Four new Judges were sworn-in yesterday at the Supreme Court (SC), two of whom will go on to be the Chief Justices of India (CJI) in the line of seniority. Justice B.R. Gavai will become the CJI for over six months in 2025. He will be the second CJI from the Scheduled Caste community after Justice (retd.) K.G. Balakrishnan.
Justice Surya Kant will succeed Justice Gavai as the CJI in November 2025. He will remain in office till February 2027. The two other Judges sworn-in on May 24 are Jharkhand High Court and Gauhati High Court Chief Justices Aniruddha Bose and Ajjikuttira S. Bopanna.
On May 8, the Collegium led by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi had refused the Government’s request to reconsider the elevation of these two Judges to the apex Court. The Collegium’s reiteration had made it binding on the Government to clear their appointments. With these four new appointments, the Supreme Court will function with its full sanctioned judicial strength of 31 Judges.
Justice A.S. Bopanna was appointed as a Judge of the Karnataka High Court on Jan. 6, 2006 and was elevated as Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court on Oct. 29, 2018. Justice Bopanna stands at Sl. No.36 in the combined seniority of High Court Judges on all-India basis. He is probably the first Judge from Kodava community to be a Supreme Court Judge.
Justice Bopanna was born in 1959 and enrolled as an advocate on Nov. 21, 1984, practised in civil, constitutional, company and service matters in the High Court as well as the civil and labour courts. He also worked as a Legal Advisor to Central Public Sector Undertakings, and worked as Additional Central Government Standing Counsel from 1999 to 2005.
Justice Bopanna was appointed as an Additional Judge of the High Court of Karnataka on Jan.6, 2006, and became a permanent Judge on Jan.3, 2007. He is the son of late Ajjikuttira N. Somaiah of Pollibetta, Kodagu.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / May 26th, 2019
– Issues notice to producer of Civet Cat Coffee in Kodagu; files
Police complaint
– Plaint closed as there is no evidence of cats being reared and
tortured for poop
Mysuru:
The Coffee Board has issued notice to Coorg Consolidated Commodities regarding what it calls ‘unauthorised sale of Civet Coffee’. The notice has been issued by Deputy Director, Extension, Coffee Board, to Thamoo Poovaiah who markets Civet Coffee in Kodagu.
India, Asia’s third-largest producer and exporter of coffee, has been producing the world’s most expensive coffee, made from the poop of Civet Cat, on a small scale in Kodagu district. The Civet Coffee, also called as Luwark coffee, is expensive because of uncommon method of producing such a coffee. It is produced from the coffee beans digested by Civet Cat.
The faeces of this cat are collected, processed and sold. It is highly priced because it is claimed to be more nutritious and high cost involved in sourcing the animal dropping, wastage during processing and quality certification.
The Coffee Board notice, the copy of which is with Star of Mysore, states that the sale of Civet Coffee is banned under Wildlife Act. “It is surprising how can you brand and sell Civet Coffee when you don’t own wild cats in your estate. You are procuring raw coffee in the form of faeces of wild cats which is sold by persons who are known to you,” the notice states.
The Coffee Board has asked Thamoo Poovaiah, who is the managing partner of Coorg Consolidated Commodities that markets the Civet Coffee in brand Ainmane, to provide the names and addresses of those persons who supply Civet Coffee to him.
Police complaint
In addition to sending a notice, the Coffee Board also filed a complaint against Thamoo Poovaiah with the Kodagu SP for allegedly rearing Civet Cats to produce Civet Coffee. The complaint mentions that a well-known animal rights activist has alleged that worldwide, Civet Cats are confined and force-fed coffee cherries for them to produce poop. The complaint alleges that even Thamoo Poovaiah rears Civet Cats in confinement to produce the expensive coffee. Rearing such cats in cages is illegal and punishable under Wildlife Act as it is one of the most endangered species in the world.
Complaint closed
Following the complaint, the case was transferred to Madikeri Rural Police Station and the Police, armed with a search warrant issued by Madikeri Additional Civil Judge and JMFC Court, conducted an inspection of Poovaiah’s estate near Kadagadalu along with Coffee Board and Forest Dept. officials. The team discovered that Civet Cats are not reared at the estate and the case has been closed now and the same has been communicated to the Court.
