Popular serial Muddulakshmi has successfully completed 100 episodes.
The serial which has was started airing from January marked the debut of Actress Anu Poovamma in small screen.
The serial is currently being aired from Monday to Saturday at 7:30pm.
To mark the occasion, a special cake was by the serial team members.
The serial conveys the message of character and values of a person more important than skin color. Lead actress Ashwini suffers humiliation because of her skin colour. Despite all adversities, she fights against social stigmas. She was brought up by her step mother without showing any affection.
On the other hand, Dhruva who is a heart surgeon shows inclination to marry Ashwini. Dhruva’s role is being played by Charith.
Anu has plays the role of aspiring model Aishwarya. Another vital character Adi’s carries a twist from the 100th episode.
Actors Mico Shivu, Vanishree and N T Ramaswamy are seen in pivotal roles.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> TV> News> Kannada / June 14th, 2018
A family of six siblings has reunited after 33 years in Madikeri following an advertisement published in a district newspaper. Anand Nayar and Shekar pose for family reunion picture
Madikeri :
A family of six siblings has reunited after 33 years in Madikeri following an advertisement published in a district newspaper.The two estranged brothers had been living in Mumbai for the past 33 years, assuming that their parents had passed away. They were overjoyed to reunite with their 80-year-old mother who was in tears seeing her two sons after decades.
Anand Nayar, the oldest of six siblings, left Madikeri during the 1980s to find a job in Mumbai. He left behind his parents Kumar and Thangamma, who worked as daily wage labourers in an estate, and five younger siblings. The family had moved to Kodagu from Kerala 50 years ago. Finding a job at a construction company, Anand kept in touch with his parents and siblings via letters.
Shekar, the youngest among the siblings, ran away at the age of 12, following his brother’s footsteps and settled in Mumbai with him. While Anand wrote letters to his family, they became less frequent over time and later stopped altogether. Around the same time, the parents left their old job and moved to a different house.
With no internet or mobile accessibility, the communication between the two brothers and the rest of the family became impossible. Eventually, the two brothers married and settled in Mumbai.Meanwhile, their father Kumar passed away. On his death bed, he had expressed his desire to see his two missing sons. Telegrams were sent to Anand’s old address, only to be returned to the family stating that no such person lived there.
After 33 years of being away from family, Anand wanted to meet his siblings, assuming that his parents might be no more. He, along with Shekar, came to Madikeri two days ago and started looking for his family. “We left Madikeri when it was covered with forests. There were no proper roads, nor electricity. Now, everything has changed and we could not recognise the place we left behind,” said Shekar.
Helpless, they approached a district newspaper to post an advertisement. The advertisement was published following a police search complaint. The next morning, the editor of the newspaper woke up to Anand’s call, who was yelling with joy, “I can’t thank you enough; I have found my mother, brother and sisters because of your newspaper,” said Anand. He had received a call from his sister on a number he had posted on the ad.
Anand and Shekar were reunited with their family in a house near Madikeri Gowda Samaj. Their aged mother, with a joyous smile, said: “I am glad that they came looking for their family before I left this world.” With tearful eyes, she spoke about her two sons and said, “My life cannot get happier than this.” While posing for a family picture, the oldest brother Anand adoringly pulled his sister Prabha beside him and smiled for a family reunion picture.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Prajna GR, Express News Service / June 20th, 2018
Devara Kadu, or sacred groves, are a binding force between families and different communities of Kodagu district. Of late, encroachments are depleting this forest cover
Rituals being conducted during a Devara Kadu festival
Mangaluru :
Rumbustious, uncut, proud, magnificent trees; a plinth on which idols of folk deities sit alongside miniature terracotta sculptures of cattle, a harmless silence taken over by tweets of birds and insects – welcome to Devara Kadu temples situated amidst thick, unkempt forests of Kodagu. Ecological havens in every village of the district, Devara Kadu or the sacred groves are a binding force between families and different communities of the district.
The Malnad region is dotted with such sacred grooves. While Devara Kadu fall under the protected forests, they are treated as sacrosanct by the people resulting in the prohibition of felling, lopping or clearing of trees and even weeds. Light, water, air, earth, wind – the five elements — are glorified at these abodes of nature and paganism (nature worship) is revered and celebrated once a year at these groves.
‘Kadu Aiyappa’ is one of the ancient deities worshiped at Devara Kadu. “He (Kadu Aiyappa) chose solitude and a simplistic life in the wild, which is why he is till date worshiped amidst the virgin forests,” explains historian Bacharaniyanda Appanna.
