TheTamara Coorg returns with The Tamara Carnival

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy

After receiving an overwhelming response from guests last year, The Tamara Coorg is back with the second edition of their musical and performing arts fiesta – The Tamara Carnival. The signature fest which takes guests on a journey of India’s great social and cultural heritage through music and dance will be held from December 23, 2016 to January 1, 2017 at The Tamara Coorg.

As the year comes to an end, the resort which is nestled in the mountains of picturesque Coorg, will joyously ring in the Christmas and New-Year festivities with The Tamara Carnival. This beautifully curated festival is a blend of music, dance and performing arts, showcasing the diverse and rich heritage of India. The festival will usher in the celebratory season with exhilarating performances that reflect the true essence of India’s tradition and culture.

The Tamara Carnival will enliven the atmosphere as guests will witness Indian and Western performances including Kathak recital, Kodava dance, a fusion of Marathi Lavani and Bengal flute, Margham Kali, saxophone performance, Kerala art forms, Vyali Bamboo act, Illusionist and many more fascinating and entertaining acts. Apart from the carnival, guests can also take advantage of the treks, coffee plantation tour, yoga and pottery making sessions among others to refresh themselves.

The 10-day carnival aims to gently ease into guests’ consciousness, rejuvenating and uplifting their spirits and leaving them in a blissful state of harmony with their inner being and the universe, amidst the serenity and beauty of nature.

source: http://www.hospitalitybizindia.com / HospitalityBizIndia.com / Home> News Track / by HBI Staff – Mumbai / December 12th, 2016

Madikeri DC tells engineers to expedite water works

Agriculture, Business & Economy, Science & Technology

Deputy Commissioner Richard Vincent D’souza on Monday has threatened the engineers concerned that they would be held accountable for any complaints/problems pertaining to drinking water supply.

Chairing a meeting on drinking water works and fodder issues, the deputy commissioner expressed his anguish against the engineers over the tardy progress in the drinking water works taken up at a cost of Rs 1 crore last year. The DC was upset over the underutilisation of funds sanctioned for the water works. “If there is failure in utilising the amount, sanctioned last year, to its fullest, how can we seek funds for the current year, the DC questioned.

The deputy commissioner directed the engineers to expedite the water works and address the water woes in the district.

Additional Deputy Commissioner M Satish Kumar said, “A Cabinet sub-committee headed by Revenue Minister Kagodu Thimmappa has been constituted. The sub-committee should be apprised of the measures taken.”

The officials should furnish information related to measures taken to address drinking water complalints, cattle feed among others, he added.

The Addl DC also instructed the officers to speed up drought relief works.
Zilla panchayat deputy secretary, planning director, chief planning officer and executive officers of respective taluk panchayats were told to work in tandem to mitigate drought.

Rural Drinking Water Engineer Shashidhar, along with assistant executive enginers from three taluks in the district, apprised the meeting of the status of the works taken up in the district.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> District / DHNS – Madikeri, December 13th, 2016

Gather your sickles,it’s a harvest

Agriculture, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature

kodavasgatherkf11oct2016

Bengaluru :

As Kodavas retreat to their Kodagu homes from the hurry-burry of the city to rest and celebrate the annual harvest festival, there are some who will be celebrating the Puthari (also known as Puttari and Huttari) festival in the city this time.

“It is hard for me to head back home this time because Puttari falls mid-week,” says Pratvii Ponnappa, who is born and brought up in Bengaluru but usually heads back to Coorg to celebrate the festival. “My father will be going to Coorg, but I will be staying back and celebrate it on the day local Kodavas decide”.

“Celebrating in Coorg means coming together with your family, celebrating in the city means coming together with your community,” Pratvii says.

M T Subbaiah, administrative officer of Kodava Samaja, says, “We have 13,000 Coorgis in the association. This year there will definitely be more celebrating the festival with us since it falls on a week day.” Around 3,000 to 4,000 people are expected to attend this year’s Samaja festival.