Reacting on the Coffee Board notice and the subsequent lodging of the case, Poovaiah told SOM that his firm procures Civet Cat poop through legal means and in no way the endangered species are confined and tortured as alleged by Coffee Board.
‘False and malicious complaint’
“This is a false and malicious case. If at all there is a violation in the Wildlife Act, the Forest Department must take action. Why is Coffee Board involved in this? Actually, Coffee Board should be promoting rare coffee produce such as Civet Coffee which are famous worldwide rather than harassing growers who are popularising such exotic coffee,” he said.
“In reply to the Coffee Board notice, I have set them a legal notice asking clarification on their move and how could they act autocratically in collusion with some animal rights activist that they have not named. Their move to lodge complaint and search my premises will amount to defamation and I am ready to take them on in the Court of law,” Thamoo Poovaiah added.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / May 25th, 2019
Forces begin field work; to train people how to save themselves in case of sudden disaster
Madikeri:
To instil confidence among people of Kodagu that the Central and State Governments will be with them in case of a repeat natural disaster this year and as a precautionary step even before the arrival of monsoon, a team of National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) has already arrived in Kodagu.
The 25-member NDRF team from B/10NDRF Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh is camping at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya at Galibeedu in Madikeri. Along with NDRF, teams from State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Army’s Dogra Regiment and Civil Defence are expected to reach Kodagu soon.
As of now, two NDRF teams have been deployed in Karnataka. While one team is already in Kodagu, the other team is stationed at New Mangalore Port in Mangaluru. In case of emergency like last year, the NDRF Mangaluru team can reach Kodagu in short notice.
The NDRF team is led by Commander Veluru Ramesh and also includes members from Bengaluru and Dharwad. Ramesh said that the Kodagu District Administration had requested the team to camp in Kodagu for at least three months as a precautionary measure. Their stay will be extended depending on the scale of the disaster.
Last year in August, the NDRF and SDRF teams did enormous relief and rescue operation though it took time for their deployment as the catastrophe was sudden and was in an unprecedented scale. Before the arrival of Central Forces, the District Police and the Fire Service Department had carried out rescue operations and they could do only small-scale rescue works as they are not well-equipped. Not taking any chances, this year, the NDRF team has been stationed even before the onset of Southwest monsoon.
On May 29, the NDRF team will visit flood and landslide-prone areas including Makkandur, Hebbatageri, Madapura, Hattihole, Kaloor, Jodupala, Monnangeri, Mangaladevinagar, Thantipaala and other areas and will train people to save themselves and their livestock in case of a disaster.
The team will start field work during monsoon on priority basis and according to Commander Veluru Ramesh, more teams will be deployed in Kodagu based on the intensity of floods and landslides.
“Before a natural disaster strikes, Nature will give signals of it that can be captured through scientific methods. People must be moved to safe areas and the loss of life can be minimised or eliminated,” Ramesh said.
Another member of the team, Doddabasappa, who hails from Dharwad, said, during the heavy landslides on Makutta Road connecting Kerala State, the team had cleared the fallen trees and rubble. He said his team had participated in the rescue operation during the Fani cyclone in Odisha. Joint mock rescue operations will be conducted alongside the local Departments as per the direction given by Kodagu Administration, he said.
Such disaster management teams are formed by picking people from the nation’s Paramilitary Forces and are trained to rescue people and livestock during natural calamities. Apart from ensuring the nation’s security, such teams also protect people from unforeseen circumstances, he added.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / May 26th, 2019
India is the seventh-largest producer of coffee beans in the world. Some varieties are so prized abroad, you’d be hard pressed to find a cup here. Take a look at six of the most special Indian beans.
Drinking coffee used to be a simple matter of instant or filter. When Café Coffee Day and Barista first began to spread at the turn of the millennium, we began to be able to tell our lattes from our cappuccinos, but we still know more about where our wine comes from, than our brew.
India is currently the seventh largest producer of coffee in the world, and there are Indian coffees so sought-after by foreign markets that they’re hard to find here at home. According to the Coffee Board of India (CBoI), we produce about 3.1 lakh tonnes of coffee beans a year. Most, and the best, of it is exported to Italy, Germany and Russia. “About 75 per cent is exported,” says Babu Reddy, deputy director of market research at the CBoI.
