Homestays and resorts in Coorg have started a ‘Work-from-resort’ also called ‘workation’ initiative, where employees can stay at the homestays or resorts and work from there. The resorts have come up with attractive packages that offer rooms at affordable rates.
Few homestays in the hilly district have started to invest in internet connections since most of the places in Coorg have a poor data connection.
Facing a brunt due to Covid-19 lockdown, the tourism industry in Coorg (Kodagu) has come up with an innovative initiative to attract tourists.
Homestays and resorts in Coorg have started a ‘Work-from-resort’ also called ‘workation’ initiative, where employees can stay at the homestays or resorts and work from there. The resorts have come up with attractive packages that offer rooms at affordable rates.
The step has been taken to boost the income and tourism sector in the district, a few homestay owners in the district said, adding that the increase in Covid-19 cases in the area continues to be an obstruction in getting new bookings.
Speaking to indianexpress.com, Nikshan Nanaiah from Coorg Evergreen County resorts said, “The work from resort initiative gained good response especially from people in Bengaluru initially after the exit from the lockdown. We had received a good number of booking for the option for at least one week.”
According to Nanaiah, many resorts opted for this service and started to promote the ‘workation’ option. “Under the work from resort option, we are providing good internet connectivity, room, office furniture and food service. All of these are included in the affordable package ranging from two days to one-two weeks.”
The top resorts in Coorg have also started to offer the work from resort options. A manager of a branded resort in South Coorg told that they have started the bookings and many have already come to stay. “We have different packages to offer our customers and also affordable packages to our member customers. People from Bengaluru and Mysuru are coming to the resort to stay at least for one week and they are also working from here only,” he said.
Few homestays in the hilly district have started to invest in internet connections since most of the places in Coorg have a poor data connection.
Internet cable is being set at Coorg Evergreen County resort in Coorg.
“Earlier tourists were not asking for internet connectivity since they come here to relax from their daily work life, but now after COVID-19 everything has changed, they come here to work. We have now taken good internet broadband connection to attract the tourists who want to work from here,” Kumaran, owner of Pavitra homestay in Coorg said.
Apart from the homestays and resorts offering work at their places, the major concern is about the safety of both tourists and the employees. Nanaiah says that they have made a list of precautionary measures to take. “We have thermal screening facilities, with daily temperature checks if they are symptomatic they will be sent back and we are also taking care of the employees and checking their temperature daily to ensure all are safe.”
According to the various resort owners, they are charging approximately Rs 2,000 to 6,000 per day for the workation option.
Coorg which is about 260 km from state capital Bengaluru is a hill station known for its waterfalls, national parks, wildlife, and temples. Earlier in 2018 and also in 2019 the district suffered from the back-to-back floods and landslides which had a major impact on tourist footfall.
Sagar Ganapathy, President, Association for Rural Tourism (ART) Coorg and also the owner of Jungle Mount Adventures said, “Tourism in the district has incurred a huge loss from past three years continuously due to the flood and landslides, now Covid-19 has also impacted the industry.”
“When we opened the homestays and resorts after lockdown the bookings we received were very less and we got bookings from the people who are our regular customers. Hence few resorts tried work from resort options which branded resorts are running this successfully with all the precautionary measures,” he said.
Coorg has nearly 800 registered homestays and more than 2,000 unregistered homestays which are run by families at their residence and 500 hotels and lodges. These homestays and hotels generate employment to around 50,000 people.
“Due to Covid-19 we now have no steady source of income. We opened up the business but after a week there were many cases in Coorg. So many resorts and homestays closed voluntarily. We have paid a 50 per cent salary till last month to the employees. But next month, we don’t know what to do.”
Meanwhile, the state government is planning and bring various initiatives to revive the tourism sector in the state. Speaking to indianexpress.com, Karnataka Tourism Minister C T Ravi said, “ Tourism contributes 14.8% to our gross state domestic product (GSDP), we are planning various ways to revive tourism in the state. New ideas like ‘workation’ are welcome, in the next cabinet meeting we will take up the issues faced by the homestays and resorts.”
source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bangalore / by Darshan Devaiah BP / Madikeri / June 30th, 2020
Delegation meets Justice H.N. Nagamohan Das One-man Commission
Madikeri:
Members of Codava National Council (CNC) led by its President Nandineravanda U. Nachappa recently met Scheduled Caste Welfare Department and Justice H.N. Nagamohan Das Commission in Bengaluru urging him to include Kodava tribe in the ST list of the Constitution.
The meeting took place at Yavanika, the One-man Commission’s office on Nrupathunga Road in Bengaluru. Nachappa presented a memorandum explaining the need for the inclusion of Kodavas in the ST list of the Constitution and apprised him about the tribal ancestry and indigenous tribal traits.