Puthari, which means the paddy festival, will be celebrated on December 13 this year. Last year it was in the end of November.
On the day of the festival, family members assemble in their ancestral house or ‘Ain Mane’, which is decorated with flowers, mango and banana leaves.

The children play with fire crackers and in an “auspicious hour” the eldest of the family hands a sickle to the head of the family.

The auspicious time is decided by the Igguthappa temple.
The family together head to the paddy field. A woman leads the procession holding a lit lamp in her hands. A paddy stick is cut and a gunshot is fired to mark the beginning of the harvest. The chanting of “Poli Poli Deva” is recited and the paddy is stacked in odd numbers to be carried home and offered to the gods.

Small bundles of paddy straw are handed to the family members, which are received as a symbol of prosperity.

Since there are no paddy fields in and around the city, the Kodava associations usually get paddy from Coorg and distribute them among the people who come to celebrate. This year, the Kodava Samaja will be celebrating it on Tuesday evening.

The programme will commence at 6:30 pm when all the members will gather for an annual awarding of scholarships and for a speech by community leaders. By 7 pm, everyone will gather in a small 10*8ft piece of paddy land in the office premise to follow the customary ritual. At 9 pm special foods such as thambuttu (made of mashed bananas and roasted rice powder and topped with grated coconut and melted ghee), kadaumbuttu (rice dumplings with coconut milk and ghee), holige (flatbread from flour, jaggery and ghee) and puttari payasa (from rice, coconut milk and jaggery) will be served.

Kishoo Uthappa is heading to Coorg today for the festival since he has grown a small amount of paddy in the field for this festival and he does not want to miss it.

“I am an entrepreneur so I can take off whenever I want,” he says. “Most importantly, I don’t want my children to miss the festival.”

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Regina Gurung / Express News Service / December 10th, 2016

Asia’s first woman coffee taster is all set to open a Coffee Museum in Bengaluru

Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Coffee News, World Opinion
Sunalini Menon, a coffee taster and CEO of Coffee Labs is an avid collector of memorabilia concerning coffee.
Sunalini Menon, a coffee taster and CEO of Coffee Labs is an avid collector of memorabilia concerning coffee.

Bengaluru :

Sunalini Menon remembers the first Cafe Coffee Day (CCD) outlet VG Siddhartha started on Brigade Road in 1996. She had just ended a two decade-long stint at Coffee Board and was making brews for CCD under her independent consultancy Coffeelab.

Siddhartha, Menon reminisces, took advantage of the IT boom to make an offer: buy one cup of coffee and surf the net for one hour.

“We served filter coffee on the ground floor and espresso on the mezzanine floor. People warmed up to only cappucino and lambasted us for charging exorbitant rates for a cup of brew.“

In stark contrast, the three-day Coffee Santhe last weekend saw a footfall of 4,000 people. “We have come a long way since,“ Menon, Asia’s first woman coffee taster, points out.

It is experiences and journeys like these that Menon plans to document in a museum dedi cated to coffee. That’s her dream project and a final ode to her love for coffee.The project, which has been in the pipeline for some time now, is taking shape.

“We are forming a trust since it is a non-profit initiative. It requires two acres of land as we plan to grow coffee around it. We have decided on Devanahalli, though there is an offer for it to come up in Chikmagalur,“ she said, explaining that budgets have to worked on accordingly . Menon favours a location closer to the airport as “travellers with a transit visa can see the museum, have a cup of coffee and fly back with happy memories of India.“

Menon, 64, has the blueprint ready .“We will start with the story of Baba Budan (who brought coffee to South India) and traverse to the cultural aspects of coffee, diversified cultivation patterns and types of seed material.We are planning a layout that is representative of a typical Indian coffee plantation.“

The exhibits will include antique coffee roasters, grinders, brewing equipment, mugs, cups and coffee powders from different corners of the world. The Coffeelabs office in RMV Extension, a mini-museum in itself, houses memorabilia including tribal products from coffee-growing areas, arecanut pickers, ancient milk measurement units and coffee pots.

