Category Archives: Records, All

Reeshma Nanaiah to play Queen Macchlakshmi in ‘KD-The Devil’

Reeshma Nanaiah To Portray Queen Macchlakshmi In KD - The Devil
Photo courtesy: Instagram

New Delhi:

The makers of ‘KD-The Devil’ on Friday introduced the leading lady of the film—actress Reeshma Nanaiah, who will be seen opposite Dhruva Sarja as Queen Macchlakshmi.

As Reeshma enters KD’s vintage adda, she looks every bit feisty. In fact, her stance is the one that suits a true queen, especially when she is a queen who converts her King’s pain into power. Fans have been very excited to meet Reeshma aka Queen Macchlakshmi and they cannot wait to see more of her on the big screen.

Talking about her character, Reeshma said, “The best part about Queen Macchlakshmi is the larger-than-life persona she ensues. From the poster you know, she is strong-headed, she is feisty, and playing her role was indeed great. It was challenging but thrilling. What was exciting was to also share the frame with action Prince Dhruva Sarja. I am very excited.”

A period action entertainer based on true events from 1970s Bangalore, ‘KD-The Devil’ also stars Shilpa Shetty Kundra, Sanjay Dutt, and V Ravichandran. KVN Productions presents KD-The Devil directed by Prem and also produced by Suprith.

The Pan-India multilingual is all set to release in Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, and Hindi.

source: http://www.goachronicle.com / Goa Chronicle / Home> Entertainment> India / by GC News Desk / via UNI-India / April 28th, 2023

Coorg Public School Excels In Various Competitions

Mysore/Mysuru:

The students of Coorg Public School (COPS), Gonikoppal, Kodagu, have emerged winners in various competitions held during the first week of August.

Vedika Bojamma, a  Grade 1 student of COPS, participated in the All-Karnataka Poetry Recitation Competition conducted by KISA (Karnataka Icse Schools Association) and stood 1st in the State.

The following students of COPS have won prizes in various competitions organised by Lions High School, Gonikoppal, on account of Independence Day celebrations:

Patriotic Song: Gyana U. Kalkur (X std.) – 1st place; Anika Nandish (I PUC) – 1st; L. Tanushree (II PUC) – 3rd; C.P. Ayaan Devaiah (II std.) – 3rd.

English Elocution: B.I. Samarth Ponnappa (IV std.) – 2nd; M. Niyati Kalaiah (IX std.) – 2nd; K. Gayatri Kaveriappa (II PUC) – 2nd; Mathanda Lia Chengappa (III std.) – 3rd; Amrutha Poovamma (I PUC) – 3rd; Trisha Somaiah (VIII std.) – Consolation Prize.

Kannada Elocution: K.B. Dechakka (X std.) – 2nd; Pranjal Somanna Ajjamada (I PUC) – 2nd; N.P. Pradhyoth Kiran (III std.) – 3rd.

Students who bagged prizes in the Taluk-Level Inter School Elocution and Debate Competition held in memory of late Kakamada N. Nanaiah at Appachakavi Vidyalaya on Aug. 8 are as follows:

Kannada Elocution: B.M. Aaradhya Shetty (V std.) – 2nd.

English Debate: Aanchal Pooja (X std.) – 2nd.

Kannada Debate: K.K. Adya (IX std.) – 2nd; T.C. Shringa (X std.)  – 3rd.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / August 27th, 2023

Meeting the Guardians of River Cauvery.

Kechamada Uthapa and his daughter Pooja taking me on a tour of his paddy land.
Mrs Uthappa in their home in Kutta, Coorg.

Two weeks before the devastating rainfall that destroyed large parts of Coorg, I had the privilege of spending a few days with Mr Kechamada Uthappa, and his family. Mr Uthappa, who lives in the Kutta region of Coorg, is one of the few planters who still grows paddy. A little known fact is that paddy is the traditional crop of Coorg and not coffee, that it is now famous for.