There are 13 major coffee-growing regions in the country, Coorg and Chikmagalur in Karnataka being the largest. Coffee is also grown in parts of Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and the north-east.
Six Indian varieties have recently been awarded the Geographical Indicator (GI) tag by the Government of India, meaning that their names can only be ascribed to beans from those specific regions. Here’s a look at the six, and the brands where you might encounter them.
BABA BUDANGIRI & CHIKMAGALUR ARABICA: DESI MOCHA
Taste notes: Intensity and clarity of a rich mocha flavour
Used by: KC Roasters, Dope Coffee Roasters
The Baba Budangiri hills in Chikmagalur, Karnataka, are where coffee was first grown in the country. According to legend, seven coffee beans were smuggled here from Yemen in the 17th century, hidden in the tunic of a Sufi saint. His name was Hazrat Shah Janab Allah Magatabi, or Baba Budan. The coffee grown here takes his name.
WAYANAD ROBUSTA: THE INSTANT BEAN
Taste notes: Bitter, pungent, but with a mild flavour and full body
Used by: A number of instant coffee and filter coffee brands
The gently sloping hills and rich laterite soil of low-lying Wayanad district in Kerala is excellent for the cultivation of Robusta beans. According to the Coffee Board of India, Wayanad produces 90% of the state’s coffee.
Broken Robusta beans are used to make instant coffee as well as in filter coffee blends. Indian filter coffees are usually a blend of Robusta and Arabica, combined with chicory for a strong flavour base. This type of blend is best suited for the milk-and-sugar coffee that Indian coffee drinkers prefer.
ARAKU VALLEY ARABICA: THE DESI EXPAT
Taste notes: Exhibits a full body coupled with bright citric flavours and striking aroma with a note of chocolate and a sweetness in the finish.
Used in India by: Araku Valley Coffee House in Vishakapatnam
Getting your hand on a cup of Araku Valley coffee might be easier in Paris than in India. This smooth, mellow, complexly flavoured bean grows in a single region on the borders of Orissa and Andhra Pradesh, by tribals who follow traditional practices of growing, selective picking and management. The cherry ripens slowly in the mild climate at the high altitude of Araku Valley, but as with the Ratnagiri Hapus, most of it is exported.
COORG ARABICA: SOUTHERN STAPLE
Taste notes: A well-balanced and mildly sweet taste with subtle body, it’s neither bitter nor sour, has low acidity levels and a mild chocolatey aftertaste.
Used by: Dope Coffee Roasters, Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters
Coorg is the largest coffee-growing district in the country. The Coorg Arabica is identified by its uniform beans that lend itself to an even roast. It is cultivated at high altitudes, and registers a slow growth rate, which prolongs the time for the cherry to ripen. Its balanced flavours are best extracted through a medium roast and hot brew.
MONSOONED MALABAR
Taste notes: Mellow, musty and fruity-flowery flavour, mildly aromatic and reduced acidity
Used by: Marc’s Coffees, Dope Coffee Roasters, The Coffee Co
The Monsooned Malabar was identified and branded as a specialty coffee by the Coffee Board of India in the 1960s. It is harvested just before the monsoon and left to soak up the moisture laden winds of the Western Ghats during the rains, in order to replicate the conditions created during its rocky voyage from India to Europe centuries ago. As the story goes, owing to the monsoon winds en route, the swollen beans at the end of the journey acquired special characteristics that resulted in reduced acidity and mellow taste. It is usually blended with stronger and more acidic varieties of coffee.
source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home> More Lifestyle / by Natasha Rege, Hindustan Times / May 26th, 2019
Logo of D Sivappa Memorial Gold Cup Football Tournament 2019.
D Sivappa Memorial Gold Cup Football Tournament 2019 organised by Blue Boys Youth Club will be held at the grounds of Government Primary School grounds in Suntikoppa in Kodagu from May 24 to June 2.
Bettageri estate owner late Doddamane Sivappa’s grandson and D Vinod Shivappa’s son Vishal Sivappa will flag off the tournament. He is the chief patron of the tournament.
Consumer Forum Hassan President A Lokesh Kumar, Kushalnagar DySP Dinakar Shetty and patron D Vinod Sivappa will be part of the inaugural session.
