. 

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State> Mangaluru / byDHNS, Madikeri / November 14th, 2020

Dove-Eyed Beauty Looking Towards Deverakonda’s Movie

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg

Varsha Bollamma stole many hearts with her dove eyes though her two releases in Telugu were not successful. Now, her third Telugu film ‘Middle Class Melodies’ is going to stream on Amazon Prime video from 20th November onwards.

Varsha’s debut movie ‘Choosi Chudangaane’ and her second movie ‘Jaanu’ didn’t give her the break in Telugu though the original movie of the latter ’96’ was a blockbuster in Tamil. So, she is said to have pinned all her hopes on Deverakonda’s movie.

Going by the trailer of Anand Deverakonda’s ‘Middle Class Melodies’, the movie might hit the right chord with the youth and families. Varsha Bollamma has a decent role in the movie as per the trailer and that can attract youth if the content turns out to be as engaging and cheerful as the promo trailer.

Though late, Vijay Deverakonda‘s green-signal to the movie and releasing the trailer has added buzz that was almost nil before the trailer’s release. This is a crucial movie for both Anand and Varsha. Let’s wish them all the best in the world, for this movie.

source: http://www.mirchi9.com / Mirchi 9 / Home> Movie News> Telugu News / by Mirchi 9 / November 11th, 2020

Bengaluru-based Curly Sue Pork delivers frozen pork delicacies in Coimbatore

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy
Liberation burger patties   | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Bengaluru-based Curly Sue sets up a cold chain to deliver chilli pork and pandi curry in Coimbatore

“The Coimbatore palate likes it spicy,” says Radhica Muthappa of Bengaluru-based Curly Sue Pork, which specialises in slow-cooked pork, prepared Coorg style. “It’s been over a month since we started cold chain transport of frozen pork delicacies from Bengaluru to the city. People here loved our Coorg style pandi curry and chilli pork. They posted photos and feedback on our Instagram page. A generous amount of Coorg’s parangi malu, a local chilli also called ‘bird’s eye chilli’ goes into the preparations,” she says.

Curly Sue Pork started off as a hobby kitchen two years ago by husband and wife Uttam Muthappa and Radhica, both of whom are from Coorg.

A fragrant gravy

“My husband loves to cook and I have a chef’s background.” Formerly kitchen executive at The Park and Burgundy restaurants in Chennai, Radhica combined her technical know-how of nutrition and professional cooking and his passion for food and they jointly perfected slow-cooking.

________________

On the menu

  • Pandi curry
  • Chilli pork
  • BBQ pulled pork
  • Goan pork vindaloo
  • Liberation burger patties

________________

“The meat is cooked between four and eight hours. It locks in the flavours, retains moisture — the result is succulent meat and a fragrant gravy. The pork cooks in its own fat that lends it a nice flavour,” explains Radhica.They cook through the week at their centralised kitchen in Bengaluru. “Our preparations travel well. They carry reheating instructions — we recommend heating them gently on a stove and can be stored for three to four days in the refrigerator.” Uttam and Radhica share ideas on how best to use their dishes. For example, Radhica says chilli pork is versatile and can be had with burgers or hot rice.

BBQ pulled pork   | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

And, pulled pork, which is cooked for eight hours, can be used in a tortilla wrap or tossed with pasta to make a complete meal.“We have ready-to-cook burger patties that can be prepared in under 10 minutes; apart from bread, these also go well with rice, rotis and idlis,” she adds. While they get most ingredients from Coorg, the couple grows herbs like rosemary and thyme are grown in their home garden. And the pork comes from the same place their family has been buying from for the last 50 years. Most importantly, she says, no preservatives or additives are used in the dishes.

Pandi curry   | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

“We use kachampuli vinegar traditionally brewed at our estate as a preservative for Coorg dishes. For pork vindaloo, we use coconut vinegar from Goa and pulled pork has apple cider vinegar. We grow our pepper and use hand-pounded masalas. We do the hard work — slow cook the meat, taste it and then pack it to make it convenient for you.”

For details, call 99000-26681, 82966-97096.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Life & Style> Food / by K Jeshi / Coimbatore – November 14th, 2020

Rohan Bopanna satisfied with his season

Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Sports
Back to training: Ritabrata Sarkar, Niki Poonacha, Rohan Bopanna, and Sravya Shivani at Bopanna’s academy in Bengaluru. 

He is happy to have handled all the uncertainties with aplomb

It has been a fascinating season with all the uncertainties and Rohan Bopanna is happy to have salvaged the best tennis in the bargain.

After winding up the season with the Paris ATP Masters quarterfinals, the 40-year-old Bopanna is back at his tennis academy in Bengaluru, providing guidance to youngsters.