Kottialu Eshwara Devara Kadu at Garakeri
Bhadrakali, Bhagavathi, Naga, Aiyappa, Eshwara, Ajappa are the common deities worshipped in Devara Kadu and each deity has a folk story connecting them closely to the villagers. The folk deities are revered as protectors and guardians of villages they are nestled at. “The place of Hathur, which is on Gonikoppal-Mysuru highway, has been a witness to many accidents. But these accidents have not killed a single person as Goddess Vana Bhadrakali of Hathur Devara Kadu, has protected them all,” says Kokkanda Belliappa, a villager of Hathur who like others here believes in the power of the Goddess.
Currently, there are nearly 1,214 Devara Kadu in Kodagu covering an area of 4,614 hectares and, 18 native communities are involved in worshiping 165 folk deities. “There have been a lot of encroachments. The deities are not as feared as before leading to these encroachments. However, the forest department is vigilant towards these offenders and we have taken several measures against such encroaches,” explains DFO Manjunath.
Nevertheless, in the past decade, Devara Kadu have been reduced to less than 9,000 acres from the original 15,000 acres, according to a survey on Devara Kadu.The ‘Devara Kadu Habba’ or the sacred grove festival, which takes place mostly between April and July (some annually and others biannually), is helping preserve the groves. “The ‘Eeroli Bana’ at Thaaka village of Cherambane is a Devara Kadu of Lord Aiyappa and is spread over 800 acres. It is believed that Kadu Aiyappa Swamy had stayed at this grove for two days. The grove is highly revered by the villagers and the fear of god is still existent, which has prevented encroachments. During the annual Devara Kadu festival, the villagers take a holy dip at the stream flowing in the grove. Entry to this grove is banned otherwise. A team of medical students had visited the grove in 1982 to conduct some research, but they could not proceed into the grove after a certain point,” says Appanna, a villager.
During the Devara Kadu festivals, the virgin groves echo with the praise of the deities. The spirit dance, sacrifices, ex-voto offerings (an offering given in order to fulfil a vow), grandeur god dance are just a few highlights. Prema, a resident of Hathur village, enters the Devara Kadu of Vana Bhadrakali with a trident. She explains, “I am offering the trident to the goddess as a thanks-giving for granting my wishes. People offer cattle to the goddess too.” The spirits of the folk deities are invited into the human body and these spirits listen to the problems of the villagers and provide solutions. The spirits also offer guidance to the village heads to help lead the village towards betterment, the villagers believe.
Even though Kodagu has one sacred grove for every 300 acres, the highest in the state, the groves are still depleting. The pressure of economic returns from plantations has resulted in their depletion. Yet, to some extent, the spiritual connections with these ecological havens are keeping them alive.
History
Granting of sacrosanct status to forests dates back to the Indus Valley civilisation. In Kodagu, kings considered a stretch of forest sacred and cared for the folk deity who in return protected his land. Devara Kadu of Kodagu falls under the tropical evergreen forest belt
Beliefs
Felling, lopping, clearing of fallen branches, plucking of weeds, pruning or burning of trees is prohibited in Devara Kadus. It is believed that offenders will be punished with death by the folk deity. Spirit dance, sacrifice, ex-voto offerings are common practices followed during Devara Kadu festivals.
Depletion
In all, 15,000 acres of Devara Kadu have today reduced to less than 9,000 acres due to continuous encroachments reported in the past decade. Immigration and economic returns are seen as major causes for encroachments.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / June 17th, 2018
Tennis – Indian tennis ace Rohan Bopanna has received the ‘Sports Icon of the Year’ award at the Indian Oil Sports Conclave on Friday, according to The Hindu. The 38-year-old flew down from Paris where he was beaten in the quarter-finals of the French Open doubles event alongside partner Eduardo Roger-Vasselin.
Several other sports personalities were gathered to cheer on the tennis star receiving the award, including table tennis stars Sharath Kamal, Manika Batra, badminton coach P. Gopi Chand, shuttlers P. Kashyap, N. Sikki Reddy. Although disappointed at not winning his quarter-final match in Paris, Bopanna commented that his loss enabled him to receive the award in person.
