Category Archives: Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg

Nostalgically Speaking — 12: Mrs. Rathi Vinay Jha IAS – Visionary Behind Kodava Heritage Centre —1

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

Racially the ethnic groups in India have their own problems related to their personal life and security. Of their landed properties, personal freedom to practice their tradition and religion etc. Kodavas of Kodagu district, Karnataka, belong to one such ethnic groups, racially distinct from all other people.

Kodavas (Coorgs as English called them) are living in the hilly terrains nestled in the Western Ghats, a small identifiable geographical area. It has rain forests, mountain peaks and valleys, heavy rainfall, inhabited by wild animals and in the past the curse of epidemic Malaria. Obviously it is well-isolated and also insulated from the neighbouring places and people. As a result, Kodavas came to have their own unique culture and customs as also a language, dialect. They even had their own Gods in Guru Karana (ancestor worship). Naturally, their population is very small with no outsiders immigrating to Kodagu because of its hostile climate.

The Government of India should invoke the provisions of our Constitution and declare this Kodava community as being on the verge of extinction and provide Constitutional protection and guarantee for the preservation of their habitation known as Kodagu and their landed property considering Kodavas as an ethnic minority. Otherwise, in the next 50 or 100 years, Kodavas in Kodagu would be as rare as hen’s teeth! You may see someone dressed in Kodava traditional attire in museums, like we see native Americans (Red Indians) in US museums. 

After independence Kodavas have become a minority population in Kodagu with about 1,50,000 Kodavas as against the immigrants and the other natives who number over 4,00,000. As a result, under our democratic system of Government, now Kodavas are politically, economically and socially relegated to oblivion and have become “vanishing” people.

It is not surprising, therefore, a Kodavathi, Mrs. Kaveri Ponnapa, with a Master’s Degree in Social Anthropology from London, chose to write a book, rather prophetically (let God forbid), titled, ‘The Vanishing Kodavas.’ It is a book that provides a treasure of information about Kodavas and their future as an ethnic race. It  is a book no Kodava, nor a Democratic Government can ignore. Kodavas were hunters, agriculturists and warriors for centuries. All the Dewans of Kodagu Rajas were Kodavas and after independence Kodava community produced a Field Marshal (K.M. Cariappa), a General (K.S. Thimayya), over 12 Lieutenant Generals, many Fighter Pilots, Air Marshals and Naval Commodores. In the field of IAS and IPS, Sports and Science too, they have distinguished themselves. Mrs. Rathi Vinay Jha IAS, the visionary behind Kodava Heritage Centre, is one among them. Indeed Kodavas are an asset to our country. They should not be allowed to “vanish” from Kodagu.

I am made to ruminate about Kodavas in a way that does not augur well for them, after reading a report in newspapers on 27.9.2020 about a statement made by our Tourism Minister C.T. Ravi (in reply to a question by Congress MLC Veena Achaiah) about the works on ‘Kodava Heritage Centre’ at Vidyanagar near Madikeri, the District Headquarters of Kodagu District and former capital of Kodagu Kingdom and later C. State. 

I first came to know of this proposed Centre in Madikeri sometime in the year 2004 while casually discussing with one of the promoters of the Federation of Kodava Samajas (Federation) located on the Kerala border at Balugodu, about 12 kms from Virajpet. The Federation was established in the year 2000-01 and even to this day is asking for money and more money from donors. But what do we have in return? For spending over Rs. 6 crore!?  A shed-like Kalyana Mantap! 

I gave the idea for the Federation to make it one Umbrella Organisation of all Kodava Samajas and an apex body for Kodavas to debate and discuss all their problems — political, property, cultural etc. — and speak in one voice, as a spokesperson, for all Kodavas. I gave the idea to an enterprising Kodava with many achievements. But the Kodava Federation located on a fault-line, failed in its objectives and purpose without direction. It has nothing to show except the annual jamboree.

As a result what we hear today on social media and at Kodava meetings is a cacophony of different, divisive voices. One group calls Kodavas as tribals and seeks that status under the Constitution; while the other group says no. One early immigrant group claims right over management of rituals in Bhagamandala and Talacauvery, asking Kodavas not to go to these temples wearing Kodava traditional dress. The controversy about inter-caste marriage is also continuing and it must be resolved. 

The Jamma land tenure, which to some extent held at least some Kodavas bound to their land in Kodagu, thereby in a small way keeping Kodagu for Kodavas, was outright abolished leading to large-scale immigration of outsiders buying properties. The issue was never discussed in depth in any Kodava body. As a result now we see Kodavas emigrating from Kodagu after selling landed properties (paddy field and coffee plantation) to non-Kodavas who pay higher price. A clear sign of Mrs. Kaveri Ponnapa’s prognosis coming true!

In this world as we see today, the importance of possessing land by a racial group or the people of a particular religion can never be underestimated. No wonder, in Christian Europe and America, Right-liberals and also White-supremacists are dominating the  political space nudging immigrant groups. 