Justice Nagamohan Das was told about the need and necessity of statutory protection to preserve the Kodava culture, language, folkloric identity, their age-old hereditary piece of untitled lands, besides their historical continuity.
Also the Commission’s attention was drawn regarding ‘sabotaging’ the genealogical studies being carried out to include Kodavas in the list of ST communities. The studies are being carried out by KSTRI (Karnataka State Tribal Research Institute), Mysuru.
“The ongoing ethnography study of Kodava tribalism is in a diabolic ‘Etic’ approach. We have requested the Commission to direct the KSTRI Mysuru to apply ‘Emic’ approach. We further urged that on the basis of the parameters laid down by Justice Lokur Committee Report, the ethnographic study should be carried out. In this regard the title of the schedule should be “Kulashashtra Adhyayana” or “Ethnographic” study but KSTRI has titled it ‘Kodagu Jilleyallina Kodava Samudayada Arthika-Saamaajika Adhyayana’ (a socio-economic study of Kodavas),” Nachappa said.
There is a clear cut order issued by the Government to conduct an exclusive Ethnographic study. KSTRI has carried out a major portion of socio-economic study and created fake economic status. “The KSTRI neither collected authentic documents nor produced proper income and expenditure sources but collected only verbal statements, marginalising the real ethnographic issue,” Nachappa claimed.
“The KSTRI created a fake exaggerated version with prejudiced mindset which is not acceptable to us. We want the real ethnographic study to explore and establish true tribal ethnicity,” Nachappa told Justice Nagamohan Das.
Almanda Jai, Pattamada Kusha, Pattamada Ashok and others were present.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / June 26th, 2020
On a pre-scout exploring Coorg’s dramatic landscape
It all started with an email out of the blue. A world-class chef was shooting a food/adventure show in India in 2020 and was looking for ideas.
Only later, we learnt it was none other than ‘GR’ — the crew’s codename. ‘Gordon Ramsay’ was as unmentionable in public as the expletives he spews. The horror stories of chefs facing him in Hell’s Kitchen outdid the B-grade Bollywood horror flicks made by the Ramsay brothers back home whom we were more familiar with.
This was the second season of Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted. Ramsay gets out of the studio and into the wild outdoors to explore remote places and learn local food secrets with a dose of heart-pumping adventure. The emphasis lay in foraging and going back to the source. He would meet rising star chefs and embark on a culinary adventure that ended in a big cook-off. Locals would critique his take on the region’s cuisine, albeit with none of GR’s trademark vitriol with which he roasts amateur chefs on Twitter. He has likened someone’s poached egg in noodle soup to ‘toxic scum on a stagnant pool’, another’s Scottish breakfast as ‘heart attack on a plate’, a poor bloke’s rice as ‘older than me’, an attempt at empanadas as ‘camel hoofs’ and somebody’s overdone steak as ‘Gandy’s flip flops’.
Gordon with Priya and Anurag
What could we suggest to an ill-tempered firebrand Michelin-starred chef who seemed to have done it all?
Season 1 saw Gordon rappel down a waterfall in Morocco to hunt for the perfect mushroom and go spearfishing in Hawaii. In New Zealand, he waded in a stream to catch an eel with his bare hands, tasted grubs from a rotten tree trunk, and dived for paua shells and sea urchins, braving strong currents and sharks. He jumped into the Mekong River in Laos to catch snails and learnt how to cook a giant water bug called ‘toe biter’. In Peru, he dangled perilously from a cliff edge to harvest a plant for insect larvae while in Alaska, he scaled the 60-ft Chimney Rock to make tea from ‘old man’s beard’.
Season 2 upped the ante with bigger, bolder and better stuff, injected with a healthy dose of jeopardy to the food.
From snuba diving (a mix of snorkeling/scuba) in Tasmania for rock lobster, jumping off a helicopter into Durban’s shark-infested waters and using rhino poop to catch tilapia in South Africa, trying swamp rat and Cajun cuisine in Louisiana’s Bayou, hunting Arowana fish with bow and arrow and roasting the Goliath birdeater (one of the largest spiders in the world) in Guyana’s remote rainforests, fishing for freshwater prawns in a flood-prone cave in West Sumatra, to scuba diving for scallops in the frigid fjords of Norway and making reindeer blood pancakes. So what challenges could India offer?