After an interesting conversation with his daughter Pooja, an environmental engineer, I learned that paddy cultivation actually helps with rejuvenating the river. So I made way up to Coorg to see this for myself. While I did learn about how this happens, it was the warmth from Mr Uthappa, with his wry sense of Kodava humour, incredible energy at 67, infinite patience in answering my questions, his wife who gently guides the whole household and his daughter, who is a true a daughter of the soil, gave me an incredibly real and fulfilling experience in this ‘digital world’, it honestly made me happy.

After meeting them, I have come to believe that, If geography is destiny, then the people of Coorg are the guardians of River Cauvery.

Paddy plantation 
Women who work in the fields and estate, totally impressive.
Women who work in the fields and estate, totally impressive.

In the old days the land was seen as a boon from the Goddess Cauvery and the land belonged to her. They celebrated the river and did everything in their power to care for her. To them it was ‘Cauverammas Bhoomi’.

‘Naati Pani’or paddy cultivation is what deeply connected the people of Coorg to their land and River Cauvery. It was also the most exciting time of the year, with every one coming together, it was almost like a celebration of the river itself. Owners used to plough the land themselves and shared a close relationship with the workers. Everyone would sing songs of the Cauvery to make their work light. They valued the river because she provided for them. They worked hard for their food and rice was a staple in their diets – think akki ottis and kadambuttus. Rice is not something they ordered online, unlike our generation who have a very transactional relationship with food.

Workers planting Paddy
Stream going back into the Lakshman Tirtha

‘Naati pani’ requires a lot of work and patience. Infact, Mr Uthappa says that it requires ‘Aar-Ambu’ or 6 arrows – fertile land, cattle, workers, rain, seeds and implements. The relationship with ‘Naati’ is also very intrinsic with water – The rain feeds the fields and the fields feed the river and recharge the ground water. Most planters today have even built large tanks to harvest rain water.

The land is divided into multiple fields and work begins in the cold wet monsoons and ends six months later. Mr Uthappa remembers how his grand mother would wake them up at 4 am to begin paddy work in the fields – she would ensure there was enough food and drink for everyone including the labourers.

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The paddy land is usually dived into Baleya theva – the biggest field, the Yaka – the sowing field which was slightly elevated so that it could retain water and was always situated closest to the stream, Chali or the central field allowed for the flow of water and Podup which is clay soil that has spring like properties and the Pada butta bel or fallow land.

Each of these fields is fed by rain water and controlled by shallow streams which is then fed back into the river. Mr Uthappas fields feed back into the Lakshman tirtha, a tributary of the Cauvery. Most of the knowledge and traditions and even geographical understanding on what should be grown is passed down orally and Mr Uthappa is hopeful that today, even though most of them don’t encourage their children to work in the fields there will be a time when everyone will come back to their roots.

The end of ‘Naati pani’ is celebrated with Kail-Podh. In keeping with their martial traditions all the implements would be polished, decorated with the ‘Thok-poo’ (which is now available only in the ‘Devara Kadus’ or Sacred forest groves maintained by each village). It was also a time where they could enjoy a break from their hard labour of ‘Naati pani’ and food, song and folk dancing would be indulged in.

Unfortunately, today most of the paddy fields are being left fallow or being converted into ‘holiday home sites’, reducing the ground water levels, changing the culture and even the food habits. The koile meen (fish commonly found in paddy fields), local rice varieties like Doddi and Boliya are fast disappearing. Reality is that rice is now being bought by the Karnataka government from Andhra Pradesh (where incidentally I am from).

It hit home when Mr Uthappa, told me of a kodava saying, “if you want to ruin a man you don’t need black magic, all you have to do is ask him to replace paddy for coffee or other crops and the land will run dry.” It makes you think if you would still be able to relish your cup of ‘bella coffee’ if there was no paddy planted in Coorg?

So as you celebrate Kail-Podh this year with Pandhi curry and Kadambuttus, or have ever visited Coorg and enjoyed her hospitality, remember that you are the guardian of River Cauvery and send out a special thought to all that she has provided.