D Sivappa was one of the main patrons of football tournaments in Suntikoppa. After him, his son D Vinod Sivappa initiated a football tournament through Blue Boys Youth Club in loving memory of his father every year and has been sponsoring the trophies and cash prizes. Several philanthropists are behind the success of the football tourney in Suntikoppa, a press release said.
D Vinod Sivappa is sponsoring a cash prize of Rs 30,000 to the winning team, Rs 20,000 to the runners-up team, trophies and also other individual prizes.
Bawdy abuses filled the air across villages of South Kodagu as ‘Kunde Habba’, a unique tribal festival kickstarted on Wednesday.
Smeared in mud and cross-dressed, members of the Kuruba community hurl abuses at all passersby while celebrating Kunde Habba (Photo | EPS)
Madikeri :
Bawdy abuses filled the air across villages of South Kodagu as ‘Kunde Habba’, a unique tribal festival kickstarted on Wednesday. An annual festival of Kuruba community of Kodagu, the fiesta is celebrated across villages of Thithimathi, Balele, Balegundi, Maldare and many others. The highlight of this festival is participants hurling vulgar abuses and collecting alms.
“The annual festival is celebrated from May 22 to 24. The final ceremony will be held at Bhadrakali Temple in Devara Kadu (sacred grove) at Thithimathi. It is an ancestral ritual celebrated by the Kurubas,” Bacharaniyanda Appanna, a historian, said.
“The festival is called Kunde Habba as people hurl abuses in abundance. They are abusing and describing their Goddess Bhadrakali. People used to pray for protection of sacred groves and in return held an annual pompous celebration, thanking the deities – Bhadrakali and Aiyappa. The Kurubas believe that abusing the goddess will please her,” Appanna added.
Smeared in mud and cross-dressed, people visit houses in the village, collecting alms. While rice, hens and money were earlier collected as alms, collecting money is the basic ritual now. “Half the money collected goes into buying alcohol and the rest goes to the temple collection box. The bigger hens that are received are sacrificed and later feasted upon at the temple and smaller chickens are taken home and reared,” Appanna said.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Prajna GR / Express News Service / May 23rd, 2019
Coorg, or Kodagu, was a province of the dominion of India and was declared as a State in 1950. Daya Singh Bedi, ICS, was appointed as the Chief Commissioner of Coorg.
Just before the General elections of 1951, Coorg was offered the choice of either remaining a State or joining the Presidency of Mysore. While many Congressmen were in favour of merging Coorg with Mysore, there were some others who favoured the alternate choice.
The latter group of leaders broke away from the Congress and formed a new party with “Weighing Scales” as their symbol. They aptly named themselves the Thakkadi Party.
Pandiyanda Belliappa was the leader of the Thakkadi party and my father, Koothanda Poovaiah, also joined him. So, the election fever gripped our family as well.
My father would canvass in a jeep along with his followers in Pollibetta and Siddapur. The contest in Coorg was for 24 seats from 18 constituencies. Six constituencies were to elect two members each and the remaining 12 were single-member constituencies. There were no reserved seats, though there were 4 members from the SC category who contested under the General category. I recall that 27,947 people across Coorg voted in the elections.
While campaigning for my father, teams would visit the homes of the voters each day and collect their names and other details. My siblings and I were tasked with transferring these details to postcards which were then sent to the voters’ home addresses. These postcards were meant to identify voters on Election Day, a precursor to laminated voter identity cards of today. We enjoyed writing these postcards. I fondly remember being gifted a “Swan” pen by my father for my efforts.
Among the candidates from Siddapur were Muruvanda Machaiah and Betta Kurubara Kala. To our disappointment, our father lost the election and Muruvanda Machaiah won.
For me, it was an interesting involvement with the electoral process. Thereafter, I married into the Army and had to be content with sending postal ballots. It would be more than 30 years before I stepped into a polling booth again.
In the Coorg Assembly elections, the Congress party won 17 seats while the Thakkadi party won the remaining 7 seats. The Coorg Legislative Assembly was convened at Madikeri by the Chief Commissioner on 27 Mar 1952. Cheppudira M. Poonacha was elected as the Chief Minister of Coorg.
He also held the Finance portfolio. K. Mallappa was made the Home Minister.
The Congress party was in favour of merging Coorg with Mysore. In accordance with the States Reorganization Act 1956, Coorg ceased to be a State and was merged with Mysore on Nov 1, 1956.
