After being deferred in January, the eighth edition of the Karnataka Bird Festival will be held in Madikeri from April 8-10, 2022.
Image used for representational purpose only. (Photo | Express)
Bengaluru :
After being deferred in January, the eighth edition of the Karnataka Bird Festival will be held in Madikeri from April 8-10, 2022.
The festival, organised by the Karnataka forest department and Karnataka Eco-Tourism Development Board, aims to draw attention of people to bird watching, spark interest among young wildlife enthusiasts, show people the bio-diversity of forests, and shift their focus from tiger-centric wildlife safari and tourism.
“Every year a different location, region, bio-diversity, and a different bird is focused upon to increase awareness and ensure better conservation measures.
This year, the mascot is Baza bird,” a forest department official said. Baza is a migratory bird from the eastern Himalayas, China and South East Asia. Forest officials of the region have reportedly sighted a couple of the birds now, in the onset of summer.
Kumar Pushkar, additional Principal Conservator of Forests and CEO of the Board told TNIE that the festival was postponed because of spike in Covid-19 cases. “We always wanted to host one is Kodagu because of its bio-diversity and the many species which can be sighted there. Baza was chosen because it is sighted in winters in this region.
There will be around six to seven different trails, which the deputy conservator of forest is finalising. The event will also cover Madikeri city, and will be inaugurated by forests minister Umesh V Katti,” he said. Experts from across the country will be brought to share their experience, knowledge.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Bosky Khanna, Express News Service / March 14th, 2022
Students are hoping for rehabilitation in India or admission in similar universities in European countries like Poland as a special case for Indian students
Uncertainty looms large over the fate of students who safely returned to India from Ukraine as some of them feel that continuing medical education in the war-ravaged country would be tougher, challenging and unreliable and parents may refuse to send them back in the present circumstances.
In Mysuru, Kodagu and Chamarajnagar, several students have returned safely and a few more are on their way. What has been bothering the returnees is “what next”.
Though discussions are ongoing in various circles on whether to permit the affected students to continue their education in Indian colleges, a clear picture on their future may emerge once all safely return to the country with the Centre’s ‘Operation Ganga’ in the final stages of evacuation in Ukraine.
“I’m worried about my future. I don’t know whether my parents will send me back to Ukraine if the situation returns to normal though it appears to be highly uncertain with Russian militia advancing. I am keeping my fingers crossed. I have put in three years and I was about to be promoted to fourth year. I am hopeful something will emerge as India will work out a solution in students’ interests,” said Likith, who returned from Kharkiv.
Like Likith, his friends and classmates in Kodagu and Mysuru are hoping that the medical colleges or universities in Europe may also consider admitting the affected students from Ukraine since the education system is almost similar in many European countries. In solidarity with Ukraine, the European institutions, as a special case, may admit the students, after fulfilling the formalities. Poland, Hungary and Slovakia and other countries may consider admission, they hope.
“I and my friends and I have decided to wait and watch the developments. We cannot say what happens in the days ahead. We are hoping that our interests will be protected,” said Likith, a student of Kharkiv National Medical University, who spent a harrowing time with eight others in a bunker in Kharkiv after the Russian invasion.
Sharukh M.Y., who returned to his hometown in Virajpet taluk in Kodagu on Sunday, is hoping that the government of India will come up with a plan to address the returnees’ plight.
“I am hoping that my university in Ukraine will start online classes at the earliest. It has told us it will update us by March 15. With the war on, everything appears uncertain. I’m in the sixth semester. I would have been promoted to fourth year but the crisis forced us to vacate. I am open to all options,” said Shah Rukh, who is a student of V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University in Kharkiv.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National >Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Myusru – March 07th, 2022
Two from Kodagu are trapped in Sumy city; they face food, water shortage
Two students from Kodagu are among 440-plus Indian students stranded in Sumy in war-hit eastern Ukraine, which is close to the Russian border.
Even as many Karnataka students were managing to run off from the cities under siege and reaching borders in western Ukraine for airlift, some students are finding it tough to move out, delaying their evacuation and increasing the anxiety levels of their parents.