[To be continued]

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Columns> Abracadabra by K.B. Ganapathy / October 12th, 2020

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contd – Part – 2

Nostalgically Speaking — 12 – Mrs. Rathi Vinay Jha IAS: Visionary Behind Kodava Heritage Centre —2

I remember in 1960s in the Fiji Island, where there was a majority of Indian immigrants who were businessmen and traders as opposed to the local Fijians (I guess earliest immigrants of African origin) who were landowners, there was a political crisis. An Indian origin man won the democratic election and became the Prime Minister. But, soon he was overthrown by a ‘local’ Fijian Brigadier. The reason was that the island-nation should be ruled by the ‘locals’, the land-owners. I thought there is a lesson in this for Kodavas to learn. The day Kodavas cease to be ‘sons of Kodagu soil’ (ªÀÄtÂÚ£À ªÀÄPÀ̼ÀÄ) they will vanish from Kodagu. 

I am reminded of what Desmond Tutu, South African Bishop and Nobel Laureate for Peace had said: When the missionaries came to Africa, they had the Bible and we had the land. They said, “Let us close our eyes and pray.” When we opened our eyes, “We had the Bible and they had the land.”

This is what had happened and is happening to Kodavas today after the Jamma land tenure was outright abolished without a thought about the Kodavas of Kodagu. The Kodavas are having money and the immigrants the land!

I guess, Kodavas could have worked to get a variant of Jamma tenure through Amendments etc. But, majority was    for its blanket abolition and    naturally they should pay the price. Kodagu will soon cease to be their land of identity. Sad. No Kodava voice was raised in the Assembly against the abolition, I am told.

I attended a couple of meetings of the Federation of Kodava Samajas but found myself at large in a huge hall of zinc sheet-roof with about 25 members who are called Directors. The acoustics was so bad that much of what was said must only be guessed. Then once it rained and the meeting was ruined. I had to request the Chairman to adjourn the meeting till the rains abated. Well, by then, it was time for lunch! 

Alas, there are so many Kodava Samajas, but not a single well-furnished venue to conduct a meeting in peace, dignity and proper protocol! When the meeting ambience is bad, good people avoid speaking, why, even good ideas do not cross our minds. But I do not think Kodava Federation could now unscramble the egg. We go to the meeting well-dressed in style like Kodavas usually do, but only to sit on a plastic chair kept in disarray in a huge hall!

While I was thus reflecting on the dismal condition of Kodava Federation, I heard of the Kodava Heritage Centre, with a museum, coming up in Madikeri, the place I had insisted for Kodava Federation. This first information came from my friend in Bengaluru, as I mentioned earlier, when I went to meet him as a courtesy. I jumped with joy. He then told me how it came about over a second cup of tea. He was also heartbroken, that the proposed grant from Government of India was lost to his Kodava Federation.

Be that as it may, let me now turn to our lady with a vision Mrs. Rathi Vinay Jha, an IAS Officer and a Kodavathi of Codanda family, who was the Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, New Delhi. She was apparently approached by someone for grant from her Department to the Kodava Federation and she decided to visit the Federation at Balugodu (Virajpet taluk) before releasing the fund. She visited the place, but paid a visit to Lt. Gen. C.G. Somanna (retd.), her uncle, living in Virajpet. 

This visit, according to my friend, changed her mind about granting funds to the Federation and instead she came up with the idea of this Kodava Heritage Centre in Madikeri with a Kodava museum. To be built like the traditional Kodava Ainmane (family dwelling with a quadrangle) comprising an auditorium, a library, a museum with artefacts, items of excavation, attire, weapons etc., etc. I hope it will be built that way. Anyway, I said to myself, “Well, God fullfils himself in many ways.” How would the future generation know about the “Vanished Kodavas” otherwise!? For me  this is a huge serendipitous happening for “The Vanishing Kodavas.” After all, with the abolition of Jamma land tenure the Kodava Diaspora, like that of Jews, had already begun. I shall now on forget the imaginary usefulness of the Federation for the Kodavas which for all these years of its existence does not have  a museum nor a library to show. Yes, an apology of a ‘war memorial’ is built on the border of Kerala that would be seen only by Kodavas who go to the Federation!! 

On returning to Delhi, Mrs. Rathi sanctioned about a crore of rupees for the project. Not only this, she ensured that required land is made available for the project in Madikeri itself. It is near the Mahindra Holiday Resorts in Galibeedu. But, it is a paradox that the Federation could not find a place in Madikeri! A reflection on promoters of the Federation and our Kodava politicians. Perish the thought.

Mrs. Rathi, a senior IAS  Officer, now retired, is the sister of late Codanda G. Somiah, the legendary IAS Officer during Rajiv Gandhi’s Prime Ministership, who held many high positions including Home Secretary, CVC and Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG). I had the privilege of knowing him while he was in Bengaluru after retirement and had even spoken to him and published a couple of articles extracted from his book ‘The Honest Always Stand Alone.’

