`11.87 cr proposal to develop Raja Seat

About Kodagu / Coorg, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature

It wil have puzzle garden, artificial caves, flowery clock, says DC Anurag Tiwari.

The Kodagu district administration has prepared a proposal of Rs 11.87 crore and submitted it to the State government, to beautify and develop Raja seat, a popular tourist destination in the city.

If the proposal receives the green signal from the government, then Raja Seat will perhaps become one of the most attractive gardens in the country. A large number of tourists visit Raja Seat to view the panoramic Western Ghat range and an enchanting sun set. But, the garden has been has been completely neglected, and stands as an eye sore. The musical fountain in the garden too is defunct. As a result, the number of visitors visiting Raja Seat has declined over a period of time.

Taking a note of this, the district administration has prepared a proposal to develop the garden. Maintenance of the garden will be handed over to the Horticulture department.

Speaking to Deccan Herald, Kodagu Deputy Commissioner Anurag Tiwari said that it has been planned to build a watch tower in the garden at a cost of Rs 1.12 crore. The proposed plan comprises of the construction of puzzle garden at a cost of Rs one crore, flowery clock, garden in Japan style, artificial caves, formation of waterfalls, glass house on the lines of the one in Lalbagh in Bangalore, snake ladder game at a cost of Rs four crore, construction of rope-way from Nehru Park to Raja Seat at a cost of Rs three crore, Bayalu Ranga Mandira at a cost of Rs 1.20 crore, and a tunnel aquarium.

A comfortable footpath, ponds, solar lights, garden lights, statues will be laid in the garden, if the government okays the proposal. With tourism being one of the major source of income in Kodagu after coffee business, measures will be taken to improve and explore tourism potential in the district, the DC said.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> District / by Srikanth Kallammanavar, Madikeri / DHNS – February 06th, 2014

Meat of the matter

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

MadikeriRestaurantKF24feb2014
A rough guide to Madikeri’s best (and humblest) tables

Coorg. Green hills, high skies, breathtaking treks, river-rafting, elephant-spotting and coffee plantation walks — at the end of the day, you’re ravenous. Where do you go to stuff yourself silly?

Although Coorg boasts of several restaurants at luxurious hotels — including the newest Taj Vivanta and The Tamara, a beautiful coffee estate-turned-resort — the real food experience can be had much more cheaply, and perhaps, more convincingly, if one looks for nourishment in the humbler messes and canteens of Madikeri, the old capital of the former kingdom of Coorg. It’s worth remembering that Coorg is situated at the crossroads of some of the world’s finest cuisines. While you’re never too far from the culinary delights of the south Indian pure vegetarian cooking (there are thali-only eateries aplenty), you’re also a stone’s throw away from Kerala (Mappila cooking) and of course, Mangalore (seafood), not to mention the (relatively) recent Tibetan element. Then there’s the local Kodava cuisine, the soul food of the Kodagu district.

The place to sample all of this is Madikeri, the old royal capital that used to be called Mercara. It has a fort, splendid temples and old churches, the rajas’ majestic tombs, plus a delightful traditional Friday bazaar and old-style bungalows to admire (some of which take in guests). Being a tourist destination, it also has something of a restaurant scene.

Traditional cuisine is best eaten at people’s homes, and you would get to taste it if you book yourself into a homestay, such as Gowri Nivas, an old Kodava house a short walk from the Fort in Madikeri. The pleasures of home-cooking include some rather unusual vegetable dishes (such as tender bamboo shoots) and the emblematic pandi curry, cubes of pork coated in a peppery masala flavoured with the local dark vinegar, kachampuli.

Another way to get a hearty Coorg meal is to head to Folksy Food (shut on Sundays), a three-table eatery tucked away on the first floor of a building on Temple Road — you spot it down the slope, roughly opposite Town Hall. Folksy is run as a labour of food-love by the gentle Mr Lipton (who doesn’t seem to have a first name), who’ll serve you the daily vegetarian rice meal and your choice of four non-veg add-ons: pork, chicken, mutton or fish. Akki roti — a thin pancake made of rice flour — is on offer only for dinner. Everything is prepared in the local style by Lipton’s wife Leelavati. Although the menu is limited (in fact, there’s no printed menu), a superb meal for two would set you back by a mere ₹300. Coorg Cuisine opposite the Head Post Office, on the upper floor of a blue-painted building, also has a wide range of à la carte dishes, including bamboo shoot or baimbale barthadh.