While in existence, the State of Coorg sent an elected representative to the Parliament as well. Niddemane Somanna was the MP from Coorg. After the reorganization of States and subsequent delimitation of Parliamentary constituencies, Coorg and Mangalore were merged into a single constituency. More recently, Coorg was merged with Mysore LS constituency.
It is a matter of conjecture whether Kodagu and its people benefited from the historical changes brought upon it. However, its contribution towards nation-building has been significant and shall remain a matter of pride and fulfilment.
First Parliament elections
I am struck by a bout of nostalgia each time our country goes to the polls. There have been discussions about the lengthy election process this time around, consisting of seven phases and extending over four weeks.
Here, it is appropriate to recall that the first general election was conducted from Oct. 1951 to Feb. 1952, a period of six months. However, it is to be remembered that India was newly independent and conditions were very different.
The government of the day set up the Election Commission of India with Sukumar Sen, ICS, as the Chief Election Commissioner. He was given the mandate to conduct the Parliamentary election and all Assembly elections simultaneously “at the earliest”. The earliest dates proposed by Sen were between Oct. 1951 and Feb. 1952.
A massive enrollment drive was undertaken to prepare a list of the electorate. It is to be understood that in an era with rudimentary means of travel and communication, the exercise was an onerous one. The wide reach of All India Radio was utilised to create awareness about the impending elections and the importance of participating in them. As a part of the enrollment drive, volunteers and officials visited individual houses. The eligible voting age was fixed at 21 years and there was no discrimination between the sexes.
Quirky situations arose which made the task difficult. It must be remembered that 88 percent of our country was illiterate. Womenfolk were reluctant to reveal their given names and had to be coaxed to do so. Due to the overwhelmingly illiterate population, each booth had a set of ballot boxes with the party symbol pasted on them. The voter was advised to drop his ballot paper into the box of his choice; so much for a secret ballot!
Despite several handicaps, it was ensured that 45% of the registered electorate exercised their franchise by Feb. 1952.
Our country has been through 17 Parliamentary elections so far and the electoral process has been extremely streamlined. Modern ideas and technology have been employed to quell new challenges.
The modern Indian electoral process has been lauded by several countries and serves as a role-model to many of them. We should be proud of this achievement.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / by Shanthi Ganapathy / May 22nd, 2019
Ranjith Kiggal and Kashyap Mekeri from Kodagu have successfully undertaken a bike voyage to the Himalayan region.
The bike ride named ‘The ride of life Part-2’ kick-started in front of General Thimayya statue in Madikeri on April 14. After the completion of the ride, the duo has returned to Madikeri.
Ranjith and Kashyap have visited Nainital, Badrinath in Uttarakhand and the Himayalan regions, on their Royal Enfield bike.
The distance covered by them was approximately 6,200-km and the preparation began three months ago.
Both of them got in touch with bike riders who had already visited these places by bike. They took the Madhurgiri-Anantapuram-Hyderabad-Nagpur-Jhansi-Bareli route to reach Nainital in Uttarakhand on the sixth day of their ride.
In the course of their journey, they visited Jhulaghat on India-Nepal border and also Rishikesh and Haridwar. From Haridwar, they took the route of Mathura-Agra-Shirdi-Satara-Belagavi-Davanagere-Hassan to return to Madikeri.
Rider Ranjith Kiggal said that they had a fresh experience in visiting these places. They encountered a different atmosphere, people and culture on the route.
Appanderanda Yashwant Kalappa guided their tour, he added.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State> Districts / by Adithya K A / DH News Service,Madikeri / May 20th, 2019
This is no doubt a one-stop point for anyone wishing to gather information on organic farming.
The farm is also frequented by gaur, deer, elephants and sometimes tigers and leopards which leave their pug marks.
Nature lovers, Satish Gowda and his wife Ganavi, both post-graduates in Coffee Quality Management from Coffee Board of India, are on a mission to promote organic farming in Chikkamagaluru. The farm maintained by Satish has inspired many to set-up organic farms on the same lines. It’s not only organic farming for which the farm has become famous, it is also the abode for numerous birds and grazing animals which go in search of fruits. Photographers love the place as they can easily sight the birds which perch on trees. The Organic farmers association has done its bit to popularise the spot by bringing foreign national to have a close look at the farm and learn the tenets of organic farming. M.B. Girish explores this unique farm which is any nature lover’s delight
The future is organic and who would know this better than Satish Gowda, a honorary wildlife warden in Chikkamagaluru and his wife Ganavi, who hails from a family of coffee planters? Their painstaking efforts spread across eight years, has created an eco-lovers’ paradise at Honnala village, Sirivase post in Chikkamagaluru where they have converted an area covered with wild shrubs into a lush green expanse by cultivating about a 1,000 fruit bearing trees. This is no doubt a one-stop point for anyone wishing to gather information on organic farming.