Arjun Vasanth, a fourth-year medical student, who is still in Sumy, Ukraine. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
The parents of Arjun Vasanth from Shanivarasanthe and Shreya Pradeep from Virajpet are extremely worried over their safety as their return is not happening though it’s been over a week since the Russian militia invaded Ukraine. Shortage of food and water has made the students’ life even more difficult. Going out to bring essentials is also dangerous amidst the shelling.
Arjun’s elder brother Raghavendra, who works in Mysuru, said his brother is now incommunicado with power outage in Sumy since last Thursday night. “He and others are facing serious difficulties and evacuation of these trapped students must be speeded up by engaging in talks with Russia since Sumy is close to the Russian border and they can be evacuated from the nearest airport in Russia,” a worried brother said.
Raghavendra said he spoke former Union Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda, who was in New Delhi, and Manoj Rajan, Commissioner, Karnataka Disaster Management Authority, on the students’ plight in Sumy and sought their help for their airlift as going to western Ukraine amidst intense shelling and missile attacks was impossible for them. “How is it possible to travel 1,500 km with no proper transportation mode from Sumy to the Polish or Romanian borders,” he asked.
Shreya Pradeep is another student from Kodagu stranded in Sumy. His father Pradeep, who runs a shop at Betolli village in Virajpet, is making frantic calls to authorities for updates as he is disturbed over delay in evacuation.
“Good that our students are being evacuated but students stuck in other conflict zones also need to get help and support. These students have no food and water. They are in serious difficulty. Please help them get back home soon,” he pleaded.
Pradeep took an education loan to send Shreya, a first-year student in Sumy State University, to Ukraine.
“My daughter went to Ukraine as one of her seniors suggested that medical education is good there. She is today trapped in a war situation,” said Pradeep, who was told by Shreya that 438 Indian students are stranded in Sumy and all are together in a bunker.
“The Indian government must talk to Russian authorities as Sumy is close to Russia. The students could be moved to the Russian border for eventual airlift,” he suggested.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Mysuru – March 04th, 2022
The story of the coffee in India began in 1670, thanks to a Sufi named Bada Budan who was responsible for bringing it to the country.
Two hundred years after that, and with the intervention of British entrepreneurs, coffee was already becoming an important and commercial crop, planted in more than 40 estates, including the Nilgiris Biosphere.
This evolution led to the creation of The Coffee Board, an organization in charge of facilitating research, marketing, and distribution of coffee plants to the indigenous communities of the district. For a farmer, a day starts with a dark roasted coffee concoction mixed with jaggery.
Robusta and Arabica are the two types of coffee cultivated by farmers in The Nilgiris district. The coffee plantations grow at an elevation of 3500ft above sea level.
They are shade-grown and are intercropped with various crops like Silver Oak, Mango, Jackfruit, Millets, and Spices. The indigenous communities use traditional agricultural practices to grow and harvest coffee.
Bio-Organic inputs such as Panchakaaviya and Poochiverati, a concoction made by themselves are used in coffee cultivation. The producers use leaf litter as manure.
The harvest which is usually between November and March has seen a huge change recently due to varied rainfall, and it’s quite often hindered by Wild Boars and Elephants. Monkeys are also a huge problem for the villagers. The harvest is done usually by the family members who carefully strip the cherries which are then sorted and pulped manually.
Pulping in a few villages has been made easy by the coffee board by providing machines to help with the process.
There is also a provision at the Production Units of Aadhimalai where the community can use the pulping machine and the drying yard. The Coffee parchment is then dried on the rooftops and in the front yards of their houses and is roasted manually as need be.
The rest of the coffee is then sold to Aadhimalai which is an indigenous community-owned Producer Company.
The community farmers sell coffee in every possible form, be it Coffee Parchment, Cherries, Dried Cherries, or Green Beans. The average yield of Coffee in the community-owned farms would come to around 35 tons. A premium price is paid to the producers.
The coffee has a certification PGS (Participatory Guarantee System). The Keystone Foundation plays a big role in facilitating the PGS certification which is a peer review system. The coffee at Aadhimalai is then marketed through Last Forest Enterprises as Roasted Beans and Coffee Powder. However, most of the coffee is sold as parchment to other dealers.
