The South Western Railway has commissioned Computerised Advanced Reservation System at Virajpet post office at Virajpet in Kodagu district.
This is the 10th India Post Computerised Advanced Reservation Centre (PRS) in Mysuru division.
Working hours
The facility in South Coorg will benefit those in surrounding areas like Gonikoppal, Ammathi, Ponnampet and others, said K. Anil Kumar, Senior Divisional Commercial Manager.
The working hours of the PRS will be from 8.30 a.m. to 2.30 p.m. except on Sundays and general holidays. All transactions including tatkal bookings will be undertaken here.
In addition to normal charges, the following commission is payable per ticket: sleeper and II sitting – Rs.15; 3AC and AC chair car – Rs. 20 and other upper classes – Rs. 30, a release said.
For cancellation of reservations, in addition to normal cancellation charges, a commission of Rs. 10 per ticket will be levied.
Rajkumar Lal, Divisional Railway Manager, South Western Railway, Mysuru, said this facility would be very useful for people of South Coorg.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Mysuru – January 13th, 2016
New Mangalore Port Trust (NMPT) conducted a trade meet with coffee exporters and logistics providers from Madikeri, Kushalnagar, Chikmagalur, and Hassan regions at Kushalnagar recently.
A press release by NMPT said here on Tuesday the initiative was taken to facilitate a face-to-face interaction between coffee exporters, custom house agents, mainline vessel operators, logistic providers, and the port trust.
PC Parida, NMPT Chairman, said coffee exporters from Madikeri, Kushalnagar, Chikmagalur, and Hassan regions exported around 1.59 lakh tonnes of coffee in 2014-15 from NMPT.
The growing frequency of container vessels calling at the port, coupled with improved road connectivity and infrastructure at the port, had helped the port achieve the export performance. He hoped the trend would continue in the current fiscal also.
Suresh P Shirwadkar, Deputy Chairman, and Nownith Kumar, Senior Deputy Traffic Manager, spoke on the occasion.
The release said coffee exporters assured that they would route their consignments through New Mangalore Port.
source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> Economy> Logistics / The Hindu Bureau / Mangaluru -January 12th, 2016
Could this be the great-grandfather of Dunedin’s coffee culture?
Fished out of a landfill and rescued by Gasworks Museum volunteers, the La Pavoni Italian espresso machine may be the first imported into Dunedin.
It was understood the machine was used in George St’s Little Hut coffee bar, one of Dunedin’s first cafes, Gasworks Museum Trust board member Ann Barsby said yesterday.
It had been rescued and transferred to the museum ‘‘several years ago” but was only recently put on display. She hoped the machine could be restored, though ‘‘several” thousands of dollars could be needed.
‘‘I’m told by the Gasworks volunteers the boiler is what needs repairing, which is a complicated and expensive job.”The trust did not have the funds to carry out those repairs, though they did have the time and expertise, she said.
Mrs Barsby said she hoped the public – and perhaps Dunedin’s coffee companies – could be coaxed into contributing.
‘‘It would be splendid because it would be great if we could produce coffee using the original authentic machine.”
Mrs Barsby was interested to hear from anyone who had information on the machine’s provenance, or who was willing to contribute to fixing it.
– craig.borley@odt.co.nz
source: http://www.odt.co.nz / Otago Daily Times / Home> News> Dunedin / by Craig Borley / Friday – January 08th, 2016
A miniature of the State’s tableau on the theme ‘Kodagu: the coffee heaven of Karnataka’ for the Republic Day parade. The French President, Francois Hollande, will be the chief guest at this year’s parade.
The French President will be the chief guest at this year’s R-Day parade
French President Francois Hollande, who will be the chief guest at the Republic Day parade in New Delhi, will witness the various stages of coffee making in Karnataka’s tableau.
The State’s tableau this year is on the theme: Kodagu: the coffee heaven of Karnataka. It will depict various stages in the making of coffee, starting from women plucking the beans to processing them and the processed powder being finally turned into the aromatic brew. The tableau depicts Kodava women, wearing their distinctive dress, performing their traditional dance.
Folklorist H.L. Nage Gowda’s book Bettadinda Battalige (From the hills to the cup), on the coffee’s origin, is the basis for the tableau.