Indian Oil also announced plans to provide financial assistance to budding champions and recruit more athletes in six new disciplines – volleyball, basketball, shooting, archery, wrestling, kabaddi and boxing – besides the ten existing games that they have been supporting.
source: http://www.tennisworldusa.org / Tennis World / Home> News / by Prakash / June 10th, 2018
The entrance of the memorial will be dedicated to Kodava culture and will host various traditional artifacts including ‘peecha .kathi’, daggers and other arms
Bengaluru :
If you approach ‘Sunnyside’ in Madikeri town, you will be welcomed by a larger-than-life boot of a soldier and a battle tank at the door. “Sunnyside” was the residence of General K S Thimayya and had been waiting for a year for the renovations that have just kicked-off.
The house which previously housed the RTO office, is now being renovated and re-named as ‘General Thimayya Memorial’ with an aim to retell the story of the General, the hero of Kodagu and the nation and will depict each phase of his life.
The entrance of the memorial will be dedicated to Kodava culture and will host various traditional artifacts including ‘peecha kathi’, daggers and other arms. The other rooms of the house will depict the General’s childhood days, his lifestyle, and his days in the army. “The visitors will be welcomed into the memorial by an audio recording, dubbed by Belliappa, the grandson of General Thimayya, whose voice resembles his grandfather’s,” explains the memorial’s convener Major (retd) Nanjappa.
The project of renovating ‘Sunnyside’ has begun with work on the interiors currently in progress.
For the project, which will be completed in another six months, getting to this stage of renovation had not been smooth. Major Nanjappa, appointed as the convener a decade ago, has been constantly in touch with the authorities, that kept on changing over the years, to get the project moving forward.
Army General Bipin Rawat has promised to give two boffer weapons to the memorial.y
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Prajna GR, Express News Service / June 14th, 2018
A farmer and a vintage car collector died after a tree branch fell on him at Nellihudikeri village near Siddapura in Kodagu district yesterday.
The deceased, 67-year-old P.C. Ahmed Kutti Haji, was working in his Mubarak Estate along with his son Ashraf at around 11.30 am. Due to heavy rain and wind, a branch of a banyan tree fell on Ahmed Kutti. He was immediately rushed to a hospital. But he succumbed to his injuries in the hospital. Kodagu Deputy Commissioner P.I. Sreevidya has announced Rs.5 lakh compensation to his family. She sent the cheque through the Tahsildar.
With his death, Kodagu has lost a collector of Vintage ‘beauties
Ahmed Kutti Haji is a coffee planter and also an industrialist. He has a huge collection of vintage cars which he threw open to public. Collecting vintage cars was a hobby for Ahmed who has 86 of them and over 15 vintage petrol jeeps. Not to stop there, he also has 20 old two-wheelers, a 125-year-old bicycle and a 200-year-old bullock cart. The oldest car in the collection is 1925 model.
Normally vintage car collectors eye Bengaluru to add cars to their collection. Changing the trend, Ahmed focussed on old workshops in Kodagu and surrounding areas to hunt vintage ‘beauties.’ After picking them, Ahmed gave old cars a fresh coat of paint and tuned them to working condition.
Almost all foreign cars owned by Ahmed were manufactured between 1925 and 1965. Barring Dharmasthala, no other place in the State has such a wide collection of vintage cars.
With his death, Kodagu has lost a vintage automobile enthusiast.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News /June 10th, 2018
Princess Gouramma (1841-1864) Signed and dated 1852
Oil on canvas | 153.2 x 91.8 cm (support, canvas/panel/str external) | RCIN 403841
Durbar Corridor, Osborne House
Description
Winterhalter was born in the Black Forest where he was encouraged to draw at school. In 1818 he went to Freiburg to study under Karl Ludwig Sch?ler and then moved to Munich in 1823, where he attended the Academy and studied under Josef Stieler, a fashionable portrait painter. Winterhalter was first brought to the attention of Queen Victoria by the Queen of the Belgians and subsequently painted numerous portraits at the English court from 1842 till his death.
Princess Gouramma (1841-64) was the daughter of the ex-Raja of Coorg. She was baptised in the Chapel at Buckingham Palace on 1 July 1852 and took the name ‘Victoria’, with Queen Victoria as her Sponsor. She had been considered a suitable bride for the Maharaja Duleep Singh whose portrait is also in the Royal Collection (RCIN 403843), but he declined to marry her. In 1860 she married Colonel John Campbell.
Here the Princess is depicted in Indian dress and rich jewellery, leaning on an Indian table. She is holding a Bible, an allusion to her conversion to Christianity.