These processes have enabled the farmer to get the best price in the market.
Aadhimalai Pazhangudiyinar Producer Company Ltd
Aadhimalai Pazhanagudiyinar Producer Company Limited (APPCL) has been initiated to anchor livelihoods of indigenous communities by encouraging traditional organic food farming, handicrafts, livestock rearing, sustainable harvest of forest produce, conservation of natural resources, thereby securing the well-being of the landscape, value addition of harvests and trading. It is a company completely owned by the indigenous communities, one of the first of its kind at a national level.
Last Forest Enterprises
Last Forest is a social enterprise that was incubated by Keystone in the year 2010. Through its operations, the company supports indigenous communities to sustain themselves by empowering their skill sets and bringing economic growth.
Keystone Foundation
Keystone Foundation works with the indigenous people and local communities as their primary stakeholders and extends to various aspects of socio-ecological development that are categorized under Community Wellbeing, Biodiversity Conservation, and People and Nature Collectives.
source: http://www.slowfood.com / Slow Food / Home / by Jestin Pauls / March 08th, 2022
The board that greeted us at the end of our 200km-odd journey from the heart of Bengaluru said School Estate. But that wasn’t our final destination, is what we realised soon. That would be School Thota, a division of School Estate, and a few hundred metres into the estate, we saw a smaller board directing us to it.
Thota roughly translates to garden in the local Kannada language. Of course, like many other places around India, there is a local language (not dialect) just for Coorg too. There are many further distinctions and groups within locals here, such as Kodavas, to which the family that owns School Thota belongs. Surely, there are many equally beautiful plantations and homestays in Coorg. But what caught our fancy on this particular drive of Volkswagen’s impressive new Taigun is the story of a German reverend who is associated with the early history of this place, including the reason why it ended up being called School Estate.
Georg Richter was the principal of a local Mercara High School. He was instrumental in mobilising local leaders in the field of education. Under his guidance, they came together and collected money to purchase around 350 acres of land for Rs 3000 back – a princely sum back in the 1860s. The aim was to fund the school with yield from the coffee and other plantations, hence the name School Estate. Since Richter was in charge, the house on the property also was built to his liking. While earlier it was only a makeshift place for the occasional visitors, the subsequent owners kept the core structure intact and built a seemingly European-style Indian home first for themselves and now extended to guests interested in soaking in nature and School Thota’s heritage.
Coorg is one of the places that still rely on roads for its connections. The drive from Bengaluru to its centre, Madikeri, is a mix of choc-o-bloc metropolitan roads followed by a busy but reasonably fast Mysore highway that you leave after Srirangapatna for a more picturesque country road interspersed with short stretches of busy towns. It was a mix that helped the versatility of the Taigun shine through. Volkswagen offers this made-for-India SUV in two engine and three gearbox options. While we took what was on paper, the smaller 1.0-litre TSI (114bhp/178Nm) coupled with a six-speed torque converter gearbox revealed the variety of traffic and road conditions. One of the biggest clichés busted was it doesn’t tire under relentless highway driving. A frugal fuel consumption figure meant we could do the entire stretch without a fuel stop en route.
Coorg roads are typically narrow and twisty, and the agile Taigun seemed up for some confident driving. Patches of bad roads were dealt with ease, as the Taigun feels planted on the move, just like its bigger stablemates. The solid German connection is there to see.
Inside School Thota, we had many glimpses of the European connection too. Its current owners – the Aiyappa family, is led by 81-year-old Saraswathi, who runs the show along with her son Kushalappa. Together not only do they manage half of the School Estate (the other half bought by another local family a few generations ago) but also keep the homestay’s heritage intact.
“The doors of this homestay are the original ones,” said Saraswathi Amma. She also pointed out that they were much larger than the entrance door, which was an extension added to the School Thota structure after the Indian family took over. “Typically, Germans are taller, which explains the bigger doors. Moreover, for us, we bend or hunch a bit and enter the house. This is also about showing respect to the house, which is a temple of sorts for us,” she pointed out. Keeping tradition alive is one of the motives of such homestays around Coorg so that you can see many old artefacts and even furniture tastefully retained here. At School Thota, even a European-style fireplace reminds you of the kind of the early occupants of this structure.
