Two young scientists from Kodagu have been selected for the National Children’s Science Congress (NCSC).
National Council for Science and Technology Communication (NCSTC) and Rajya Vijnana Parishat had organised the 28th National Children’s Science Convention.
Owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, the convention was organised on virtual mode.
The selected students are C S Raghuvamshi and K K Mahin from Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Kodagu Vidyalaya, said convention district coordinator G Sriharsha.
In the state-level junior-level competition held under the theme ‘science for sustainable living’, C S Raghuvamshi and team member N R Samanyu had presented a scientific paper on Shola forest in Kodagu. They prepared their study under the guidance of teacher M S Shruthi.
In the senior category, K K Mahin and team member Purab Ponnappa had prepared a scientific paper on ‘chemical insecticide is boon or bane’ under the guidance of teacher M Lohith Changappa.
Accordingly, Raghuvamshi and Mohin have been selected for the National Children’s Science Congress (NCSC), said Vijnana Parishat programme organiser T G Premkumar.
The state-level competition was held at Vijnana Bhavan in Bengaluru. Senior scientist Dr V K Athre Adamya and Adamya Chetana managing trustee Tejaswini Ananth Kumar felicitated the young scientists.
C S Raghuvamshi is the son of civil engineer C R Shivashankar and teacher P Sandhya while K K Mahin is the son of businessman Krishna Mohan and Sridevi.
Team members Samanyu is the son of artists Ram Gautham and Aruna, while Purab Ponnappa is the son of Mathanda Bab Devaiah and Ponnamma.
Owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, the competition was held on virtual mode. For the state-level contest, 10 junior scientists were selected from Kodagu.
The science Congress is organised to instil scientific temperament and develop creativity in children.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> India> Karnataka / by DHNS / August 23rd, 2021
National Forest Martyrs Day was observed on Saturday by placing a wreath near the memorial in Aranya Bhavana in Madikeri.
National Forest Martyrs Day was observed at Aranya Bhavana in Madikeri; the sacrifices of forest staff were remembered.
September 11 is observed as National Forest Martyrs Day.
As many as 363 people from the Bishnoi community opposed the felling of trees in the Khejarli region. The trees were felled for a new palace to be built for Maharaja Abhay Singh of Jodhpur.
A total of 363 Bishnoi people were killed by the soldiers on September 11 in 1730. The Central Government, considering the sacrifice of the Bishnoi community, declared them as martyrs and announced September 11 as National Forest Martyrs Day.
Four martyrs from the district were remembered on the occasion.
Officials said that the forest personnel sacrifice their lives while safeguarding forest and wild animals. There is a need to conserve natural resources and wild animals for future generations.
Kodagu Circle Conservator of Forest Takhat Singh Ranawat, Madikeri DCF A T Poovaiah and others were present.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> India> Karnataka / by DHNS / September 12th, 2021
An ongoing show has mounted paintings of pristine forests of Kodagu and river Cauvery that is sacred to the region.
The month-long show by multi-disciplinary artist Bhavani G S is called ‘Forest’.
Many of the 30 paintings on display teem with mushrooms, butterflies, berries, deer and elephants and they are inspired by Bhavani’s childhood memories of growing up in a coffee estate in Somwarpet in north Kodagu.
“The forest patch adjacent to our estate was untouched. I would see wild cats, wild fig trees, insects and butterflies. I would go collect snakeskin against my mother’s wishes. I would hear jackal howl. I would pick kallivoo (wild Poinsettia). But now homestays and safari tours have come up and global warming has disturbed the ecological balance on Kodagu as a whole,” says the 50-year-old, who shuttles between Kodagu and Bengaluru for work.
Some paintings capture the polluted state of Cauvery, drawing from years of journey she has taken along the river. It takes 10,000 litres of water to manufacture a single pair of jeans, and 1.5 to 3 litres for one litre of soft drinks, she talks about how relentless consumerism is depleting our water resources. These are watercolour works on paper, and acrylic on canvas.