Signed and dated: F Winterhalter / 1852.
Provenance
Painted for Queen Victoria
source: http://www.royalcollection.org.uk / Royal Collection Trust / Home> Collection> Explore The Collection
The Federation of Kodava Samajas, Balagodu, Virajpet taluk, held its Annual General Body Meeting for the year 2017-18 on June 5, 2018 at its head office in Balagodu.
The meeting was attended by about 140 members. Federation President Kallichanda Vishnu Kariappa presided.
The President said that the membership drive in three categories namely, Kodava Samaja membership, Donor Membership and Kodava Okka (Family) Membership drive is pursued vigorously in order to strengthen the Federation.
The President said the Federation had received a letter dated 25.5.2018 from some members jointly requesting the Federation in its General Body of 2017-18 to discuss the issues mentioned in the letter and take appropriate decisions or pass resolutions. Among the issues mentioned in this letter were as follows:
1. To set up a Secretariat with an able Administrator to receive complaints and petitions from the members for solution with the guidance and help from the Federation. The Secretariat will interact with various Government Departments, if necessary, and report to the General Council or the President or the Secretary.
2. Federation to take up the cause of getting the Linguistic Minority status.
3. Make efforts to get Scheduled Tribe status for Kodavas.
4. Federation to ensure that no new places of worship are constructed near important temples of Kodavas like Sri Padi Igguthappa Temple at Kakkabe, Bhagandeshwara Temple at Bhagamandala, Mruthyunjaya Temple at Badaga etc. in order to protect the sanctity of these ancient temples.
5. Federation to take up the issue of Caste Certificate to be issued to Kodavas. At present, the Tahsildar is issuing the certificate saying ‘Kodagaru’ instead of ‘Kodava.’ This is causing problems wherever Caste Certificate is required to get benefits under Government schemes.
6. Federation to discuss with the concerned Government Department to complete the remaining 600 mts. road work from Pukola, Birunani, to Virajpet via Kotiyala, which will reduce the distance to Virajpet taluk headquarters by about 28 kms for the villagers.
7. Federation to discuss with the Government to withdraw cases filed against those who participated in the agitation against the high tension power lines going across South Kodagu to Kerala.
The President told the General Body that the Governing Council had discussed these issues at a special meeting inviting the representatives of all Kodava Samajas and would soon be meeting the Deputy Commissioner to discuss the matter and find solutions.
Raising the issue of the proposed Railway line criss-crossing Kodagu district, a senior member of the Federation expressed surprise that the massive protest march which was launched under the initiative of Mysuru Kodava Samaja, in association with some of the Kodava Samajas in Kodagu, should have been first discussed by the Federation which is the apex body of all Kodavas and led by the Federation. However, the President said that since it was done in a hurried manner the Federation could not take the leadership.
The Annual General Body Meeting concluded with a vote of thanks followed by a lunch.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / June 06th, 2018
A four-day special Personality Development camp ‘Spoorthi 2018’ is being organised since yesterday for students who hail from Kodagu and pursuing their studies from PUC to Graduation. The camp is being organised by Kodava Deena Bandhu Charitable Trust at Kodava Samaja, Vijayanagar First Stage. The camp will conclude on June 5.
The camp was inaugurated last evening by Major General (Rtd.) Codanda K. Karumbaya and senior Orthodontist Dr. Adengada A. Kuttappa. Addressing the students, Karumbaya said that students must have grip over at least four to five languages so that they can pursue a career in any part of the world. Along with mother tongue and the medium of study, students must strive to learn dominant foreign languages, he said.
Giving an example of Indian Army, the retired officer said that people from various nook and corners of India serve in the Army. One common thread that unites them is Hindi. They all learn Hindi and protect the nation like one family, he said.
On the choice of careers, he said that students must have a proper aim and the courage to pursue their dreams. And it is important for them to periodically assess their capabilities and career path.
A step-by-step monitoring process where there is a room for improvement must be a part of a student’s activity, Karumbaya opined.
In his address, Dr. Kuttappa said that it is important for students to read and know about achievers. Almost all the achievers had a tough childhood where they fought against odds to study. “Even our Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a difficult childhood where he sold tea on Railway platforms to eke out a living. Our former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam used to study under streetlight due to abject poverty,” he said.
Students must not discontinue studies at any cost and must strive to secure merit scholarships to pursue their education. Only those who realise the value of education and money at a young age will make good citizens and this in turn, will give rise to a good society, Dr. Kuttappa said.