Coorg is an extremely ecologically sensitive area, and its locals try hard to maintain the balance between earning from the soil and keeping it sustainable. Plantations are not only home to various kinds of flora and fauna but also the livelihood for many locals. Agriculture in today’s times can be challenging, but families running the show have tried to improvise and keep the fire going in their Indianised versions of the colonial way of life. A few have even managed to hold on to the original way of life, just like a Taigun does by keeping a Volkswagen badge’s core values intact in an SUV that’s completely at home in India. Its Volkswagen genes are unmistakably apparent despite being born and brought up in India.
It took a visit to this place to reiterate and experience this first hand. Lesson learnt by going back to school… auf wiedersehen.
Contributed by Girish Karkera, Consulting Editor – Times Auto · Bennett Coleman and Co. Ltd.
Disclaimer: The article has been produced on behalf of Volkswagen by the Times Internet’s Spotlight team.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> Spotlight / by Girish Karkera / March 10th, 2022
Telugu actress Rashmika Mandanna is making news since the time her last release Pushpa-The Rise became a blockbuster, breaking all records at the box office. The pretty lady is not only a great actress but also a fashionista, who loves wearing statement making clothes. While she has always inspired millennials in experimenting with clothes, her recent sari outing has left one and all impressed, as it revives an old tradition.
Kodava sari Rashmika picked up a midnight blue georgette sari by designer Nitika Gujral. The beautiful sari featured antique zardozi embroidery. She draped the sari in Coorgi Kodava style. What makes the gesture so special is the fact that Rashmika hails from the Kodava community and wore the drape as a tribute to her ancestors.
The price The dark blue drape is totally made in India and costs INR 77,500.
The accessories Styled by celebrity stylist Stacey Cardoz, Rashmika finished off her look with chunky oxidised jhumkas and rings.
She looked stunning We loved Rashmika’s gorgeous blue sari and think it could be your perfect pick for a friend’s wedding or the festive season.
What is a Kodava sari? It’s a special sari draping style followed by the Kodava community, which is a ethnolinguistic group from the region of Kodagu (Coorg) in the southern Indian state of Karnataka.
What makes it so special? The Kodava or Kodagu style of draping features pleats created in the rear, instead of the front. What makes this draping style rather different is the fact that the loose end of the sari is draped back-to-front over the right shoulder, and is pinned to the rest of the sari.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> E Times> News> Lifestyle> Fashion> Style Guide / by TimesofIndia.com / March 09th, 2022
A handful of artisans in the hill district still produce the Dudi (a small drum) at a time when globalisation is slowly killing the art of making these musical instruments.
Madikeri :
Rustic and rhythmic sounds resonate in the air in the Kodagu district when Kodavas observe special occasions. These rustic sounds are from the traditional drum called the ‘Dudi’. With a metal base and the batter head made of animal hide, Dudi holds a special place in the rituals practised by the Kodavas.
While the traditional Dudis still hold a great significance among the community, the art of making Dudis is slowly dying. Today, only a handful of artisans are creating this unique instrument. Nonagenarian Subbaiah U is one of them. Elaborating on how he makes Dudis, Subbaiah says, “In the past, I used to make Dudis from the skin of muccha (lion-tailed macaques). As hunting of macaques is prohibited by law now, I use goatskin.”
First, artisans buy the hide from meat shops for approximately Rs 350 a piece and then the tedious and intricate process of making the drum begins. “The first tough job is removing hair from the goatskin. One cannot use blades as it can damage the skin. We rub the skin on a hard surface, like stones, to remove the hair and then cut it to the size of the base. We need two skins to make a Dudi,” explains 65-year-old KA Ganapathi, another artisan who has been making Dudi for nearly three decades now.
Going back to the myth and origin of Dudi, historian Bacharaniyanda Appanna says, “In the past, forest dwellers created the instrument for entertainment. It is said that they wanted to imitate the sound of the woodpecker that resonates in the forest.” Dudis were earlier made using hollow tree barks for the base and lion-tailed macaque’s skin for the resonating heads.