Hunting crabs in Malabar
Gordon was no stranger to India. His 2010 series for Channel 4’s Gordon’s Great Escape, took a deep dive into our culinary traditions and his quest for curry. He rode in a dodgy pantry car of the rattling Mangla Express, slicing onions and cooking veg curry for 400 diners, before playing apprentice to biryani masterchef and ‘King Qorma’ Imtiaz Qureishi for a wedding feast in Lucknow. He described Qureishi as the “Dog’s bollocks in the region” (No 1). Gordon’s glossary is colourful — ‘Bloody Hell’ could mean ‘Absolutely Delicious’ and **** could be anything. He rode a Royal Enfield, jumped onto a running train, cooked khud gosht in a desert pit he dug, sampled mahua and chapda chutney in Bastar, hunted with the Konyak tribe in Nagaland, tasted blood sausages and the world’s hottest chili bhoot jolokia in the North East, and cooked with ‘Sambar’ Mani in Dharavi, while trying everything from bullock cart racing and climbing a coconut tree to vegetarianism at Sadhguru’s ashram, besides grabbing karimeen (pearl spot) out of Kumarakom’s backwaters.
This was his second trip to Kerala and South India, but to a different part — the historic northern nook of Malabar. From Greek and Roman times to the European Age of Discovery, Kerala’s Spice Coast lured traders and travelers alike. For centuries, Arab seafarers controlled the lucrative global spice trade and often anchored in Kerala to tide the monsoon. Intermingling with the local populace resulted in a Malayalam-speaking community of Muslims called Mapila — derived from ‘Maha-pillai’, an honorific term for the new groom or son-in-law. As Kerala’s second-largest community, Mapilas are known for their distinct cuisine. In 1498, ambitious Portuguese explorers found a direct trade route to India to bypass Arab middlemen. Propelled by monsoon winds, they sailed across the Indian Ocean to reach Malabar, paving way for the Dutch, French and British. The English established a fort at Thalassery to protect their trade in ‘Tellicherry’ Pepper, prized as ‘Black Gold.’ It was befitting that a British chef was seeking culinary inspiration here. We were keen to get GR to try local fare like ari kaduka (rice stuffed fried mussels), kakka erachi (clam fry) and tackle audacious challenges.
Seafood in Kannur
Gordon is no pushover — a 6’2” tough-as-nails Scotsman, footballer, swimmer, karate black belt and Kona Ironman finisher. Yet, for all the potentially dangerous activities, we had to keep the host unharmed. We didn’t want to go down in history as the couple that got the world’s most renowned celebrity chef maimed! We vetoed the arduous boat ride on the high seas to dive for kallumakai (green mussels) around rocky islets due to the time crunch. On our recce in October, our old friends Nasir and Rosie of Kannur Beach House put us onto local fishermen. The late monsoon washed in surplus freshwater into the sea, thereby reducing its salinity, which resulted in lesser vitt (eggs) spawning on the rocks. So the spectacular beaches around Kannur had to suffice. The big question was where next?
The pristine backwater of Valiyaparamba for clam diving was too north. The Empress of Mapila cuisine Abida Rashid was far south in Kozhikode. An extension to Wayanad would make the show too Kerala-centric, a destination that features extensively in international shows.
So we suggested Kodagu (Coorg) — a region GR hadn’t visited before. After the unending stretches of human habitation in Kerala (India’s third most densely populated state), Coorg would be the perfect antidote. As Karnataka’s most forested district, its rolling hills and wild vistas were ideal for a show like Uncharted. It lay in the Western Ghats, one of the world’s eight hottest biodiversity hotspots, the fountainhead of South India’s most important river Cauvery, a record producer of honey, cardamom and coffee (80 per cent of India’s coffee comes from the area) with the highest concentration of sacred groves in the world.
Ari kaduka (green mussels)
Though Coorg and Wayanad are adjacent districts with similar topography — hills, coffee and spices common to both — the difference lay in the cultural/culinary uniqueness. Coorg is home to the Kodavas, a fascinating martial community who lived off the land while preserving their unique culture, cuisine and traditional attire. Unlike Wayanad, Coorg has a well-defined cuisine with charming homestays run by hospitable Kodavas. The new Kannur International Airport at Mattanur was strategically located at an hour’s drive from Kannur and two hours from Virajpet. It was no surprise that the production team was bowled over by Coorg’s beauty on the pre-shoot scout and unanimously chose it as the locale for the ‘Big Cook’. For us, the great clincher was getting a Scottish chef to a region dubbed ‘The Scotland of India’.
The shoot was scheduled for late January this year. So monsoon-centric activities like foraging for termay (fiddlehead fern), kemb (colocasia), bemble (bamboo shoot) and kumme (wild mushrooms) was out. Nor could one collect ripe garcinia fruits to make kachampuli, the dark vinegar that’s integral to Kodava cuisine. We were too early to harvest honey with the Jenu Kuruba tribe. Seasonality dictated our choices. Trekking to hills and waterfalls for vistas that were dramatic yet accessible, we scouted streams for crab hunting spots. Catching crabs traditionally involved baiting them with a gutted rotting toad wedged in split bamboo. The smell was enough to entice crabs from their rocky lairs, though we weren’t sure if a TV audience could stomach Kodagu’s wild old ways. We kayaked in hidden rivers for fishing options and hunted out two old wizened men of the Meda tribe, experts in mat and basket weaving to make fish baskets for us — a dying tradition. Signature dishes, rare treats, interesting locals and adrenalin-tinged tasks for GR — our job was to supply the ingredients — the world’s best chef and his team had to make a delectable episode out of it.