I was craving to see him personally but it was not to be. However, I made it, rather sadly, when he was admitted to the Manipal Hospital. I drove there from Mysuru one day and met him in the ward, his wife attending. I was an intruder. He was on ventilator but on hearing my name, lifted the ventilator to speak. I touched his extended hand. His wife sprang from her seat and warned him and requested me. I was deeply moved by his gesture. 

Post Script: About a year back I had the opportunity to meet Air Marshal Kodandera Nanda Cariappa to whom I broached the subject of the stalled Kodava Heritage Centre in Madikeri. My two newspapers wrote a number of articles about it, but sadly nobody bothered. Not even our Kodagu MLAs. It was he who got me in touch with Mrs. Rathi who happened to be in her bungalow in Virajpet. After some time I met her once in the Metropole Hotel with her husband and discussed the Kodava Heritage Centre. I was surprised to hear that she had followed up on the discussion, met the bureaucrats in the Vidhana  Soudha etc. By then, of course, she had retired. 

Thus is the predicament in which Kodavas are today placed. This Kodava Heritage Centre seems to be the only Centre that will leave the footprints of Kodavas ‘on the sands of time.’ At least for this reason the enlightened Kodavas must be eternally grateful to Mrs. Rathi Vinay Jha IAS and also to Mrs. Veena Achaiah, MLC (for reviving the project which was almost given up).

I doubt if Mrs. Veena Achaiah had not asked the question in the Legislative Council and pursued it with officials, C.T. Ravi, the Tourism Minister, would have taken any interest and  the project would have died a natural death. 

Anyway, let us hope, Kodava Heritage Centre will soon be a reality. But, my regret is that despite the dismal future, Kodavas have no united apex body to voice their grievances.

Note:  Nostalgically Speaking – 11 on ‘Kempaiah IPS: Officer Who Made A Difference’ was published in three parts on Sept. 27, Oct. 4 and Oct. 11 —Ed

e-mail: voice@starofmysore.com.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Columns> Abracadabra by K.B. Ganapathy / October 13th, 2020

C.B. Muthamma’s Battle Against a Gendered Foreign Service

Amazing Feats, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Leaders, Records, All

The doors of diplomacy were not welcoming of women for a good part of the 20th century.

Until 1946, the UK did not allow women into its foreign service. The foreign and commonwealth office was apprehensive about British prestige being endangered abroad as it felt that a foreign government would perceive it as an insult to conduct diplomacy with a woman diplomat.

Some believed :  “A clever woman would not be liked, an attractive woman would not be taken seriously.”

Both the UK and the US had rules which stipulated that a female diplomat should resign from service after her marriage.

The situation in India was not too different in the 20th century and this is the story of C.B. Muthamma, the first woman to join the Indian Foreign Service (IFS). She encountered sexism right from the initial interview conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and had to fight for her promotions and seniority even after putting in years of service.

Muthamma excelled in the UPSC examinations conducted in 1948. During her interview, she was in for a rude shock when the chairman of the UPSC tried to dissuade her from joining the IFS. Muthamma alleged that he later admitted that he had used his authority to ensure that she was awarded low marks in the viva voce. Soon after being inducted into the IFS, she was asked to sign an undertaking that she would resign when she gets married.

In 1979, she petitioned the Supreme Court after she was denied ambassadorship and promotion to grade I of the IFS despite an unblemished record. More importantly, the court’s attention was drawn to two misogynistic service rules of the IFS.

Rule 8(2) of the Indian Foreign Service (Conduct and Discipline) Rules, 1961 stipulated that a woman member of the service had to obtain permission from the government before marrying and the government could ask her to resign if it was satisfied that her “family and domestic commitments” would affect her performance. Rule 18(4) of the Indian Foreign Service (Recruitment, Cadre, Seniority and Promotion) Rules, 1961 stipulated that no married woman had a right to be a member of the IFS.

During the course of the hearing, the government informed the court that it had repealed Rule 18(4). However, the solicitor general defended Rule 8(2) by contending that the rule intended to prevent married women from leaking confidential information and thereby endanger security. This contention exposed how misogynistic the government was. The rule rested on an absurd premise that a married man was unlikely to leak confidential information while a married woman could not be trusted! Also, the rule presumed that it was only a woman who could have “family and domestic commitments” after marriage which could affect her performance.

As the case progressed, the government perhaps felt that the court was not inclined to accept its justification of the rule and hence assured the court that the rule was all set to be deleted and the same would be announced in the official gazette.

Interestingly, after Muthamma challenged the denial of promotion, the government suddenly retracted its assessment that she was not meritorious enough to be appointed as an ambassador. Before the court pronounced its verdict, she was appointed as the ambassador to The Hague and the government even assured the court that her seniority, which was affected by the late promotion, would be restored.

