Kodava Education Society Joint Secretary Chiriyapanda Raja Nanjappa inaugurates ‘Kodavame Padipu’ programme at CIT PU College in Ponnampet on Wednesday. Karnataka Kodava Sahitya Academy Chairperson Dr Parvathi Appaiah, Academy member Dr Mullengada Revathi
People are busy in agricultural activities during the month of Kakkada and also it keeps raining during the month. Hence, our ancestors imposed restrictions on holding auspicious programmes during Kakkada month, opined Kodava Sahitya Academy member Dr Mullengada Revathi Poovaiah.
Speaking during ‘Kodavame Padipu’ programme, organised by Karnataka Kodava Sahitya Academy, at Coorg Institute of Technology (CIT) in Ponnampet on Wednesday, she said that the youth should understand the reasons behind the religious rituals. “Our elders gave a lot of importance to indigenous food and used them during the rainy season. They planned their food according to the seasons,” Revathi added.
Inaugurating the programme, Kodava Education Society Joint Secretary Chiriyapanda Raja Nanjappa said it is believed that the Kodava tribe was present during the origination of River Cauvery and called upon the present generation to get acquainted with the local tradition and culture.
He further said, “The Jamma land is not government land. It is inherited by Kodavas from generations. Also, the gun is used for religious rituals in Kodava culture. However, our ancestors did not use a gun for fighting. Gun rights of Kodavas should be preserved, he added.
During the programme, the resource persons spoke on the importance of ‘Kakkada Padinett’, ‘Kakkada Tingalra Pudume’, ‘Kodava Namme’ and ‘Kodava Takk’.
Karnataka Kodava Sahitya Academy Chairperson Dr Ammatanda Parvathi Appaiah, member Padinjaranda Prabhukumar, CIT PU College Principal Dr Sannuvanda Rohini Thimmaiah, Thookbolak Kala Sahitya Vedike convener Madhosh Poovaiah and others were present.
Students of CIT PU College watched the programme online.
Yesterday morning as I sat at my working desk, there sat a brown cover addressed to me on the table.
It came from Palanganda T. Bopanna, a journalist author from Bengaluru. Inside was a thin book with a thick hard cover embellished with the photograph of the author in his ethnic Kodava headgear of a peta adorned with a pattern of golden strap crossing each other as if hugging the peta.
The title of the book is quite revealing and says what it contains:
Round And About With P.T. Bopanna’ with a bottom line: Bopanna looks at the lighter side of Coorg. Himself being a Kodava (Coorg), his writings here are of Kodagu related subjects or about himself with VIPs. I finished reading it in one hour and here I am writing about it. This was possible because each of the 25 pieces inside, including the Foreword by the Kodava iconic Fashion Guru of India Prasad Bidapa and the Epilogue, are no longer than two or three pages in fairly larger font and pictures. Good reading for those familiar with Kodagu (Coorg) and the people written about in the book.
There is a Preface also by the author and I was delighted to find the names of Mr. Boverianda Chinnappa and Mrs. Nanjamma Chinnappa, now residents of Mysuru, being mentioned for their “valuable suggestions” in bringing out this thin book of 68 pages. “The couple has been a source of strength to me in my book and web ventures,” he writes in gratitude.
As a Kodava myself, I know there are any number of Kodavas all over the world engaged in different activities and pursing professions who have become great achievers. Kodava people belong to a microscopic minority as a population who lived in a land of their own known as Kodagu ruled by Nayaks and then Kings and then the British, now a district in Karnataka.
The land area cannot increase but population increases. As a result when the family grew, its land-holding was not sufficient for running the family. Perforce they got themselves educated and some members had to leave Kodagu and then Kodava (Coorg) diaspora became a reality. Fortunately those who went out of Kodagu, a great majority of them, are doing well and very well. Some of them became celebrities and some are recognised by the governments. But there are other achievers who remain without public recognition but doing very well in their given profession, business or industry.
One example for anonymous achievers and distinguished persons among Kodavas is given in the book itself in the person for whom the book is dedicated (page 3). He is Pemanda Monappa Belliappa, a retired IAS Officer of Tamil Nadu.
Acknowledged as an outstanding administrator, Belliappa was decorated with MBE (Member of the British Empire) by the Queen of England. More than this, he established ‘Pemanda Monappa Scholarship’ in Cambridge University in perpetuity, in the name of his father, Pemanda Monappa, former Karnataka Inspector General of Police. Nearer home, he has also made handsome donation to the Coorg Education Fund, Madikeri. People like Belliappa are indeed the pride of Kodagu. There are many such Stars of Kodagu!