Organic farming is not all that this farm boasts of, it is also a bird lovers’ hallowed spot where they can film rare species which have made the farm their home.
Temple Tree Farm is spread across 7.15 acres and has a variety of fruit bearing trees including some from foreign countries which attract birds, butterflies and herbivores from the neighbouring Bhadra Tiger Reserve located on the banks of River Somavahini.
Satish and Ganavi were inspired to set up their organic farm after a visit to Navadarshanam, an eco-ashram in Bengaluru. They met Ananthu and his wife Jyothi and were inspired by their eco- sustainable way of living.
To make their dream of setting up an organic farm come true, Satish and Ganavi purchased land at Sirivase in 2011 and named it Temple Tree Farm because a Temple Tree is located right at the entrance of the farm.
The farm uses solar energy to pump water to every nook and corner and has several varieties of fruit bearing trees such as Rambutan, Java apple, mulberry, rose apple, pineapple, rampala, seethapala, lakshmanpala, hanumanthpala, papaya, cashew, guava, jack fruit, velvet apple, peach, carambola, kokum, avocado, chikoo, orange, musambi, mango, litchi, pomelo and mangosteen. Among the fruits grown at the farm, the Nakkare variety is unique as it should be eaten raw and not ripe as it tastes sweeter. Nakkare is used to make pickles and chutney.
Observing that many varieties of birds come to the farm to feed on the fruit, Satish Gowda has engaged a naturalist, Shivakumar of Chikkamagaluru to study the various species of birds and butterflies and make a note of it for documentary purposes. Shivakumar says he has sighted about 60 species of birds in the last three years including the Grey Hornbill, Malabar Trogon, Rocket Tail Dragon, Blue-fly Catchers, Asian Paradise Fly Catchers and Ruby Throated Bulbul among others. The fruits at the farm are not harvested to allow the visiting birds feast on them.
“I even see Otters in River Somavahini flowing close to the farm, the other place I get to see Otters is in the Bhadra backwaters,” says Shivakumar. Another rare species he has seen at the farm is the Flying Lizard. “I read about the Flying Lizard in writer Poornachandra Tejaswi’s book and was lucky to spot it at Satish’s farm.”
The farm is also frequented by gaur, deer, elephants and sometimes tigers and leopards which leave their pug marks.
Malnad Gidda, an indigenous cow was added to the farm and dung and urine from the cows are being used as plant nutrients and pesticide. Satish says milk from Malnad Gidda is highly nutritious and has medicinal properties. A fish pond is an artificial tank to collect rain water as the region receives copious rainfall during the monsoon. The pond has stocks of fish varieties such as Gowri, Rohu and Katla.
The chicken are fed paddy and dry paddy hay is used as fodder for cows. Goats and cows are also fed green grass. No dry fodder is bought from outside. Honey boxes are kept around the farm and help in a collection of over 25 kg of honey in a year.
Ganavi says visitors to the farm are amazed how an empty piece of land was transformed into a fully functional farm. Taking a cue from Satish Gowda, Partasarthy Wodeyar, a resident of Salagame hobli near Hassan city, is developing an eco-farm on the lines of Temple Tree Farm. He also plans to start an eco-tourism centre in an area of four acres and wants to serve organic food to visitors.
“I learnt a lot from Satish Gowda’s farm. It is difficult to maintain a farm like his and the effort put in by Gowda is worth appreciating,” he says.
Satish being an honorary wildlife warden, is also rendering a helping hand in mitigating human-animal conflict in and around Bhadra Tiger Reserve. He offers compensation for cattle killed by tigers or leopards. Besides, Anti-Poaching Camp personnel are given torches, water repellent coats and other accessories to enable them guard the forest areas from smugglers or poachers.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation> Current Affairs / by M B Girish, Deccan Chronicle / May 19th, 2019
One of the most revered and aromatic coffees in the world is found in this region.