Coorg oranges
Production was shouldered by Adarsh NC of Felis Creations, with over a dozen blue-chip documentaries for Nat Geo, BBC and Animal Planet. Their recent three-part home-production Wild Cats of India was filmed by Sandesh Kadur and the third part India’s Wild Leopards is currently on Disney Hotstar. Adarsh says, “Primarily, we are into nature/wildlife and are happy filming tigers, leopards and counting scat on the field. We have covered the Western Ghats extensively and there was an adventure quotient to the program. But handling an international show with a star chef like Gordon was a dream come true. They were several challenges — two locations, multi-cam set up, high profile celeb, large crew, time crunch, permissions, travel, logistics… We were on the threshold of Corona with India’s first COVID cases reported in Kerala, so sending them back safely without harm or any adventure was nerve-wracking!” “It’s location, not a vacation”, was the oft-repeated mantra of Director Neil DeGroot. Executive Producer Jon Kroll admits, “The weakest episode this season is stronger than the strongest episode from last season!”
Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted Season 2 premiered on National Geographic in the USA at 10 pm on June 7, and Disney Hotstar, with the India episode slated for release in July.
source: http://www.indulgexpress.com / The New Indian Express – Indulge Express / Home / by Anurag Mallick an Priya Ganapathy /June 26th, 2020
College Road in Madikeri wore a deserted look following the voluntary lockdown after 2 pm.
The call given by the Kodagu district Chamber of Commerce and Industry for a voluntary lockdown to check the spread of Covid-19 has evoked good response in the district.
A majority of the shops remained open on Saturday from 6 am to 2 pm.
People started arriving at the shops early in the morning in Madikeri to carry out the business.
About 50% of the shops had voluntarily closed after 2 pm. By 3 pm, 90% of the shops downed their shutters. Even the movement of people in Madikeri town to reduced after 2 pm. Bus stands, Indira Gandhi Circle, Thimmayya Circle, and Mahadevapete road wore a deserted look.
A trader said, “We have already incurred loss following the lockdown for the last three months. However, Covid-19 could not be controlled. There has been a surge in Covid cases in the district. In the interest of the safety of the public, the shops have been closed”.
Kodagu JD(S) unit president K M Ganesh has urged the authorities to supply necessary ration items to the areas that have been sealed down. People in the sealed down areas are facing hardships, he added.
He said the rise in Covid cases in the district had led to panic among people. With the closure of shops in sealed down areas, people are struggling to procure essential commodities. Officials should visit the restricted areas and look into the needs of the people.
4 new cases in Kodagu
Four new Covid-19 cases were reported in the district on Saturday. With this, the active cases have risen to 37 in Kodagu.
According to Deputy Commissioner Annies Kanmani Joy, of the four, one has inter-district travel history to Bengaluru while two others are primary contacts of the infected persons. One of the infected is a health worker.
A 33-year-old woman, who has travel history to Bengaluru, has been tested positive. A health worker from Subhash Nagara in Murnadu, a 14-year-old girl, who was the primary contact of an infected man from Shirangala and an eight-year-old boy, who was who was also a primary contact of an infected man from Huluse have been tested positive for Covid-19, Annies added.
The total recorded Covid cases in the district is 40. The containment zones in the district have increased to 19.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State> Mangaluru / by DHNS, Madikeri / June 27th, 2020
Confidence steered Jwala and Ashwini, and in turn India, towards their first-ever doubles World Championship medal for badminton in 2011 at Wembley and kicked off a decade in which singles stars PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal would follow the trailblazing duo onto the Worlds podiums every single Championship year.
Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa won their first-ever doubles World Championship medal for badminton in 2011 at Wembley (Source: PTI)
Everyone knows Jwala Gutta loves to fire the opening salvo. It comes entirely from her playing credo: “You can’t be a good doubles player if you can’t serve well.” The first shot sets the tone.
After she split with Shruthi Kurien at the start of 2009, Jwala was scouting around for potential partners to play with. Her mixed doubles career with V Diju was going swimmingly well as they’d beaten the Korean World No. 1s that year and entered the Top 10.
But before she zeroed in on Ashwini Ponnappa, she sprung a thunderbolt on her mother by almost sending the daughter-mother entry for the Nationals that year. Her mother ticked the only box that Jwala sniffed around for, when deciding partners: “I didn’t really have to think a lot. Mom’s serve was very good.” Jwala knew she could mop up the rest.