As the government addressed/promised to address, the issues raised in the petition while the case was pending, the court did not have to issue directions to the government. However, Justice Krishna Iyer, who authored the judgment, pointed out that Rule 8(2) and Rule 18(4) were unconstitutional as they violated the principles of equality and non discrimination enshrined in Articles 14, 15 and 16 of the Constitution. He began the judgement with the following line :

“This writ petition by Miss Muthamma, a senior member of the Indian Foreign Service, bespeaks a story which makes one wonder whether Articles 14 and 16 belong to myth or reality”.

He observed that “masculine hubris” haunted the Ministry of External Affairs and described the rules as misogynous and a hangover of a culture of masculinity which suppressed women. The judgment urged the government to remove “stains of gender discrimination” from all the service rules without waiting for “ad hoc inspirations” from petitions filed in the court.

Muthamma’s story suggests that calling out misogyny in the language of rights and constitutional values can act as a powerful nudge. By publicising the discrimination, she effectively abashed the foreign service and forced it to introspect. Also, her efforts enabled the Supreme Court to condemn misogyny in service rules and this judgement has served as a guiding precedent for courts while deciding cases of gender discrimination.

Rahul Machaiah  is a post graduate student of law at Azim Premji University, Bangalore.

Featured image credit: Wikipedia (Editing: LiveWire)

source: http://www.livewire.thewire.in / Live Wire / Home> Gender & Sexuality / by Rahul Machaiah / October 14th, 2020

Akhila Kodava Samaja Youth Wing Formed

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Chammatira Praveen Uthappa unanimously elected President

Virajpet:

Chammatira Praveen Uthappa has been unanimously elected as the President of the newly-formed Akhila Kodava Samaja Youth Wing.

This was announced by Akhila Kodava Samaja President Mathanda Monnappa at the General Body Meeting of the Samaja held at the Samaja Auditorium in Virajpet on Saturday.

Addressing the meeting, Monnappa said that the Youth Wing has been entrusted with the responsibility of moulding the younger generation of the community on the lines of Kodava culture and customs. Pointing out that youths are the assets of the country, he said it is important to attract them towards Kodava culture and traditions. 

Noting that handing over power to younger generation may bring about winds of change in administration, Monnappa said that the Youth Wing was to be launched six months ago but it got delayed due to the outbreak of deadly COVID-19 pandemic. 

Asserting that Akhila Kodava Samaja will not interfere in the affairs of the Youth Wing, he said that, however, the Wing should progress under the guidance of senior community leaders and work towards the betterment of the youths. 

Newly-elected Youth Wing President Chammatira Praveen Uthappa, in his address, said that the Wing will work towards harmonious living with members of all other communities. Maintaining that the Youth Wing will strive towards taking all Kodava speaking people along with it, he said that all differences that have arisen between communities due to misunderstandings will be sorted out in the coming days.

Asserting that Kodagu is a land of peace and harmony, Uthappa contended that Kodagu had never witnessed caste clashes before. But now, caste conflicts have surfaced because of vested interests who are out to disturb peace in the otherwise quiet hilly district, he said.

Maintaining that Kodavas do not want caste or community conflicts in their homeland,  he warned that, however, Kodavas cannot remain silent when their roots get attacked by vested interests or communal elements.

Stating that the Youth Wing was for resolving  local issues by bringing all communities under a single platform, Uthappa cautioned that at the same time, Kodavas will not remain silent spectators if their traditions and customs are threatened.

Office-bearers

The following were elected as office-bearers of Akhila Kodava Samaja Youth Wing: Annira Harish Madappa –  Vice-President; Ajjikuttira Prithvi Subbaiah – Organising Secretary; Sannuvanda Darshan Kaverappa – General Secretary; Appanderanda  Devaiah- Joint Secretary; Cheriyapanda Vishu Kalappa – Treasurer; Dr.Mullengada Revathi Poovaiah –  Advisor.

The Youth Wing Membership drive will begin soon after the formation of a full-fledged Managing Committee.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / October 11th, 2020

MA Ganapathy Appointed Director General of Civil Aviation Security

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pix: twitter.com/CISFHQrs

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Ganapathy, IPS, to the post of Director General, BCAS, for a tenure up to his superannuation on February 29, 2024, the order  said.

Senior IPS officer M A Ganapathy has been appointed as the Director General of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), according to a Personnel Ministry order issued on Tuesday. He is a 1986 batch IPS officer of Uttarakhand cadre.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Ganapathy, IPS, to the post of Director General, BCAS, for a tenure up to his superannuation on February 29, 2024, the order said. The post of BCAS chief fell vacant after Rakesh Asthana was appointed as the Director General of Border Security Force in August.

source: http://www.news18.com / News18 India / Home> India / by PTI / New Delhi, October 06th, 2020

Boundaries and borders are imaginary lines: Priya Belliappa on her short film Frayed Lines

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The film won the best short film award in the Karnataka competition section of the Bengaluru International Short Film Festival 2020

Set in Kodagu or Coorg, Karnataka, Priya Belliappa’s short film explores the lives of migrant labourers who come from across the country to work on coffee plantations. 

