Huthri celebrations, 5.30 pm onwards;
traditional Kodava dances by the Samaja members and their children,
‘Nere kattuva’ ritual, 7.35 pm;
Reaping new paddy crop (Kadiru), 8.35 pm;
Distribution of thambutt prasada, Sree Cauvery College Grounds, Kuvempunagar, 9.35 pm.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Events / December 10th, 2019
Acharya Patashala Shikshana Datthi Samsthe has constructed classrooms and computer laboratory at Government PU College in Madikeri. The classrooms and lab were inaugurated by MLC M P Sunil Subramani.
Speaking on the occasion, he said, “Members of organisations play a vital role in the growth of government schools.
He lauded Acharya Patashala Shikshana Datthi Samsthe for contributing to the construction of classrooms at a time when the district faced floods.
Deputy Commissioner Annies Kanmani Joy appealed to the members of various organisations in joining hands with the district administration to rebuild Kodagu.
Acharya Patashala Shikshana Datthi Samsthe President T V Maruthi said, “The organisation decided to contribute to Kodagu district when the district was affected by natural calamities in 2018. Two classrooms, a computer lab and a hi-tech toilet have been constructed at the college at a cost of Rs 52 lakh.”
Bodha Swarupananda Swami of Ponnampet Ramakrishna Sharadashrama called upon the students to inculcate the teachings of Swami Vivekananda.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State> Mangaluru / by Adithya K A / DHNS, Madikeri / December 07th, 2019
– Rare ‘Ring of Fire’ visible in South Kodagu
– Over 2,000 hand-picked students to witness celestial event from 8 am to 11 am
– Organisers aim for India Book of Records
Mysuru:
Kaimaani, a remote village in Kutta, South Kodagu, is all set to witness the rare Annular Solar Eclipse on Dec. 26 — the third and final solar eclipse of the year 2019. The Mysore Science Foundation (MSF) is organising a sky-gazing event at Kutta where nearly 2,000 children and general public will witness the spectacular event.
In the Annular Solar Eclipse, Moon does not completely obscure the Sun as the Moon is farther away from us than normal, making it appear smaller. As a result, the Sun is not totally eclipsed, leaving a ‘Ring of Fire’ around the edges.
The Mysore Science Foundation has tied up with Aseemit Edutech Private Limited, a Pune-based organisation (Mitee as its sub-group) for the event. Aseemit Edutech Private Limited is involved in secondary and senior secondary education.
Kutta falls on Solar Path
Speaking to Star of Mysore, G.B. Santosh Kumar of Mysore Science Foundation, said that Kutta falls on the Solar Path and as such, the visibility is clear. The visibility of Annular Solar Eclipse in Mysuru is only 75 percent.
“Mangala in Gundlupet, Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, Udupi in Dakshina Kannada and Kutta in South Kodagu fall on the Solar Path where there is a clear visibility.
“We did not get permission from the Forest Department for the event as Mangala falls under the limits of Bandipur Tiger Reserve. And 2,000-strong crowd going to Coimbatore and Udupi was a distant possibility. As such, we have zeroed in on Kutta where the event can be viewed from 8 am to 11 am,” Santhosh said.
Kaimaani coffee yard
At Kutta, the event will be organised at the newly-developed coffee drying yard of Kolera Ravi Cariappa in Kaimaani village. “The place is by the side of the road and the land is in a higher altitude and there is an arecanut plantation below. This is a perfect location for witnessing the once-in-a-lifetime event,” said Kotrangada Somaiah, a teacher at Manchalli Government School, who played a key role in identifying the location for the organisers.
“People from Mitee Pune contacted me two months back and requested me to find out an ideal place in Kutta to view the event. First we considered the Government Higher Primary School Cinkona in Kutta for the event but had to cancel it as the approach road was not good. The Kaimaani coffee yard is a perfect location as it is by the side of the road. There are facilities including toilets and I have requested the local residents to allow children to use their toilets,” said Somaiah.
India Book of Records
The event organisers have already registered in the India Book of Records for the largest gathering of children in one place to view Annular Solar Eclipse. “On Dec.17, the Mysore Science Foundation will organise another programme called “Video Viewing” where students will be seeing eclipse-related videos to prepare them for the main event. For the actual event on Dec.26, we are expecting students from Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Kerala,” Santhosh added.
On that day, occurrence of eclipses, types of eclipse, science behind eclipse, myths and misconceptions, eclipse watching and safety shall be explained in addition to demonstration on pressure variation and temperature variation.
Food & accommodation
For outstation students coming from Maharashtra, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, choultries have been booked in Virajpet for their food and accommodation. “Along with them, students from Mysuru, Bengaluru and Kodagu too are participating in the event,” Santhosh said.
