Nitin Kushalappa’s Book “Dakshin: South Indian Myths And Fables Retold” Launched

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Mysuru :

Mookonda Nitin Kushalappa’s English book “Dakshin: South Indian Myths and Fables Retold” was launched at Atta Galatta Bookstore auditorium in Bengaluru on April 2.

The event was attended by Maha Vir Chakra awardee Lt. Col. Puttichanda S. Ganapathi, IRS Officer Preeth Ganapathy, retired Superintendent of Police Mookonda K. Ganapathy, Col. Maddanda Uthappa, Ponnakachira Machaiah, retired Assistant Commissioner of Customs Muckatira Suresh and others.

This book, which was earlier released on Amazon on Feb.13, 2023, is already a bestseller in various book categories. Atta Galatta is located in Indiranagar and has a cafeteria with an auditorium attached to its bookstore.

Presenting the slide show to the audience along with his wife Deepthi, Nitin spoke of the 15 stories in his collection, the regions and sources they came from, the illustrations and the rhymes that support the stories.

Lt. Col. P.S. Ganapathi, MVC, spoke of how he came to meet Nitin a few years ago and how they worked together on a previous book, ‘The Major Who Kept His Cool’ (Col. Ganapathi’s biography authored by Nitin).

Sanjeev Rajarao spoke of how he reaches out to Nitin for any information on Kodagu and Kodavas and how Nitin connects the dots.

Mrs. Leo, Nitin’s school teacher, Preeth Ganapathy, IRS, Bayavanda Monnappa, COO of BHive, Mookonda K. Ganapathy and Vishwanath also spoke. Nitin’s mother Mookonda Pushpa Poonacha spoke about the importance of folklore.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / April 07th, 2023

Now, all vehicles have to pay to enter Nagarahole forests in Kodagu

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Tourists park by the waterfalls on the Bhagamandala-Karike Road and litter the area with plastic and liquor waste.

A forest checkpost at Karike in Kodagu district ​
A forest checkpost at Karike in Kodagu district ​

Madikeri :

Not just inter-state, now even intra- and inter-district vehicles will have to pay an entry fee at the forest gates of Nagarahole in Kodagu. The forest department took this step to put an end to the rampant dumping of garbage and littering in forest areas in the district. 

Kodagu Chief Conservator of Forests Murthy BNN pointed out that it had become a herculean task for the department to control littering and dumping of garbage in forest fringes. “But after we introduced strict checking and entry fee at Nagarahole Gate, the dumping of huge quantities of waste materials brought from Kerala into Kodagu forests has been controlled,” he said. 

Entry fee will also now be collected at Makutta Gate in South Kodagu where garbage was being dumped from Kerala and surrounding areas. To prevent unauthorised parking and littering, the forest department is conducting regular vigil in forest areas that lead to popular tourist spots. 

Tourists park by the waterfalls on the Bhagamandala-Karike Road and litter the area with plastic and liquor waste. “This is causing an adverse effect on the wildlife and the department is conducting stringent checks to control this,” he said.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Express News Service / April 15th, 2023

New zip line facility in Madikeri, India

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Raja’s Seat, a historic viewing point in southern India that is popular with tourists, has had a new zip line installed.

The zip line, said by the Hindu Bureau to be 310m in length, was inaugurated by deputy commissioner of Kodagu, BC Sateesha, and additional superintendent of Kodagu District Police, KS Sundar Raj, who both took a ride on the new attraction. 

Mr Sateesha urged the local authorities to “pay adequate attention to safety aspects and obtain a certificate from General Thimayya National Academy of Adventure.” He also emphasised to the Horticulture Department officials that “full compliance of the guidelines issued by the Academy for practice of adventure sports” should be achieved.

The zip line facility is being operated in partnership with a “private player” from the city of Bengaluru for the next five years.

source: http://www.intergameonline.com / iNTERGAME / Home> Coin-Op> Pay-to-Pay / by Joey Howey / April 13th, 2023

Dr Ramachandra Kamath receives best paper award

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Madikeri : 

Dr Ramachandra Kamath, professor and head, department of community medicine, Kodagu Institute of Medical Sciences and visiting faculty, Edward & Cynthia Institute of Public Health received the Dr R N Roy best paper award from Dr C V Ananda Bose, Governor of West Bengal recently.

Dr Kamath received the award for his paper titled, ‘Assessment of health status and impact of pollution from thermal power plant on health of population and environment around the plant in Udupi district Karnataka’ published in Indian Journal of Public Health of the year 2022, Vol. 66, Issue 2.

source: http://www.daijiworld.com / DaijiWorld.com / Home> Karnataka / by Media Release / April 12th, 2023

Karnataka assembly elections: Ajjikuttira S Ponnanna is Congress candidate

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Karnataka assembly elections: Ajjikuttira S Ponnanna is Congress candidate
Ajjikuttira S Ponnanna

Madikeri : 

Ajjikuttira S Ponnanna said he seeks a change in Virajpet constituency in Kodagu this time. He spoke to STOI after his name was finalized by Congress as its candidate to contest from Virajpet constituency.