Follow our series about the #CultureOfWater @SaveRiverCauvery on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

source: http://www.medium.com / Medium.com / Home / by Rohita R Madappa / September 02nd, 2018

Pandanda Cheethamma Block Inaugurated At Kodagu Model School

Mysore/Mysuru:

Sri Kavery Kodava Association, Mysore East and Kodagu Model School had organised a function at the school premises in Vidyashanakar Nagar, here this morning to inaugurate the newly-constructed second floor named as ‘Pandanda Cheethamma Block’.

Star of Mysore Founder-Editor K.B. Ganapathy, who is also the Special Advisor of the Association, delivered the inaugural speech after the school block donated by Pandanda Kariappa Family, Kolkata, was inaugurated. 

The event began with Ganapathy homa and Saraswathi puja.

Students presented invocation dance. Association President P.S. Devaiah welcomed.

Association Secretary K.M. Belliappa introduced the guests, who were also felicitated.

Chairperson of Building Committee P.U. Jayakumar addressed the gathering.

Smt. and Dr. Kayapanda M. Mandanna, Kolkata and Smt. and Sri Pandanda K. Madappa, Kolkata, shared their thoughts.

Mary Anitha, Head Mistress of Kodagu Model School, briefed the gathering about                            academics.

Seethamma, Chairperson of the Academic Committee, proposed a vote of thanks.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / August 19th, 2023

Kerala: Cozy in Kodagu

Kaldi Kappee, the coffee shop

The Ibnii Coorg is a delicious little secret set amidst lush green hills.

For a region often described by locals as ‘60×40’ (measuring 60 miles by 40 miles), understandably there are few secrets in Kodagu, or Coorg. Yet, tucked around a bend just off the Suntikoppa-Madikeri road, the gates of The Ibnii open into a hidden world of its own. Literally meaning ‘dew’, The Ibnii was ten years in the making before it formally opened in February. A tree-lined cobbled driveway ends at The Kaadu, a scenic viewpoint overlooking the valley that cradles the resort. 

A tree-lined cobbled driveway ends at The Kaadu, a scenic viewpoint overlooking the valley that cradles the resort. Ushered down a small wooden bridge to a lookout, we savour the view over some bella ( jaggery) coffee, traditionally served to guests in Coorg. In the distance, the four-tiered cascade swimming pool breaks the expanse of dense green in a striking splash of turquoise blue.

We linger over another cuppa and only the promise of greater comfort makes us move. A golf cart takes us to our private pool villa. In a region globally recognised as an ecological hotspot, everything about the resort is eco-sensitive. The architecture and landscape were designed without damaging local flora—all the villas and structures are built around existing vegetation and no trees were cut except dead and decaying ones. Three lakes were created on the 120-acre property for rainwater harvesting. Other green practices include a stringent ‘no plastic’ policy, vermicomposting and waste-recycling. The resort prides itself in having no room service or phone network (though wi-fi is available), encouraging guests to explore the outdoors. 

Wooden cottage

On a ‘Bean to Cup’ coffee tour, we get first-hand experience of the process of coffee-making and grading of beans. The venue is Kaldi Kappee, a tranquil lakeside coffee-house named after the Ethiopian shepherd who discovered the rejuvenating properties of coffee when his goats pranced about after feeding on some wild berries. On display are coffee-grinding machines, filters and presses, as well as single-origin coffee from an all-woman village cooperative in Chikmagalur. It’s called Halli Berri!

Breakfast with local flavours

The boulangerie, tucked behind the coffee counter reveals a hi-tech interactive kitchen where baking classes are conducted. Our impromptu session sharpens our blunt baking skills and soon we are sipping cappuccinos outside, nibbling on warm crispy puffs that we kneaded and rolled only minutes earlier. Walking to the Greenhouse, an in-house garden where veggies and herbs are grown, we learn that the Ibnii’s kitchen only uses fresh hand-pounded masalas. With a lakeside yoga pavilion on the anvil, The Ibnii takes its eco-luxe tag seriously. No wonder it has already won accolades—the best eco-luxury resort in the country and the first resort in India to acquire IGBC’s (Indian Green Building Council) Green Homes Platinum Award 2017.