Student selection
On the student selection process, the Mysore Science Foundation had communicated to schools to send 10 children who are interested in astronomy and a teacher. Registrations were on first-come-first-serve basis and we have kept last-minute registrations open as we are aiming for India Book of Records, he added.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / December 07th, 2019
The swimming pool at General K S Thimayya District Stadium in Madikeri was opened for swimming enthusiasts on Saturday after repair works. Thereafter, a large number of children visited the pool for swimming on Sunday.
The reopening of the swimming pool has brought a smile on the faces of swimming enthusiasts. Braving cold weather, over a hundred children were engaged in swimming on Sunday.
The swimming pool building was damaged following heavy rain and the pool was shut for public.
The pool was set up at a cost of Rs 2 crore in 2015. However, due to heavy rainfall in 2018, the pool was damaged. To take up the repair work on bathrooms and the swimming pool, the entry of swimmers to the pool was prohibited.
Though the swimming pool was reopened on May 2, entry was again prohibited owing to repair work. Now, the water purifying machine has been upgraded. Toilets and bathrooms have been constructed, said a staff member.
“The visitors to the swimming pool increase during the weekend,” said swimming pool staff member Karthik.
Harshith from Karnangeri said, “There are no other lakes or ponds in Madikeri for swimming. An opportunity should be given to children to swim on Saturday and Sunday. Hot water facility should also be arranged in the pool.”
Timings
The timings for swimming is 6 am to 10 am for children, 11 am to 12 noon for senior citizens, 2 pm to 4 pm for children, 4 pm to 5 pm for women and 5 pm to 7 pm for the public.
The entry fee for below 14-year-old kids is Rs 30, while it is Rs 50 for senior citizens and Rs 100 for tourists. For details contact: 08272-228985, said Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports assistant director Jayalakshmi Bai.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State> Mangaluru / by Adithya K A / DHNS, Madikeri / December 08th, 2019
Pollibetta (Kodagu):
The 5th Edition of the Barefoot Marathon for the people of Kodagu, organised under the joint aegis of The Coorg Wellness Foundation and Milind Soman was held at Pollibetta in Kodagu this morning. The Barefoot Marathon, which was a fund-raiser event was held to create oneness with mother earth.
Over 400 runners including 100 runners from Kodagu participated in the event, which was held at the Tata Coffee Sports Grounds, Pollibetta.
All proceeds of registration will go towards the Wellness of Kodagu, its people and its ecosystem via The Coorg Wellness Foundation.
The event was held in five categories (for both male and female) such as 42 km race, 21 kms, 10 kms, 5 kms and 1.5 km race. The prize money for 42 km race was 42,000 (1st prize) and Rs. 30,000 (2nd prize); 21 km race: Rs. 21,000 (1st prize) and 12,000 (2nd prize); 10 km race: Rs. 10,000 (1st prize) and Rs. 7,000 (2nd prize); 5 km race: Rs. 5,000 (1st prize) and Rs. 2,000 (2nd prize). The winners of 1.5 km race were given medals.
While the winning barefoot runners and local residents of Kodagu received cash awards, non-resident winners received goodie bags with local produce.
The winners are:
42 km race- Local Kodagu category: Male- S. Goutham (1st) and K.J. Jeethan; Female- Nisha (1st).
Non Local: Male – Dhanaprakash (1st) and Santosh (2nd).
21 km race – Local Kodagu category: Male- H.A. Chinnappa (1st) and Nithin Kumar (2nd); Female- N. Kavery (1st) and K.K. Beena (2nd).
Non Local category: Male – K. Vishwanath (1st) and Giridhar (2nd). Female- Srinija (1st) and Ruth (2nd).
10 km race – Local Kodagu category: Male- Muralidara (1st) and Lauki Ayyappa (2nd); Female- Chaitra (1st).
Non Local category: Male – Vinay Kumar (1st) and Ashwin (2nd); Female- Ramya (1st) and Rizwana (2nd).
5 km race – Local Kodagu category: Male- Vishnu (1st) and Nandha (2nd); Female- Kum Kum (1st) and Sonika (2nd).
Non Local category: Male – Afzal (1st) and Avinash (2nd); Female- Poojitha (1st).
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / December 08th, 2019
Kaveri Kalakshetra hall in Madikeri will finally get a facelift. An action plan has been prepared at an estimated cost of Rs 1 crore under a special grant of the state government to take up development work.
The Kaveri Kalakshetra hall building will be repaired and the roof and floor of the hall will be renovated, said CMC Commissioner M L Ramesh.
The hall was constructed at the district headquarters even before Independence and it provided a platform for various cultural programmes.
Owing to the deplorable condition of the building, there was fear among the organisers to host programmes in the hall.
The cracked walls, broken window and doors, pathetic condition of the roof were attracting negative opinion of the visitors.
Though CMC had earmarked funds in its annual budget for the construction of Kaveri Kalakshetra two years ago, it has not materialised so far. The members had expressed displeasure at the failure of the government to release the grants in spite of submitting memorandum several times in the past.