On view till August 31 (closed on Sundays), 11 am to 7 pm, at Ambara, Halasuru.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> India> Karnataka> Bengaluru / by Team Metrolife / August 10th, 2022
Suman hails from a family of coffee planters in Coorg
Embracing challenges as they come, Suman Nanaiah prides herself in curating out-of-the box personalised experiences for her guests. She started her career in 1996 and is now the Area General Manager of the Royal Orchid Group of Hotels in Mysuru.
Hailing from a family of coffee planters from Coorg, she embraced hospitality early on as a part of her culture. Crediting the same for her successful career in the industry, Suman has never looked back. Apart from involving her team in challenging projects, she also strives to recognise each team member’s strengths and weaknesses, and aims to help them streamline their efforts to achieve their goals. Keeping a sharp focus on the inputs provided by her team and taking into consideration their feedback, she is also a thorough decision maker. On days she is not busy tending to guests, she can be found in the jungles of South India with her son tracking big cats or pampering her taste buds while spending time with her family.
* What was your first hospitality job and at what age? Guest Service Associate at 26.
* How would you describe your personal leadership style? Integrity, clear communication, goal-setting and employee motivation.
* One drink/dish travellers should not miss at the metropole? Our wide variety of succulent kebabs at the Tiger Trail Restaurant. If looking for a combination then the achari murgh tikka with our in-house cocktail, Caipirojka.
* What steps is the property taking to ensure sustainability? Staff retention, recycling and waste reduction management, sourcing local and fresh seasonal produce, and energy and water conservation.
* Any particularly funny incident you recall with the guests? Once we arranged a wedding at the hotel and were informed that a VIP guest would arrive. We were told to ensure the grandest welcome, putting me and the entire team on our toes. Little did we know that the VIP guest was the groom’s best man at the wedding–Mirchi, his beagle, who travelled in his chauffeur driven car all the way from Mumbai.
* Any strategic change that you implemented owing to the COVID-19 pandemic? The foremost was staying connected with our guests through various digital channels and offering stress-free cancellation policies. We also enhanced our operational protocols by working closely with all local government health authorities.
* If not hospitality, what was your second career choice? Animal rescue and welfare sector.
source: http://www.outlookindia.com / Outlook Traveller / Home> Travel News> Story / by Simrran Gill / November 04th, 2020
High temperature during March-April coupled with uneven rainfall in July-Aug taking a toll on coffee production in current 2023-24 crop season.
Weak monsoon set to squeeze coffee output
Bengaluru Coffee production in India is likely to be negatively impacted owing to the scanty rainfall in major growing regions of the country with some growers anticipating 25 per cent drop in overall output for 2023-24 crop season.
According to Coffee Board’s post-blossom or early estimates, India’s coffee crop for 2023-24 crop year starting October is projected to be higher at 3.74 lakh tonne. This estimate is 6.25 per cent higher than 3.52 lakh tonne, which is the final 2022-23 crop estimate.
With high temperature during March-April period coupled with uneven rainfall in July & August, this estimate is likely to see a fall in the current crop season.
“In March-April, there was very high temperature, which impacted the flowering in the coffee crop. As it is, the crop was low going into the monsoon period. Now, owing to lack of rains in monsoon season, the plant is growing faster. During the monsoon, usually ripens process slows down due to rains. This is not the case now and ripening is happening faster. Definitely, this is going to impact the crops badly,” Nishanth R Gurjar, former chairperson of Karnataka Planters Association told Bizz Buzz.
“Production-wise, it can dip by 25 per cent against last year,” he added.
Gurjar, who himself is a grower and exporter of coffee, said that revival of monsoon towards the later part may not serve the purpose.
India is major producer of coffee along with Brazil, Vietnam and Colombia among others.
The country mostly produces Robusta variety of coffee with around 70 per cent of the total production belonging to this variety. India produced around 2.6 lakh tonne of Robusta coffee in 2022-23, while Arabica production was around one lakh tonne during this period.