A young man from a poor family in Kodagu, Kalappa (Avinash Muddappa) is one of the many educated unemployed Indians vying for just a handful of jobs. Despite having a doctorate, he finds that life in the city is not as lucrative as he had imagined and decides to join the workers on the coffee estates.

He meets Tabu (Geetanjali Thapa), a migrant worker from Assam who has travelled over 2,000 miles from her home to find a means of livelihood in the estates. But her name has not been included in the updated draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

The film was conceptualised by Belliappa when she saw the influx of people travelling from Assam to work on the estates for a couple of months during the coffee season. The lives of the labourers who uproot themselves and their entire family for a few months for work made her curious, and the political and economic issues in the country formed the backdrop against which her story plays out.

Belliappa said, “The film is questioning a lot of things and these are questions that I do not have answers to but they nag me.”

The layered film questions lines and borders that define country, religion, language and caste; lines that become blurred in the struggle of life. 

Speaking about how much of the film was shaped by the debates around the NRC and Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), she said, “The film was shot before the NRC and CAA became a national debate. It was not a topic that everyone really knew about. If you look at the larger picture [in the film], it’s about belonging…I also put in the idea that boundaries and borders are imaginary lines for states or districts, and you sit back and you think about questions of humanity.”

The character of the young man too is a reflection of the status of youth in the country, who are increasingly finding themselves with a bagful of degrees but no jobs and was shaped by a newspaper article that reported that people who with a PhD degree were standing in line for a peon’s job. The filmmaker wondered, “It really hit me hard because everything grows up thinking that if they get a certain education, they are guaranteed a certain job…but we look at what is the education system today where you cannot assure somebody who has done a PhD a job…Everybody needs a certain income to survive, but if it [education] cannot guarantee you a job, what is it that one needs?” 

The short film format allowed the filmmaker to delve into certain spaces with greater creative freedom and she said, “The reason that I made this into a short film was that I did not want to be bogged down by the commercial aspects of it. When you make a feature film, you need to think much more about economic aspects like what is going to happen to the film, how are you going to get the money back…So I chose to go with a short as it would give me a certain creative freedom to explore this subject in the way that I wanted using the silences and the spaces that I create. In a short film, you can use your creative freedom with a lot fewer restrictions as opposed to a feature.” 

The film won the Best Short Film Award in the Karnataka competition section of the Bengaluru International Short Film Festival (BISFF) 2020. Responding to the recognition that the film has received the filmmaker said, “As a creative person, I want there to be a conversation [about this] and I hope that it reaches as many people as possible…if somebody thinks about this [the film], it’s good enough for me.”

She added, “The world over, there is a conversation about migrants moving, working…and we need to address it.”

Belliappa is planning to develop Frayed Lines into a feature. 

source: http://www.cinestaan.com / Cinestaan / Home> Interview / by Sukhpreet Kahlon / New Delhi – October 08th, 2020

Kodagu SP Launches Cauvery Pade To Safeguard Women, Children

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The 18-member all-women team includes two ASIs

Madikeri:

‘Cauvery Pade’ (Cauvery Force), an all-women Police team to tackle crimes against women and children in Kodagu district, was launched by Kodagu SP Kshama Mishra here on Thursday last.

Speaking on the occasion, Kshama Mishra said that the team will have two Assistant Sub-Inspectors (ASIs) and 16 other Police personnel. 

“The Force will act against atrocities and crimes against children, girls and women. The Force will make regular rounds around schools and colleges, accommodations where there are more number of women and other women-dominated places and will act against anyone found behaving in an obscene or indecent way and harassing or stalking women,” she said.

Continuing, the SP said that ‘Cauvery Pade’ has been formed on the lines of ‘Abbakka Pade’ in Udupi, ‘Obavva Pade’ in Chitradurga and ‘Chamundi Pade’ in Mysuru. The patrol team will make rounds from 8 am to 6 pm in the limits of all prominent Police Stations of the district, focussing on schools and colleges for ensuring the safety of girl students. 

The members of the public can call 100 in case of trouble or distress, she said and added that the mobile numbers of all the eighteen personnel attached to this women Police team, will be announced soon as the higher authorities issue them.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / October 06th, 2020

Kodagu farmer producer company exports first direct shipment of coffee to Europe

Agriculture, Business & Economy, Coffee, Kodagu (Coorg), Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Leaders, Records, All, World Opinion

For the first time Kodagu coffee growers, who formed a farmer producer company, Biota Coorg FPC, have exported their crop directly to a roaster in Europe.