Though the BJP candidate’s name has not been announced, it is presumed that sitting MLA and former speaker KG Bopaiah will again be given ticket to contest in Virajpet.


Ponnanna is an high court advocate and has served as the principal government advocate. He said: “I have formed a trust in the name of my late father and mother that is supporting needy students and poor financially”.


He said that he had contacted most of the voters in the constituency and had support of local Congress leaders.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> City News> Mysuru News / by G Gajendra / TNN / March 26th, 2023

Kodava Family Cup Hockey Festival-2023: Kuppanda Team Trounces 3-Time Champion Kulletira

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Kundyolanda family to host 24th edition hockey tournament next year

Madikeri:

The grand 23rd edition of Appachettolanda Kodava Hockey Festival came to a close last evening with the Kuppanda team emerging victorious. Earlier champions Kulletira team had to be satisfied with the runner’s up place. The Nellamakkada team stood third and the Palanganda team came fourth.

The Kuppanda family team beat three-time champion Kulletira team by a margin of 4-2 goals in the penalty shoot-out and the Kuppanda family became the champion for the first time. The Kulletira family had won the tournaments in 1998, 1999 and 2002.  The penalty shoot-out was necessitated as both Kuppanda and Kulletira teams scored one goal each during the stipulated match timings. While Kuppanda Somaiah scored the first goal for his team in the 16th minute of the game, the crowd erupted in joy. But the Kuppanda team’s jubilation was short-lived as Kulletira Avinash equalised the score for his team in the 22nd minute.

The Kuppanda team scored four goals in the penalty shoot-out while the Kulletira team could score only two goals. The winning team received Rs. 3 lakh cash purse and a trophy while the runner’s up team got Rs. 2 lakh cash purse and a trophy. The winners also got a rolling trophy given by the Kodava Hockey Academy.

The 24th edition of the family hockey tournament is planned in 2024 and the Kundyolanda family will play host.

More than 3,000 hockey talents from the Kodava community participated in the Appachettolanda Kodava Hockey Festival that was held at General Thimayya Stadium at Napoklu from Mar. 18 to Apr. 9 and in all, 336 families took part, a record of sorts.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News> Sports / April 10th, 2023

Son gets ticket from Congress, while his father is a JD(S) candidate

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Mantar Gowda remained with the Congress, while his father A. Manju was hopping from one party to another.

The Congress has chosen Mantar Gowda, son of former Minister A. Manju, for the Madikeri seat in Kodagu district. Interestingly, Mr. Manju is the JD(S) candidate for Arkalgud seat in Hassan district.

In 2021, when the elections for the Legislative Council from local bodies were held, Dr. Mantar Gowda had contested in Kodagu district on the Congress ticket and lost. Then, his father was with the BJP.

Dr. Mantar Gowda started his career in Congress. He worked as the president of the Hassan district Youth Congress.

His father was a Minister in the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government. He quit the party after suffering defeat in the 2018 Assembly elections and contested for Hassan Lok Sabha seat in 2019 on the BJP ticket.

Again, he left the BJP due to differences within the party. He was hoping to rejoin the Congress. However, the party did not assure him the ticket to contest for Arkalgud seat, forcing him to join the JD(S).

Even as his father was moving from one party to another, Dr. Mantar Gowda, a radiologist, remained with the Congress. He got a chance to contest in the council polls. And, now he has an opportunity in the Assembly polls.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> India / by The Hindu Bureau / April 06th, 2023

Office-Bearers Of Karnataka Rajya Kattadha Karmikara Kendra Sangha

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The following are the new office- bearers of Karnataka Rajya Kattadha Karmikara Kendra Sangha:

Venugopal, Ballari (State Vice-President), K. Shivakumar, Mysuru (State General Secretary- Administration), B. Chandrappa, Davanagere (State Secretary), Anthony Johnson, Mysuru (State Secretary), Nagaraju, Chitradurga (State Convenor), Dr. M. Mogannachar, Mysuru (Treasurer).

State Directors:

Hoovaiah (Kodagu), Lokesh Kumar (Hassan), Puttamadaiah (Mysuru), Ramesh (Haveri).

State Executive Committee members:

Ankanna, Ravi Kumar, Rajesh, Jogi, Parashuram.

District Presidents:

Shivakumar (Hassan), Mylarappa (Chitradurga), B.R. Basavaraju (Davanagere), Santhosh Kumar (Shivamogga), Veerendra (Kodagu), Suresh (Vijayanagar), D.L. Kumarachari (Chamarajanagar), Anjinappa (Tumakuru), Ramappa (Gadag), Jilanimakandara (Hubbali and Dharwad), Shivaswamy (Bengaluru Rural), Gurupada Danannanavar (Belagavi), Krishnachari (Haveri), Anjinaiah (Ballari) and Shivanna (Mysuru).

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> In Briefs / April 08th, 2023

At 79, Padma Shri Ummathat Ki Rani is busy pushing for a Kodava ‘lipi’

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Rani’s entire career has been dedicated to preserving and promoting the folk dance form, Ummathat, of the Kodava tradition.