Having returned to the professional circuit after lockdown with a quarterfinals in the US Open, and following it up with good wins on clay before winding up on the hard courts in the final leg, Bopanna was understandably satisfied at his ability to get the best out of himself on both surfaces.

“I must have done about 35 COVID tests. They were so different. In one place we had to just gargle water and spit for the test. In some places, they really drilled into our nose and throat,” recalled Bopanna.

With suitable caution and measures, Bopanna was happy that many different levels of players, from national champion Niki Poonacha to the youngsters learning the technique, were back on court at his academy, getting ready for the season ahead.

“I wish I had such a facility when I was growing up. It would have cut the time taken for growth by so many years.

“Instead of wasting energy on facing the multiple challenges, one could have just focused on tennis and got better,” said Bopanna.

With seasoned coach M. Balachandran managing the programme with a battery of competent coaches and other experts at the Sports School, Bopanna said that he would close his other centre and focus on tennis in one place.

No clarity

There is not so much clarity about the professional season ahead with Australia demanding a two-week quarantine for players visiting the country for the tennis events including the Australian Open.

“The request is to be able to train during quarantine period. All events are supposed to be held in Melbourne. The other events like Doha are being shifted to a later date. There is no sign of the Pune ATP,” said Bopanna.

The answers will come in due course of time, and the players may have to fly to Australia in December.

For the moment, Bopanna is happy to be home with family and spend quality time with his trainees.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sport> Tennis / by Kamesh Srinivasan / New Delhi – November 13th, 2020

Channayanakote reveals the best way to be a clear village | Mysuru News

Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Green Initiatives / Environment, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Records, All

Madikeri:

Channayanakote village is turning into a mannequin village in cleanliness in Kodagu.

Panchayat president, panchayat growth officer, ladies organisations have succeeded in creating consciousness amongst individuals to maintain their environment spick and span.


PDO Rajan and panchayat president Geetha have set up a scientific waste administration unit within the village.

They bought a car beneath Swachh Village challenge to make sure trash reaches the dumping centre. Initially, the residents had been stunned to see the PDO himself attain their doorways within the car throughout morning hours to organize them to domesticate a routine behavior of cleanliness.


“Our village should look beautiful and attractive. We have even cleared the garbage around the village, and we are developing a garden for the villagers,” disclosed president Geetha.
Indira, an activist, appreciated the work by the panchayat crew. “Approaching people door to door by the PDO and creating awareness for cleanliness is a welcome step.

Woman organisations will also join hands with the panchayat in their endeavour,” she introduced.

source: http://www.thegreatrindia.com / The Greater India / Home> States / by TGI News / November 13th, 2020

‘Middle Class Melodies’ trailer: Anand Deverakonda and Varsha Bollamma star in Telugu comedy

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg

Vinod Anantoju’s debut feature will be streamed on Amazon Prime Video on November 20.

Middle Class Melodies (2020) | Bhavya Creations/Amazon Prime Video

Middle Class Melodies – Official Trailer (Telugu) | Anand Deverakonda | Amazon Original Movie

source: http://www.scroll.in / Scroll.in / Home> The Reel> Movie Trailer / Scroll Staff / November 10th, 2020

Paddy cultivation brings laurels to progressive agriculturist

Agriculture, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Records, All

Gonikoppa:

If carried out with hard work and passion, farming will not only bring satisfaction but will also support the livelihood, opined Podamada Mohan, a progressive agriculturist from Balele Devanuru village.

Mohan has been cultivating paddy on only two hectares of land. However, he has been able to harvest an average of 62 quintals of paddy per hectare, annually. This is made possible owing to the innovative methods of irrigation, pest control and so on.

For his commitment towards agriculture, he has been awarded the taluk-level progressive farmer award in Virajpet, for the year 2015-16.

Mohan has been cultivating Atira and Tunga varieties of paddy. Now, both the varieties are almost ready for harvest. He has maintained cleanliness in the paddy farm by removing the shrubs.

Manure

He said that a mixture of DAP, Urea and Potash are provided to the crops in the quantity of 20 kg per acre, at the time of transplantation. This will help in the faster growth of paddy sheaths.

The process of providing fertiliser is repeated twice, with a gap of one month. The high-lying area of the paddy farm, which is known as ‘Nippuni’ is provided with 100% manure while the low lying ‘Kippani’ area is provided with 20% of manure.

The paddy farm has not been affected by any disease. Mohan has made sure to spray insecticide 15 days before the transplantation.

This will control the disease at the initial level, he said.

No takers

Mohan lamented that 45 quintals of unsold rice from last year, is remaining at his house. Even though the rate is Rs 1,125 per quintal, there are no takers.

No suitable market price is available at the APMC as well. The low price is discouraging for many farmers, said Mohan.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State> Mangaluru / by DHNS, Gonikoppa / November 10th, 2020

Rare Or Rear Shooting !