Shashidhara Adapa, who designed the tableau, said the work on it has commenced both in Bengaluru and New Delhi. Two sets of artists are working on creating sculptures and fabricating the tableau. “Steam emanating from a cup of coffee will be visible to the audience,” he said. The signature music will be by Praveen D. Rao.
It is for the sixth consecutive time that Karnataka is participating in the parade. Back in 2005, its tableau on the theme of Gomateshwara had bagged the first prize. In the subsequent years, the State showcased Mysuru Dasara, followed by Hoysala and Pattadkal architecture.
According to N. Vishu Kumar, Director of the Department of Information, the selection process is rigorous. “Only the best are chosen,” he said. Getting an opportunity to represent the State at the parade is an achievement in itself, he added.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / Muralidhara Khajane / Bengaluru – January 09th, 2016
Kodava Samaja Cultural and Sports Club, Vijayanagar 1st Stage in city has organised Tennis Ball Cricket Tournament for Kodavas in Mysuru on Jan. 15 from 9 am at Mahajana College Sports Ground in Jayalakshmipuram and at the Railway Ground, adjacent to the Railway Museum on KRS Road in city. The tournament will be inaugurated at 9 am at Mahajana College Sports Ground.
An exhibition match by the senior members (above 60 years) of the Club will be held on the same day at 3.30 pm in Mahajana College Ground. Interested senior members may contact Club’s Hon. Secretary K. D. Muthappa before Jan. 10
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports News / January 09th, 2015
Students of PG Diploma in Coffee Quality Management during the India Coffee Awards Ceremony in Bengaluru on Thursday | NAGARAJA GADEKAL
Bengaluru :
The Coffee Board on Thursday conferred the Best Coffee Exporters’ Awards to the best exporters of green coffee, specialty coffee, instant coffee and roasted coffee.
Coffee Board chairperson Leena Nair said the since 1999-2000, the board has been presenting the awards to motivate, encourage and maximise export performances, especially to key destinations.
Indian coffee exports have been good over the past few years, touching three lakh metric tonnes annually. Of the 538 exporters, 128, who actively exported coffee during 2013-14, were judged by a jury for the awards.
Chief Secretary Arvind Jadhav, who was the chief guest during the ceremony, said the coffee sector needs to be given a boost to drive the economy of the state in a major way. “Coffee cultivation in the state is threatened by climate change, but proper research should be put in to mitigate the effect and produce top-end coffee,” he added.
India exported 2.99 lakh metric tonnes of coffee during 2013-14 with export earnings of $776 million (Rs 4,594 crore), covering more than 100 countries. Italy, Germany, Russia, Belgium, Turkey and Spain are the top six countries importing Indian coffee.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Express News Service / January 08th, 2016
Coffee production in the country this year could reach close to three lakh metric tonnes. Production in Karnataka, the country’s largest coffee producer, would also be better compared to the last few years, said former Coffee Board Chairman Javed Akhtar.
Speaking at the India Coffee Awards Ceremony, organised by Coffee Board on Thursday, he said that the scheme to expand Indian coffee internationally was extremely successful and Indian exporters are hugely respected. The export of this bean has also registered a marked increase, consistently touching three metric tonnes annually in the last few years, he added. Coffee Board Chairman Leena Nair said that 128 entities were actively exporting coffee in 2013-2014 to more than 100 countries with earnings close to Rs. 4,594 crore.
Andhra Pradesh is also gearing up to become a serious coffee producing State, another former Chairman G.V. Krishna Rau pointed out.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / Staff Reporter / Bengaluru – January 08th, 2016
After flip-flopping for many months, there is a concrete sign of Karnataka getting its first river museum. On Wednesday, the state government took first baby steps to expedite on its dream project, Cauvery river gallery.
The gallery, expected to be thrown open to the public in six months from now will showcase cultural and socio economic aspects of the river. It will feature exhibits, detailed satellite images, multimedia displays, digital video-shows and real-time experience of cruising along the river which is around 765 km in length.
Originating in the Brahmagiri Hill in Kodagu, the river flows from the western ghats and descends into the eastern ghats in a south-easterly direction covering 320 km in Karnataka and drains itself into the Bay of Bengal. “The proposed gallery would be set up with the support of the National Academy of Sciences of India (NASI).