“Each equipment throws light on the culture of the country it comes from,“ Menon explains. For instance, Italian pots have ornate carvings; the ones in Iran are known for their silver and filigree; Pakistan has a recurring crescent moon pattern while Egypt sports designs of Cleopatra.

Education consultant and coffee addict Shaista Baljee believes that a museum will find takers not only among aficionados like herself but others.“India, especially Karnataka, has such a fantastic coffee culture that has developed phenomenally over the years. An initiative like this in a tea-drinking country will be amazing.“

source: http://www.economictimes.indiatimes.com / The Economic Times / ET Home> Magazines> Panache / by Divya Shekhar, ET Bureau / December 07th, 2016

Samskritika Samarasya in Madikeri from today

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Department of Kannada and Culture, various linguistic academies, authorities will organise ‘Sangama, Sambhrama, Samskritika Samarasya’ at Field Marshall Cariappa College premises in Madikeri on December 7 and 8. A huge stage has been built at the college premises and seating arrangements have been done for 2,500 people. Flexes and buntings have been put up. 30 stalls have been set up for the exhibition and sale of books. Guest houses across the district have been booked for the guests and artistes.

The programme is being held to mark the versatility of the culture in Kodagu and to promote the cultural exchange. There is also an intention to introduce the culture of Kodagu to other districts, the organisers said. The department of Culture had organised a similar programme ‘Vasanta Sambhrama’ in Bengaluru, two years ago. Also, following the grand success of the programme, ‘Sangama, Sambhrama-Vartamanada Tallana’ was held in Mangaluru. Now, Kodagu has got the opportunity to host the programme, which will be organised by Kodava Sahitya Academy, Arebhashe Samskriti and Sahitya Academy.

A cultural procession, to be taken out at 9.30 am, will mark the beginning of the convention. Deputy Commissioner Richard Wilson D’Souza will flag off the procession. Around 30 art troupes from Kodagu and other districts will take part. As many as 6,000 people are expected to witness the event, said Kodava Sahitya Academy chairman Biddatanda S Tammaiah.

‘Sangama, Sambhrama, Samskritika Samarasya’ will be inaugurated by Kannada and Culture Minister Umashree at 11.30 am. MLA Appacchu Ranjan will preside over the programme. District In-charge minister M R Seetaram will inaugurate the painting and sculpture exhibition.

Forest Minister B Ramanath Rai will inaugurate the book exhibition. Zilla Panchayat president B A Harish, MP Pratap Simpa, MLA K G Bopaiah, MLC M P Sunil Subramani, Veena Acchaiah and others will take part. Various academies will present cultural programmes on both the days.

Visitors will be served meals and preparations towards the same has started from Tuesday afternoon. The cooks have been preparing ‘shavige uppittu’, ‘kesari baath’, coffee, tea for the breakfast, palav, sweet dishes, ‘palya’ rice and sambar for afternoon, coffee, tea for evening, rice, palya and sambar for night—to be served to 700 people on the first day. For Thursday, poori and sagu will be on the breakfast menu and rice sambar for meals, said Arebhashe Samskriti and Sahitya Academy president Kolyada Girish.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> District / by Aditya K A / DHNS – Madikeri, December 07th, 2016

Ashwini Ponnappa-N Sikki Reddy finish runners-up at Welsh International Challenge

Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Records, All, Sports, World Opinion

Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy went down to top-seeded Russian combination of Olga Morozova and Anastasia Chervyakov 21-16 21-11.

Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy had comfortably beaten England’s Lauren Smith and Sophie Brown 21-16 21-18 in the semis.
Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy had comfortably beaten England’s Lauren Smith and Sophie Brown 21-16 21-18 in the semis.

India’s women’s doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy finished runners-up at the Welsh International Challenge badminton tournament after losing in straight games in the final.

The unseeded Indian duo went down to top-seeded Russian combination of Olga Morozova and Anastasia Chervyakov 21-16 21-11 in a contest that lasted just 37 minutes.