The commissioner said, “Technical inputs from PWD have been sought for the renovation of the Kaveri Kalakshetra hall. An action plan has been prepared and the tender will be floated for the work shortly. The hall will also have new seating arrangements after the renovation work.”
Nagara Hitharakshana Vedike President Ravi Gowda said, “Kaveri Kalakshetra hall was crying for attention without any maintenance. A suitable platform should be provided for young talents and artistes after the renovation of Kaveri Kalakshetra.”
The local residents have urged the authorities to rent out Kaveri Kalakshetra hall for marriage functions to increase the income of the CMC.
Artist Raju from Kushalnagar said, “There is no dearth of artistes in Kodagu district. However, there are no platforms for the artistes to showcase their talent. The demand for Ranga Mandira and theatres in the district has not been fulfilled.”
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State> Mangaluru / by Adithya K A / DH News Service , Madikeri / December 09th, 2019
The Red Bulls Shuttle Up is a start up to encourage girls to take up doubles
Hyderabad:
Seasoned Ashwini Ponnappa, who combined beautifully with the indomitable Jwala Gutta by winning the Commonwealth Games gold and World Championship bronze, is on a mission. She is making an earnest attempt, through Red Bull’s Shuttle Up, to promote women’s doubles in a big way in the country.
The 30-year-old doesn’t mince words by saying that the women’s doubles is not getting the due in the country although it is a lot better than what it was a couple of years ago.
“There is exposure, better training facilities and a lot of youngsters are taking to doubles now. There are also a couple of coaches for doubles. However, I feel the women’s doubles is not getting the due. We don’t have women’s doubles in Premier Badminton League (PBL). It is quite sad and disappointing. Something needs to be done as regards to women’s doubles. The Red Bulls Shuttle Up is a start up to encourage girls to take up doubles. It is giving them a platform to play and hopefully it will help the growth of women’s doubles in the future. I would have loved to play with the youngsters but I got injured and I can’t play. When you have this kind of tournaments, one can see the rise of women’s doubles in the country,’’ said Ashwini at the Shuttle Up tournament finals.
She said she was very fortunate to have someone like Jwala as her doubles partner. “My style and Jwala’s game worked. It clicked from the word go. I became Jwala’s partner when I was young and I was very keen on putting up a good show. She was an experienced player and had done well in the senior circuit. Jwala and I had the advantage of experience and youth. My power from the back and Jwala’s net play proved successful. It was a wonderful combination. Now a lot of girls have taken up the doubles but they need to be guided. We have to work hard to bring out successful doubles players.’’
According to Ashwini, women’s doubles in international competition has grown phenomenally. “It is lot different now. Like when I played with Jwala, I could smash from the back and Jwala used to do brilliant job at the net. Right now, most of the Japanese have a very good attack as well a strong defence. They play at an incredible speed. We need to do a lot of work in this aspect. It is not about tossing and tapping. We can get away here but not in international circuit. There is a mixture of attack and defence. Women’s doubles has one of the longest matches in the world. Fitness has gone to another level. That is the critical point in women’s doubles. We need to work in right direction and that is important.’’
She added that she and Sikki Reddy had had some good matches this year. “But unfortunately these matches were not converted into wins. We had some tough first round matches. It is sad we lost to some close matches. Our choice of tournaments could have been better in this Olympic year. Hopefully next year, we will have better planning. Most importantly, we should be injury free.’’
The doubles expert was all praise for Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty. “It is one pair that has clicked beautifully. They understand each other perfectly. Satwik is a stronger player and Chirag is very good in creating openings for him. Their game style and goals are very good. The self-belief has helped them a lot. They have challenged and beaten most of the top players. We need more and more Satwiks and Chirags for the good of doubles in the country.’’
source: http://www.telanganatoday.com / Telangana Today / Home> Sport> Badminton / by N Jagannath Das / December 09th, 2019
Once the heroes, the number of people from the district in the Army has gradually fallen, but steps are being taken to groom youngsters.
Madikeri :
Known as the land of warriors, Kodagu district has contributed largely to the Indian Army. While there used to be at least one person serving in the Army from every family in Kodagu, the number has gradually decreased.“The number of youngsters attending direct recruitment for the Indian Army has decreased in Kodagu and this number is seeing an increase in North Karnataka. However, there are still a considerable number of men and women hailing from Kodagu who have attained high ranks in the Indian Army,” says Kayapanda Shashi Somaiah, a writer based in Madikeri.
He adds, “Currently, there are over 100 men from Kodagu in the Indian Army and are designated with high ranks including that of Rear Admiral, Lieutenant General, Training Commando and so on. Apart from this, there are nearly ten women from this district who hold ranks of wing commander, major and captain.”