Rani Machaiah (seated) was felicitated at a function in Madikeri on Thursday, 26 January. (Supplied)
Rani Machaiah (seated) was felicitated at a function in Madikeri on Thursday 26 Jan (supplied)

The news came as mellifluous as the song that accompanies Ummathat, the traditional dance form of Kodagu.

Rani Machaiah — better known as Ummathat Ki Rani  — was at her home in Madikeri when she received the news of the nation honouring her with Padma Shri.

Congratulatory calls have been flooding her from relatives, friends, well-wishers, and most importantly, from her large number of students since Wednesday, 25 January.

“A train of thoughts crossed my mind,” the 79-year-old shared her experience with South First. “I have worked for around 50 years, promoting this traditional dance form.”

She has been leading Ummathat since 1984 and she had trained over 10,000 students.

Rani recalled taking her students to different states to showcase the dance form. “Ummathat is performed by a troupe of 20 — two will be singing and the other eighteen will dance to narrate a story,” she explained.

“This dance form is similar to the traditional ones of every other state,” she added.

Creating masters

Rani doesn’t dance anymore. But she still teaches students to master the art form. She had trained several batches of students.

Padma Shri Rani Machaiah. (Supplied)
Padma Shri Rani Machaiah. (Supplied)

“Once they get married, they leave and a new batch joins. Girls of any age can join the troupe,” Rani said.

Her students had performed in Lakshadweep, Goa, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Mizoram, Odisha, Punjab, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and several places across Karnataka.

“We get invitations from various places and institutions from all over the country and we perform our traditional Ummathat there,” Rani, who has dedicated herself to preserving and promoting the traditional dance form, said.

Rani was born in 1943 in Siddapura in the Kodagu district. Her husband, the late Machaiah, was an advocate, who passed away when she was 65.

Her son, Sathish Machaiah, 55, is a software engineer in Bengaluru. Rani’s daughter, Saritha Devaiah, is a homemaker in Kodagu. Her husband Devaiah owns a plantation.

When asked about her inspiration to take up Ummathat, Rani said it was personal interest.

Now, a lipi

Rani is the chairperson of Kaveri Kalavrunda Sangha, an organisation she founded. She is the recipient of the Rajyotsava Award and many other honours.

She was a former president of Karnataka Kodava Sahitya Academy and at present, she is encouraging groups of Kodavas working on designing a lipi — alphabet or script — for the Kodava language to preserve its literature since the language doesn’t have a lipi now (traditionally, Kodavas use the Thirke script, which is an abugida).

“It will look somewhat similar to Kannada and it will have phonetics and extra words that are used in the Kodava language in Kannada lipi,” Rani said.

source: http://www.thesouthfirst.com / South First / Home> Karnataka / by Bellie Thomas / January 27th, 2023

Commoners appointed SVEEP ambassadors in Kodagu

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Kodagu DC B.C. athish (second from right) with SVEEP ambassadors Eshwari, Ravi Muthappa and Basavaraj Badiger in Madikeri on Thursday. Kodagu ZP CEO S.Prakash is also present. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

The Kodagu district administration has appointed a few commoners drawn from the civil society as its ambassador for Systematic Voters Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) drive.

The ambassadors are S.K. Eshwari of Mekari village who is specially abled; Basavaraj Badiger, an arts and painting teacher from 7 Hoskote Government Higher Primary School; and K. Ravi Muthappa who is a Home Guard personnel. They were felicitated by the Deputy Commissioner of Kodagu B.C. Satish, ZP CEO S. Prakash and others on behalf of the SVEEP committee with shawl and fruits on Thursday and the posters to create voters awareness and education were also released on the occasion.

The authorities said though Ms. Eshwari is specially abled she was determined to overcome it and despite certain limitations, mastered various types of crafts and has been described as a role model for others. Determined to be self-reliant, Ms. Eshwari mastered sewing and has taken to sports in a big way including wheel chair race, swimming etc. As an individual who was schooled at home, Ms. Eshwari is also into writing poetry and stories, scripting plays and has won state-level prize in poetry writing, the authorities added. This apart she is also into vegetable carving and has spread the message of Swacch Bharat, wealth from waste and plastic-free drive among other such national programmes and has won many awards.

Similarly, Mr. Basavaraj Badiger has his own achievements and has been a fine arts teacher since 16 years. His works have been exhibited in different parts of the State including at Pattadakal festival, Badami festival etc and he has won the best teacher award at the taluk level. Besides, he has also won a state-level award for teachers’ co-curricular activities.

Mr. K.Ravi Muthappa has been with the Home Guards sinc 13 years. Belonging to Ivathoklu near Cheerambani, he has engaged himself in social service since many years. His services are sought during accidents in rivers, waterfalls and lakes and he has retrieved 39 human bodies so far. In the 2019 floods that ravaged the district Mr. Muthappa was instrumental in retrieving 5 bodies of a family that was buried in the slush in Korangala.

The three will take part in various voters awareness programme in the days ahead, said the authorities.

www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> India> Karnataka / by The Hindu Bureau / April 06th, 2023