Cut off from their neighbours for centuries and endowed with nature’s goodies, the Kodava kitchen is unique and versatile.
Some random, innocent question by my comicscrazy young one started this whole thing.
Where do you think Obelix would like to go if he visits India? Well based on his rustic taste buds and love of wild boar, I believe he will love Nagaland but if he goes down South I definitely know where to put him.
Today extremely popular among the tourists, a small Kodagu (Coorg) district is gifted with nature’s bounty of indigenous spices, fruits, wild fowl and wild pigs.
Some believe that the Kodavas entered India during the Mohenjo Daro period. Others believe that they were descendants of the army of Alexender the Great who entered India in 326 BC. With their unique geographical position in the Kodaga hills and forests and fierce warrior qualities they were independent and cut off from their naighbours for a long time. This helped them develop a cuisine very unique and versatile. Coorgis emphasize on less oil and slow cooking with a lot of usage of pepper, garlic and ginger. They prefer using green chillies than the red chillies. – Reetu Uday Kugaji, chef and Culinary Expert
When the British came in 1834, they immediately were impressed with the dense forest and lush valleys and hence the highland got the title ‘Scotland of India’.
Fancy a wild boar hunt and then some flavourful coffee, Robert?
One of the most revered and aromatic coffees in the world is found in this region. Coffee reached Coorg with the advent of islamic traders and flourished here in no time. The Amitabh Bachchan of the Coorg kitchen is definitely the tangy, spicy Pandi Curry. Originally it used to be made with hunted wild boar but today farm bred porkers are used to cook Pandi curry. The slow cooked succulent spicy and tangy curry is prepared with pork cubes with fat . A souring agent called Kachampuli (vinegar made from the extract of a fruit called Garcinia Gummi Gutta) brings in a beautiful tangy taste in the dish.
Pandi curry
1 Pork cubes with fat arerubbed with little red chilli powder, salt & turmeric.
2 Put in heated pan with paste made of golden brown fried onion, ginger, garlic, chopped cilantro spiced with green chillies with the aromatic freshly roasted hand-pounded Coorg spices.
3 The Coorg masala / Coorg spice-mix consists of coriander seeds,cumin seeds, black peppercorns, fenugreek seeds, cinnamon, cloves, whole chilles, curry leaves and a little raw rice.
4 Once the pork is tender Kachumpuli (Coorgi vinegar) is added.
5 Add water as per the desired consistency. Then salt to taste and a garnish of fresh cilantro and the dish is ready.
No additional oil is required as the pork cooks in its own fat.
Kodavas love rice. Fragrant rice called Sannaki is very popular. Rice is consumed in various forms and shapes. These range from Akki roti which are rice chapatis, to a variety of puttus (steamed rice dishes ) to pulaus.
Akki Roti: – Akki is rice in Kannada. Akki roti is flat breads prepared with rice flour. The popular breakfast dish is often enjoyed with Ellu Pajji (Sesame seeds chutney).
Kadambuttu or steamed rice dumplings: Soft steamed balls made with rice flour and often enjoyed with Pandi Curry or Koli saaru or chicken curry. Baimbale Kari or the Bamboo Shoot curry is an extremely popular dish. Fresh young bamboo shoots are collected in the beginning of monsoons when they are tender, delicate and fresh so that they does not harden. The young shoots are fermented and then cooked in a scrumptious coconut curry with an addition of tamarind pulp.
Kaad Maange curry is made from wild jungle mangoes that have a unique peppery-tart flavour unlike the regular sweet mangoes. Few other popular curries are Chekke curry (prepared with raw jackfruit, Kemb curry(made from the colocasia plant), or the Kumm curry made from wild mushrooms.
Nool puttu: Noodle-like steamed rice dish is extremely popular as a brilliant breakfast dish.
Kulae Puttu is a jackfruit cake cooked with steam wrapped in banana skin.
And at the end people have a little liquor or Soma (Kudi). These are usually homemade wines prepared from locally grown fruits such as oranges, grapes, betel nuts and paddy are very famous (hik!).
source: http://www.economictimes.indiatimes.com / The Economic Times / Home> Business News> Magazines> Panache / by Anirban Bora, ET Bureau / May 18th, 2019
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