Among restaurants that steer clear of pork, East End Hotel, perched on the edge of the Brahmin’s Valley, has the most popular tables (no rooms here; but you can check into the adjacent colonial-style bungalow, Daisy Bank Heritage Inn, on Thimmaiah Road). This is a carnivore’s paradise: mutton balls, hearty biryani and a unique Coorg-style chicken fry. Late afternoons and evenings are best spent here, watching dusk creeping in over a keema or egg dosa accompanied by mutton cutlets.

Madikeri has a significant Mappila and Beary population. Rasheed, a local friend of mine, took me to a no-name place on the hillside at the northern edge of town known as New Canteen, where a joint-family of Beary Muslims serve lunch and dinner at their home to labourers and autorickshaw drivers. You eat in the family’s living room at their own dining table, and the entertainment consists of chatting with the many kids who sit around doing homework — the younger generation is a well-educated lot and some children speak very good English. The tasty ₹50 meal consists of rice, mackerel curry, fried sardines and a vegetable dish. We also made an advance order for dinner one day and got mouth-watering mutton chukka, nool puttu (steamed rice noodles) and chicken stew. To find the place, you’ll have to walk uphill from the Rajas’ Tombs and ask around; it’s near the turning towards Abby Falls, and definitely worth the trouble.

The more centrally located New Paris is in an old building in bustling College Road. The kindly proprietor is happy to see new customers and your table will soon be filled with mutton chukka, fish curry, chicken fry, biryani and Kerala or Ceylon parathas at wallet-friendly rates. Outside the busy lunch hours, this is also a good place to drop by for a hearty afternoon snack, such as the juicy mutton puffs (called pups) or delicious Kerala banana roast.

If it’s Mangalorean you crave, pull up a chair at the full-fledged seafood canteen, Samudra, above the government bus terminal — the prawn curry here is superb. Around town, lots of other smaller joints toss up tasty mackerel fry, such as Greenland near the Tollgate bus stop. Another joint that specialises in seafood is the Fishland restaurant in one of the lanes opposite the Fort.

Despite a major Tibetan settlement in the foothills at Bylakuppe, where you can visit a grand monastery and sample authentic Tibetan dishes, there are very few kitchens in Madikeri that serve steaming momos. Momos do make an appearance, however, on the menu at Coorg Biryani Center on the College Road, a fast food restaurant that also experiments with ‘exotic’ fare like burgers, shawarma and kathi rolls.

Like all hill stations, Madikeri has fine bakeries for a quick bite and one of the local specialties is chicken roll — an oven-baked roll stuffed with a spicy chicken mixture. Try India Bake House in Mahadevpet opposite the Market Building or Cauvery Bakes-n-Drinks at College Road. The former also makes a local-style pizza topped with chicken and salad, while Cauvery peddles paneer rolls. Come Friday the market is bustling with people, and in certain seasons you can pick up fresh bamboo shoot and wild mushrooms.

For European-style coffee, cakes, and bakes such as quiches, head to Pause: The Unwind Café (shut on Tuesday) in the Kodava Samaj Building, opposite the Fort. It also serves a light chicken curry with appams. The expresso (sic) — rather more like an americano — comes with bone-rattling levels of caffeine; it’s best tamed by a coffee and walnut mousse. Another coffee shop, Beans-n-Brew, is located in the charming old bungalow called Raintree in a lane behind the Town Hall, next-door to Power House. It also has a multi-cuisine restaurant, which does possibly the best tandoori chicken in town, plus local specialities and Mangalorean seafood items; no pork though.