Bopanna, who claims to be a chronicler of Kodagu or Kodavas, may also venture to trace all those achievers among them, after independence of our country (1947) and publish a book with their biodata. This would be a great contribution from him to the Kodava people.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Columns > Abracadabra / by K.B. Ganapathy / July 20th, 2022
The government has started post and pre matric hostels and residential schools to impart free education to the students.
MLA K G Bopaiah hands over a laptop to a student at the Government First Grade College in Madikeri. Credit: DH Photo
MLA K G Bopaiah said that students should make use of the facilities from the government for their bright future.
He was speaking after distributing free laptops to the SC/ST students who had secured highest marks in the II PUC exam during 2020-21 at the Government First Grade College.
The government has started post and pre matric hostels and residential schools to impart free education to the students, he added. Deputy Director PU department Puttaraju said that laptops have been distributed to 24 students.
“I am happy for receiving the laptop. One of my lecturers has helped me financially to continue with my education,” Aloor Siddapura PU College student K Vijaya said.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State> Karnataka Districts / by DHNS, Madikeri / July 16th, 2022
Through her institute Karaumbiah’s Academy for Learning and Sports, Olympian Ashwini Nachappa is aiming to bring potential athletes from Kodagu on the right track.
After a foray into films in the 90s, Nachappa in 2004 established her own institution, Karaumbiah’s Academy for Learning and Sports or KALS (named after her husband Datha Karumbiah) in Gonikoppal, Kodagu.
While sports enthusiasts around the globe are hooked on to the World Athletics Championships that kicked off in the USA, in Bengaluru, Karnataka’s very own former track and field athlete Ashwini Nachappa is single-mindedly focused on reviving activities at her sports academy in Kodagu after a “difficult two years”.
A Kodava by birth, Nachappa’s drive for athletics picked up when she was just eight years’ old. While her father worked in Kolkata, Nachappa lived with her mother and sister Pushpa, who is also an athlete, near Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru. Little did Nachappa know that the stadium would be a turning point leading to her accomplishments in the track and field discipline.
“My sister and I used to love running on the tracks of the stadium every morning. The late Mohinder Singh (triple jumper) saw us and bribed us with sweets and wanted to see us more on the field. For every round, he would offer sweets and I ended up taking more sweets. Since then, there was no looking back,” said the Olympian, who bagged her first gold at All Indian Open Nationals in Bengaluru in 1980.
Nachappa began her career in track and field as a hurdler and long jumper, before making the switch to sprints. She participated in two Asian Games, one held in 1986 at South Korea, and the other in 1990 at Beijing, China where she bagged a silver medal in 4 × 100 m relay. She also represented India in two World Championships, one in 1987 in Rome, and the other in 1991 in Tokyo, as a member of the 4 × 400 m relay. She also won the 200 m gold at the 1990 National Open Meet in New Delhi ahead of P T Usha, clocking 24.07 seconds.
After a foray into films in the 90s, Nachappa in 2004 established her own institution, Karaumbiah’s Academy for Learning and Sports or KALS (named after her husband Datha Karumbiah) in Gonikoppal, Kodagu. Later in 2010, Ashwini’s Sports Foundation, a non-profit organisation, was built in the same academy to nurture potential athletes from Kodagu.
“We realised that Kodagu produced some excellent sporting talent but the children either had to travel to Mangalore or Bangalore to pursue their dreams. That is when we decided to blend academics and sports through the foundation and the school to embolden the sporting culture from the grassroots level in Kodagu,” said Nachappa, who is also associated with Parikrma Humanity Foundation, an NGO providing English language education to the poorest from the slums of Bengaluru. In fact, she was also associated with the Special Olympics programme for 12 years, offering year-long sports training to specially abled children.
A venture that started with 25 students has now grown with 850 students who are into athletics, hockey, and air rifle shooting. Some of them have made it to the Indian hockey team in the junior category and have represented the state at National Athletic Championships and National Shooting Championships. The sports academy consists of a synthetic athletic track and an astro turf for hockey.
“It has been a difficult two years for all, financially and emotionally. At our academy, we have re-started sporting activities this year with a new set of athletes across three core sports. Keeping in mind the impact of the pandemic over students, we have also started addressing physical and emotional challenges of children through small initiatives,” said Nachappa, adding that raising funds for the academy remains a challenge.
“Raising funds has been quite a challenge over the years for the sporting academies. However, we are using the revenue generated from the KALS to develop the amenities at our academy. We have also received grants from the national and state’s sports funds,” said Nachappa who believes that the participation of women in sports has increased over the years.