Despite a likelihood of lower coffee production in the current crop year, pricing is not likely to be changed as international prices remained firm.
In the international market, Robusta prices are ruling around Rs224 per kg, while Arabica prices are hovering around Rs276 per kg.
The weather pattern El Nino is expected to play truant in major growing regions of Brazil and Vietnam. This is likely to pull down Robusta production in these major growing regions.
If the world faces lower production than last year, it is very much likely that prices would hold at current level. Notably, prices of both Robusta and Arabica shot up in the last six months in the international market.
source: http://www.bizzbuzz.com / Bizz Buzz / Home> Industry> Agriculture / by Bizz Buzz / August 31st, 2023
Architect George Emmanuel Ramapuram relates to the buildings of the past as a legacy, a treasure trove ‘that is proud to be passed on’, the longevity of these buildings coming with a huge sustainable quotient.
It is a language that speaks of growing up amidst intense nature, dense woods, the hills and its streams, flora and fauna leaving a deep imprint that has translated into physical structures which totally merge into their green environs.
Ashwini Ponnappa, who has achieved many firsts for Indian badminton, is drawing new energy from her 20-year-old partner Tanisha Crasto. But the 33-year-old says her biggest challenge is to stay motivated.
Ashwini Ponnappa poses for a photo among shuttles at a badminton court. (Photo credit: Ashwini Ponnappa/Instagram)
Ashwini Ponnappa is unbothered about her age. An average female shuttler retires at 28, but Ashwini, even at 33, does not see any reason for slowing down. She does not let the thought of retirement sneak into her mind either. Having recently taken up the fresh challenge of playing two intense and physically demanding disciplines – women’s and mixed doubles – instead of one, Ashwini says she ‘finds solace’ in distributing her priorities. “It is not easy to play two events, but it is something that I want to do at this point, I kind of find solace in playing two events rather than one,” Ashwini told The Bridge.
Ashwini broke her long-standing and rather futile partnership with N. Sikki Reddy last year, following her highly successful one with Jwala Gutta which ended in 2016. She tried her hands at pottery and commentary before embarking on a fresh challenge by pairing up with Tanisha Crasto, 13 years younger than her. To put the matter into perspective, when Ashiwni had won her first title – the national sub-junior girls’ doubles gold in 2004 – Tanisha had been in her nappies.
A partner in the mould of a mentor
Ashwin admitted that the trickiest thing for her now is to stay motivated. But Tanisha’s exuberant presence is not allowing her to lag behind. “As you get older, things get tricker. When you are young, you have time on your side, enthusiasm. For me, the challenge right now is to look after my body and keep my mind fresh. And to keep going, keep pushing and keep having that belief and hope that ‘yes, you are going to get that result, again’,” Ashwini said. “It’s tricky, especially when it comes to getting to the stadium and training every single day. The glimmer of hope is that I always believe something good is going to come my way. And starting over with a young partner is a motivating,” she stated.
Being a senior player, Ashwini is more than just a partner in this new partnership. “I love the energy and enthusiasm that she (Tanisha) brings in to the court. Partnering with her is quite fun, because she always wants to do well. And she is very gritty on court. Our age gap does not matter on court. Of course, since I have played for such a long time, I tend to be more like a mentor,” she said. But Ashwini ruled out having any seniority complex. “But having said that, when you are on board, you cannot have a seniority complex. At the end of the day, you are in a partnership irrespective of how big the age gap is,” added the shuttler.
Even though the Ashwini-Tanisha partnership is at a nascent stage now, the combination has started clicking. They claimed their first International Challenge title in Nantes, France, in June. They were also part of India’s mixed team silver medal-winning squad at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Ranked 56th in the world, Ashwini-Tanisha is the second-choice women’s doubles pair for India after Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand. The pair will next be seen in action at the Asian Games in Hangzhou in September. However, Ashwini is no longer in the reckoning for the Olympics or BWF World Championships, as she has slipped out of the top 32. “We just started playing in January. Unfortunately, we have not played too many tournaments. But I am very happy with the fact that we won the Nantes International Challenge. We are just getting started, we have a long way to go,” Ashwini asserted.