Nevertheless, the number of soldiers from the district being selected in direct Army recruitment rounds has drastically decreased. “The recruitment process has become stringent. Along with being physically fit, aspirants are required to pass written tests that are either in Hindi or English. Also, the education qualification plays an important role in the selection process as today’s soldier is not just required to load a weapon and fire. He has to be well-versed in Science and Mathematics as he must be able to use advanced technological machines. Even in the recent surgical strike, High Altitude High Operation (HAHO) was followed and the soldier was required to know the proper ground reference and other technical information,” explains Major Nanda Nanjappa (retired).
He goes back in time and recalls how he had helped many youngsters from Kodagu join the Army during his service. “A family had asked me to help their son join the Army. I had taken this boy along with me and he used to work at the Army kitchen. While he wasn’t paid any salary at the beginning, he gradually attained a job there,” recalls Major Nanda. But this cannot be done today as he says, “There are no strings to be pulled now.”
Lieutenant Colonel Geetha M (retired) states, “In 2017, during the recruitment process that took place in Kodagu, 900 candidates applied for the selection process from the district. However, only 12 were selected among them. Since physical activity is less these days, the applicants seem to have lost in the selection process. Also, the overall outlook of parents and kids has changed. While a few years ago, ex-army men’s children always joined the Army, it is not the scenario today as there are lot many job opportunities and job security. A fresher in IT sector gets paid nearly Rs 40,000 and this is an easier job compared to joining the Army. The change in lifestyle in the once agriculture-based district has resulted in a paradigm shift.”
In the recent Army recruitment process that took place in Madikeri in October, candidates from 13 districts of Karnataka took part. Among them, the highest applicants were from Hassan district — a total of 1,993 out of the 9,572 applicants. Kodagu had third highest number of applicants – 1,495 — even though the recruitment process took place in the district.
Sanju, a student of Field Marshal KM Cariappa College had appeared for Army recruitment selection this year. He is disappointed over not being able to crack the test and says, “I failed in the running test as I could not complete 1,600m in 5.45 minutes. However, I will appear again for the exam next year.”
Darshan Bopaiah, a youngster working at a resort in Madikeri, was an Army aspirant and he is the son of an ex-army man. He settled in for a much easier job as he explains, “I used to be fascinated with the stories my father narrated while he worked at the Army. While I was looking forward to joining the Army, I could not crack the written test and after that I left the dream of joining the Army and tried other jobs.”
Colonel Kandrathanda C Subbaiah (retired) opines that internet has made youngsters lazy and has resulted in them opting for soft jobs over the Army. “Joining the Army was pride for people of Kodagu and they joined it by choice. While Defence was the number one choice for them, the scenario has changed. The increasing opportunities in soft jobs – that do not require physical or mental alertness — is being opted by youngsters. While the numbers in Indian Army from Kodagu district has reduced, the youngsters from North Karnataka are increasingly joining the Army,” states Col Subbaiah.
He points out how the Sainik School in Kodagu – that trains future army men – is populated mostly by students from North Karnataka. “There are less than a handful of students from Kodagu at the Sainik School,” he says.
Nevertheless, he says that a group of ex-army men from Kodagu are trying to get the numbers high as he explains, “We are organizing training programmes for youngsters where they are being trained to answer written exams. With the head-start of this plan from Major General Arjun Muthanna (retired), a training programme was recently organized at Kushalnagar and will soon be organized across the district. Ex-army officer Marchanda Ganesh is working at ground level conducting these training programmes across the district.”
He expresses the hope that the numbers from Kodagu district in the Indian Army will pick up. “We are hopeful that more people will join the Army and the number of people from Kodagu in the Indian Army will rise in another two years,” he says.
Steps being taken to encourage youngsters
War Memorial at Balugodu in Virajpet Taluk has names of all martyred soldiers of Kodagu. The memorial invokes a spirit of patriotism and is aimed at encouraging youngsters to join the Indian Army
General Thimmaiah Museum (an ongoing project at Madikeri) will retell the story of one of the greatest Generals of the Indian Army.
The museum aims at instilling patriotism among visitors while also encouraging youngsters to join the Army Statues of Field Marshal K M Cariappa, Major Mangerira Muthanna, General Thimmaiah, Squadron Leader Ajjamada B Devaiah adorn Madikeri town and narrate the contribution of people of Kodagu in the Indian Army
A few reasons for decreasing numbers
Increasing number of opportunities in soft jobs
Paradigm shift due to lack of enthusiasm, interest and hard work
Preference for more stable and less challenging jobs
Tougher entrance examination
The recruitment process has become stringent. Along with being physically fit, aspirants are required to pass written tests that are either in Hindi or English. Also, the education qualification plays an important role in the selection process as today’s soldier is not just required to load a weapon and fire.
— Major Nanda Nanjappa (retired)
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Prajna G R / Express News Service / December 01st, 2019