The cafés of Madikeri mostly serve the normal darshini milk coffee but with less chicory than elsewhere — here you can expect about 20 per cent dilution as against the national average of 30 to 50 per cent chicory, so you may feel a whole lot perkier after a cup. Of course, if you buy fresh coffee powder directly from a mill, you can request them to not add any chicory and get the most amazing coffee experience you’ve ever had in your life.

Lots of shops around the Main Road are geared towards tourists and sell fresh spices, pickles, coffee powder, locally made wines (try the unusual coffee wine and rice wine here) and homemade juices. For sweets and savouries and high-quality natural honey, go to Komal Stores opposite the Fort. Do also look on their shelves for fresh chikkalunde, sweety-savoury soft balls of rice flour. A good place to hunt for pickles, including a mean pork pickle, is Numbikay on the road leading up to Raja’s Seat, where they also stock clothes, books on Coorg and souvenirs.

Coffee mills are found all over town, but for fine coffees and coffee paraphernalia head to Mercara Gold, located right at the central chowk, at the corner of Mahadevpet and College Road. They have their own coffee estate. They also sell spices, and you can even pick up a bottle of kachampuli. Later this year, they plan to open a small café-cum-eatery.

So, if you’re hungry, thirsty or both, come uphill to Coorg.

(The writer is a Bangalore-based crime fiction author, who writes in English and Swedish. Mr Majestic is his latest novel)

Food Log

Where to eat

● Coorg Cuisine on the Main Road, opposite Head Post Office; 9449699864

● East End Hotel, General Thimmaiah Road; 08272-225749

● Hotel New Paris, College Road; 08272-225222

● Samudra, above the government bus terminal; 08272-220216

● Greenland, near the Tollgate bus stop; 08272-224820

● Coorg Biryani Center, College Road

● India Bake House, Mahadevpet; 08242-220137

● Cauvery Bakes-n-Drinks, College Road; 09880400308

● Pause: The Unwind Café (shut on Tuesday), Kodava Samaj Building, opposite Fort; 0934376006

● Beans-n-Brew, Raintree bungalow, behind Town Hall, next to Power House; 9677129651

Buy

● Komal Stores, opposite Fort, 08272-228890

● Numbikay, towards Raja’s Seat

● Mercara Gold, Central Chowk, at the corner of Mahadevpet and College Road; 9341380456

source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> Features / by Zac O’Yeah / February 14th, 2014

Uthappa equaliser hurts Waveriders

Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Sports

SUMMARY

Goal would earn Wizards a couple of points as well but it left coach Roelant Oltmans with some areas to think about as well.

On the face of it Delhi Waveriders have had a decent outing. Their 1-1 draw with the UP Wizards on Wednesday maintained their impressive home record — they have been unbeaten for the seventh time in nine games played at the Dhyanchand Stadium — and the two points they earned from the result took them to the top of the HIL league on 19 points.

However Delhi skipper Sardar Singh wasn’t a particularly happy individual at the end of the game. “This was a game that we should have won,” he said. Delhi had taken the early lead through Yuvraj Walmiki and dominated early play and even though UP had surged in the second half of the match, had held on until the equaliser by SK Uthappa with eight minutes to go.

Sardar’s reaction was more disappointment than a fair assessment of the game. Both teams had their chances although Wizards had the more clear cut opportunities.

So far in the HIL, Waveriders have shown an inclination to attack constantly from the first whistle but they chose a more cautious approach in Wednesday’s encounter. “We knew that Wizards would be patient and would keep the ball with them and so we tried to show patience ourselves,” said Sardar after the game.

While Waveriders had better possession in the midfield, there were few circle penetrations and no shots on target as Wizards’ keeper George Bazely wasn’t called into play once.

Yuvraj Walmiki would go on to have an average game but he would put Waveriders on the scoreboard. The hard work was done by Simon Child on the right flank as he broke past a couple of defenders then passed to Walmiki who had been left unmarked in the front of the goal. Wizards had an opportunity to equalise soon after through a PC.

However the fact that their regular drag flicker VR Raghunath was sitting in the timeout zone after earning a green card meant that Luke Doerner took the flick. Doerner tried for a variation but ended up holding on to the ball for too long and gave it away.