Ropes made from natural plant fibres were twisted around the drum and canes were used to imitate the sound of the woodpecker. Gradually, bronze replaced the wood for the base and goatskin for the head. “Now, not many work with bronze and workers who can repair bronze material are also rare. While we fix the resonating heads of old bronze bases, the new ones are created using brass,” he explains.
The cleaned goatskin is first soaked in water and then placed on an hourglass-shaped metal base. It is neatly stitched (using plant fibres) around the vertical openings of the metal base and is dried under the Sun. A ring created using plant fibres is placed on top of the skin and around the metal base. They are then stitched with ropes, which were earlier plant-based but are now made of nylon. The ropes are then carefully tightened around Dudi. “The two sides of the Dudi give a slightly different sound and they are differentiated as male and female sound,” adds Ganapathi.
The artisans of Dudi are sought after for their special work even today, but the art may soon become extinct. Dudis are extensively used during Kodava weddings, festivals and even funerals. However, these traditional instruments are now being sourced from mass production centres.
“Many times these instruments are made from plastic and are sourced from Mysuru,” confirms Appanna. The old-time artisans who put in a lot of effort to make Dudis charge between Rs 500 and Rs 700 for a Dudi and they also receive orders to repair the old ones. Philanthropists said that these artisans should be supported to revive the dying art that contributes greatly in preserving the tribal culture.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Prajna GR / Express News Service / March 06th, 2022
Starring actors Raj Tarun, Varsha Bollamma, Murali Sharma, Indraja, and Vennela Kishore, the upcoming movie ‘Stand Up Rahul’, has grabbed attention.
The makers of this upcoming Telugu romantic comedy released the trailer, creating much anticipation.
As the trailer divulges the film’s storyline, hero Raj Tarun is established as a young man, who cannot put up with a regular job. The reason given for his inconsistent career path is his sarcasm.
Rahul (Raj Tarun), then decides to take up a job as a stand-up comedian, when his mother (role played by Indraja) is against the idea. Rahul’s father, a role played by Murali Sharma, on the other hand, encourages his son to take up the job, while his role is well-established as a new-age father.
The heroine in ‘Stand Up Rahul’ is established as a dreamer, who meets Rahul, and they start living-in, together. Vennela Kishore’s role seems to have acted in a lengthy role, after quite some time, and his scenes in the trailer amplify the hype.
The stand-up comic scenes imbibed in the trailer cut, seem to be interesting, while it is expected that the family audience will enjoy the movie.
Directed by Santo Mohan Veeranki, is being co-produced by Nandkumar Abbineni and Bharath Maguluri under the banners of Dream Town Productions and HighFive Pictures. ‘Stand Up Rahul’, is slated for its release on March 18.
source: http://www.telanganatoday.com / Telangana Today / Home / by IANS / March 06th, 2022
From an abandoned barren land to a green lush private sanctuary, author Pamela Malhotra recounts the transformation.
Bengaluru :
Pamela Malhotra’s From the Heart of Nature (`599, Penguin Random House) documents the story behind the creation of a private forest sanctuary in India. More than just the struggle, Malhotra also recounts how she connected with animals and trees both at a physical and spiritual level.
What was the turning point in your life?
My husband Anil and I shared that love of wildlife and that dream. This realisation initially came while living in the USA in the late 1970s and early 1980s, which is why we established our first small wildlife sanctuary on the Big Island of Hawaii in 1979. When we came to India in January of 1986, we were quite upset by the deforestation we saw, especially in the Himalayas. We had gone to Haridwar and fell in love with the Himalayas. So, we purchased land in the Uttarkashi region to help reforest that area.
How did you zero-in on Kodagu?
There were land ceiling laws in the state (then Uttar Pradesh – now Uttarakhand) that limited a family to owning just 12 acres of land. There was not enough land for establishing a forest wildlife sanctuary through reforestation. Also, we had visited Nagarhole National Park in Jan 1986, where the then-Wildlife Warden of the Park urged us to establish our forest wildlife sanctuary in his home district of Kodagu. As a result my husband Anil travelled throughout southern India to see what he could find, finally finding suitable land in Kodagu. Purchasing larger pieces of land was possible here if the land was deemed ‘plantation’ and the purchaser was an agriculturalist which my husband was.