IB Bopanna, one of the founding directors of Biota Coorg

After suffering 50-70 per cent crop loss due to excessive rainfall and landslides over the last three years, small, mid-sized and large coffee growers in Kodagu district of Karnataka, who pooled in their coffees under Biota Coorg, are set to receive a 15-20 per cent premium, on an average.

Incorporated in January, Biota Coorg made its first direct export shipment of bulk branded coffees to a large roaster in Europe last week. A container consisting of 320 bags (60 kgs/per bag) of Robusta Cherry AB sourced from 75 of its members was shipped from Mangaluru port on September 30. The company plans to ship 10 more containers to different roasters across Europe, of which two containers are scheduled to be shipped in October and the rest by December. In addition, since its inception, Biota Coorg has directly sold Arabica coffees to local roasters and local cafes at a premium. The 10 founding directors of Biota Coorg, collectively have over 100 years of domain expertise in coffee growing and allied areas including exports of agri commodities, global marketing of coffees, agro-forestry, plantation management, organisation development and coffee quality enhancement through cupping.

Unique flavour

Grown under the shade of multiple species of endemic rainforest trees at an elevation of 3,000– 4,000 feet above sea level, Coorg coffees have distinct fruity notes because of the wild figs, citrus fruits that grow in the rainforests and caramel notes from the leaf litter-enriched soil. Because of the higher elevation, Robusta coffees from Kodagu take a longer time to mature and ripen, thereby resulting in a softer cup.

“The objective of incorporating Biota is to market and put Coorg Coffee on the world map by elevating its quality based on the region’s ecology and biodiversity,” IB Bopanna, one of the founding directors of Biota Coorg and former Senior Global Director- Coffee, The Coca-Cola Company, Atlanta, USA, told BusinessLine.

“Earlier growers were selling their coffee in bulk with little differentiation to local traders, at prevailing market prices. We are a cohort of 75 members (in our first year of operation) who have committed to superior on-farm harvesting and post harvesting standards that will command a premium in the international and domestic markets. We are committed to uphold the legacy of the region’s biodiversity by adhering to an audited standard in addition to RFA (Rainforest Alliance) certification, which we have applied for. All the coffee we procure is 100 per cent traceable. Every grower’s coffee is segregated, processed at the Tata Coffee facility in Kodagu, cupped and prepared specially to fit the requirement of high quality roasts, blends and brands.”

Community initiative

MB Ganapathy, former Chairman of KPA, said: “There are many large coffee growers who export their coffees in their individual capacities however, the majority who are small growers are dependent on the local traders to sell their coffee. Biota Coorg is a great community initiative that will benefit small coffee growers who can join hands and realise better prices for their produce by following quality practices set by Biota that will adhere to international standards of roasters.”

Bose Mandanna, a large grower and Biota member, said: “The advantage for international roasters is that they are ensured of a consistent supply of quality coffees from Biota. We have received a standard of good agricultural practices from Biota which we strictly follow including the use of chemicals and labour. We harvest the coffee at the right time, pulp it on the same day, wash it clean and dry it to the correct moisture levels, after which it is inspected by a Biota representative, who then further processes it in the curing works.”

source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> AgriBusiness / by Sangeetha Chengappa / Bengaluru / October 05th, 2020

Jai Jagadish: We discuss only cinema in our house

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Puttanna Kanagal cast Jagadish as the lead in ‘Phalitamsha’ even though he had no prior experience in acting.

After the first few days of shoot of Phalitamsha, he wanted to give up

Filmmaker Jai Jagadish had no background in films or interest in it during his childhood. He belonged to a family, where his father, a farmer, insisted on Jagadish becoming a double graduate.

Puttanna Kanagal cast Jagadish as the lead in ‘Phalitamsha’ even though he had no prior experience in acting. Filmmaker Jai Jagadish had no background in films or interest…

Childhood and films

Hailing from Somwarpet taluk, Kodagu, he belonged to a family of coffee, pepper, cardamom and paddy growers. “My family consisted of five daughters and two sons. My father was a farmer.”

The filmmaker studied at the government school nearby. “I was a naughty child and uncontrollable, so I was sent to study in Sri Ramakrishna Vidyashala, Mysuru.” Jagadish’s father insisted on him becoming a double graduate. He did his BA from St. Philomena’s College, Mysuru.

Jagadish never acted in a drama, and never thought of acting in films. “Cinema was not my cup of coffee. My friend, Manjappa, a college leader from Maharaja’s College asked me if I would act in a Puttanna Kanagal’s film, if he got me the role. I was amused by the idea and I challenged him to find me a role,” he says.

Jagadish had read in film magazines that no actor had been finalised for ‘Phalitamsha’. In a couple of days, he got a call for the role, against four heroines. “I said I wasn’t going to act in it. My friends tried to convince me. I told them that I had other intentions and want to start my own business,” he says.