The next morning, following a medley of bird calls, we set off on a nature walk & birdwatching tour with our able guide, who helps us spot 45 species of birds besides sharing fascinating stories on flora like Gloriosa superba, locally called thok poo meaning ‘gun-flower’ and tracking the hoof prints of wild deer that had wandered into the property at night. Our trail ends with duck feeding, though the round of fishing at the pond (catch and release) is thwarted by rain.

Manja Spa

The evening uncoils itself with a relaxing spa session at Manja Spa. The treatments are designed using locally-sourced ingredients (including a coffee scrub) while the techniques adopt Balinese, Swedish and traditional Ayurvedic styles.

There’s lots to do in Coorg—remarkable waterfalls, an elephant training camp, quaint monasteries, and much more that is in close proximity. But even if you like your holidays leisurely curled up inside a blanket with a cup of coffee, birdsongs and a book for company in a picturesque location, this eco-resort is the place to indulge.

The Information

Getting There:
The Kempegowda International Airport is the closest one to Coorg (280km, 5.5hr). Mysuru Junction is the nearest railway station at 95km. KSRTC buses ply from Bengaluru and Mysuru to Coorg. If you’re driving, take State Highway 17 (Bengaluru-Mysuru highway) and turn before Srirangapatna onto State Highway 88 towards Madikeri.

Where To Stay:
The Ibnii, Coorg is at Ibnivalvadi  village, 4.5km away from Madikeri town. It has 22 pool villas, called Kopi Luwak after the Asian civet coffee. Each of these comes with an indoor jacuzzi and an outdoor pool. Ten wooden cottages perched on stilts, named Arnetta, overlook a lake—they are open only to couples. Children are not allowed here due to safety concerns. (Tariff starts from 16,150 per night in a Kopi Luwak for a minimum stay of three nights; +91-8884990000, ibnii.com).

Where to Eat
Ibnii’s themed dining spaces take a cue from local Kodava culture. Set in a single complex called Pattole Palome (collection of silk strands, and also the title of a cultural tome on Coorg) are Baalelle (a veg restaurant with meals served on banana leaves), Masi Kande (a covered outdoor barbecue & grill, means charcoal), The Fig (multi-cuisine restaurant serving Kodava, south Indian & continental fare) and Bendhoota (a banquet hall named after a traditional post-wedding family feast).

What to See & Do
Besides local bird watching trails, responsible fishing and a bean to-cup coffee tour, the Tibetan monasteries at Bylakuppe near Kushalnagar, the elephant training camp at Dubare and sites like Raja’s Seat, Mercara Fort, Gaddige and Abbey Falls are close at hand.

source: http://www.outlookindia.com / Outlook Traveller / Home> Stay> Story / by Anurag Mallick / August 17th, 2017

Bhuvann Ponnanna turns director with underdog story of boxer

Bhuvann’s debut directorial will be produced by his soon-to-be wife, actress Harshika Poonacha.

Bhuvann Ponnanna turns director with underdog story of boxer
Bhuvann will play a boxer in his directorial debut

Kannada actor Bhuvann Ponnanna, who was last seen in 2019’s Randhawa, is set to turn director.

Just back from his bachelor party trip to Russia, where he managed to lose his passport, Bhuvann addressed the media to announce his directorial debut and his upcoming wedding plans.

The actor is getting married to his girlfriend of 12 years, Kannada actress Harshika Poonacha in a traditional Kodava ceremony spread across two days on August 23 and 24 in Madikeri.

Both days will only entail kodava rituals, said Bhuvann and Harshika, adding that it gives them great joy to present a part of their culture to their guests.

The wedding news, though, was not the only good tiding that the couple had to share. Bhuvann and Harshika also took the opportunity to announce their first home production, through the banner Bhuvanam Entertainment, which Bhuvann will direct and act in. The actor has written a script about a boxer from an underprivileged background that then follows his journey and struggle to attain the goals he has been aiming for. Called Bhuvanam Sreshtam Gacchami, the film is likely to go on floors by the end of the year, they said, adding that Harshika will not be in the film and will only serve as producer. Boxing, said Bhuvann, is the hook of the film, but its crux is the pursuit of following one’s dream.