“During my early days as a sportsperson, I never thought gender would be a barrier to achieve your dreams. It’s all about talent and it is important to keep doing what you do. For me, life has been a learning experience, even now. With the pandemic putting a full stop to sports for the last two years, we are going to restart training processes at our academies and go on to produce more young athletes for the country,” said the Arjuna awardee.
source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bangalore / by Sanath Prasad, Bengaluru / July 16th, 2022
My memories of Maharani’s College, Mysore [now Mysuru], come to life whenever I pass the building where I studied seven decades ago. In the heart of the city, the College is still painted in the classic pale yellow and emerald green of old Mysore buildings. It is surrounded by old rain trees with spreading branches. Students would sit in their shade to chat or eat their lunch.
I had been a lonely, home-schooled girl until I passed the SSLC privately and could join the Intermediate College. I was nervous about interacting with my peers. Most girls in those days, wore saris or “Langa-davani” [half sari]. But I was “sensibly dressed” by my mother Mukta. She kitted me out in what was then called “Punjabi Dress”; a kurta-pyjama outfit and a “chador” [a Farsi word she had found for chunni or veil]. Naturally, I got teased. “Enu, ninu Mysuru hudugiallava? Punjab inda yavaga bande?” [Are you not a Mysore girl? When did you come from Punjab?]
The College was established by the far-sighted Maharani Kempananjammanni Vani Vilasa Sannidhana in 1917 for women’s education. Broad verandahs with arched pillars encircled the ground and upper floor. A wooden staircase with a wide bannister led upstairs, the steps worn down and polished smooth over the years by the cascading feet of many young girls. Across the road was the Hostel.
Girija’s friends Bollamma and Dechamma.
My first friend was Cauveriamma from Coorg [now Kodagu] and she introduced me to two girls in the Hostel; Bollamma and Dechamma. Bollamma was plump with twinkling eyes and a dimpled smile.
Dechamma was a beauty with a chiselled nose, arched black eyebrows and dark eyes while her cheeks were tinged with pink. They were friendly and generous, hospitably sharing treats that came from their homes in Kodagu.
The Principal was Jayalakshammanni, an Ursu lady. She was tall with an extremely “fair” complexion. Her natural reserve and imposing personality quelled the pupils without her having to speak at all.
Gangamma, the History Lecturer, presided over the most interesting classes we had. She too was from Kodagu. A slender woman of medium height, she had a remarkable rapport with the class.
Gangamma, the History Lecturer.
Her tasteful sarees were worn with delicate jewellery; a triangular gold pendant on a thin chain or a double tiger-claw charm, glass bangles which tinkled as she gestured during her spirited lectures. The first lesson was about Mohenjo-Daro. She roused our interest describing the bust of the Priest King of Mohenjo-Daro, his head band, the floral design on his robe. She described the famous “naked” statuette of the Dancing Girl, “She wore no clothes girls, only many bangles!” which brought the house down.
We were required to study Greek and Roman history in addition to Indian history. Even the complicated sagas of the Peloponnesian Wars, the Athenians, Spartans and other warring Greeks were enlivened by her lectures.
Logic was taught to us by H.T. Shanta, who is remembered in Mysore University circles for her erudition in philosophy. She lectured us on subjects like the Fallacies in Logic, giving us a break when the lessons became abstruse or hard to follow. With just ten minutes to the bell, she would relate funny stories or ask a good singer in the class to render a “fillum hit.”
The Dancing Girl.
Once we discussed superstitions; that it is unlucky to walk under a ladder or have a black cat cross your path. The one that appealed to her most had been taught to me by my mother. It was about crows:
“One for sorrow,
Two for joy
Three for a letter
Four for a boy
Five for silver
Six for gold
Seven for a secret never told.”
The English lecturer was Sharada. Pupils who were not proficient in English were in awe of her. After reading a poem aloud, she would ask the student to explain it line by line. I was asked to paraphrase “On Westminster Bridge” by William Wordsworth. Drilled by my mother, I already knew the poem. However, I slipped up when asked the difference between “riot” and “ryot.”
Bust of the Priest King of Mohenjo-Daro.
My second language was Hindi. I was in a class of just a few girls. Our Lecturer, R. Deve Gowda, was a big, swarthy man with crisply curling hair and a strong jaw. He had studied at the Banaras Hindu University. Apart from our serious texts, he would regale us with Hindi Dohas [couplets] from Kabir, Tulsidas or Rahim [the Sufi Abdul Rahim Khan-i-Khanan, 1556-1627, of Emperor Akbar’s court]. A Doha by Rahim on marriage ran like this:
“Rahimanbiyahbiyadi hai, sakuhu to lehubachai, Paayanbediparat hai dholbajai, bajai.” [Rahim says marriage is like an ailment, to be avoided if possible. Fetters are placed on the feet while drums are played]
Recalling it now, I began to wonder if a Sufi mystic really wrote this! The Doha was found by a helpful friend, just as I remembered it long ago…on an Osho blog !