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg

Two years ago, a lady from Kodagu, the land of warriors, came to Mysuru to witness a circus with her family members. She was very much inspired by a person who hit the target by aiming the gun backwards. 

After going back to her native Tavalageri village in Virajpet taluk, she literally took up the air rifle to try what that person in the circus company did. Initially, it was not a successful mission as she was missing the target many times. However, after rigorous practice, she achieved success by hitting the bull’s eye with ease.

This is the story of Kallichanda Deena Uthappa, a Kodavathi, who is now a talk of the town for her rare talent. “Guns are not strange to Kodavathis. What started for fun has now become my hobby,” Deena said with the air rifle on her shoulder. 

Now, with a rifle placed on the shoulder and pointed backwards at the target, looking at the mirror and bang, the pellet from the air rifle hits right at the target. 

While most people are unable to aim the correct way, she effortlessly shoots the target by firing the rifle backwards by ease. 

She developed interest in guns since childhood and had participated in coconut shooting competitions during festivals. 

“I first saw backward shooting when I went to Bombay Circus during Mysuru Dasara and thought of trying the same when I went back home. Though I started shooting backwards for fun about two years back, I took it seriously six months ago and succeeded. I have now taken it as a hobby,” the 40-year-old said.

Deena practices inside the compound of her house by tying a balloon on a tree at a distance of 35 to 40 ft. Then she will hold a small mirror in her left hand and the air rifle barrel pointing towards the target. Looking at the image of the target in the mirror, she pulls the trigger with her right hand thumb and the next is the pellet hitting the target. “I use the air rifle as it does not flinch. Moreover, it is safe,” she adds. 

An Arts Graduate from Cauvery Women’s College at Virajpet, Deena is a multi-faceted personality, who is also a master in handicrafts and has a credit of directing a short film in Kodava language as part of campaign for a multi-speciality hospital in Kodagu. 

Kodavas and guns

Kodava community has a long history with guns and historians say that their culture is intrinsically linked with firearms. They (Kodavas) worship guns with other traditional weapons during Kailpodh (Kail Murtha) festival. Kailpodh is a festival similar to Ayudha Puja, where weapons — Guns, Odikathi and Peechekathi — are worshipped. Shooting competitions are a custom during Kailpodh, during which women too participate. 

Huttari (Harvest festival) begins with a gun shot in the rice fields. Kodavas also use the gun for the two most important ceremonies of their lives — birth and death. The arrival or a departure of the soul is signalled  with gunshots.

Daughter of Kavadichanda Gappu Ganapathi and Kavadichanda Kitty Kaveramma (Mundachadira – Mythadi), Deena is married to Sudhish Uthappa. The couple has two children — Tanvi Uthappa and  Dhruv Kariappa.

Thag’rdhi: First Kodava silent short movie

Deena has another feather in her cap of having directed “Thag’rdhi,” the first Kodava silent short movie released in June 2020 under the banner of VOICE of Kodava.

This movie inspired each and every soul of the community. It uplifted the thought that true power lies in the hands of the people to safeguard their culture and pride. Though it was a speechless movie, it communicated many things. She has also directed “Balra Nadel” (Co-directed by Gana Somanna Thadiyangada) and “Nepp’ra Nala” which showcased Kodava culture and tradition. Her films have received widespread appreciation.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports / November 10th, 2020

Bopaiah tells Forest dept. to safeguard farmers

Agriculture, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Green Initiatives / Environment

Chairman of Government Land Protection Committee for maintaining the status quo until the joint survey on lands was done

Former Speaker and Government Land Protection Committee Chairman K.G. Bopaiah on Saturday told the Kodagu forest authorities not to cause any inconvenience to farmers of the district until the joint survey of lands categorised in ‘C’ and ‘D’ class was done.

Speaking at the taluk KDP meeting in Madikeri, the MLA said he had received complaints that small farmers cultivating coffee in “Paisari” lands since many decades are now facing hurdles in pursuing their profession. “Such complaints should not persist. We should imagine the plight of such farmers in Bhagamandala, Sampaje, Kalooru, Birunani, and other places which had been hit by successive floods.”

During the meeting, Veena Achaiah, MLC, said many paddy fields in Makkandur, K Nidugani and Madhe gram panchayat limits had been affected in the 2018 floods and added that sand, mud and uprooted trees had collected in the lands. A special package should be announced for these places and in the interest of farmers but no effort has been made in this connection yet.

On the occasion, Mr Bopaiah told the Kodagu ZP engineers to take up works on priority and complete the bridge construction work in Korangala and Chirangala. Bridges in these two villages had collapsed in heavy rains in August this year.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Mysuru – November 07th, 2020