The basic line of the story struck Bhuvann during one of his holiday trips to Cambodia, when he saw a news item on TV six years ago. Over the years, the actor and his team has been working on the script, to give it a modern-day feel. The film will have two heroines, casting of which is yet to be done. At the moment, Bhuvann has not given thought to the prospect of making the film in multiple languages, so the focus will be on a Kannada version, but he does not rule out the possibility of dubbing it later, as the subject has universal appeal.

source: http://www.ottplay.com / OTT Play / Home> News / by Team OTTplay / August 18th, 2023

‘Sodaru’: Light On Journalism

Title : “Sodaru: A journey of a journalist”

Price : Rs. 140

Publisher : Adiraaj Prakashana, 245/F, 5th West Cross, Uttaradhi Mutt Road, Mysuru. For book contact: 98445-76429. E-mail: ananth.alpinia@gmail.com

This is an age of information. Thanks to the quantum development in the area of information technology like never before. Books, newspapers, radio, telephone, internet etc., enable this revolution with speed and spread of information. But behind all these media blitzkrieg and bombardment is a journalist who provides the content. Smile please!

Being a journalist, it is natural for me to evince interest in the area of journalism and all that is related to that activity.

A few days back I learnt that B.G. Anantha Shayana, the senior journalist and the consulting editor of Kannada daily ‘Shakti’, Kodagu district, who is also the correspondent of United News of India (UNI), has written a book about his experience as a journalist

Kodagu being my home district and having done my SSLC in Madikeri Government Central School and then the graduation there, the book interested me much, coming as it was from the editor of Kodagu’s first and only favourite Kannada newspaper even today. It was started in 1957 when I was in the second intermediate (1957-58). I was a witness to its founder-editor B.S. Gopalakrishna, a fair complexioned person with rotund visage, working at the slanting composing table, standing head bent over the wooden type-setting board. The press was at the landmark (for those days) “chowki”, where four roads converged. His was a gradual growth as a publisher and writer against all odds.

When I left Madikeri after graduation in the year 1959, Shakti had become a noted local paper in Madikeri spreading its wings across Kodagu. Now 65 years on, it is still an iconic newspaper in Kodagu. This was possible because of B.S. Gopalakrishna’s three sons who took over the reins and responsibility to keep the flag of success flying high. One of  the sons is B.G. Anantha Shayana, the author of the book “Sodaru”. “Sodaru” in old Kannada means light, lamp.

This book of 98 pages is all about the author’s experience as a journalist, executive and tourist abroad. He also speaks of ethical values to be followed in the profession and about the personal risk a reporter-journalist unwittingly faces in his over-enthusiasm. His every  experience is illustrated in detail and this makes the book  unputdownable for any journalist. I finished reading it in one sitting and then decided to  write this column.

Let me share some of his experiences here with my own remarks as an intervention! Anantha Shayana has in a way delivered a sermon and also given a road-map for aspiring journalists. Therefore, this book may be recommended as an optional reader for students of journalism in their graduate or post-graduate classes. I am sure many working or retired journalists, including myself, would have had similar experience if not the exact ones.

The author speaks of the importance of correct information a journalist collects and gives the example of Sri Jayendra Saraswathi Swamiji of Kanchi Kamakoti Mutt, Tamil Nadu. That on August 23, 1997, the Swamiji had suddenly and clandestinely left the mutt and disappeared. That naturally made national and even international news. Those days telephone communication was outdated and difficult. Author Anantha Shayana got a phone call in the morning from his friend in Talacauvery (birth place of river Cauvery) in Kodagu. The call was made by his friend after walking 8 kms from Talacauvery to the nearest telephone booth in Bhagamandala, a township. By now an all India search for the Swamiji was launched on a war-footing. The caller said, “Anantha, three days back at midnight some Swamiji has come here with a small group. When asked who he was, nobody opens mouth. Must be a very famous Swamiji.”