Juggling between challenges Her women’s doubles career is already legendary, but Ashwini’s transition to mixed doubles has always been challenging. “Switching to mixed doubles has always been a challenge. It is easier to have a woman on your side and also one at the back of the court. I have been a women’s doubles specialist in my career so far. I have always been known as a player who is predominantly at the back of the court rather than front,” explained Ashwini. “The most obvious difference is that in mixed doubles, you always find the girl at the net,” she said.
But, Ashwini, like always, is not willing to give up. “I think I have adapted over the years, which also requires me to move into the net. It’s not natural for me, but I have learnt to make the transition to the back of the court,” she said about the challenge of playing mixed doubles. This challenge is precisely the reason her partnership with B. Sumeeth Reddy has not taken off yet. In the mixed-gender event, they are ranked 64th and are yet to taste success. This is the latest of Ashwini’s many attempts to make her mixed doubles career fly. She had previously paired up with Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, to whom she attributed the speed and power of her smash. But that partnership was severed soon as Satwik specialised in men’s doubles and gave up on mixed doubles.
As she is ranked outside the top rung, Ashwini is no longer a sure shot on the World Tour; she features regularly in the qualifiers. This makes her newest journey more strenuous, as she has had to juggle between smaller tournaments for ranking points, where she often plays too many matches in a day. “If I am playing the bigger tournaments, it is not much of an issue because there is enough time. But if I am playing the smaller tournaments, which we have to since we do not really have a good ranking, there are times when you could end up playing three to four matches in a day,” said Ashwini.
Pride of Indian women’s doubles
Ashwini has been a trailblazer in Indian women’s doubles along with Jwala. The duo achieved many firsts for Indian doubles, by winning Commonwealth Games gold and BWF World Championships bronze. In fact, for 11 years, Ashwini and Jwala were India’s only doubles pair to win a medal at the Worlds before Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty – pioneers in men’s doubles – matched their feat in 2022 in Tokyo.
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“We were the first to win the bronze medal at the World Championships. And we were the first ones to win a bronze medal overall in 28 years. It was a very special moment for us. The best part for me was that we enjoyed the entire tournament. The icing on the cake was the bronze medal,” Ashwini said.
Ashwini welcomes changes in women’s doubles
Though she finds herself out of favour in the Indian badminton contingent in top-notch events, the seasoned star is delighted with the changes in Indian women’s doubles, which has emerged from an earlier archaic philosophy to become an attractive discipline for youngsters.
“When I started, I did not want to play doubles. I was more interested in women’s singles. I was asked to choose it. But over the years, I have proved myself as a women’s doubles specialist,” said Ashwini.
She welcomes the recent trend where more players are taking up the discipline and sponsors are supporting their bids. India now has two women’s doubles pairings in the top 50. There are five more in the top 100, including Ashwini-Tanisha at 56.
“It has evolved quite a bit in the last decade, especially the last few years. Especially after the Covid-19 pandemic. Youngsters are being pushed towards doubles and sponsors are supporting them. In the past, only one or two pairs were sent and not a lot of pairs went on their own. This has changed drastically,” observed Ashwini.
However, Ashwini finds the latest BWF World Tour hectic, where shuttlers are forced to compete for ranking and Olympic qualification points round the year.
“It gets really overwhelming at times. It is hard to find the right gap for a break. It would be nice if we have a streamlined year, where we would also get an off season. But I would say the sport is growing the way it should grow. There’s always good and bad, it depends on how you look at it,” opined Ashwini.
source: http://www.thebridge.in / The Bridge / Home> Badminton / by Sudipta Biswas / August 27th, 2023