Even so, he went to Bengaluru, to meet Puttanna Kanagal. “I was asked if I knew anything about acting and I immediately responded that I didn’t. My looks and physique came in my favour, I was offered the role. I was shocked.”

Jagadish was told to leave to Badami and join the shoot immediately, but he insisted on informing his family. “I made a lightning call to my father. I knew he wouldn’t agree, and as expected after I called and explained, expletives followed. In the corner of mind, I knew I shouldn’t let go off the opportunity so I went for it,” he says.

After a few days of shoot, he wanted to give up. “I had only one lungi and a toothbrush on me and I decided to flee from the sets. Kitty, Kanagal’s wife’s brother, saw me from a distance and asked me what I was doing, he told me to rethink and give best shot at acting,” Jagadish says.

Jagadish’s first film released in a grand manner but didn’t do well. “In ‘Phalitamsha’, some shots were taken at the flying training school, Jakkur. The principal of the school, Patil, was impressed by me and I spoke about my interest in flying. A year later, I met him on M G Road and he told me to meet him at the school next day,” he says.

Jagadish was asked to do some medical checkups and joined the school. He studied for almost two-and-a-half years, while he waited for acting roles. “S Siddalingaiah called me and asked me to play the role of Vishnuvardhan’s brother’s role in ‘Biligiriya Banadalli’,” he says.

The role with dark shades, created a new turn in his career. “Directors were looking for a young villain, which led me to many other films.”

He was soon seen in films like ‘Bandana’, ‘Paduvarahalli Pandavaru’, ‘Daranimandala’ and ‘Parajitha’

He has worked with different actors like Vishnuvardhan, Srinath, Rajkumar (in Guri), Puneeth Rajkumar. Ravi Chandran. “I’ve worked with maximum films with Vishuvardhan, he was my favourite hero and a good friend. I’ve acted with films in Ambareesh to…

Planter now

Jai Jagadish has an estate in Kodagu, and he calls himself a planter and farmer now. “This is my work now. I have decided to stay away from filmmaking as I won’t be able to withstand the losses now,” he says.

Demonetisation soaked the spirit of filmmaking off him. “Most people decided to not invest into films. After ‘Yaana’ that was directed by my wife and starred daughters Vainidhi, Vaibhavi and Vaisiri, didn’t do as expected in the box office, I decided to stay awayfrom production,” he adds.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Entertainment> Entertainment News / by Tini Sara Anien / DHNS / October 04th, 2020

The princess and the sharpshooter

About Kodagu / Coorg, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Leaders, Records, All
Ancient abode: The ancestral house of Mukkatira Ipanna, the sharpshooter, in Nalvathoklu village in Kodagu. Photo by Boverianda Chinnappa

Mukkatira Aiyappa of Bonda village in Kodagu had three sons: Muddayya, Ipanna and Bopayya. Muddayya became a Munshi (clerk) in the Diwan Kacheri (minister’s office). Linga Raja II was the ruler of Kodagu at that time. With his first queen, a lady from the Chowrira family, he had a son Chikka Vira Raja. His second queen, Palanganda Devaki, was his Pattada Rani (chief queen). They had two daughters Muddammaji and Devammaji.

In 1816, Linga Raja was on a hunt in Murnad, Kodagu. He was accompanied by Muddayya when they came across Ipanna. Linga Raja challenged him to shoot a bird off a bison’s back as he was a famed sharpshooter. The bison was at a long distance and a gunhad to be used. Ipanna shot it and impressed the Raja who summoned him to the court the next day. 

The next day, Ipanna went to the court dressed in a white Kuppya (traditional coat). The Raja asked him the significance of the colour of his costume. Without any hesitation, he replied that a Kodava normally wore a white Kuppya on two occasions — in his wedding and then during his funeral. Those days, rarely one spoke boldly in front of the Raja. But the Raja was not displeased. Instead he surprised all by saying that he would get his elder daughter Muddammaji married to Ipanna. 

Ipanna was converted into a Lingayat, since the Raja was one. Ipanna was given a new name, Chenna Basavappa. Muddammaji and Chenna Basavappa were married and gifted a farm. But Muddammaji fell sick frequently. So, this farm was exchanged with another farm which belonged to the Raja’s relatives in Appangala. However, Muddammaji died within two years after her marriage. The Raja then got his younger daughter Devammaji married to Chenna Basavappa in 1819.

In 1820, Linga Raja died. His queen Devaki committed suicide by consuming diamond dust. Chikka Vira Raja became the Raja. Chenna Basavappa and a few others were discontent with his rule. So they schemed to have him ousted. They failed in their in their endeavour and Chikka Vira Raja came to know of it. Chenna Basavappa and Devammaji were kept under house arrest.