Earlier, Ashwini and Sikki had comfortably beaten England’s Lauren Smith and Sophie Brown 21-16 21-18 in their semifinal match. The Indians took 39 minutes to get the better of the English team.

Meanwhile, the men’s doubles combo of Jishnu Sanyal and Shivam Sharma lost in the semifinals against Liao Kuan Hao and Lu Chia Pin of Chinese Taipei.

The third-seeded Chinese Taipei pair needed half-an-hour to make it to the finals by beating sixth seeded Indians 21-17 21-15.

Indians bowed out in the semifinals of the mixed doubles event also as second seeded N Sikki Reddy and Pranaav Jerry Chopra lost to Malaysians Goh Soon Huat and Shevon Jemie Lai 16-21 14-21 in 39 minutes.

source: http://www.indianexpress.com / Indian Express / Home> Sports> Badminton / by PTI / Cardiff – December 04th, 2016

Style guru Prasad Bidapa shares his thoughts on BT’s 19th birthday

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

prasadbidapakf06dec2016

“Nineteen years ago, I was one of the first columnists in Bangalore Times. I cut a wide swathe with that column, and BT was like a fresh breeze blowing through the city.

It chronicled the emergent Page 3 society and made Sandalwood the glamorous entity it is today.

Wherever I am in the country, I get to read The Times of India, but always miss reading Bangalore Times.

Happy anniversary BT, more power to you!” – Prasad Bidapa, style guru

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> Chennai News> Bangalore News / TNN / December 05th, 2016

The decoder of Coorg grammar

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Records, All

Coorg, as the British called Kodagu, was annexed by the East India Company in 1834, after dethroning the last Raja of Coorg, Veerarajendra. Coorg was administered as a separate province under a commissioner who was also in charge of Mysore. A British officer designated as superintendent was stationed in Madikeri and reported to the commissioner posted in Bangalore.

In March 1865, William Hobart Kerr, the superintendent of Coorg, fell ill and had to go on sick leave.

CaptRobertKF04dec2016

In his place, a young army officer, Captain Robert Andrews Cole, was appointed as the superintendent. Captain Robert was instantly attracted to the place, the climate, people and the invigorating environment. His duties involved meeting local people in remote villages, checking and updating land records, known as jamabandhi, which certified ownership and simplified revenue collection.

For fluent conversations…

Captain Cole was born in Madras in 1835, to an army doctor, Major General Robert Cole Sr. Having been educated in Madras, he was conversant with Tamil and Telugu. He had familiarised himself with Kannada on being posted in Bangalore. One of the problems Captain Cole encountered in Coorg was communicating with the Coorgis who spoke a dialect, which had many common words with Kannada, Tamil and other South Indian languages.

Surprisingly, according to Captain Cole, the Kodavas who lived in remote villages could not understand Kannada. This prompted him to learn the Kodava language so that he could effectively communicate with the people. Captain Cole soon started learning Kodava language. His knowledge of other South Indian languages helped. He began documenting the words, grammar and pronunciation. In order to help him communicate, he made extensive tables — known as Travel Talk — translating English sentences to Kannada (Canarese), Telugu, Tamil and Kodava language.

However, by October the same year, William Kerr returned, and assumed charge as the superintendent of Coorg. Captain Robert, who had taken a liking for Coorg, went back rather reluctantly to his posting in Bangalore. However, he continued his work on Kodava language. He learnt Kannada script for better conveyance of ‘peculiarities of pronunciation’, and started using this to transliterate Kodava language.

Captain Robert once again took charge from William Kerr, as superintendent of Coorg, in February 1866. He was happy to be back in this mountainous land and had come to enjoy the bracing weather. He particularly enjoyed his outings during the monsoon. This can be evidently seen in his book, Elementary Grammar of the Coorg Language, where he writes, “The thunderstorms during this season are often magnificent. The war of the elements is carried on here in a grander style than in the low country. Banks and mountains of clouds move against each other with the order of armies. The sound of heavy cannon is heard from a distance, solitary discharges of the electric fluid shoot through the gloom.”