What were the initial struggles that you faced?
Accessing the land. It was almost impossible to bring in any kind of building materials for our home in the beginning due to the poor roads. So, my husband put loads of rocks and other road material into these dirt roads to help give us drivable access which was also a big boon for the local people. Another major challenge was the legal maze encountered in the district since lands were divided into several different categories, often with different rules/laws applying to different categories in terms of purchase and ownership. Acceptance by the local people was also initially a challenge, although the older generation did understand the importance of maintaining forests and not killing off all the wildlife. The most distressing challenges have been illegal logging and poaching of wildlife.
The sanctuary is spread across 300 acres, what are the kinds of species that are found there?
Hundreds of species have made the sanctuary their full-time home and/or come visit frequently. A short list of species found here includes 100s of species of butterflies and birds including Great Indian Hornbills and Malabar Grey Hornbills, Bengal tiger, Asian leopard, Asian elephant, sloth bear, dhole (Indian wild dog), Gaur (Indian bison), species of deer (sambar, cheetal, muntjac/barking deer) etc. So diverse are the species found here that one Oxford scientist dubbed our sanctuary ‘Noah’s Ark’.
You first purchased the land for the sanctuary in 1992, to create a private sanctuary. How did you decide on writing a book?
I hope to sow the seeds of love of nature in the hearts and minds of all who read the book, and to create a sacred perspective when viewing and dealing with nature.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Monica Monalisa, Express News Service / March 02nd, 2022
Fourth-year medical student says Poland, Hungary, Slovakia can admit students affected by the conflict
Unruffled over shelling at a distance in Kyiv amid the Russian forces’ approaching the capital, gritty Sinya V J from Ponnampet and fellow students came out of their bunker and walked about 12 km to reach the railway station to run off from the conflict zone as they realized it was a “do or die” situation.
“We had two options – either to stay back in the shelter or take the risk. We took the risk fully aware that missiles are being fired all over. Though it was dangerous, we walked praying for our safety and reached the station. Luckily, today I am in my country. I wish all students return home safely like me,” said Sinya, recalling her testing times in the war-hit country.
“If I had not taken the risk, my return could have been longer, keeping my family worried,” she added.
Sinya is a fourth-year medical student in Uzhhorod National University. Siniya could have been easily evacuated as Uzhhorod is in western Ukraine which shares its border with Poland, Hungary and Slovakia.
On February 24, Sinya was at Kyiv international airport to board a flight to Dubai to join her siblings for a vacation. She had no hint that she would have to undergo a lot of trauma as Russian forces attacked Ukraine the same day. “The flights got cancelled, I and other Indian students had to be moved to a shelter where I was put up for three days. We had to run for safety leaving our belongings at the airport,” she recalled.
On the fate of her medical education, Sinya says medical education appears uncertain in present Ukraine because of war. “I was told the students can take transfer to universities in Poland, Hungary and Slovakia. An academician from Hungary who was at the border told us about the option of taking transfer. If Ukraine is not possible again, the next best alternative is available since I don’t want to leave my studies midway as becoming a doctor is my biggest dream,” the 22-year-old girl told The Hindu.
To a question on why Ukraine is preferred for medical education, she says, “The education standards are good. Each batch has 15 students. There’s no pressure on students. Medical education has become possible for me despite being the daughter of a mechanic because there’s no donation in Ukraine. My relatives helped us mobilize resources for my education.”
Ukraine not just attracts Indian students but also those dreaming to become doctors from Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nigeria and other nations. “Students from the UK also study. I had friends from London. The assessment is tough as the student has to qualify in an exam in the third year to study further. Overseas medical education is grossly misunderstood. I will return to my country with a medical degree and also clear the qualifying exam here,” a confident Sinya said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Karnataka / by Shankar Bennur / Mysuru – March 03rd, 2022
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