In 1832, Chikka Vira Raja planned to have Chenna Basavappa executed. Devammaji and Chenna Basavappa learnt of this. On Shivarathri, they drugged the guards and escaped from Appangala on horseback. They crossed the borders of Kodagu and reached Mysore , where they headed to the house of the British Resident Casamajor and sought refuge. Meanwhile, the couple’s one-and-a-half-year-old son fell into the hands of the Raja’s men and was handed over to the Raja whose queen took care of him.

Muddayya was an intelligent and respected man. He had been promoted to become the Raja’s Khas Munshi (chief accountant). A favourite of the Raja, he was deemed to be a future Diwan. When Chikka Vira Raja first heard of Chenna Basavappa’s escape he got angry with Muddayya who was his elder brother. He then beat him up. His Diwan, Kunta Basava, got Muddayya executed. But, in truth, Muddayya was not aware of his brother’s plans.

Chikka Vira Raja demanded that the two fugitives should be handed over to him. But Casamajor forwarded this matter to the British East India Company Government. In 1833, the Government declared that the couple should not be surrendered to the Raja. Chenna Basavappa and Devammaji were moved to Bangalore and were given a pension. Chikka Vira Raja schemed with Nanda Lal Bharthi, a merchant from Mysore, to have Chenna Basavappa murdered. But these attempts failed.

In 1834, the Company invaded Kodagu. The Raja surrendered to the British and was exiled. Chenna Basavappa and Devammaji returned to Kodagu. Their Appangala farm was returned to them. Chenna Basavappa assumed the title of ‘Arasu’ (king). He petitioned the Company to provide him with one of the other palaces of the Raja. He also wanted the former Raja’s farm at Nanjarajapatna and be placed in charge of the Gaddige (the Rajas’ mausoleum). But the Company didn’t agree to this. Chenna Basavappa died in 1868.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Spectrum> Spectrum Statescan / b y Mookonda Kushalappa / July 06th, 2019

How the modest Nalknad palace sheltered Kodagu’s royals

About Kodagu / Coorg, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Leaders, Records, All

Linga Raja I was the king of Kodagu and a subordinate ally of Nawab Hyder Ali of Mysore. In 1780, the king passed away, leaving his first son, the 16-year-old Dodda Veerarajendra as heir to the throne. Hyder Ali saw this as the perfect time to bring Kodagu under his complete control. 

So, he moved the king’s family members from the Madikeri Fort in Kodagu to Gorur Fort in Hassan. Displeased with the king’s removal, Kodagu rose in rebellion against Hyder.

Elsewhere, the second Anglo-Mysore war was raging on. In 1782, Hyder died and his son Tipu Sultan succeeded him. Linga Raja’s family was shifted and imprisoned at Periyapatna Fort in Mysore. In December 1788, Dodda Veerarajendra, his wife, daughter, brothers Linga Raja II (aka Lingarajendra) and Appaji Raja and other family members managed to escape from their confinement.

According to scholar H Moegling (in 1855) ‘some faithful Coorg friends assisted him (the king) and conducted him safely’. Historians I M Muthanna and D N Krishnaiah identified these friends as Kulletira Ponnanna, Pattacheruvanda Boluka, Appaneravanda Achaiah, Ketolira Achuvanna and others. They disguised themselves as oil-vendors and reached Periyapatna, where they were able to release the royal family. 

The people of Kodagu declared Dodda Veerarajendra their king but the new raja and his family had no place to stay. The Mysore Sultan still held the Madikeri Fort. The king first stayed at Kurchi where he made a temporary, makeshift residence.

One day, when the king was away, bandits from Wayanad attacked Kurchi; they killed the queen, looted the ornaments and burnt down the place.

D N Krishnaiah writes that with the king living near poverty, Ketolira Achuvanna recommended his own native village — Yavakapadi near Kakkabe — as a suitable place for the raja to stay till the war was over. Back then, Kakkabe was a remote location, surrounded by mountains and jungles. Achuvanna accommodated the raja in his own ancestral house until a new palace was built.

A farmland of the Puliyanda family was found to be the most secure site for a palace; hidden by natural barriers from all sides, it was relatively inaccessible to invaders.

Four brothers of a family living there were asked to vacate the place, with the promise of compensation. Everyone complied, save for the youngest brother Karichcha.

When the palace’s construction began, Karichcha troubled the construction workers during the day and hid in the forest at night. Displeased with this, the raja got him captured and put to death

The palace eventually came up at the place and is called ‘Naalnaad aramane’ or Nalknad aramane, after the name of the region. The palace was relatively simple: a two-storey building with a thatched roof, built in the native Ainmane tradition. 

The descendants of Achuvanna and his two brothers became the Aramane thakka (palace chamberlains); they were the hereditary chieftains in-charge of the Naalnaad palace. Meanwhile, Kodagu became free of Tipu’s rule in 1792. For Dodda Veerarajendra, life had come full circle, as he gained possession of his father’s old residence.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Spectrum / by Mookonda Kushalappa / October 03rd, 2020