Author says when he went there immediately, the Swamiji’s followers did not allow him to meet the Swamiji. However, when he said he was from UNI, he was allowed on assurance that it would make all India news! So it was, he was the first person to break this news.

By the way, I too reached there with our Mysuru journalists and met him at Talacauvery. But, what is important here is that UNI did not publish the news of finding the Swamiji IMMEDIATELY. The UNI Bengaluru and Delhi Office had called Anantha Shayana over 10 times to urge him to check, check and check again and confirm. They even asked him to go to Talacauvery once again. Further, UNI sent its Mysuru correspondent to Anantha Shayana in Kodagu to go again to Talacauvery. It was only then the UNI flashed the news, though many hours late, as “Sri Jayendra Saraswathi traced.”

This is called responsible journalism and responsible journalist on the spot. Which is why the motto of Star of Mysore  printed on the second page declares: “We believe comment is free, but facts are sacred.” Sadly, these days we find more arm-chair journalists looking into a cellphone in hand, sometimes purveying fake news.

Be that as it may, I found in his one observation about the truth all the local newspaper editors and journalists come face-to-face with unlike the State and National newspapers. His observation is that what appears in those big newspapers do not embolden the reader, about whom a negative news has appeared, to directly go and attack the editor or the journalists. But the local, small-town or rural newspaper editors and journalists become direct targets of attacks and protests. Since I am a victim of this behaviour of readers, criminals, the corrupt and anti-socials, I can vouch 100 percent for what Anantha Shayana has written.

Writing about paparazzi and the British Princess Diana, the author refers to the famous photograph of her boyfriend Dodi Fayad and herself in a kissing pose under the caption “The Kiss.” He says the photographer was paid millions of dollars for this picture. However, sadly it was this obsession to take her photographs that led to the accident killing both of them. The moral Anantha Shayana says is that though a journalist should be a news hound, he should not intrude upon another person’s privacy.

We have seen on TV and read in newspapers some of our opposition leaders going abroad to Harvard, Oxford and elsewhere and giving lectures and interviews to the media criticising India, its government, its democracy and shaming India in foreign countries. But I was delighted to read in the book how the editor of a small district vernacular paper “Shakti” Anantha Shayana dealt with a delicate, despicable situation in a foreign country, Australia, where he went with seven of his friends. Anantha Shayana writes that in Australia they visited a primary school where he asked the group of six students what they knew about India. To his shock, instead of an answer he got a question from a student: Are you not afraid to live in India?

“Why should I?” said Anantha Shayana and asked, “Why do you ask me that question?” Then it became a kind of free-for-all. One said, India was a land of snakes and snake-charmers. “Do you know how to catch snakes?” another wanted to know. “Are there too many beggars? Do you have good houses to live? Do you have cars?” etc., etc. He then asked them if they had read any books on India. No, was the answer. Their opinion of India was hearsay.

Then Anantha Shayana took a class on India to them dropping famous names of politicians, Gandhiji, Generals, educationists, philosophers, space research, the heritage, culture etc. After he finished, one boy said, “I want to visit India.” When some of our opposition  leaders visited England and Europe, nobody said “I want to visit India” because they were told by our own opposition politician that India is not a good place where democracy is dying or dead.

Anantha Shayana also writes about his meeting with two spiritual persons. One was Dalai Lama at Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh.

Question: Will you wage a war against China?

Answer: Many nations in the world support us. One day we will win.

Question: But your youth organisations feel it is not possible to win back Tibet by peaceful means. What do say?

Answer: I am not in administration. I am engaged in matters spiritual. There is an elected government here in exile. They will look into it.

Question: Buddha gave up his palace and after meditating under a tree got enlightened. But you crossed Himalayas, came here and built golden temples, leading luxurious life with cars and palace-like residences.

Anantha Shayana says, Dalai Lama did not have an answer but brushed it aside saying, “These are the mischief played by monks. I don’t know anything.”

Another spiritual person Anantha Shayana mentions is one who became famous for teaching the art of living. Anantha Shayana met him when he visited Kodagu. The spiritual master told, “For propagating spiritual education I have trained 5,000 teachers. They will go to different parts of the country and teach art of living.”