These first two years in the University were the formative ones in our life; honing our talents, channelling our interests in the best direction. Now I see the splendid new Maharani’s College on Valmiki Road. On the pavement there, under green and white striped awnings, flower shops display ready-made bouquets or tubs of gladioli, gerberas, lilies, roses and chrysanthemums.
Until the pandemic, the bright faces of the girls going home from class and their colourful attire were a counterpoint to the floral colours. I hope that the hopes and ambitions of these young Indians are realised. Decades hence may they also think back on their days in Maharani’s College with pleasure as I do.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / byGirija Madhavan / June 14th, 2021
Participants at the training programme on apiculture at the College of Forestry in Ponnampet.
Apiculture helps in increasing the production of coffee and other crops, said College of Forestry head Dr Cheppudira G Kushalappa.
He was speaking during apiculture training organised by the University Of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences and Kodagu Women’s Coffee Awareness.
There are ample opportunities for apiculture in Kodagu. The beekeeping should be taken up scientifically, he added.
Stating that honey production has declined in the district, he said there is a need to create awareness on apiculture.
Kodagu Women’s Coffee Awareness secretary Anitha Nanda said there is a need to concentrate on apiculture along with coffee plantation.
Dr R N Kenchareddy, the college extension wing head, said, “Those interested in apiculture will be given three months training. They will be given Rs 7,500 as allowance.”
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State> Mangaluru / by DHNS, Ponnampet / January 17th, 2021
Coorg Public School & Pre-University College has secured 100% results in the II PU Board Examination the results of which were announced recently.
The college authorities said the hard work and perseverance of the students coupled with expertise of the teachers who were relentless in ensuring support round-the-clock helped the students to notch up impressive scores and 19 students secured centum in various subjects.
Out of 61 students, 43 have achieved distinction, 17 students secured first class and 1 student secured a second class, the release added.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Mysuru – June 22nd, 2022
Codanda B. Devaiah, fondly called as Devi Sir, one of the Founder-Members of Kodagu Vidyalaya and a resident of Mattadkad Estate at Suntikoppa, passed away at a private hospital in Gonikoppal yesterday morning. He was 75.
Devaiah leaves behind two daughters and a host of relatives and friends.
Last rites were performed at Codanda Burial Grounds here yesterday evening, according to family sources.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / June 14th, 2022
The Department of Electronics & Communication Engineering, Coorg Institute ofTechnology (CIT), Ponnampet, conducted a five-day hands-on workshop on “PCB Design using KiCAD” to students from May 23 to 27 to help them achieve success in their academic environment by applying these skills into practice.
The resource person was Jay Kishan Singh, Embedded System & IIoT Engineer, New Delhi.
Hon. Secretary of Kodava Education Society C.P. Rakesh Poovaiah and Mukesh Kumar, Director of RCPL (Outreach partner of E&ICT Academy, IIT Kanpur) inaugurated the workshop. Dr. M. Basavaraj, Dr. S.S. Divakara of Department of ECE and the staff members of the Department were present.
The workshop aimed at bringing students to get familiarised with PCB layout making tool “KiCad” that can be used in their future projects. Participants were taken to hands-on session on KiCad software.
The resource person was appreciated by Dr. M.C. Kariappa, Hon. Vice-President, Kodava Education Society, during the valedictory function.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / June 08th, 2022
C K Kaveri from Ballamavati village has been contributing to the growth of Kannada literature in her own way, being in a rural area.
Kaveri is a prolific reader, writer, and also agriculturist. She holds an MCom degree from the University of Mysore.
Starting from 1985, hundreds of her writeups and short stories have been published in various newspapers, magazines and also online platforms.
She uses the pen name ‘Vanu Vasantha’. Her first article was published in ‘Vanitha’, a Kannada monthly magazine. She has brought out a new collection of stories titled ‘Darpana’. She also contributes stories for ‘Pratilipi’, an online platform.
Along with her literary works, she has been encouraging women from rural areas to create their own literary works.
As a teacher in a private school, she has also encouraged a number of students towards penning literary works. Along with Kannada, she has been writing in the Kodava language as well.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com /Deccan Herald / Home> State> Mangaluru / by DHNS, Napoklu / October 31st, 2021
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