Wizards and Raghunath had the chance to make amends in the third quarter through another PC in the 47th minute but Waveriders keeper Stockmann got a sliver of leg to deflect the ball to safety. As time ticked by, Waveriders slowly reverted to all out defence and were helped by the fact that Wizards’ forwards weren’t able to finish their moves. Their midfield built around Sardar Singh was expected to dominate but failed to exert itself.

NEEDED: BETTER MAN MARKING“We could have been better was in our man to man marking in the midfield,” said Sardar who was seen constantly exhorting his line to stay with the opposition players assigned to them. The mistakes eventually caught up and in the 62nd minute Wizards’ midfielder SK Uthappa got a ball which had been stolen from inside the Waveriders half line. To his credit, Uthappa, at the top of the circle turned and blitzed a forehand stroke into the board.The goal would earn Wizards a couple of points as well but it left coach Roelant Oltmans with some areas to think about as well.“Uthappa had a good game, but that is expected because he is one of India’s better midfielders. He has scored in this game as well as the last game but while that is good for the team, we need our strikers to be scoring goals for us as well,” he said.

source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Sports> Hockey / by Jonathan Selvaraj / New Delhi – February 06th, 2014

Gulshan Devaiah flags off the ‘iRUN for Indian Hockey’

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

Gulshan Devaiah, who was last seen in Sanjay LeelaBhansali’s ‘Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela’ flagged off the’ iRUN for Indian Hockey’ at the Hiranandani Thane Half Marathon yesterday. The theme of the run is to spread the message of promoting Indian hockey.

Gulshan was very ecstatic to flag off the race and to witness the energy on the ground. Talking about the event Gulshan says, “I was very excited to flag off the race, especially as it was promoting hockey. “Hockey has always had a special place in my heart since childhood. In fact the very first toy I got from my parents was a hockey stick. I even played a bit of hockey in my school days.”

The actor has a great road ahead with 3 movies in his bag. Gulshan will be seen in new avatar in Phantom’s next Hunter. He has also signed a two movie deal with Pooja Bhatt.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> Entertainment> Hindi> Bollywood / by Renuka Vyavahare, TNN / February 18th, 2014

Rahul Gandhi loves masala dosa and likes Coorg: Ramya

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

Actress-turned-politician Ramya has been splitting her time between her constituency Mandya and the Centre in Delhi, ever since she was elected to the Parliament. Also in focus, right now, is the party’s youth icon — Rahul Gandhi — who has made quite a few visits to Karnataka lately. Well, according to Ramya, the young leader’s focus is indeed on the state.

In fact, when Rahul came to Karnataka last weekend, he visited Ramya’s constituency, Mandya. “It was great when he visited. We were travelling on the left side of the road and he wanted to know what the logic in blocking even the right side of the road was. In fact, all the way from Tumkur to Mandya, we took the outer road to avoid stalling any traffic whatsoever. I was impressed, as he actually practises what he preaches,” says Ramya.

As a result of his many visits to the state, there was a clamour last month that Rahul would contest the Lok Sabha polls from Karnataka. Although Ramya dismissed this as a rumour, she said, “I would be really happy if he were to contest from Mandya, but it’s just a rumour. He has done extremely good work in Amethi and I would like to go there, see the things he has done and maybe implement a similar model here,” says Ramya.

Politics apart, Rahul apparently took some time off to experience the best that the state has to offer. Says Ramya, “He loves masala dosa and really likes Coorg (a destination we guess he must have gone to on one of his many visits to the state).”

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> Entertainment> Kannada> Movies / by TNN / February 21st, 2014

Pigeon drops dead in Kodagu, 4,500km away from home

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Records, All, World Opinion

Madikeri :

No one made much of it when a pigeon was found dead recently in Kakkabbe village near Madikeri. But it was no ordinary bird: there was a ring on its claw which aroused the interest of KM Chinnappa, environmentalist and director of Wildlife First Trust. It bore the inscription ‘SRPC 1110 Selam-7’.