According to Hindu Sanatana Dharma, only the enlightened souls can teach spiritual matters to the seekers. So Anantha Shayana asked: Are all these 5,000 teachers you have trained enlightened?

He did not like the question and he did not answer either.

Moral: Though unpalatable, the journalist must ask intelligent, probing questions.

e-mail: voice@starofmysore.com

source: http://www.starofmysore.com /Star of Mysore / Home> Columns> Abracadabra….Abracadabra / by K B Ganapathy / May 08th, 2023

Hot sun, not rain, leads to umbrella use in Karnataka’s Kodagu

Growers of coffee and pepper, the key commercial crops in the district, may land in trouble, if the situation continues.

Hot sun, not rain, leads to umbrella use in Karnataka's Kodagu
People and street vendors use umbrellas to protect themselves from the scorching sun in Madikeri, an unusual scene in August. Credit: DH Photo 

In monsoon every year, Kodagu is among the districts to receive the highest rainfall in the state. But this year, except for a few days in July, the rains have played hide and seek here.

The situation is best captured in the maximum temperature of 30º Celsius recorded in Kodagu district on August 11, creating panic among people, especially agriculturists.

Usually, August is a wet month for the district. The rains bring down the temperature to less than 25º Celsius. However, this time, the rains are conspicuous by their absence, pushing up the mercury levels. The 30º Celsius recorded in August this year is the highest in the last five years.

It is common sight for people to sport umbrellas for protection when the skies open up. But umbrellas are out for an unusual reason in the district these days, protection from the hot sun. 

Coffee & pepper

It is now common talk in the district that growers of coffee and pepper, the key commercial crops in the district, may land in trouble, if the situation continues. There has been no rain in the first 15 days of August. This month, there is a 81% shortage of rains.

Instead of the normal of 31 cm rain, there was only 5 cm rain. In the current monsoon, the district is facing a 42% deficit in rainfall.

Coffee grower Harish Madappa from Srimangala said the Lakshmanateertha river was not even half full.

Drinking water

In previous years, there would usually be floods in the river. The situation is so dreary this time that there could even be a shortage for drinking water, he said.

Agriculture department joint director Shabana M Sheikh said that only 40% transplantation of paddy has been undertaken in the district this year. The crops will be affected, if there are no rains in the near future, she said. Krishi Vigyan Kendra weather expert Chengappa said the monsoon clouds are weak as of now. There is no possibility of heavy rain in the next five days, he said.

Special prayers

The Akhila Kodava Samaja has planned to offer special prayers at the Padi Iggutappa temple on August 17 for rains. The Samaja’s youth wing president Chammatira Pravin Uttappa said this was the first time he had seen prayers being offered for rains in the month of August. 

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> India> Karnataka / by K S Girish / August 17th, 2023

Appointed As Visiting Fellow At National Institute Of Health

Dr. Cheranda Koushik Ponnanna has been appointed as a Visiting Fellow at the National Institute of Health (NIH), National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), Phoenix, Arizona.

He will be conducting his Post Doctoral Resarch on the Genetic Basis of Type 2 Diabetes and Obesity. He holds a Ph.D in Genetics from University of Mysore. He is the son of Cheranda Ravi Thimmaiah and Usha from B. Shettigeri, Kodagu.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> In Briefs / August 14th, 2023

AGM Of Gokulam Kodava Sangha Tomorrow

A Special General Body Meeting of Gokulam Kodava Sangha will be held on Aug. 15 (Tuesday) at  9.30 am at Kodava Samaja (Ground Floor) in Vijayanagar 1st Stage.

AGM:

The 17th Annual General Body Meeting (AGM) of  the Sangha will also be held on the same day at 10.30 am.

Get-together:

The AGM will be followed by the get-together  at 11.30 am.

Ammatanda K. Chinnappa, Sangha President, will preside, according to a press release from Chendanda Navin, Hon. Secretary of the Sangha.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> In Briefs / August 14th, 2023