This confidence steered Jwala and Ashwini, and in turn India, towards their first-ever doubles World Championship medal for badminton in 2011 at Wembley in London, and kicked off a decade in which singles stars PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal would follow the trailblazing duo onto the Worlds podiums every single Championship year. Jwala-Ashwini’s was the first medal since Prakash Padukone won in the 1980s.
“When I decided to play with Ashwini, she wasn’t even a Top 4 in India. I just saw in her that no fear of losing, and knew I could mentor her,” Jwala says.
Ashwini wasn’t pickled in the ways of doubles, where plenty of mental disintegration gets induced. (Source: Express Photo by Ravi Kanojia)
Doubles was Jwala’s battlefield where she needed only an ally. “I really could combine well with anyone – Diju of course, Chetan, Vidyadhar, Gopi also, Shruthi,” she explains. “Only this – the partner should be able to serve properly.”
So when a friend and batchmate pointed out the whiplashing Ashwini to her at the nationals, Jwala wasn’t distracted by what was Ashwini’s very-noticeable big booming smash. “My friend told me – she smashes really hard. I immediately asked, but how’s her serve. I don’t care about the smash as long as it’s hit at the right time and right place. I’m not bothered by how hard she hits. I watched her at the start of the rally – her serve was fine. She was still young.” The pair was good to go.
More than callow, Ashwini – a fearless, formidable, free-spirited hitter – wasn’t pickled in the ways of doubles, where plenty of mental disintegration gets induced.
“At the start of the rally, that’s where you put pressure on the opponents. Top pairs understand the importance of a good serve that opponents struggle to return. I always got my points when I served well,” Jwala says.
Those incisive all-noticing eyes analysed the scene before her like a computer processor when Jwala served.
“I was observant even as a junior. Where is the receiver’s foot facing? How’s he holding the racquet? Which weakness must I attack….” there were a dozen cues that Jwala would factor in when she set out to serve.
Ashwini reckons they combined seamlessly and beyond the obvious advantage of being a left-right combo.
“She had a great serve. And I focused on what I had to do,” Ashwini says. A part of the reassurance that Ashwini brought to the court for Jwala came from Ashwini’s unalloyed conviction in her own smash. Polite and always soft-spoken, Ashwini though takes blazing pride in her smashing where the hissing thwack could well be pronounced as “but of course”.
The bite to the smash comes from Ashwini’s total rejection of breaking it down. The Ashwini smash is just one Macbethian uninterrupted striking down of the axe in one fell swoop.
At the start of this decade, the young and agile Ashwini could rain down 15-20 smashes one after another. She didn’t just eschew nuance in that shot – she chewed and spat out violently any notions of prettying up her whippy welt.
“I just know one smash – that’s my smash,” she says with rare curtness, if one asks her to dissect her favourite flogging action with a badminton racquet. “There’s very little touches there,” she says shredding all pretensions to artistry. “It’s like a hockey whack,” the proud Coorgi raises the violence meter, “it’s a lot about power and just doing it. No thinking. When I’m smashing well, I’m just flying on court.” It’s never not good – the Ashwini smash.
“I’m not apprehensive about what’ll happen after I smash. I’m not scared of losing.”
Out of this fiery pair of prides – Jwala: unquestionable of her serve and Ashwini: unrepentant of her smash – was forged India’s first and hitherto only doubles medal in the World Championship.
But first came the dazzling of Delhi.
***
Jwala Gutta and Ashwini paired for the first time together in 2009. (Source: PTI)
When they got together in 2009, India was racing towards hosting of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, an event that singlehandedly provided the impetus to unearth and groom a bunch of medallists across sports.
The budgeting had changed immediately after the 2006 bronze at the Melbourne CWG, four years after India lost the team bronze in Manchester. “Melbourne was our first mixed team medal. It put us in the ‘A’ list of priority sports. Exposure trips increased from 2008-9 to prepare for the CWG. Dedicated doubles training started and I was on the court nearly 8-9 hours a day morning and evening,” Jwala recalls.
In came the Indonesian Master Shifu, Indonesian Atik Jauhari, who smiled compulsively and cracked the whip in training with even more gnashing teeth. “He brought in positivity and believed in me,” Jwala says.
Her frequent disagreements with coach Pullela Gopichand over how much to train and how much to compete (an intractable problem that persists with players to this day), had unsettled her from the task at hand though she and Diju emerged as the cleverest pairing on the circuit in 2009 when they made the year-end Super Series Finals. “We’d won Chinese Taipei and Bitburger. But the whole perception changed after CWG for badminton and I was happy to be part of it,” she says.
Though it started with a bout of sneezing and allergy as Delhi’s dust and heat got to her that October, and she was bed-ridden. But the Commonwealth Games had been a jet booster to many Indian athletes, who revelled in being prioritised and taken care of for the first time ever.