Kodava Deena Bandhu Charitable Trust Honorary Secretary Pattada A. Jayakumar, Kattera A. Cariappa and Trustee Lieutenant Colonel (Rtd.) Chowrira A. Ganapathy were present.
During the special camp, achievers in various fields will address the students and guide them in academics and careers.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / June 02nd, 2018
Parsis of the south: Scenes from the centenary celebrations of the Kodava Samaja Bangalore earlier this month. Photographs by Aniruddha Chowdhury/Mint.
Fair-skinned, educated and Westernized, they are the Parsis of the south. And their numbers too are declining— from 175,000 in 1992 to 125,000 in 2010 (Bureau of Economics and Statistics). Kodavas, or Coorgis, are concentrated in Coorg, Karnataka, which the British turned into a major district of coffee plantations. The land is also known for its mist-cloaked hills scented with honey, cardamom and oranges.
Kodavas are more numerous than India’s Parsis, Bahá’ís and Jews but that’s no solace. “We might vanish by 2030,” says Chepudira M. Thilak Subbaiah, president of the Kodava Samaja Bangalore that held its centenary celebrations in early November. “Young Kodavas are educated workaholics and don’t care about families. They don’t want more than one child.” According to Subbaiah, Bangalore has the largest population of Kodavas (35,000) after Coorg (70,000).
“The concern is not so much of losing at a numbers game,” says Sarita Mandanna, whose debut novel Tiger Hills was set in Coorg at the turn of the 20th century, “but the risk of losing an entire way of life, and the land as we once knew it.”
Kodavas are warrior-caste Hindus but their festivals and rituals are different. They have no priest, no holy fire and no dowry in weddings. They are great pork eaters. They worship Kaveri, the river that originates in Coorg. With a literacy rate estimated at 80%, their vocabulary is a mix of Persian, Sanskrit, Hindi, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu. Almost everyone has an estate—it could be 1 acre or 500 acres. Some say they migrated from the Kurd region in West Asia, others claim they are descendants of Alexander’s army. Traditionally a martial race, they have produced army icons like K.S. Thimayya and K.M. Cariappa. Other notable Kodavas are athlete Ashwini Nachappa and VJ Nikhil Chinappa.
Explaining the reason behind the dwindling numbers, the Bangalore-based author, Prof. P.S. Appaiah, says: “Until 1950, families had at least half a dozen children each. After the government introduced family planning, the Kodavas showed the most enthusiasm. General Cariappa himself would tell us not to go beyond two children. He said that we couldn’t afford to make India a jam-packed stadium.”
The Kodavas have been known for their well-knit joint families. “With better education and exposure, Kodavas are opting for smaller families, a trend that’s evident in most of educated India,” says Mandanna. “With land no longer jointly held within a family, but being parcelled into smaller acreages, it’s no longer viable to support a large brood of children.”
Young people are moving to cities like Bangalore, Mysore and Mumbai, where many have found their calling in the IT industry. “Many Kodavas are finding it hard to find suitable life partners within Kodavas, which forces them to marry non-Kodavas or stay as singles,” says Kishor Cariappa, moderator of KodaguCommunity.com, a site where people discuss topics ranging from marrying outside the community to Kodava cuisine.
A woman married to a Kodava is not considered a Kodavathi, but the children of the marriage are Kodavas. “Not so if a Kodava woman marries outside, in keeping with traditions observed in most of the country,” says Mandanna, whose sister married a Tamilian Brahmin. “Marrying within the community has its advantages in terms of a shared cultural background, but it is no guarantee of happiness, and I think a lot of the older Kodavas have come to recognize that.”
Despite the alarmists, there is no scare of extinction yet. “We are not going down like the Parsis,” says Mumbai-based art director Dipti Subramani, a Kodava who married outside her community. “I think we can maintain our present numbers.”
How can they be increased?
“We’re asking people to have more babies,” says Subbaiah. “Instead of criticizing young people marrying non-Kodavas, we must open our arms to people from other communities and not treat them as ‘outsiders’,” says Cariappa. However, some have other concerns. “If the Kodava population too goes up,” says Appaiah, “imagine what will be India’s fate.”
source: http://www.livemint.com / LiveMint / Home> Live / by Mayank Austen Soofi / November 25th, 2011
WELCOME. If you like what you see "SUBSCRIBE via EMAIL" to receive FREE regular UPDATES.
Read More »