The government has already earmarked Rs 3.5 crore for the project. NASI would run it for first three years, train local personnel and then hand it over to the state government,” tourism minister R V Deshpande after signing an MOU with NASI on Wednesday said. By capturing the etymological, ecological, cultural, heritage, and social characteristics of the river, the gallery which would be set up in about 2500 sq ft area will also serve as a learning centre on the major south Indian river. The modalities are being worked out by the NASI, he added
Though the proposal was mooted by the Karnataka Knowledge Commission headed by K Kasturirangan, the government failed to find an appropriate place.
Initially, the commission had suggested establishing the gallery on the banks of the river Cauvery at Mysuru on the lines of Ganga Gallery at Allahabad and Brahmaputra Gallery at Guwahati. Later it was planned to establish the gallery in the premises of University of Mysore and also at a century old mansion on Kantharaj Urs Road in Mysuru.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> Good Governanace> Karnataka / Manu Aiyappa / TNN / January 07th, 2016
Indian tennis ace Leander Paes on Wednesday said if he partners Rohan Bopanna in the men’s doubles event in the Rio Olympics next year they will have the best chance of grabbing a medal.
“Pretty obvious in the men’s doubles that Rohan and myself have the best chance of going out there and winning the medal. Rohan has been playing some wonderful tennis, he has been playing with (Florin) Mergea and has done well. With Rohan and myself playing doubles for India, I think we have a great chance of grabbing a medal,” Paes told reporters in Kolkata where he had come as IDBI’s Kolkata Marathon’s ‘Face of the Event’.
Paes also says based on their current performances, he and Sania Mirza can be sent to Rio de Janeiro next year to represent the country in Olympics. (Getty Images)
“I had wanted to play with him in London. In the grass courts it was a great platform for us to do well.”
Four years back in London, Paes had to partner Vishnu Vardhan and they lost in the second round. He then combined with Sania Mirza but bowed out to the eventual mixed doubles champions Victoria Azarenka and Max Mirnyi of Belarus.
The 42-year-old believes based on current performance he and Mirza should be sent to represent the country in the mixed doubles event.
“With Sania Mirza, I played at London, we lost to the eventual champions Azarenka and Mirnyi. We had a great chance in that game too. We have both had good seasons, so on merit it is an obvious choice to let me and Sania go. But after what happened in London I don’t think anything can be taken for granted,” he said pointing to the fact that he was paired with Vardhan who during the London Olympics was ranked 209.
Both Mahesh Bhupathi and Bopanna refused to play doubles with Paes, after which the national tennis federation persuaded Sania Mirza to play with the veteran Kolkatan. And Paes paired up with lowly-ranked Vardhan.
The nine-time mixed doubles Grand Slam winner said that he was focussing on the event more as he had been successful in it in the last few years.
“For Rio, I have focussed a lot on mixed doubles, I have been focussing on the Grand Slams as mixed doubles is only played in four Grand Slams. And having a wonderful partner in Martina Hingis has allowed me to do that. Winning three of the four Grand Slams leading into the Olympics, it’s pretty obvious where my focus is,” he said.
“Having got the medal in singles already in the Olympics, to do it in the doubles and mixed doubles is something I am focussing on.”
The tennis star added that he is looking forward to playing alongside Bopanna and Sania if he gets the opportunity and that representing the country and getting a medal is the foremost thing on his mind.
“Let’s see how the next six months turn up. I hope another London does not happen. But representing the country is the foremost thing in my mind. And I think the best team should go and represent the country and it should be done on merit. I am looking forward to playing with Sania and Rohan if I get the opportunity.”
“I hope to have a chance at winning the medal and then hang that on my showcase along with the single’s medal,” concluded Paes who will set a record if he features in Rio for playing in the most number of Olympics as a tennis star.
source: http://www.ibnlive.com / IBN Live.com / Home> Sport / IANS / December 23rd, 2016
It is a nerve-jangling bus ride to this Coorg town, named for its ‘Monday market’, but there’s a headily fragrant perfect cup at the end of it
If I have a hunch I take it seriously. Although my Kannada skills are somewhat limited, I figure that Somwarpet, the name of a tiny town in Karnataka’s Coorg hills, means ‘Monday market’. So being a bit of a shopaholic, I naturally decide to go there on a Monday.