“For the first time, I’d play in front of my family because they couldn’t afford to travel. I really enjoyed playing on home turf in front of my parents,” Jwala remembers. The belief translated into India’s 33rd gold that helped the hosts level with England on the medal tally.
Jwala had played on all 12 days without a break in front of a packed Siri Fort. “You could hardly hear the shuttle, I told Ashwini ‘let’s just focus on the next point’.”
Like her serve, Jwala tends to look ahead only at Round 1 of any tournament. No muddling the head with conjectures of a semi-final. “That’s a stupid way of looking at tournaments. Always only focus on the next point,” she bosses. Jwala also always fronted the media even when she lost, never disappearing from the backdoor and remained aggressive and animated on and off the court.
The surge took the Indian pair past the Malaysian top team and then she combined with Diju to secure India’s first win over the top English pairing which had Nathan Robertson, till then unsurmountable.
She addresses a long-pending allegation over her questionable fitness – as combatively as ever. “If I wasn’t fit, I wouldn’t have dominated. Yes, I don’t have the athletic body type, but you don’t have to look muscular to be able to hit,” roars the southpaw. “People said I was a slow mover. But i was really tall. I didn’t need to scramble!” she says.
Accustomed to questions being thrown at her because both Diju and a yet inexperienced Ashwini remained soft-spoken, Jwala gleefully stabbed at questions while speaking her mind unfettered.
The gentleness and bottomless patience she reserved for the only one who she believed deserved it: her younger partner Ashwini.
“Not just on court, I decided to take her along through the whole media-training-competing routine. I never referred to any situation as ‘you’ or ‘me’. It was ;us’” always. I’d patiently correct her strokes by telling her not to take stress and be fearless always,” Jwala remembers.
Ashwini was soaking it all up like a sponge. “The programme was structured with coach Atik and specialised coaching. And the 2010 win was a miracle booster. It was our biggest win as a pair,” Ashwini says.
Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa at a felicitation program of Badminton 45 Silver Jubilee at Bombay Gymkhana (Express photo by Prashant Nadkar)
It was the beginning of Ashwini learning a very important drill from Jwala, something that suited her own unhassled temperament. “I remember starting this at the Sudirman Cup where I could really switch on and switch off. We’d do well in a match and relax,” she recalls of the thriller against the Thais that the Indians won 21-19 in the third. Indian doubles was taking its infant steps and Ashwini remembers learning something as basic as where to stand on court and what worked and what didn’t. In the lead-up to the Korean Open that year, Jwala-Ashwini had eked out a 22-20 in the decider against Hong Kong and another confidence-enhancing three-game win against the Japanese.
London was only the pair’s second World Championship together and they’d strung up some good results at the French Open in the run-up. Her trainer Declan had travelled that year and Ashwini recalls a rare time when playing well coincided with having fun. “Sometimes you don’t enjoy the journey and the wins and losses don’t matter. But I remember being able to switch off the pressure and just having a lot of fun playing that one. I loved being in the stadium,” she says of a happier time.
Declan not only put her mind at ease about recovery but also pointed out something that the painfully shy woman shrugged off like a jumper.
“Declan told me I should not look down on the floor and always walk with chin up and head high. I remember doing it all consciously and how it helped my confidence and I walked tall,” Ashwini remembers.
The fidgety nervousness that comes with being impatient on court and in finishing points (botching them) was left behind at home, as Ashwini distinctly recalls walking slowly and calmly on court and not scurrying about cluelessly.
The Indians started against the Americans where Wembley’s unique atmosphere had to be internalised. “It’s a different atmosphere at Wembley because the crowd there is always blackened out so the spotlight is on the shuttle. Courts tend to appear brighter and you have to adjust to the visibility,” Jwala recalls. Indians would win 9, 18 against the Americans.
Unseeded and running into World No. 2 was familiar as was being pipped in the opener 21-19 – the result against Room Lok Yan and Tse Ying Suet, wasn’t. “We were prepared because their serves weren’t as good though they were good at defence,” Jwala sensed her opportunity to pounce. “Even after losing the first game, I was confident.” They won 19-21, 21-10, 21-17.
Jwala-Ashwini’s was the first medal since Prakash Padukone won in the 1980s. (Express Photo by Vasant Prabhu)
Up next were the Indonesians who seemed to have taken the Indians lightly and combined that with their own iffy confidence levels. Jwala is quick to acknowledge that Vita Marissa is a bit of a mixed doubles legend, but on the brink of her retirement and a reputation to guard, the Indonesian was under pressure.
It wouldn’t have helped her that Jwala had x-rayed her defence down: “On the brink of retirement, Vita wasn’t a great mover. She could smash hard but couldn’t hit as many times. Tiring her out was the plan.”