Captain Cole served as the superintendent until December 1869. During this period, he compiled a comprehensive book on Kodava language. In 1867, with ample support from Lewin Bentham Bowring, who was the commissioner of Mysore and Coorg, he published his 136-page-book, Elementary Grammar of the Coorg Language. This was printed at the Wesleyan Mission Press. The book also contains a fragment of English-Coorg dictionary.

Captain Cole endeared himself to the people of Coorg. He also wrote another book titled A Manual of Coorg Civil Law. In appreciation of his contributions, an emerging town at the time was named after him as — Colepet. However, over the years, Colepet got merged with present day Ammathi. On promotion as a Major, he was appointed superintendent, Inam Settlement, Mysore. As a Colonel, he was with the Madras Staff Corps. He rose to the rank of Major General by the time he retired and returned to England.

He died in 1907. Major General Robert Andrews Cole ranks amongst other Europeans, who contributed to South Indian languages, such as Rev Hermann Mogling and Rev Ferdinand Kittel.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Supplements> Spectrum / by C.P.Belliappa / July 26th, 2016

Rohan Bopanna aims to achieve ‘big things’ in 2017

Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Sports

Rohan Bopanna, India’s doubles tennis specialist, is keen to put behind last year’s reverses and focus on achieving big things in 2017.

Rohan Bopanna said the singles rubbers against New Zealand hold key in Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group 1. (Source: Express File)
Rohan Bopanna said the singles rubbers against New Zealand hold key in Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group 1. (Source: Express File)

India’s doubles tennis specialist Rohan Bopanna said he is keen to put behind last year’s reverses and focus on achieving big things in 2017.

“There is no point in discussing negative matter (on his recent twitter spat with Leander Paes). We should focus on achieving big things in 2017,” Bopanna told reporters after announcement of EduSports and Rohan Bopanna Tennis Academy tieup.

Drawing inspiration from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to perform better in coming season, Bopanna said, “Look at Modi, he has taken a bold step by enforcing demonetisation. He has shown us the way forward,” he added.

Asked about his new partner Pablo Cuevas, Bopanna said he would join the Argentinean as per his singles schedule.

“Cuevas’ priority is definitely singles. I will play as per his schedule. Wherever Cuevas wants to play in the singles section, I will join him and we will compete in doubles,” he said.

Bopanna had recently split with Florin Mergea. The 36-year-old will participate in Australian Open in Melbourne, but not before he would start the season at Chennai Open in January and then Apia International in Sydney.

Replying to a query, Bopanna said the singles rubbers against New Zealand hold key in Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group 1 first-round tie.

“To qualify to the world group, we need two good singles players because out of the five points, four comes from singles,” he said. “I am hopeful Saketh Myneni, Yuki (Bhambri) and Ram (Ramkumar Ramanathan) can beat the top guys now,” he added.

source: http://www.indianexpress.com / Indian Express / Home> Sports> Tennis / by PTI / Bengaluru – November 22nd, 2016

Assam CM inaugurates Nagaland coffee exhibition

Coffee News, World Opinion

Assam chief minister, Sarbananda Sonowal on Thursday inaugurated the exhibition cum sale of Nagaland Coffee at Kisama. He was accompanied by Nagaland chief minister, T.R. Zeliang and cabinet colleagues from Assam and Nagaland.

According to an official, the department promotes both Arabica and Robusta variety of coffee.

The department took up development of coffee in Nagaland in the year 2014 in collaboration with the Coffee Board of India with the aim of uplifting the economy of the rural people.

Coffee has a number of health benefits, such as lowering the risk of type II diabetics, alezheuner’s disease, dementia parkinson’s disease etc.

The department has teamed up with a coffee expert from South Africa, Dr. Pister to promote the production of coffee in the State. Dr. Pister will also be demonstrating the various process of coffee making like pulping, roasting etc and preparation of world class cappuccino, espresso etc.

source: http://www.nagalandpost.com / Nagaland Post / Home> State> State News / Dimapur – December 02nd, 2016