Chinnappa immediately got around to tracing the bird’s origins. Turns out, the pigeon was a visitor from the Philippines and belonged to the Santolan Racing Pigeon Club there. It was a racing pigeon and was capable of flying continuously for 1,000 miles, as per records about such birds in America.

“It’s a wonder the pigeon flew 4,500km from the Philippines to Kodagu,” says Chinnappa.

Pigeons have a special ability to return to their place of origin even after flying for days on end. But it’s possible the pigeon from the Philippines got confused and lost its bearings due to interference from cell phone towers, claims Chinnappa.

Sometimes, pigeons also fly off track while trying to escape eagles, he adds.

The ring found on the pigeon was sent for analysis to the Bombay Natural History Society through bird expert Kripakara of Mysore.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Bangalore> Namma Metro / TNN / February 14th, 2014

K J George promises development of Kodagu

Business & Economy, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Leaders

District-in-Charge Minister K J George has said that he will make a honest effort to take up development works in the district. Speaking to mediapersons, he said that with the increase in crimes in Kushalnagar, a circular has been issued to set up Kushalnagar rural police station.
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He said that district administration has sought additional Rs 2 crore to take up 63 works related to drinking water, to mitigate shortage of water in villages. “I have appraised the CM to sanction Rs 100 crore special package to maintain roads in the district. Six kilometre road covering Kedaka-Horoor-Bhoothanakad will be re asphalted at a cost of Rs 50 lakh. Virajpet-Madikeri and Somwarpet-Madikeri road will be concreted,” he added.

“The government has sanctioned Rs eight crore to take up work on Balele-Nittur bridge. Rs 10 crore to construct a bridge across Lakshmanatheertha on Harihara-Balyamandoor. A sum of Rs 10 crore will be provided for the development of Jenukuruba and tribal colonies in the district. As form 9 and 11 while registering a property has been causing inconvenience, the Minister has been asked to drop the proposal,” George said.

He said that Revenue Minister has been asked to appoint a Special Tahsildar to Kushalnagar. Measures will be taken to lay 400 metre synthetic track and synthetic football ground in Madikeri. “The district administration has sought funds for the development of Gaddige park, Mallalli waterfalls and Rajaseat.”

Rules to be relaxed

In a separate meeting with the tribals, the minister said rules would be relaxed for tribal people in recruitment to police force. “Tribals and forest dwellers are leading a pathetic condition even after 67 years of independence. Rules regarding physical standards would be relaxed.”

The Minister said that he will discuss with Forest Minister on wages for mahouts working in Dubare forest. “Traditional dwellers should not be cleared. The department should come forward to provide basic facilities for the tribals residing on the periphery of the forest,” he said. He directed the officials to initiate measures to distribute 270 individual claims under Forest Rights Act.

Kudiyara Muthappa said that tribals who have been residing inside the forest are not ready to come to the mainstream of the society. Those tribals who have passed tenth standard should be provided job opportunity in police department.” Tribal leader J P Raju said “the government should purchase paisari land and distribute it among the poor.”
MLC T John, IGP Ramachandra Rao, Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer P I Srividya, Deputy Commissioner Anurag Tiiwari among others were present.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> District / Madikeri – DHNS, February 11th, 2014

Bayar’s Coffee bags award

Business & Economy, Coffee News, Coffee, Kodagu (Coorg)

Bangalore :

Bayar’s Coffee, a gourmet coffee roaster, has bagged the Best Roasters Gold Award-2014 awarded by Coffee Board of India and India Coffee Trust.

“This award is in recognition of Bayer’s Coffee adopting food safety standards, implementation of new technology and use of high quality coffee beans in its blends,” said R Srikanth Rao, Director, Bayar’s Coffee.

source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> Companies / The Hindu Bureau / Bangalore – February 05th, 2014

Coffee exports up 38% in Jan on strong global prices

Business & Economy, Coffee News, Coffee, Kodagu (Coorg)

Country ships 26,161 tonnes in Jan 2014, versus 18,979 tonnes a year ago

The country’s coffee exports rose 38 per cent to 26,161 tonnes in January on account of firm global prices, according to the Coffee Board of India.