As the bus rattles along winding jungle roads and occasionally through vast coffee plantations, past villages, and on narrow bridges across rivers flowing rather lazily, I worry a little. The only guidebook I found that mentioned Somwarpet was the 1870s’ Gazetteer of Coorg, according to which, “Though fully alive to their material interests, the town-people have little desire for or perhaps little faith in education after European fashion. They seem to be quite content with the knowledge of their bazaar-routine. Every Monday there is a market, hence the name of the place.” But that was when the population was 953, which has now grown to 7,218, and I have no way of knowing whether the Monday market tradition has been discontinued and replaced by modern supermarkets. The one thing I do know is that it’s a major Arabica growing region of India (at least according to Wikipedia), which for any coffee lover is a good enough reason to head that way.
The bus gets impossibly crowded, with more people piling in the closer we get to Somwarpet. An exasperated dad offloads a clutch of toddlers into my lap and for about an hour I have the poopers crawling all over me. Luckily, before there is a stampede, the bus reaches its destination.
The small town sits on a ridge surrounded by scenic, green hills. Its handful of criss-crossing streets is lined with tiny shops and old bungalows. The large, partially covered market dominates the centre. Here one gets pretty much everything from fresh produce and spices, bakery products and fried snacks, to homemade pickles, poultry and vegetables, plus things like detergents, clocks, rechargeable torches, and even clothes sold in big piles. One section is devoted to dried fish and there’s a pungent smell in the air — like walking around in a huge kitchen.
For such a small town, the market is humongous and I stroll in its crowded lanes, rapt. I seem to be the only tourist in town. Small girls turn their heads, point and giggle.
Watching the food on display makes me ravenous. I go up the main street and spot a few veg and non-veg eateries, a biriyani joint, and ancient seedy bars housed in ramshackle bungalows. But I need something more substantial than bar snacks, and I don’t quite want to wolf down my grub at a shared canteen table either, while the next customer waits for me to vacate my seat; so I turn and head downhill instead, towards the Madikeri Road. After a three-minute walk, I discover Hotel Saphali Family Restaurant adjacent to a coconut plantation. It appears to be the only proper restaurant hereabouts — meaning it has menu cards and clean restrooms.
It does not disappoint. The Coorg-style pork fry (₹100) is cooked in a very homely manner and a chicken masala with a stack of Kerala parathas comes at ₹140, plus one can have a big bottle of chilled beer for ₹100. Don’t let the local drunks put you off, for it simply seems the done thing in Somwarpet to begin tippling by noon — at least on market days. And what better way to start the week than by sharing a bottle with mates? I hear the increasingly boisterous banter from the booths surrounding the dining hall (which I have to myself). The only word I catch yelled frequently is ‘politician’. Mondays in Somwarpet can be quite a ball.
After this sublime, leisurely lunch, it is shopping time. A couple of coffee mills uphill from the bus station beckon. One is surrounded by a heady fragrance of roasting coffee. At the tiny Someshwara Coffee Works, the proprietor Mr Kumar is busy running both the roasting oven and the grinder at the same time, his shirt-front brown from coffee powder. I learn that his family has had the mill for 50 years and they have a plantation where they grow only Arabica.
Full of beans: A farmer at a coffee plantation in Coorg
While other mills offer you blends of Robusta and Arabica (and chicory), Kumar deals exclusively in Coorg Arabica. I request 2kg pure. As he grinds half of it ‘nice’, meaning fine ground, I pull out a thousand-rupee note thinking that this is going to cost a bomb, when Kumar suddenly turns and says, “520.” Then he changes his mind —“Give 500.”
I find it hard to believe that quality coffee can come as cheap as ₹250 a kg. But the scent, powerful and rich, is promising and indeed, the coffee, once I brew myself a mug at home, turns out to be the best I’ve tasted. Sipping, I’m totally blissed out. Over the next couple of weeks, it rattles my brain awake in the mornings; the sheer fragrance jumpstarts me. I realise I will have to keep returning to Somwarpet whenever my stock runs out. No matter that I have to spend hours in a jungle bus with random toddlers on my lap. It’s worth it.
Zac O’Yeah is a Bengaluru-based travel writer, literary critic and author of ‘Hari A Hero for Hire’, a comic thriller; zacnet@email. co
source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line – BLINK / Home> BLINK> Takeaway> Tummy Travels / by Zac O Yeah / December 18th, 2015
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