Feeding her drops bringing her to the net, the weakening limbs and the under-confidence saw Jwala preying on her tiredness. And while Ashwini peppered her from the back with smashes, Jwala would use the big boomer to soften her for a further bag of deceptions: her wicked serve.
The garden variety backhand serves in doubles don’t offer much variety for the Serve Queen. “Vita not being confident enough to return my serve made me even more adventurous.
“Even the low serves have variety. There are 5-6 variations even to that width so you keep opponents guessing,” Jwala says with glee of a web she weaves at the outset that eclipses the rest of the rally. Her antennae were buzzing even as Ashwini had to stay in front because the shuttle was coming back very fast.
Typically, Jwala takes 2-3 rallies to get a complete read on her opponent: “I focus on movements. I just remember how I lost my last point. If I win a point, I try to win on the same strategy. But you can’t think too much or brood over a lost point.”
Receiver’s styles got 3D imprinted on her mind, and her superior anticipation that afforded just 2-3 chances even when she played singles, helped her give clear succinct serving instructions to Ashwini. The Indian duo chipped away at the 17-21 first set reversal for a 17-21, 21-10, 21-17 win.
She remembers feeling a shiver of excitement on the podium thinking of her parents. “I showed emotion that day though after reaching semis, where we were assured of the medal, we did nothing unusual. Same things – though we might have eaten at a Chinese restaurant.” After the semis against the Chinese including the legend Zhao Yunlei was lost – 14, 16, it struck her that something historic had been achieved by the really unheralded pairing.
Ashwini remembers a happy time. “We dealt with pressure well against the Indonesians and knew we had created history because only Prakash Sir had a Worlds medal before us from India. Always being compared to singles used to be maddening,” she laughs.
She doesn’t remember any rancour associated with the Worlds medal. “We were in a good space. We had good meals, we laughed a lot,” she says.
Reactions to Jwala-Ashwini’s World medal were underwhelming. (Express Photo by Vasant Prabhu)
Reactions in India were underwhelming – the duo reckon out of ignorance. “There was no reception and now I think that was strange. Later, the way Sindhu was received was wow. Ours was no big deal for anyone. There were no questions about why doubles wasn’t doing well, so no celebration of when we did well either,” she says.
Ashwini says the bronze ought to be put into perspective. “Maybe, doubles was not as decorated as singles. But ours was historic, right? The first one for women. Kids can look up to us. If you’re comparing, we had little support, no endorsements. But not being received when we came back hurt a little.”
Doubles itself changed a lot – faster and tougher to get points. “We worked hard, nobody can fault us on effort. We were smart on court. We played quite often to prove ourselves in what weren’t the easiest of times,” she says.
It was when her support system – parents, brother, then boyfriend-now husband huddled around her. “Getting into the zone was tough playing doubles back then. We would get bogged down with one loss. And people would be questioning us. I’m grateful my family understood what I was going through,” she says. One of the reasons the medal sits in her parents’ home.
Finding an oasis of good form, a good vibe and success amidst the storm became doubly challenging when London itself threw up one giant tantrum. “There were riots raging in London that time. It used to be an adventure just going to the stadium. They started after we landed. We would go under shuttered restaurants for our meals. We even got out once through the backdoor. Having never been in such a situation, it was erm… different,” Ashwini says. Young and adventurous, they even afforded themselves a tingling of excitement finding beauty in breakdown.
Jwala remembers an incident opposite Wembley. “We witnessed some rioting from across the street. It was quite disturbing. But you know what happens right in such situations – after every match, we would just forget about the match, look for food, enjoy every morsel and be grateful for the basics. So effectively, we didn’t let a win settle into our system. We hardly discussed the match. It was about playing – going to a nice place to eat – walking a lot and only ensuring we were safe.” In other words, living in the moment – with all its warts and all.
A year on, London would give Jwala-Ashwini another heartbreak at the Olympics. “It was unfair and disappointing that some teams tried to fix the draws and jeopardised our chances. We had gone there well prepared. But that Japan / India / Chinese Taipei situation – it was just sad.”
It’s a scab best reserved for dark moments. But London for Ashwini will always be about India’s least-known World Championship medal and finding her heroic moment of glory and pride amidst chaos of the famous city up in flames. They can almost remember it all in slow motion, such was the drama of the bronze that came out of fire.
source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Sports> Badminton / by Shivani Naik / June 25th, 2020
People watch solar eclipse using goggles in government high school in Soorlabbi near Madapura on Sunday. DH Photo
The first ‘ring of fire’ annular solar eclipse of the year 2020 could not be witnessed in Kodagu, as the sky remained overcast disappointing a majority of eclipse watchers.
In Madikeri, the eclipse was witnessed between 11 am and 12 noon, amidst clouds. People preferred to remain inside their houses. The astronomical incident had its impact on commercial activities too.
The previous solar eclipse to be seen in Kodagu was on December 26.