The country had shipped 18,979 tonnes in the same month of the previous year, the data showed.

In value terms, exports rose to Rs 393.70 crore in January this year from Rs 304.70 crore in the year-ago period, even as unit realisation was down at Rs 1,50,496 per tonne.

“Exports remained high as global prices improved and have remained stable since last one month. International prices have gone up on expectation of lower crop in Brazil,” Board’s Chairman Jawaid Akhtar told PTI.

Currently, harvesting is underway in the country and normally small growers try to sell off their produce. This is also one of the key reasons for higher exports, he said.

Akhtar, who also heads International Coffee Organisation (ICO), said the production forecast for Brazil, the world’s largest coffee producer, has been revised downward for this year to below 48 million bags from earlier 58 million bags.

With this development, arabica prices in the global market rose to around 130 cents per pound now from 110 cents per pound a month back, he added.

According to the latest Board data, shipment of robusta coffee rose over 90 per cent to 10,101 tonnes in January this year, from 5,306 tonnes a year ago.

Export of arabica coffee were up over 46 per cent to 9,200 tonnes from 6,290 tonnes in the review period. But export of instant coffee remained down at 6,838 tonnes as against 7,356 tonnes in the same period.

Maximum coffee was exported to Italy (5,675 tonnes), followed by Germany (2,621 tonnes), Belgium (2,109 tonnes), Jordan (1,674 tonnes), Turkey (1,646 tonnes) and Russian Federation (1,309 tonnes) in January 2014, the data showed.

During the April-January period of this fiscal, the country’s total coffee exports increased to 2,41,956 tonnes as against 2,25,570 tonnes in the year-ago period.

Currently, arabica harvesting is almost over in the country, while robusta picking is continuing.

The Board has pegged total output at 3,11,500 tonnes for 2013-14 crop year (October-September), down by 2.1 per cent from 3,18,200 tonnes produced in 2012-13.

source: http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> Economy & Policy> News / by Press Trust of India / New Delhi – February 03rd, 2014

MP admits sacrificing sheep, fowl in reserve forest

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links / Pre-Independence

Mysore and Kodagu MP A H Vishwanath admitted to media persons, on Tuesday, that he sacrificed one sheep and a fowl at the shrine of Handikere Chowdamma, in Kachuvinahalli Reserve forest.
SheepKF19feb2014
He has also allegedly violated law by entering the Reserve forest without permission. Range Forest Officer Devaraj said, the MP and his family had obtained oral permission to visit the shrine in the Reserve forest. “However, they were asked not to perform any pooja,” he said. While Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF) Shivashankar Swamy said, “Following a request from the MP, the department had made arrangements to ferry 15 members of the family, besides giving them adequate security. Permission was given on humanitarian grounds. No complaints have been received in this regard.”

Vishwanath, along with MLA H P Manjunath, was in Neralekuppe, on the fringes of the forest, in the taluk, supervising the feast, where non-vegetarian food was served. The feat had been organised for his followers and Congress party workers. People were arriving in various vehicles, including trucks, up to 4 pm and 5,000 people attended it, according to one estimate.

Surprisingly, leaders from opposition parties also savoured the food and enjoyed Vishwanath’s hospitality. JD(S) candidate in the last Assembly election Kumaraswamy, who lost against Manjunath, and BJP candidate Annaiah Nayak were prominent among the guests. Vishwanath brushed aside questions, if it was a election campaign feast. He said, “There is no politics in hosting this lunch. My wife had made a vow to the deity to make some offerings during the last Assembly elections. We are fulfilling it. We have offered pooja to the deity and sacrificed one sheep and a fowl,” he said.

Replying to a question, he said, three days back he also fulfilled a vow to Periyapattanadamma at Periyapatna. “I have see, to which goddess I have to fulfil a vow in Madikeri,” he quipped.

Hunsur town’s famous caterer Raghu had prepared the food. He said, four quintals of rice, 500 kg mutton and 700 kg chicken was used.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> District / Hunsur (Ramesh District) / February 04th, 2014