Talacauvery, Bhagamandala, Omkareshwara and Igguthappa temples remained closed after offering prayers in the morning. Entry of devotees to the temples were restricted during the solar eclipse. The temples were reopened after 5 pm for cleansing.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State> Karnataka Districts / by DHNS, Madikeri / June 21s, 2020
A file photo of the Makkandoor Somwarpet road after a landslip near Madikeri in 2018. | Photo Credit: G_P_Sampath Kumar
IISc. study finds built-up area rose from 1.55% to 2.69% from 2016 to 2019
The latest landslip in Madikeri town last week, following which the Kodagu district administration decided to shift 13 families to safety, brings the focus back on the ecological sensitivity of the region which has been ignored.
This is the third consecutive year that the district is witnessing landslip and experts say this calls for urgent long-term environment mitigation policy initiatives, besides a halt on wanton destruction of the local environment.
A study by a team of experts from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc.), Bengaluru, has highlighted the dangers of increased landslip, if the current development trend is allowed to continue.
The findings are by T.V. Ramachandra, S. Vinay and S. Bharat of Energy and Wetlands Research Group, Centre for Ecological Sciences, IISc.. It has been published in a paper titled ‘Urban Dynamics in Coorg District, Karnataka’ in the ENVIS Technical Report.
The study assessed the land use dynamics of the district and the results indicated that the built-up area has increased from 1.55% to 2.69% in three years from 2016 to 2019.
Besides, the native vegetation cover including forest, scrub jungles, sacred groves have declined from 45.44% of the land area to 44.46%.
The other findings of the study also has environmental implications and it points out that the interior forest cover of the district had declined from 24% to 22.23%.
The proposal of new layouts, resorts, highway expansions and linear projects will encourage higher land use changes, according to the study.
It stated that the urbanisation process has led to chaotic growth in the region and called for determining the rate and trend of land use conversion for devising a rational land use policy. Based on the land use pattern for 2016 and 2019, the authors of the study predicted the landscape dynamics for 2031, which indicated increase in the built-up areas in Madikeri, Kushalnagar, Virajpet, Gonikoppal, and Somwarpet.
Also, the influence of road networks and tourism will encourage urbanisation along highways and identified Kodilpet, Suntikoppa, Hebbale, Maadapura, Napoklu, Ammathi etc, as per the study.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by R Krishna Kumar / Mysuru – June 22nd, 2020
MLA Appachu Ranjan and Deputy Commissioner Annies Kanmani Joy distribute immunity booster medicine to Corona warriors in Madikeri on Friday. DH Photo
Corona warriors should build their immunity in order to take care of others’ health, said Deputy Commissioner Annies Kanmani Joy.
She was speaking at a programme organised by the district administration, Zilla Panchayat and the district AYUSH Department, at her office in Madikeri on Friday.
Immunity boosting medicines provided by the AYUSH Department was distributed to Corona warriors on the occasion.
MLA Appachu Ranjan, District Health and Family Welfare Officer Dr K Mohan and District Ayush officer Dr Ramachandra were present.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State> Karnataka Districts / by DHNS, Madikeri / June 19th, 2020
Though the body announced a long term goal of ‘Vision 2030’, officials will focus on development of the sport and players during their tenure of four years. Indian tennis star Rohan Bopanna (Photo | PTI)
Bengaluru :
The executive committee of Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association (KSLTA) formed in mid-February, finally met for the first time on Thursday with Tennis star Rohan Bopanna assuming his role as vice-president and head of development committee.
“Rohan brings in a lot of expertise and value, which is good for KSLTA. He also wants to catch the players young and work on them. The development committee will look into how players can emerge from the state. They will see what needs to be done. It could be camps, competition etc. The committee will create a blueprint,” said Sunil Yajaman, KSLTA joint-secretary.
Though the body announced a long term goal of ‘Vision 2030’, officials will focus on development of the sport and players during their tenure of four years and will reach out at the school level to try and encourage more children to play the sport and provide them enough space to do so.
The KSLTA also wants to have set up state and regional camps and are open to rendering financial support to promising players. In terms of infrastructure, they want to create a tennis complex in Bengaluru as well.
“We are going to talk to the education and sports departments and try to ensure that there are tennis courts in rural places, allowing tennis to grow in these areas. We want more public courts. Once kids start playing, we are going to have our eyes everywhere and hunt for talent. We are looking to establish this from the grassroots so that we have a solid set-up,” added Yajaman.
Besides, the state body also aims to have a high performance centre, where select players will be provided training. Their education will also be looked after. These players will also be sent for tournaments with coaches.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Sport> Tennis / by Express News Service / June 20th, 2020
WELCOME. If you like what you see "SUBSCRIBE via EMAIL" to receive FREE regular UPDATES.
Read More »
